| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Yoldin |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 02:04:17
im new to the forgotten realms books series and i want to start reading them i know i should start with the elaine cunninghams the song and swords series so im going to do that but could someone please tell me the rest of the series in order? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| OrnluTheWolf |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 19:04:53
Both written order and chronlogical order are valid orders, but it's up to the reader to choose. Either way, just be sure not to read, say The Lone Drow, or Lagacy of the Drow, before the other ones. I prefur (sp?) chronological order, but to each their own. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 16:40:05
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I prefer to read the books in chronological order, meself.
I do as well. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 15:18:55
I prefer to read the books in chronological order, meself. I don't see any reason to read about a character's activities as a young adult in a certain area, then backtrack and read about his birth and how he got to the area I just read about him in, and then resume reading about him at his current age. |
| Arivia |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 14:05:15
Bookwyrm, ready to back me up?
You should read them in order of publishing, due to the fact that the Crystal Shard and the rest of the Icewind Dale trilogy were meant to introduce a reader to the characters-in marked contrast to the Dark Elf trilogy, which is an expansion upon an already established character. Mr. Salvatore himself has indicated support for the above, if I remember correctly. |
| OrnluTheWolf |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 13:40:47
In the order that Salvatore wrote them, they are Icewind Dale, Dark Elf, Legacy, but in chronological order or the order the events occur, they are Dark Elf, Icewind Dale, and then Lagacy. Dark Elf details Drizzt's childhood and escape from Menzoberanzan, so I recomend reading it before Icewind Dale because that way you'll already know who Drizzt is. |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 13:00:41
quote:
Originally posted by OrnluTheWolf
However, I recomend starting with R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series (Dark Elf Trilogy, Icewinddale Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow)
Don't you have that a bit out of order? Icewind Dale comes first in the series. |
| OrnluTheWolf |
Posted - 21 May 2004 : 01:57:53
To get back to Yoldin's question:
Bookwrym's right, there really isn't an order to the campaign setting as a whole. However, I recomend starting with R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series (Dark Elf Trilogy, Icewinddale Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow) because it is pretty reader friendly and contains only a few references to other places in the realms. If you don't want to read all 10 books I just mentioned, then read Ed Greenwood's first 3 Elminster books (Elminster: Making of a Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor, and The Temptation of Elminster), then moving on to any of Elaine Cunningham's books.
See this diagram: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/novelguide
Basicly, just start with any of the "first story levels" or planets, and don't read any of the secondary ones, or moons, until you have read about 10 or 15 books. That way, you'll at least know who the people are and where they are.
Alternatively, you could just buy the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and read it cover to cover, but that'd be really dry (and a lot less fun). With the FRCS, you get a map of the all the realms, from Evermeet to Thay to Icewind Dale to Calamshan to Zentil Keep to the Anoroch Desert. That map is invaliable, as it will let you see locations and relative distances.
Personally, I started with Drizzt and then read a dozen or so isolated novels, then moved on to Elaine's and Ed's novels, but I don't recomend that. I still havn't read the stories of the Seven Sisters, which I regret to admit. For me, the best out of all the books was Evermeet: Island of the Elves by Elaine Cunningham because it gave so much understanding of Faerun and it's people, especially the history of the planet as a whole.
One warning: DONT READ SERIES OUT OF ORDER. It's a rule I'm currently disobeying, and suffering because of it. |
| Gareth Yaztromo |
Posted - 10 May 2004 : 09:51:36
The Sage nice to meet a fellow Aussie. *shakes hand*
Yes I am a big fan of AFF. I got the image for my avatar from the AFF site. If you click on that link in my signature it will take you to Yaztromo's bio on the site. Yaz is the Elminster of Allansia hehe. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 09 May 2004 : 13:56:44
It's no problem Gareth, especially when it's a fellow Australian .
Oh and, I like your avatar image. Where did you get it from?. I also just noticed that you're named after the same character from AFF. It's funny because my own character's name...'Rastromo', was actually spliced from the character of Yaztromo...
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| Gareth Yaztromo |
Posted - 09 May 2004 : 12:59:02
Thanks for that link, it was very helpful. :) |
| The Sage |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 15:37:38
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
There. Is. No. Order.
Chaos! Entropy! Um . . . sorry. 
There is some order; however, mostly the stories take place in the same slice of time, with different characters in different areas. The books published today have only advanced very slowly in time from the ones first published.
I have to agree. Other than the Dragonlance saga, and the older Ravenloft novels, it matters not which order the FR novels are read, as long as you follow the general evolution of certain plotlines. Following the chronological ordering religiously in my opinion prevents one from enjoying the expansive nature of the books, as they are meant to be read as though they are tales from the many and diverse areas of the Realms.
If you're looking for pure order though, I suggest you look over this.
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| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 15:16:00
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
The books published today have only advanced very slowly in time from the ones first published.
Indeed. As I was reading Elminster's Daughter last night, I was trying to figure out how long I'd have to live to ever see Azoun V in action. |
| Bookwyrm |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 07:16:49
There. Is. No. Order.
Chaos! Entropy! Um . . . sorry.
There is some order; however, mostly the stories take place in the same slice of time, with different characters in different areas. The books published today have only advanced very slowly in time from the ones first published. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 05:40:05
There were also some stories from anthologies between certain novels and one Dragon Magazine story that I recall.
That is if you want to get totally obsessive with the series' characters.  |
| Arivia |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 02:11:25
Elfshadow, Elfsong,Silver Shadows, Thornhold(I didn't know that was in there...), The Dream Spheres. That's directly off Elaine's website. After that, there really isn't an order-just read complete trilogies in order.(ie Cormyr: A Novel before Beyond the High Road...)
Oh, and start the Drizzt novels off with The Crystal Shard... |
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