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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Aug 2005 : 01:40:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I could live with 30-35 dollars thats about the same price as I'd pay for a regular Non WOTC Hardcover at a book store. 50 (and now 60) bucks is absurd
If it makes you feel any better, it's a HUGE book! I don't have it yet but I did see it in the store but was unable to purchase it at the time. It's very thick, thicker than Evermeet:Island of Elves, I believe. Can anyone confirm the page count?
I'm very excited about this book. For those who have read it\are reading it, what are your views so far?
476 pages. I got to 175 last night because it's a good tale. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2005 : 02:01:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I could live with 30-35 dollars thats about the same price as I'd pay for a regular Non WOTC Hardcover at a book store. 50 (and now 60) bucks is absurd
I've thankfully never paid $50 to $60 for an FR hardcover (which made the successive purchases of the six WotSQ books that much easier on the ol' coin purse  ). But if I didn't have access to the discount that I do, I'd have some difficultly justifying a purchase of a book at this price even considering my love for the Realms.
This is especially more so now, given the birth of little Narna.
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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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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2005 : 02:12:38
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I could live with 30-35 dollars thats about the same price as I'd pay for a regular Non WOTC Hardcover at a book store. 50 (and now 60) bucks is absurd
I've thankfully never paid $50 to $60 for an FR hardcover (which made the successive purchases of the six WotSQ books that much easier on the ol' coin purse ). But if I didn't have access to the discount that I do, I'd have some difficultly justifying a purchase of a book at this price even considering my love for the Realms.
This is especially more so now, given the birth of little Narna.
No you'd just do what I do and buy all your realmslore from Amazon
Around the 5 years ago I did a check of my old Amazon invoices to see much money Id spent at the store it worked out at around 2000 US Dollars Im willing to bet that Ive spent at least that or more since then. |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2005 : 03:08:34
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I just pay it. Usually, I'm lucky to see the thing in my gaming store so I snap it up and shell out the $. For a hardcover from Ed AND Elaine, I don't think twice.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 06:28:55
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| Very good book Ed and Elaine. :) Congrats. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 07:17:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Since we've been ignoring you. :) Yes, mine does have a large top margin.
Thanks. :)
Glad it's not just me. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 08:14:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Very good book Ed and Elaine. :) Congrats.
Well met
Care to elaborate, Kuje? 
No. :) Shrug, hard to elaborate. It was a good tale of Waterdeep. It has love, action, death, Elaith, and others.
One question that I don't think got answered though was what happened to the father of the two daughters? :) They never seemed to find him...... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 13:25:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
One question that I don't think got answered though was what happened to the father of the two daughters? :) They never seemed to find him......
Oh, he's around. People like that tend to live into extreme old age, and get more cantankerous with each passing year.
Glad you enjoyed the book. It IS a bit hard to sum up in 50 or fewer words, isn't it? I've been doing a bunch of radio interviews, and I find that when I'm asked, "Tell us about the book," I spend more time talking about the setting than the actual plot of the story. For one thing, most hosts (and I would assume, most listeners) aren't familiar with the Forgotten Realms, for another, the single most important "character" in this book is probably the city itself. |
Edited by - ElaineCunningham on 25 Aug 2005 13:30:04 |
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 13:39:13
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quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Since we've been ignoring you. :) Yes, mine does have a large top margin.
Thanks. :)
Glad it's not just me.
I was wondering about that, myself. To my eye, it would have looked better to have the title and author info at the TOP of the page. Another puzzlement was the blank pages between chapters--prime storytelling real estate going to waste. Ed had to cut nearly 14,000 words, and he could have squeezed quite a few of them onto those blank pages.  |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 14:53:14
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
Ed had to cut nearly 14,000 words, and he could have squeezed quite a few of them onto those blank pages.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that  .
Ed, could you possibly tell us which sections of your writing for CoS were cut?
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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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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 16:17:05
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
Ed had to cut nearly 14,000 words, and he could have squeezed quite a few of them onto those blank pages.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that .
Ed, could you possibly tell us which sections of your writing for CoS were cut?
It wasn't a matter of specifically cutting "Ed's sections;" Ed did the final pass, trimming bits and pieces here and there throughout the book--dialogue tightened up, description pared down or omitted, and so on. A few scenes were omitted entirely, such as short "reaction scenes" meant to give voice to Waterdhavians from various walks of life, and the folk story mentioned in chapter one (the first story in DEEP WATERS, the book of hero tales Taeros was writing for young King Azoun) was originally included but removed in the final cut.
