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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 17:55:47
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Has anyone else checked out the "Realms Remembered" book review videos on Youtube? Pretty entertaining if you would like a quick review of Realms novels. The narrator is reading all of the Forgotten Realms novels in chronological (Dale Reckoning) order and offering up reviews as he progresses. I think there are currently 26 videos posted.
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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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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 18:22:03
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quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
Has anyone else checked out the "Realms Remembered" book review videos on Youtube? Pretty entertaining if you would like a quick review of Realms novels. The narrator is reading all of the Forgotten Realms novels in chronological (Dale Reckoning) order and offering up reviews as he progresses. I think there are currently 26 videos posted.
Link? |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 19:34:23
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| *The narrator has no qualms about skipping or berating stuff he doesn't like, but the videos are still enjoyable |
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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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 19:36:43
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| Cool thanks. Checking it out now. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 20:24:18
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| Awesome, let me know what you think |
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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LastStand
Learned Scribe
130 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 21:07:35
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| Nice. I'll take a look at them when I get a chance. |
"Don't. The battlegrounds that you and I have returned from alive are too different."
~ Claymore ch106 |
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Thauranil
Master of Realmslore
India
1591 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2012 : 18:25:36
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I liked it. Good stuff and his narration is pretty good. Hard to believe that it has such few views though.
The main problem was that he tends to skip whatever doesn't interest him. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2012 : 20:12:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Thauranil
I liked it. Good stuff and his narration is pretty good. Hard to believe that it has such few views though.
The main problem was that he tends to skip whatever doesn't interest him.
Yeah but you can't blame the guy, i don't force myself to read a book if i am clearly not enjoying it. |
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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LastStand
Learned Scribe
130 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2012 : 22:06:40
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Watched the first 3 so far. The narration is okay, and it's nice to hear his opinions on some of the stuff. Some stuff I completely agree with and others not so much.
Just curious: does he actually ever find any of the books to be 'great'. So far its all been pretty negative... If he says he doesn't like the Twilight War novels or Haunted Land novels then... |
"Don't. The battlegrounds that you and I have returned from alive are too different."
~ Claymore ch106 |
Edited by - LastStand on 17 Jul 2012 22:08:00 |
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Clad In Shadows
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2012 : 22:26:15
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quote:
Originally posted by LastStand
Watched the first 3 so far. The narration is okay, and it's nice to hear his opinions on some of the stuff. Some stuff I completely agree with and others not so much.
Just curious: does he actually ever find any of the books to be 'great'. So far its all been pretty negative... If he says he doesn't like the Twilight War novels or Haunted Land novels then...
Depends on what kind of reader he is. If he's not that into Fantasy or genre fiction, then it would not be surprising. Some Fantasy fans are also not that into shared worlds. |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2012 : 22:40:47
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| If he's going in chronological order and not skipping any novels, it'll be a while before anyone finds out what he thinks of The Twilight War or The Haunted Land. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jul 2012 : 00:22:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
If he's going in chronological order and not skipping any novels, it'll be a while before anyone finds out what he thinks of The Twilight War or The Haunted Land.
Either that, or there's gonna be a whole lotta skippin', whole lotta skippin' goin' on . . .  |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 07:25:27
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Will check it out when I have more...time. Thanks, entreri. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
377 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 07:48:34
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Heard a couple of episodes. Fairly entertaining stuff to be honest, although i dont agree with him on some of his views, i found it..fun  |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 14:06:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Lee Byers
If he's going in chronological order and not skipping any novels, it'll be a while before anyone finds out what he thinks of The Twilight War or The Haunted Land.
I believe he had just started the 3E novels in his latest video. |
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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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 14:07:46
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quote:
Originally posted by LastStand
Watched the first 3 so far. The narration is okay, and it's nice to hear his opinions on some of the stuff. Some stuff I completely agree with and others not so much.
Just curious: does he actually ever find any of the books to be 'great'. So far its all been pretty negative... If he says he doesn't like the Twilight War novels or Haunted Land novels then...
Yes he does enjoy many of the Realms novels. Some that I remember are Elfsong, The Watercourse Trilogy, and Servant of the Shard |
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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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 14:09:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Elfinblade
Heard a couple of episodes. Fairly entertaining stuff to be honest, although i dont agree with him on some of his views, i found it..fun
I agree. His reviews aren't really concrete dissections of the novels, just entertaining blurbs. |
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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LastStand
Learned Scribe
130 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 15:15:49
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Watched a few more. I think I'm up to ep10, or there about. He actually do like novels. Some good stuff said about the Finderstone novels which seems to be the consensus among most FR readers (I really need to read these)
Had a few chuckles from the comments on some of the Drizzt stuff. |
"Don't. The battlegrounds that you and I have returned from alive are too different."
