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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 18:13:25
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I have not read any FR novels. what is the first one i should buy?
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The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 18:26:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Aravine
I have not read any FR novels. what is the first one i should buy?
Hmmm...great question with many possibilities!
Darkwalker on Moonshae was the first realms novel and one of my favorites.
Anything by Elaine Cunningham is terrific with great characters.
Anything by Ed Greenwood is fast paced, fun and chock full of "lore".
If you like your stories dark, try Ghostwalker by Erik Scott de Bie or Bloodwalk By James P. Davis.
The Sembia series is a great ontro to the realms, starts with The Halls of Stormweather, which is 7 different shorts about different members of a powerful merchant family with an interesting past and future! Also introduces you to Everis Cale who had his own books you could also start with. Start with Shadows Witness.
There really is no wrong answer! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Edited by - The Red Walker on 06 Dec 2007 18:31:11 |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 18:59:48
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| My vote goes to Greenwood (Elminster, the Making of a Mage), Cunningham (Elfshadow), Salvatore (Homeland), or Kemp (Shadow's Witness and the Ervis Cale short story in Halls of Stormweather). Niles (Darkwalker on Moonshae) is also a good place to start. Something I have heard others like starting with is the Avatar trilogy which covers the RSE that IIRC bridges 1e -> 2e. I just do not like the writing style of the first two books in the Avatar series. IMO characters acted more out of character in those two novels than any did in the Return of the Archwizards trilogy. |
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Edited by - Hawkins on 06 Dec 2007 19:00:18 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 20:25:47
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
There really is no wrong answer!
Very true.
I'll recommend Spellfire though. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 21:37:26
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| I think there's no better start than Ed's Swords of Eveningstar. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2007 : 22:17:50
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| I think Swords of Eveningstar would get my vote also. |
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 04:24:47
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If you aren't sick of hearing about Drizzt, then RAS is a great suggestion (that's where I started) and Homeland is the chronological beginning and an excellent place to start.
If you are sick of DD, I think I would start with a Harper novel so you don't have to worry about getting a set - maybe Night Parade.
Whatever you get make sure it's a stand alone or book one of something because it sucks to get details you shouldn't have.
Of course, if you go to the used book store or library you could always get more than one and read around to see what you like.
As stated before, there is no wrong answer, it just depends on your tastes. |
Anyone who likes to read something that's really dark and gritty and completely awesome ought to read The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. You can check out a little taste at www.BrentWeeks.com I should probably warn you, though, that it is definitely not PG-13 :-D
He also started a new Trilogy with Black Prism, which may even surpass the Night Angel Trilogy in its awesomeness. 
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Nimriel
Seeker
Sweden
51 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 11:02:55
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| I have to agree with Brynweir and since you havn't read any realms book my guess is you aren't tired of Mr. Do'Urden, altrought the Erveis Cale books are good so you may want to start with Sembia, oh and let's not forget the Song and Sword series by Elaie Cunningham and the... wait I'm not helping are I? |
Edited by - Nimriel on 07 Dec 2007 13:36:43 |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 14:15:07
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quote:
I'll recommend Spellfire though.
I read the first couple books of this series a long time ago, but I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I also heard that there was a director's cut or something that helped. Is that true? |
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Karzak
Learned Scribe
196 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 14:36:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozzalum
quote:
I'll recommend Spellfire though.
I read the first couple books of this series a long time ago, but I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I also heard that there was a director's cut or something that helped. Is that true?
Doesn't help. It's a love it or hate it kind of book; I'd recommend against picking it up as your first Realms novel ever. |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 21:23:56
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The Crystal Shard by RA Salvatore.
Elfshadow by Elaine Cunningham.
Knights of Eveningstar by Ed Greenwood.
Any of those three are excellent reads. You should find Crystal Shard and Knights easily in your local book store. Elfshadow you may have to go to a library, buy used, or buy from Amazon to get.
I recommend Crystal Shard over Homeland for 2 reasons.
First, Crystal Shard was written before Homeland and Homeland assumes the reader read the three books before it. Wizards has renumbered the books to chronological instead of published order so when you go to the bookstore, Crystal Shard will be book 4, not book 1.
Second, it doesn't matter which way you read it, but Crystal Shard and the 2 books that are part of the trilogy (Icewind Dale trilogy) are a BETTER representation of the Forgotten Realms. Homelands and it's 2 books (Dark Elf trilogy) aren't... they're isolated and were written as backstory that can be read AFTER Crystal Shard's trilogy should you choose to continue reading about those characters. You can leave the Icewind Dale trilogy and go read something completely different. Dark Elf leaves you before you actually get to what the characters in the series are about.