This was NOT a matter of over-writing. The book was contracted at 140-150,000 words, and our first draft went in at the high side of that range. At the revision stage, the editor said we could go as high as 160,000, so we did: the revised ms was about 159,000 words. After the revision went in, the editor wanted one more pass to make the book sound more consistant stylistically--he could still tell who wrote which sections--and cut about 14,000 words. That task fell to Ed. The changes to word count added a LOT more work to the process, but I think it came out okay in the end. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2005 : 17:32:29
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
One question that I don't think got answered though was what happened to the father of the two daughters? :) They never seemed to find him......
Oh, he's around. People like that tend to live into extreme old age, and get more cantankerous with each passing year.
Glad you enjoyed the book. It IS a bit hard to sum up in 50 or fewer words, isn't it? I've been doing a bunch of radio interviews, and I find that when I'm asked, "Tell us about the book," I spend more time talking about the setting than the actual plot of the story. For one thing, most hosts (and I would assume, most listeners) aren't familiar with the Forgotten Realms, for another, the single most important "character" in this book is probably the city itself.
Ah, so he's not dead then, that's all I wanted to know.
And yeah it's hard to sum up that novel in a few words because there was so much going on within it. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2005 : 17:24:45
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I'm reading it and it's the first time I read something on the "warrens" that "ward" with "small folks". Is it the first reference on it? Or was it mentioned in another novel but not in any Fr product?
Thanks. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2005 : 17:52:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
I'm reading it and it's the first time I read something on the "warrens" that "ward" with "small folks". Is it the first reference on it? Or was it mentioned in another novel but not in any Fr product?
Thanks.
Page 104 of City of Splendors: Waterdeep. It's in the Dock Ward. |
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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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2005 : 23:37:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Very good book Ed and Elaine. :) Congrats.
Well met
Care to elaborate, Kuje?
No. :) Shrug, hard to elaborate. It was a good tale of Waterdeep. It has love, action, death, Elaith, and others.
One question that I don't think got answered though was what happened to the father of the two daughters? :) They never seemed to find him......
Aye, you better not give away any spoilers here, Master Kuje, unless ye wish to fact the wrath of an old scribe (with a specialization in quill pen) 
Seriously, as soon as this book arrives at my local store, I may have to think twice about paying my rent |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2005 : 23:42:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
Aye, you better not give away any spoilers here, Master Kuje, unless ye wish to fact the wrath of an old scribe (with a specialization in quill pen)
Seriously, as soon as this book arrives at my local store, I may have to think twice about paying my rent
I tried not to, which is why I didn't ask to many pointed questions yet and the 2 I did ask really don't spoil anything. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2005 : 23:43:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Page 104 of City of Splendors: Waterdeep. It's in the Dock Ward.
Ok, a little bit of lore I jumped over while reading this marvelous book, but.. it's a bit thin, it seems to me that it was put there because the author knew that this "secret" ward would get attention in the upcoming novel ;) No ?
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 03:19:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Page 104 of City of Splendors: Waterdeep. It's in the Dock Ward.
Ok, a little bit of lore I jumped over while reading this marvelous book, but.. it's a bit thin, it seems to me that it was put there because the author knew that this "secret" ward would get attention in the upcoming novel ;) No ?
Maybe, maybe not. The sourcebook was a bit thin on a lot of areas. Certainly I can say I don't recall hearing of this area before; but there's always the possibility that it's been part of Ed's Realms for a while now and only recently found its way into print. |
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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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 03:46:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Maybe, maybe not. The sourcebook was a bit thin on a lot of areas.
Yeah.. like for example : Hey guys, there's a new Umberlee temple in the harbor.. the lords? They don't seem to bother.. and that's all about it 
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
... but there's always the possibility that it's been part of Ed's Realms for a while now and only recently found its way into print.
Yeah, that sounds right, we'll have to try to get more about it in his thread |
Edited by - Skeptic on 28 Aug 2005 03:47:38 |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2005 : 14:46:30
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quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham
quote:
Originally posted by SirUrza
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Since we've been ignoring you. :) Yes, mine does have a large top margin.