~ Claymore ch106 |
Edited by - LastStand on 19 Jul 2012 15:17:00 |
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zenmichael
Seeker
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2012 : 09:06:18
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Glad to see you guys are enjoying it, somewhat ;) I've had the link to the channel as my sig on here, and commented here & there on things, but I haven't pushed hard to pimp out the channel because I didn't want people to think I was just on the forum for that reason alone.
I've been taking a break because I finished (kind of) 2E up, wanted a breather before starting 3E. I'm currently over halfway through "Return of the Archwizards" and plan to start it all back up pretty soon.
And if anyone's curious, Paul Kemp is pretty much the reason I started giving a damn about the Realms, so I'm pretty excited to get to the Shadow War stuff (before I started this project I'd read Shadow's Witness & the first of the Erevis books -- Midnight's Mask?); Haunted Lands I tried & didn't care for when I tried reading it years ago, but now that I've got the history going into it, I'm excited to give it another shot.
And, yeah, I suppose it's a bit of a cop out to not fully read EVERY SINGLE BOOK, but seriously, if you don't like a book after 30 pages ... what can you say about it? And I always ask for others' opinions & encourage others to leave a response, etc. So I try to be fair in that sense. I've been really curious to see what people on here think of things, since most on here "gets" the larger world in a way I still feel like I don't. (I own both the 3E & 4E sourcebooks, but DAMN they're big ...) |
Realms Remembered: A Chronological Read-Through (DR) of Forgotten Realms Fiction
http://www.youtube.com/rolereviewsal |
Edited by - zenmichael on 19 Aug 2012 18:00:01 |
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Yoss
Learned Scribe
USA
259 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2012 : 12:54:51
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quote:
Originally posted by zenmichael
I started this project I'd read Shadow's Witness & the first of the Cale books -- Midnight's Mask?);
ER...fixed for ya.
And so-cAlled "first novel-itis" be damned, I liked shadow's witness. Actually, I just really enjoyed the entire Sembia series, some of the books more than others (well, probably the only one I didn't really dig was the Tazi one). But lately while reading some of the Harper's ones I have been less than a fan of, I've been feeling quite compelled to re-read most of those novels. |
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zenmichael
Seeker
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2012 : 18:05:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Yoss
quote:
Originally posted by zenmichael
I started this project I'd read Shadow's Witness & the first of the Cale books -- Midnight's Mask?);
ER...fixed for ya.
And so-cAlled "first novel-itis" be damned, I liked shadow's witness. Actually, I just really enjoyed the entire Sembia series, some of the books more than others (well, probably the only one I didn't really dig was the Tazi one). But lately while reading some of the Harper's ones I have been less than a fan of, I've been feeling quite compelled to re-read most of those novels.
There, I changed it myself. Whoops! The perils of posting at 2 AM.
As I say in my review, my ONLY real problem w/Shadow's Witness is that I read it AFTER Twilight Falling. I think TF is a way more refined version of, in many ways, the same novel. which i wouldn't have minded had i read them in order.
So let's see ... a quick search says "Sands of the Soul" is the Tazi book? hm. curious to try veronica w-r, but i know nothing about her. i'm looking forward to dave gross's, since i really dig the stuff he's written for pathfinder. back to female FR authors: anybody know if jessica beaven ever did anything but the short story in "realms of shadow"? i thought that story was incredible. |
Realms Remembered: A Chronological Read-Through (DR) of Forgotten Realms Fiction
http://www.youtube.com/rolereviewsal |
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Yoss
Learned Scribe
USA
259 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2012 : 23:50:32
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Story-wise, narrative-wise I do think the Cale trilogy was much stronger writing. The number of first person-like thoughts Cale has throughout a third person narrative, and the way those were done comes to mind as a slightly off idiosyncrasy that was dropped for all the other books featuring that character. I kind of liked it, and didn't have any problem with that style as a characterization tool, but there was something that sometimes felt a little off about it to me. However, I absolutely loved the way kemp depicted the setting. Selgaunt was just as much a character in that novel as Cale and Riven and Jak. Not being a d&d gamer, and having very little artwork or text book-like descriptions from sourcebooks to cloud my perceptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of the city, and that being the first full novel of the series it was going to form my first impression of the city in any manner (since it was technically the first book, not counting the novella compilation that was the first book, I read set in any part of Sembia), I thought Kemp painted the perfect picture of quite, rather deserted, snow-covered late winter night with evil stuff lurking in a basement. It probably didn't take much imagination from me, since I read the book at night in the New England winter, but probably my favorite part of the entire novel was the feeling the bits about the city itself managed to convey. I felt that it meshed very, very well with the plot line.