Pardon the analogy, but if you decide to read something else after reading the Dark Elf trilogy, you haven't really read the meat of RA Salvatore's work.. just chewed on the fat.
So read the Crystal Shard, if you like it, you know what to expect from RA Salvatore's books and can go back and read the Dark Elf Trilogy if you liked what you read. If you don't, you don't have to read RA Salvatore's other books because they're just like the Icewind Dale trilogy.
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"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
Edited by - SirUrza on 07 Dec 2007 21:29:12 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2007 : 22:58:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
I think there's no better start than Ed's Swords of Eveningstar.
Seconded. I'd probably then follow that up with Spellfire.
And THO has proved a decent sampling of Realms novel for the first time reader. Such as:-
". . . I would recommend the following books to get a grounding in the breadth of FR fiction:
Ed Greenwood: Spellfire, Elminster: The Making Of A Mage, Elminster's Daughter, Swords of Eveningstar
Ed Greenwood & Jeff Grubb: Cormyr A Novel
Ed Greenwood & Elaine Cunningham: City of Splendors
Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak: Azure Bonds
Elaine Cunningham: Elfshadow, Evermeet
Bob (R.A.) Salvatore: Homeland
lots o' folks: Halls of Stormweather
Then I'd stop, take a breather, and consider Paul Kemp's Erevis Cale trilogy and Blackstaff by Steven Schend. Then back to Elaine . . .
Then I'd take stock of who I liked, of the above titles, and go from there in reading their other works, each series in order of course (we scribes can help)." |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 01:27:31
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| without a doubt, Spellfire. it was my first FR novel and I have been hooked for the last 20 years. |
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 01:37:57
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
The Crystal Shard by RA Salvatore.
I recommend Crystal Shard over Homeland for 2 reasons.
First, Crystal Shard was written before Homeland and Homeland assumes the reader read the three books before it. Wizards has renumbered the books to chronological instead of published order so when you go to the bookstore, Crystal Shard will be book 4, not book 1.
Second, it doesn't matter which way you read it, but Crystal Shard and the 2 books that are part of the trilogy (Icewind Dale trilogy) are a BETTER representation of the Forgotten Realms. Homelands and it's 2 books (Dark Elf trilogy) aren't... they're isolated and were written as backstory that can be read AFTER Crystal Shard's trilogy should you choose to continue reading about those characters. You can leave the Icewind Dale trilogy and go read something completely different. Dark Elf leaves you before you actually get to what the characters in the series are about.
Pardon the analogy, but if you decide to read something else after reading the Dark Elf trilogy, you haven't really read the meat of RA Salvatore's work.. just chewed on the fat.
So read the Crystal Shard, if you like it, you know what to expect from RA Salvatore's books and can go back and read the Dark Elf Trilogy if you liked what you read. If you don't, you don't have to read RA Salvatore's other books because they're just like the Icewind Dale trilogy.
Good points. I started with the Crystal Shard and I've been hooked ever since. Icewind Dale was a fabulous place to begin - so good I'm going back for another visit. |
Anyone who likes to read something that's really dark and gritty and completely awesome ought to read The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. You can check out a little taste at www.BrentWeeks.com I should probably warn you, though, that it is definitely not PG-13 :-D
He also started a new Trilogy with Black Prism, which may even surpass the Night Angel Trilogy in its awesomeness.
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 02:00:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Karzak
It's a love it or hate it kind of book; I'd recommend against picking it up as your first Realms novel ever.
Spellfire is, with a couple of caveats, representative of the Realms. There's little to 'hate' in it that's not true of the Realms generally. |
Edited by - Faraer on 08 Dec 2007 02:02:39 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 02:10:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozzalum
quote:
I'll recommend Spellfire though.
I read the first couple books of this series a long time ago, but I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I also heard that there was a director's cut or something that helped. Is that true?
Well, I read the most recent edition of Spellfire (claimed to be "expanded", but that wasn't necessarily the case), and I loved it--found it to be a real-page turner. It is representative of the Realms and I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend it, though I am very much aware that not everyone loved it like I did. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 08 Dec 2007 02:12:40 |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 02:55:26
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am I the only one that could not stand Spellfire?
