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XhaoSuma
Acolyte
USA
4 Posts |
 Posted - 05 May 2004 : 01:11:05
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I've been into the Realms for awhile now and I recently bought a friend Neverwinter Nights for his birthday. He's been having a lot of fun with it and he want to start reading the FR novels, so where should he start? I started in a bit of a weird way, reading the novelization of the Baldur's Gate games, reading all kinds of online articles/boards, and then I read the RotA Trilogy. Currently I am reading Silverfall, but I wouldn't have recomended this order for myself, let alone someone new to the Realms save for the above mentioned game. I was thinking either something by Ed (he did create the Realms), or one of the early Drizzt books as I'm gonna start on Homeland once I finish Silverfall. Any suggestions?
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"Tell me of your weapon human, and I'll tell ye of mine"-Dwarven Warrior weilding a double-axe to Leoric Ramsey, (avatar) King of Yawdem |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 03:20:21
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| I'd recommend Elaine Cunningham's books, meself, especially the Songs & Swords series. |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 04:40:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I'd recommend Elaine Cunningham's books, meself, especially the Songs & Swords series.
Listen to what the wookie, I mean the Wooly said....Elaine Cunningham's series is the one to start with.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 06:27:52
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Listen to what the wookie, I mean the Wooly said....Elaine Cunningham's series is the one to start with.
Wookie? Don't make me plague you with swarms of Miniature Giant Space Hamsters!   |
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Winterfox
Senior Scribe
895 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 09:07:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Listen to what the wookie, I mean the Wooly said....Elaine Cunningham's series is the one to start with.
Wookie? Don't make me plague you with swarms of Miniature Giant Space Hamsters!
But Wookies are so cute and huggable!
Oh... and I third the recommendation. Elaine Cunningham's the way to go. |
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 09:56:43
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Yup, Elaine's books are a great intro.
I had to give a crash course to a player by having him start out with the Time of Troubles stuff. I don't recommend this route, but he was playing a cleric affected by those goings on and I figured he should get it out of the way early.
Sarta |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 17:22:50
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The Songs and Swords books are much better as an introduction to the Realms than any other, I think. Spellfire introduces a lot of Big Names, Elminster: Making of a Mage gives some history, and the Drizzt books are the longest subseries, but even though the characters of Elfshadow stay in the same region, I think it has the most Realmsian flavor to it. 
(Boy, I hope my English professors never see that sentence.  ) |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
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Israfel666
Acolyte
Italy
37 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 18:19:20
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| I suggest having him stay away from Salvatore and Greenwood novels, at least at the beginning. I've got the impression that, among Realms authors, those two in particular tend to be either beloved or hated by those who read them - should your friend find himself among the haters, he would run the risk of getting his whole experience of Faerűnian novels ruined ("I won't read any more of this FR CRAP!"). |
Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus. |
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Kameron M. Franklin
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 19:16:15
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| I think the Rogue series would also be a good place to start. Each novel stands alone and takes place in a different region of the Realms. That would give your friend a big picture overview while maintaining the individual flavor of "playing" in the Realms. |
"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |
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dbassingthwaite
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
64 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 19:50:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Kameron M. Franklin
I think the Rogue series would also be a good place to start.
Heartily endorsed!! 
Don |
Don Bassingthwaite
www.sff.net/people/dbassing |
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Chyron
Learned Scribe
Hong Kong
279 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2004 : 10:09:37
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For myself, I started off with the Curse of the Azure Bonds series, simply because I had played through the old Gold Box series of games and I could easily relate to the characters and locations.... I had tried the Moonshae series early on, but could not really relate to those areas and did not finish the series at that time.
So I find familiar grounds are usually a good place to start. It is too bad that the Neverwinter book was cancelled; else your friend could start there. So, I would further support the decision to go with the Song and Swords quintet.
I enjoy the works of most of the realms authors, but I would hold off on Mr. Greenwoods works until he has a better grasp of realms lore. I personally think his books are fine but they do deal more with ‘epic’ characters, and all the spellfire flinging and super charged combats should be the exception and not the rule. As such it might give the wrong impression to someone new to the realms.
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Just My Thoughts
Chyron :)
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2004 : 13:08:04
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I came through Tangled Webs, and I didn't actually do too badly.(What's the problem with the cover, anyway? I like the original!)
However, it really didn't come together until the 3e FRCS for me-all of the second FR supplement I ever got...
A possible idea-throw one(1) Drizzt novel at him(The Crystal Shard is best, because it was written to be introductory...). If he likes it, that's fine. If he doesn't, throw Elminster: The Making of a Mage at him-not any of the other El novels-and place a very big, flashing, warning sign over Elminster in Hell. Not something someone new should read... |
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Alexander Heppe
Seeker
Germany
62 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2004 : 15:29:03
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I´d suggest novels that I´ve come to call "mosaic"books, because they feature a lot of different characters, religions, regions and power groups, giving you a short overview of the realms. As such, I´d vote for the avatar-trilogy, the azure bonds, the Arilyn and Danilo novels by EC, the harpers. Definitely a good starting point would be the Sembia series. It is more "fresh", and generally well written.
After that, delve into whatever you want, but do not miss the works of the CREATOR(Ed!) |
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Lina
Senior Scribe
Australia
469 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2004 : 10:19:34
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| If your friend can handle reading stories that spread over more than one book, then I recommend the Sembia Series and The Cleric Quintet is another good one to start off with. Otherwise you could start on some of the stand alone novels like those in the Harpers Series. The early works of Elaine Cunningham and Ed Greenwood might be something your friend might enjoy. |
“Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows! Buried in the flow of time. In thy great name. I pledge myself to darkness. All the fools who stand in our way shall be destroyed…by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!!!”
"Thieves? Ah, such an ugly word... look upon them as the most honest sort of merchant."
-Oglar the Thieflord |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2004 : 17:58:03
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Of course, with most of the books publshed during the 2e era, you'll have to make sure you explain the Time of Troubles to him. Though I'm not up to date with the most recent novels, most of them have casual references to that event. I couldn't figure out what they were all talking about until after the Drizzt books covered it. It was a short point, but it gave me an idea of what happened.
Then, of course, I figured out what the Avatar trilogy was about. |
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