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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 19:49:35
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I am sure this has been asked but I couldn't find it. What non-Wizards/TSR novel has the most realmsian feel or even D&D feel to you?
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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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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3746 Posts |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 20:51:17
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| Guardians of the Flame series... |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 20:53:38
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| The Swords series by Saberhagen... |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 20:56:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Dagnirion
-Lord of the Rings?
well, that one is a tad obvious |
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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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3746 Posts |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 21:17:35
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I believe Michael Stackpole's ONCE A HERO book might well have been a Realms novel, if he and the then-head of TSR's Books Department could have reached agreement on the terms of publishing it.
love to all,
THO |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1727 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 21:47:33
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I'm fairly certain that one could read Fritz Liebers' Lankhmar stories and find a lot of influences that are now in the Realms. Granted, Ningauble and company, perhaps not (unless you make them illithids and replace magic with psionics), but Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would feel right at home in Waterdeep or Suzail....
Steven
a supporter of the classics.... |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2008 : 23:44:21
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I believe Michael Stackpole's ONCE A HERO book might well have been a Realms novel, if he and the then-head of TSR's Books Department could have reached agreement on the terms of publishing it.
love to all,
THO
well, thats an interesting tidbit. I kind of like his Star wars stuff |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 06:31:23
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I believe Michael Stackpole's ONCE A HERO book might well have been a Realms novel, if he and the then-head of TSR's Books Department could have reached agreement on the terms of publishing it.
love to all,
THO
I loved that book! That was one I made a point of replacing as quickly as I could, after the fire... |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 06:33:02
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I believe Michael Stackpole's ONCE A HERO book might well have been a Realms novel, if he and the then-head of TSR's Books Department could have reached agreement on the terms of publishing it.
love to all,
THO
well, thats an interesting tidbit. I kind of like his Star wars stuff
I first discovered Stackpole thru his BattleTech stuff, and his books remain my faves from the series -- there are some other fave BT novels, but the majority are the ones he wrote.
I've only read one of his Star Wars novels, but I very much enjoyed it. One of these days I'll have to track down the Rogue Squadron stuff. |
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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 06:36:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
I'm fairly certain that one could read Fritz Liebers' Lankhmar stories and find a lot of influences that are now in the Realms. Granted, Ningauble and company, perhaps not (unless you make them illithids and replace magic with psionics), but Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would feel right at home in Waterdeep or Suzail....
Steven
a supporter of the classics....
You know, before I discovered the series of tubes, it took me years of prowling my local used book store to build even a mostly-complete set of the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser books. Now, with the internet and (at least some of) them having been republished, I wonder how long it will take to replace them (once I have a regular income again, that is)? I'm thinking it will be like me getting my first copy of FR4 The Magister -- I searched for it for years, discovered eBay, and had it in hand two weeks later. |
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
31799 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 07:30:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I believe Michael Stackpole's ONCE A HERO book might well have been a Realms novel, if he and the then-head of TSR's Books Department could have reached agreement on the terms of publishing it.
love to all,
THO
well, thats an interesting tidbit. I kind of like his Star wars stuff
I first discovered Stackpole thru his BattleTech stuff, and his books remain my faves from the series -- there are some other fave BT novels, but the majority are the ones he wrote.
Heh. No surprises there.
quote:
I've only read one of his Star Wars novels, but I very much enjoyed it. One of these days I'll have to track down the Rogue Squadron stuff.
I'd also recommend Stackpole fans check out his "Rogue Squadron" comics from Dark Horse. They're almost as enjoyable as the novels themselves.
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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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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 13:37:45
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
I'd also recommend Stackpole fans check out his "Rogue Squadron" comics from Dark Horse. They're almost as enjoyable as the novels themselves.
I second that recommendation |
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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zoso1977
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 16:24:40
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I would suggest
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
The Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn
The Riftwar Series by Raymond Feist which is by far my favorite series of books
-David |
We are drifting in blind orbits helpless and alone-Jim Morrison |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3248 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 17:37:36
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quote:
Originally posted by zoso1977
I would suggest
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
The Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn
The Riftwar Series by Raymond Feist which is by far my favorite series of books
-David
While I can quite readily agree on Feist (he's one of my fave authors), I can't agree on The Sword of Shannara. For me, that book suffers from two major flaws.
The first is that when the group is told one person won't make it to the other side of the mountain, but will be the first to find the Sword, this is somehow translated as "One of us is going to die!". I can not see anything approaching logic in that conclusion, yet everyone thought that way. 
The other flaw is that while I did enjoy The Sword of Shannara, it is, in essence, a truncated version of The Lord of the Rings. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Drakul
Senior Scribe
USA
367 Posts |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 18:05:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
[quote]The other flaw is that while I did enjoy The Sword of Shannara, it is, in essence, a truncated version of The Lord of the Rings.
Ø
Well, Brooks did change the characters' names, used a sword instead of a ring, and, you know, used goblins instead of orcs
Seriously, does anyone know if Tolkien's estate is getting a part of the royalties from this one? I can't think of a more obvious rip-off of a previously published work since Vergilius wrote the Aenead. |
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 |
Edited by - Kajehase on 15 Nov 2008 18:05:56 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 19:33:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
[quote]The other flaw is that while I did enjoy The Sword of Shannara, it is, in essence, a truncated version of The Lord of the Rings.