I like the idea of starting with Swords of Eveningstar, any of the Harper series. The Song & Swords would be a good start. I like the Cleric Quintet or the Sembia series. My first book was the Crystal Shard and I still think its a good read. |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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Dart Ambermoon
Learned Scribe
Germany
253 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 03:08:13
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| No, Merrick, you´re not. Although I liked what I like about Ed´s books (descriptions, everyday life, Torm and Rathan...the fluff, if you will), I could never get behind the protagonists or the core story. And shame on some of Manshoon´s depiction... |
~ In Finder I trust, for danger I lust ~ |
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Karzak
Learned Scribe
196 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 04:07:03
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
am I the only one that could not stand Spellfire?
Absolutely not. |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2007 : 13:10:55
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I think I was less than half my current age when I read Spellfire so don't take my vague recollections as a truly negative review.
I got started with the Darkwalker books but I don't think they are particularly representative of the Realms. I'd have to recommend the Drizzt books. |
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BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe
Greece
581 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2007 : 00:56:56
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Knights of Eveningstar by Ed Greenwood.
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BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!
"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2) |
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2008 : 19:50:33
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The original Moonshae Trilogy is a great place to start as well, beginning with Darkwalker on Moonshae. It is completely self-contained and requires no foreknowledge of realmslore whatsoever. Moreover, they are excellently written. After years of realms books, I always point back to those three books for what I thought was great writing. These were first realms books I read.
The sequel trilogy somehow turned out disastrously, so I do recommend not picking it up unless you really want to see an elf-eater. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2008 : 20:06:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
The original Moonshae Trilogy is a great place to start as well, beginning with Darkwalker on Moonshae. It is completely self-contained and requires no foreknowledge of realmslore whatsoever. Moreover, they are excellently written. After years of realms books, I always point back to those three books for what I thought was great writing. These were first realms books I read.
The sequel trilogy somehow turned out disastrously, so I do recommend not picking it up unless you really want to see an elf-eater.
I felt the opposite... I found the Moonshae trilogy to be very slow and uninteresting. I didn't dislike the books, but they so utterly failed to interest me that I couldn't wait to finish them, simply so I could read something else.
The Druidhome trilogy, on the other hand, I found to be enjoyable, much more so than the original trilogy. |
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jan 2008 : 20:36:33
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I do have quirky taste in books, I also really enjoyed Horselords, which was excellently written, but nothing happened for 200 pages. It was an exploration of Tiguan culture, but somehow it drew me in like no other DnD novel.
I would definitely not, however, recommend it as a first novel!
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Ranak
The original Moonshae Trilogy is a great place to start as well, beginning with Darkwalker on Moonshae. It is completely self-contained and requires no foreknowledge of realmslore whatsoever. Moreover, they are excellently written. After years of realms books, I always point back to those three books for what I thought was great writing. These were first realms books I read.
The sequel trilogy somehow turned out disastrously, so I do recommend not picking it up unless you really want to see an elf-eater.
I felt the opposite... I found the Moonshae trilogy to be very slow and uninteresting. I didn't dislike the books, but they so utterly failed to interest me that I couldn't wait to finish them, simply so I could read something else.
The Druidhome trilogy, on the other hand, I found to be enjoyable, much more so than the original trilogy.
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sirreus
Learned Scribe
USA
118 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 01:16:49
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i must admit my first was the icewind dale trilogy, but for firsts i'd say arcane age (nethril) trilogy. it has a great feel to it. the lore is old and not overwhelming; while the barbarian feeds our need for violence, the mage and his interpersonal relations with other netherese mages quickly foreshadows some great cloak & dagger scenes.
i can't remember the author but out of the 150ish i've read, that's a great story to start with.
by the time you finish it, you will know more about the netherese culture and its great wizards than anyone at your table. |
"The measure of an undisciplined mind, is that the intellect allows emotion to challenge the observed truth" Richard Baker |
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Stonwulfe
Seeker
Canada
81 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 01:55:31
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| The very first novel I ever read was "The Sword of Shanarra" by Terry Brooks. I was twelve. I've read and have collected all of his books since. I'm a prolific reader. Not including Shanarra, I've probably read in excess of 12'000 written works (that's not just fantasy, but academic works as well). I can't remember specifically which was the first FR book I read, because I started with Dragonlance's Time of the Twins, but I think that it was either "Escape from Undermountain" or "Elminster". |
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First novel