Thanks. :)
Glad it's not just me.
I was wondering about that, myself. To my eye, it would have looked better to have the title and author info at the TOP of the page. Another puzzlement was the blank pages between chapters--prime storytelling real estate going to waste. Ed had to cut nearly 14,000 words, and he could have squeezed quite a few of them onto those blank pages.
*grumbles*
14,000 words and all this blank space. It's like whoever laid out the Waterdeep novel... wait I'm sorry, City of Splendors, it's not the Waterdeep novel, was spacing the book to be put in one of the TSR sized hardcovers.
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"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2005 : 17:23:08
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Well, I've got my copy!
Picked it up just after work this afternoon. So I've got my reading set for the next few days.
I just got mine on Thursday or Friday, and I've been busy, so I've hardly had any time to read it.  |
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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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 03:06:48
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So, I must live in a daft area... just to be sure it isn't user error, is the book hard or soft back?
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 03:15:45
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I'm about one hundred pages in now. And let me just say that this novel is everything I've come to expect from Ed and Elaine... and MORE! There's the little things as well, that have made this book a pleasure to read so far.
Certain phrases... and words indicative of specific Realms elements. They're so integrated into the story that you feel apart of the action that is taking place on the page. I love the Realmslore tidbits dropped here and there, and Waterdeep provides the perfect backdrop for the plot unraveling so far. You really get the felling that this is such a "rich" city (culturally), with plenty of history. It almost makes me feel like I am learning about Waterdeep for the first time... all over again!
Ed and Elaine weave an incredible tale. I can't wait to see what else is to come .
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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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 03:17:06
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
So, I must live in a daft area... just to be sure it isn't user error, is the book hard or soft back?
C-Fb
'Tis a hardback novel .
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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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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 20:06:46
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Well met
I received my copy of The City of Splendors this morn, and would like to personally thank Elaine and Ed for the dedication to Candlekeep within the book. I was surprised at hearing of this, and to read it for myself was a very happy moment. It is indeed an honor to receive such a dedication in such a splendid and high-profile novel. Many thanks for this
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Elaine for the very kind gesture in sending a personalized tome to me, and for the kind words written within. Something I will treasure forevermore 
Now, without further delay, I will allow ye all to return to thy studies...for I have some research to do and Realmslore to catch up on... regarding the City of Splendors |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author
2396 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 21:10:59
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| My pleasure, Alaundo. I'd hoped to send a copy signed by both authors, but alas, I was not able to attend GenCon this year! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2005 : 23:09:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
Well met
I received my copy of The City of Splendors this morn, and would like to personally thank Elaine and Ed for the dedication to Candlekeep within the book. I was surprised at hearing of this, and to read it for myself was a very happy moment. It is indeed an honor to receive such a dedication in such a splendid and high-profile novel. Many thanks for this
I should like to echo this. 'Twas a grand honor to this site and its many dedicated scribes. |
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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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2005 : 17:26:01
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Yup! Seeing the Candlekeep name up in lights is fantastic. Makes me all the more proud to be a part of this community
I'm reading the book at the moment and am hooked!!! If anyone has yet to start the book, then just read the prologue, it's fantastic. Straight away, it's BLAM! Like that opening scene of an blockbuster movie. Further through the prologue are other varied scenes which give a variety of flavor. A great start, and I pretty much guarentee you wont be able to stop at just the prologue
SPOILERS BELOW (highlight to read)
As I said, I thought the opening scene was great! Harking back to the days from The Threat from the Sea was very nice and made it seem all the more a shocking event.
I loved also the scene with the portal travel from Candlekeep, the sudden shock and disorientation of trying to pass through with the familiar. Excellent! Felt like i was there!
Now the tavern scene really got me! I was getting angrier and angrier whilst reading as the scene unfolded. I could almost feel my hand reading down to the hilt of my sword.
Wonderful writing and a fantastic book so far. I'll post more comments soon.
Quick question for Ed and Elaine - How did you go about writing the book? Did you write specific chapters\characters individually? (I believe this is how Cormyr:A Novel was written, as I could feel the difference in Ed and Jeff's styles between present and past chapters of the book). I think I can tell a slighter difference here too, but aren't 100% sure. It must be quite difficult to co-write a book. Is there a particular method of doing so? |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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City of Splendors: A Novel of Waterdeep
