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Aaron Highcolor
Acolyte
USA
45 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 18:24:55
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Is it worth the buy?
I know it doesn't contain all the books, and it didn't (from what I saw paging through it) have any annotations like the annotated Dragonlance Chronicles.
And yes, I know that I said previously I wasn't high on EG's writing, but I may see if I can give it another go (and besides, I have a 30% off coupon at Borders, and there's nothing else out right now that I want, and it expires on Sunday).
Thanks!
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Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can. |
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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 19:00:06
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I'd say so. While the novels were admittedly written under a tight schedule, they're still enjoyable; even to the cynical, for in-universe historical perspective.
In this case, the annotations aren't in the margins or as footnotes; they're multipage entries of prose inserted directly after one of the novels and before the next. |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2008 : 20:53:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Highcolor
Is it worth the buy?
I think it is if you like the novels, or enjoy Greenwood's work in general. |
"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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 01:26:24
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Agreed.
Plus, Ed's extra notes and drawings in the back of the book make for fantastic reading. They provide some worthwhile insight into Ed's Realms mindset and into the development of his Realmslore.
Well worth it in my opinion! 
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 01:36:04
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| I am reading this now. It is great. I had forgotten many of the tales that are covered in these novels over the years. Ed's additional notes and Lore are also a big plus. |
Edited by - scererar on 10 Jul 2008 01:37:05 |
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 02:26:18
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| Well worth it, both for three entertaining yarns and for Ed's added lore. One local newspaper reviewed the first book (back when it first came out, and so far as I know, not a word has been changed for this collected edition) as "heroic fantasy written with gusto; an old-fashioned fun read," and I think that sums it up pretty well. |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 03:44:47
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| I am not a big fan of Ed's fiction but its worth it for the lore and tidbits |
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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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2008 : 17:34:34
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| I was quite happy with it, and the bits of Realmslore that Ed adds in his annotations all relates to the 2e (infequently) or 3e (frequently) Realms, so you do not have to deal with any of the 4e Realms crap. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives
My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2008 : 16:41:27
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| I'd say it's worth the money, and I would also like to offer this observation - Ed's writing is like certain kinds of music (or foodstuffs, or beverages), you have to get used to it. I didn't like Spellfire or Making of a mage when I first read them, but when I re-read them after having read a number of his other novels I discovered that, actually, they're pretty enjoyable (although especially Spellfire still feels pretty weak). |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2008 : 17:46:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
I'd say it's worth the money, and I would also like to offer this observation - Ed's writing is like certain kinds of music (or foodstuffs, or beverages), you have to get used to it. I didn't like Spellfire or Making of a mage when I first read them, but when I re-read them after having read a number of his other novels I discovered that, actually, they're pretty enjoyable (although especially Spellfire still feels pretty weak).
My first Ed novel that I read was Elminster: the Making of the Mage, and I loved it (if you go back and read his notes on it in the Annotated Elminster, you will see that it really is quite amazing how well he wrote it considering the time frame they gave him to write it in). Then I read Elminster in Myth Drannor, and was not too impressed (I enjoyed it a lot more when I read it the second time in the Annotated Elminster). When the Spellfire trilogy came out in full-size paperback (5 or so years ago), I bought all three and read them all together. I thought that that series degraded the further I got into it. I need to go back and read it again to see if I like it now. Many parts seemed confusing that might not now. I think I will probably read the "The Knights of Myth Drannor" trilogy before reading it again since the Knights figured prominently in it. I loved Elminster in Hell. And Elminster's Daughter was a good finish to the Cormyr series I thought (and showing the aftermath in Cormyr of the Return of the Archwizards). Overall, I like Ed's writing, but it is definitely an acquired taste, and I almost always find myself a bit confused as to certain parts of each story. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives
My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2008 : 13:04:24
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| I'm reading this now as well, and I'm really enjoying it. Ed writes Elminster very well, and the 'feel' of the realms really flows off the page. The 'annotations' come in two chapters at the end of each book, and they're well worth reading for Ed-insight and lore-all-in-one-place. |
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Annotated Elminster