Ø
Well, Brooks did change the characters' names, used a sword instead of a ring, and, you know, used goblins instead of orcs
Seriously, does anyone know if Tolkien's estate is getting a part of the royalties from this one? I can't think of a more obvious rip-off of a previously published work since Vergilius wrote the Aenead.
I think that if you change enough details, it's not something that would require the payment of royalties. And, to be fair, we don't know that Brooks intended to so closely parallel an existing tale -- I think it more likely that it just worked out (thru story evolution, or editing changes, or some combination thereof) to be a quite similar story.
It's like that book Eragon -- I doubt the kid who wrote it did so with the intention of ripping off any existing story. But Eragon is basically Star Wars IV: A New Hope, told as a straight fantasy tale.
Deliberately ripping off a known story has too many problems -- not the least of which is the payment of royalties, like you mentioned. Plus, I can't see any person who hopes to be a successful writer doing so by tweaking someone else's story.
Also, it's been said more than once that it's nearly impossible to tell a truly original tale now, with the vast number that have been told in some form or other.
So all in all, while I will say the stories I mentioned are little more than retellings of more popular tales, I'd say this was more accidental than deliberate, and not an intentional rip-off. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 15 Nov 2008 19:35:27 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 19:40:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Drakul
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
I was never a fan of the Wheel of Time...though it was good; they were just too drawn out for my little amount of time.
Now, something I always DID love from Robert Jordan were his Conan novels...those are worth reading.
Other shorts by R.E. Howard with Conan are good reads too.
I'm really addicted to Conan stories because they have plenty of action, explore a decent fantasy world and don't take a lot of time to read.
Too bad nothing new/good has come out on Conan...and I guess it never will. I did try my hand at some Hyborian Fiction once upon a time though... |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2008 : 19:49:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
[quote]The other flaw is that while I did enjoy The Sword of Shannara, it is, in essence, a truncated version of The Lord of the Rings.
Ø
Well, Brooks did change the characters' names, used a sword instead of a ring, and, you know, used goblins instead of orcs
Seriously, does anyone know if Tolkien's estate is getting a part of the royalties from this one? I can't think of a more obvious rip-off of a previously published work since Vergilius wrote the Aenead.
Shannara wasn't the only type founded on Tolkien's works.
I rather thought Birthright was loosely based upon the Lord of the Rings as well...loosely I should add.
The whole Gorgon's Crown smacked of Mordor to me...
I actually liked the idea of the setting; but it was too small really...and was very hard to see how no major nation had emerged in so many hundreds of years. A whole continent without a single nation bigger than a Duchy just didn't pan out for me...
I should say though that I did like the setting; I just thought it needed some work. Like expanded scale and perhaps a few more powerful nations.
There was one other novel I remember reading about twenty years ago that was almost a true rip-off of Lord of the Rings...but I can't for the life of me remember the title...I tossed the thing in the garbage after about half way through. I barely remember anything about it, but pretty much if you replace Hobbits with swamp dwelling midgets, rangers with swamp running "protectors" and Sauron with a "fell and dark spirit" and then flip the map over from left to right then you can just go ahead and say you have read it so long as you have read Lord of the Rings. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 16:37:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Drakul
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
After book 10 I decided to wait until the series was finished before I would continue reading it. Book 8 was disappointing inasmuch the plot did not seem to move at all, book 9 got my hopes up the the plot would move along, and book 10 squelched all hopes I had of the plot moving along. Neither do I agree that the WoT has a "Realmsian" feel to it. Once a Hero (first mentioned by THO above) definitely has a Realmsian feel to me, and it is one of my favorite novels. I also really enjoy Stackpole's Dark Glory War. And, though it is set in the world of the movie Willow, I really think that Chris Claremont's Chronicles of the Shadow War (i.e. Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star) has a very Realms feel. I have read the first novel at least 13 times. |
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
36877 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 17:48:16
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quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
I also really enjoy Stackpole's Dark Glory War.
Oh, I loved that one! All of the customs with the masks were interesting, too. The rest of the Dragoncrown War Saga was also good. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 18:45:11
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Song of Fire and Ice books by George RR Martin.
The only risk in starting them is the chances go up everyday that he wont be able to finish them! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 23:04:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
I also really enjoy Stackpole's Dark Glory War.
Oh, I loved that one! All of the customs with the masks were interesting, too. The rest of the Dragoncrown War Saga was also good.
I've only just picked up the "Dragoncrown War Saga" from a local bookstore. I'll be reading it, along with a few other long-missed popular fantasy titles over the summer. |
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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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 23:16:54
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| I enjoyed the rest of the Dragoncrown War Saga, just not as much as the first book. |
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
36877 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2008 : 23:17:05
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
I also really enjoy Stackpole's Dark Glory War.
Oh, I loved that one! All of the customs with the masks were interesting, too. The rest of the Dragoncrown War Saga was also good.
I've only just picked up the "Dragoncrown War Saga" from a local bookstore. I'll be reading it, along with a few other long-missed popular fantasy titles over the summer.
I trust you also picked up Dark Glory War? It's a prequel to the Dragoncrown War. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2008 : 15:05:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
Thieves' World: http://www.thievesworld.info/
Good stuff.
which is the best of those books? |
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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Non-Realms Realms Novels