Yeah, I disliked Tazi probably the most out of the Uskevern clan, and it just sort of dragged for me. I know nothing of the author, though. I liked Gross' contributions, those two plus Kemp were the highlights in my opinion.
But anwyay, I am clearly going way off topic here. Over to YouTube I go. |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 19:09:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
quote:
Originally posted by Entreri3478
As requested, here is a link for Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw6M_2FPBSM
Thanks for the link btw. :)
OK, so I watched the first video introducing the series. You start off by trashing a bunch of novels that I really enjoyed and seemingly without giving them a full read. I'm not sure I can take any of your other reviews seriously after that. But I'll give a few of them a watch and see how it goes. |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 21:04:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
OK, so I watched the first video introducing the series. You start off by trashing a bunch of novels that I really enjoyed and seemingly without giving them a full read. I'm not sure I can take any of your other reviews seriously after that. But I'll give a few of them a watch and see how it goes.
Just as no novel will appeal to every reviewer, no review will resonate with every reader.
That said, I admire your measured response and your willingness to keep an open mind. This is refreshing and appreciated. It's also the sort of attitude that makes Candlekeep an island of civility. |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 21:50:29
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
OK, so I watched the first video introducing the series. You start off by trashing a bunch of novels that I really enjoyed and seemingly without giving them a full read. I'm not sure I can take any of your other reviews seriously after that. But I'll give a few of them a watch and see how it goes.
Just as no novel will appeal to every reviewer, no review will resonate with every reader.
That said, I admire your measured response and your willingness to keep an open mind. This is refreshing and appreciated. It's also the sort of attitude that makes Candlekeep an island of civility.
Thanks Elaine, I am a firm believer in the "do unto others" ethos.
As for the book reviews, after watching a few I think I narrowed down what exactly where I disagree with the reviewer. He seems to take a strong real world logic point of view to the novels. Everything has to make sense for him to be able to get into the novels. I have always felt with fantasy novels you have to suspend your disbelief a good bit to truly enjoy the novel. If you are trying to apply real world logic for every event in the book you will most likely be disappointed in at least half the novels you read.
Of course this is just my opinion and I applaud his efforts. I think I will continue to watch the videos just to see a different perspective on the novels. |
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
769 Posts |
Posted - 20 Aug 2012 : 22:04:04
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| Oh one other note. The reviewer makes me realize that a lot of the early novels I read when I was a kid and I should probably reread them as an adult. Although I am a little afraid to do that because I don't want to ruin my memories of that time. I'll have to proceed with caution. :D |
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zenmichael
Seeker
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2012 : 00:07:17
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I kind of wish I could replace a video on YouTube rather than having to put in an ENTIRELY NEW LINK & all that. I really wish my episode 2 could be my episode 1, as I think the intro I give there really helps kind of concretize how I am approaching the reviews. I'm glad you at least tried #2 : )
Elaine makes a great point. I think it was Roger Ebert who once said one of the best ways to read movie reviews is to find someone you ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE WITH on EVERYTHING. You'll always know what to go see because they'll say 'don't go see this.' I'm almost certain I have at least a few subscribers who check out my stuff for this reason. 'Oh, he hated X? I'll have to check it out.'
And, of course, I'm not trying to piss anyone off. We all love the Realms (I hope!), but one of the things about the world being SO huge is that people will get into it for different reasons & care about it for different reasons.
And I know what you mean about "proceed with caution." I actually liked Crystal Shard when I read it as a 12-year-old, but ... not so much when doing this read-through. It was frustrating to have that good memory ruined. |
Realms Remembered: A Chronological Read-Through (DR) of Forgotten Realms Fiction
http://www.youtube.com/rolereviewsal |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2012 : 01:16:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
quote:
Originally posted by Entreri3478
As requested, here is a link for Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw6M_2FPBSM
Thanks for the link btw. :)
OK, so I watched the first video introducing the series. You start off by trashing a bunch of novels that I really enjoyed and seemingly without giving them a full read. I'm not sure I can take any of your other reviews seriously after that. But I'll give a few of them a watch and see how it goes.
Just to clarify: I am not the one reviewing the books  |
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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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2012 : 01:19:39
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| Zen, even if Mr Byers' earlier Realms novels don't appeal to you (I had trouble with the Year of Rogue Dragons), give The Haunted Lands a shot. I was wary of the series, given how hard it was for me to get through Dragons. However, his writting style really grows between the two series. |
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
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"Realms Remembered"
