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Aaron Highcolor
Acolyte
USA
45 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 04:26:52
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Can anyone give me a quick synopsis, and any recommendations for/against this book (and by that, I do not mean attacks on the author)?
TIA
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Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 04:39:20
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| If you are interested in the history of Cormyr, this is an excellent novel to have. |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:16:57
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| Yep, but it is history book written in a fun-to-read format that tells a story, not like those dry history books they make you read in school. |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36793 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:26:48
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Quick synopsis: Stuff happens, in Cormyr. 
It's one of the best Realms novels we've had, in my opinion. The stuff about the founding of the Forest Kingdom -- all the way back to when it was ruled by the Purple Dragon himself (an actual dragon!) -- is wonderful.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31716 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31716 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:38:46
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Additionally, here's a little of what the Lady Hooded One had to say about the structure and writing of Cormyr: A Novel:-
"Certainly I'll have a stab at explaining.
Bill Larson, a veteran (and long since retired) editor, was in the chair for that book, but the "Michener history of a place with alternating chapters" idea was almost certainly Jeff Grubb's. Jeff asked Ed if he'd be interested in co-writing such a book; Ed enthusiastically said yes. Jeff asked Ed to list some important past events that should be covered, to make Cormyr what it is today. Ed provided a detailed list, and starting from that Jeff worked up a detailed plot, adding several "missing" past events that are examples of significant "corrupt power" and other elements he wanted to examine. So the final detailed plot is Jeff's work, and specifically the early Obarskyr history (after the dragons dispossed by elves) and the present-day Abraxus threat are Jeff's ideas.
Then the two friends wrote alternating chapters and passed them back and forth to each other for light rewrites (a commonplace practice today, but rarer in those pre-Internet, mail-the-diskettes days). Ed was the "primary writer" for all of the PRESENT-DAY scenes, and Jeff the primary writer for all of the HISTORICAL scenes. They did the whole thing in about a month (plus another week for polishing-rewrites), and Bill Larson called the result "Not nearly as bad as what I'd been led to expect." :}" |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 11:12:08
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| I would recommend it. As has been said he book is a mix of present day scenes and moments from Cormyrs history. |
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Chosen of Bane
Senior Scribe
USA
552 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 12:57:04
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| I highly recommend it as well. One of my favorite realms novels of all time. |
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Aaron Highcolor
Acolyte
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 14:23:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Quick synopsis: Stuff happens, in Cormyr.
That is, perhaps, the single greatest one line synopsis I have ever seen!
Heading down to BAM today to pick up my copy! |
Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can. |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 17:31:34
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It is actually quite sad that Jeff had moved on from the Realms. With all of the stuff WotC pulls (off screen, that only they and the designers/writers see; and on screen, that we see, too), I do not blame him, but I miss him.  |
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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Aaron Highcolor
Acolyte
USA
45 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2008 : 04:31:46
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Well, I found a new copy of the paperback! It took me a trip to 5 bookstores in the Ft. Myers area, but I finally found one at the Borders (and I had a 30% off coupon -- WOOT!).
Why didn't I call before I left you ask? Because that would take the fun out of the search!
Of course, I KNEW Borders had a copy, but I thought there might have been a closer store. Oh well. Have to finish Tantras, but then I'm off to Cormyr (since my copy of Waterdeep hasn't arrived at the store yet!). |
Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2008 : 17:28:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Highcolor
That is, perhaps, the single greatest one line synopsis I have ever seen!
It's really not the easiest book to give a synopsis off. That said, the present day events of the novel are about the Abraxis Affair. The scenes from the past show how Cormyr became the land it is today. |
"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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Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1279 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 16:16:56
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Just read this novel on my eReader last week. I found the historical chapters to be much better reading than the modern day story of Vandergahast talking to innumerable nobles and a plot within a plot that is wrapped up neatly. Found myself skipping to the history sections until the Giogi/Cat Wyvernspur parts (Jeff's characters).
I love Ed like crazy, I thank him so much for his lore and his Realms, but darn his plots are hard to read sometimes (the Swords of ... series on the Knights of Myth Drannor for instance that started well and turned into...can't finish that opinion for respect of Ed); especially contrasted with Jeff Grubb's writing, which I find to be the best writing in the Realms (second best goes to Elaine and Bob, shared!).
Anyway, a great novel. I was a little irked at when Vandergahast pulled out a wand on Giogi in Wyvern form and it worked to revert him back to a human, considering ALL the prior novels and source books say that the Wyvern is magic immune, and Flattery was higher level than Vangerdahast and if there was a form of magic that worked on the Wyvern it would have been discovered by Flattery or that an ARTIFACT would have no chance of being countered by a mere magic item, or that any way to counter the transformation wasn't mentioned in prior materials/novels, but whatever, contradict yourself it's your Realms Ed.
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 19:39:43
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Your beef should be with Jeff Grubb, not Ed. Jeff plotted the novel, and wrote all the Cat and Giogi onstage scenes (being as Cat is his wife Kate, and he is Giogi).
How do I know this? I attended the GenCon seminar at which Jeff, Ed, Bill Larson, and Karen Boomgarden were all telling us tales of the writing of the book. Those who were there will remember that Jeff came in late, arm in a sling, because he'd fallen on the escalators in the MECCA center, and dislocated something, and Ed introduced him and led a round of applause.
BB |
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1279 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 20:20:16
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| Heh, thanks for that insider info Blueblade! I should have guessed Jeff would write all those scenes with Cat and Giogi, but it still irked me :) I'm going to blame Ed for it and say he had a hand in a re-write of that section. Humor me!! I bow at the feet of Jeff Grubb (and love the Forgotten Realms DC comic he wrote in the late 80s/early 90s too!) |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 20:23:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Highcolor
Well, I found a new copy of the paperback! It took me a trip to 5 bookstores in the Ft. Myers area, but I finally found one at the Borders (and I had a 30% off coupon -- WOOT!).
Why didn't I call before I left you ask? Because that would take the fun out of the search!
Of course, I KNEW Borders had a copy, but I thought there might have been a closer store. Oh well. Have to finish Tantras, but then I'm off to Cormyr (since my copy of Waterdeep hasn't arrived at the store yet!).
I thought Borders went out of business. All of the locations in northern Virginia are closed now. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6662 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:06:11
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He posted that in 2008!
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:27:53
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
He posted that in 2008!
-- George Krashos
LOL! That's what I get for not paying attention. However, shame on whoever forgot to post that they had cast Resurrect Scroll.  |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:48:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Your beef should be with Jeff Grubb, not Ed. Jeff plotted the novel, and wrote all the Cat and Giogi onstage scenes (being as Cat is his wife Kate, and he is Giogi).
How do I know this? I attended the GenCon seminar at which Jeff, Ed, Bill Larson, and Karen Boomgarden were all telling us tales of the writing of the book. Those who were there will remember that Jeff came in late, arm in a sling, because he'd fallen on the escalators in the MECCA center, and dislocated something, and Ed introduced him and led a round of applause.
BB
Wow - blast from the past right there. |
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1279 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2013 : 00:47:50
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| Sorry, I just read the book this weekend and wanted to post my thoughts on it! I didn't know if a new scroll would be appropriate or if I should just post on the existing thread discussing the book! |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2013 : 18:31:26
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| I like the cover art for this book. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Cormyr: the Novel
