Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tancread Nov 04, 2008 9:07:01	I have recently started to play in the Living Forgotten Realms campaign and need some good novels or series to hunt up to catch the flavor of the world. I have read most of the Salvatore Dark Elf series which is what I was pointed at when I started, so other than that what do you recommend? I am aware everything out now takes place before the LFR setting, I am just looking for good books or series of novels rather than just buying books at random. Thanks!
#2 uphendras Nov 04, 2008 10:15:11	Why bother with older novels. They completely re-wrote the history in the new edition. If I was going to use the new system I wouldn't even bother. The designers don't want you to even look at the old back ground history. It didn't matter to them and shouldn't matter to you.
#3 iakhovas Nov 04, 2008 12:11:02	I disagree with Uphendras. I'm a designer and I absolutely want to you dive in and enjoy the rich history of the Forgotten Realms. If you can find them, I recommend the old Harper series of novels for a well rounded sampling of the setting.
#4 tancread Nov 04, 2008 12:14:22	I disagree with Uphendras. I'm a designer and I absolutely want to you dive in and enjoy the rich history of the Forgotten Realms. If you can find them, I recommend the old Harper series of novels for a well rounded sampling of the setting. What was the first, if I can get a title I am sure I can find it and follow the series from there. One of the problems I am having is there are soo many Forgotten Realms books and they don't make it easy to figure out which is which series or which book of a series it is. Thanks for the tip.
#5 Iluvrien Nov 04, 2008 13:31:35	If you can find them, I recommend the old Harper series of novels for a well rounded sampling of the setting. If you can find them is about right. Your best bet, Tancread, is to look for "buy new & used" options on the larger retailers. Why? Because many of the books that describe the Realms in previous editions are no longer in print. To me, Iakhovas, that sends a fairly strong signal about just how much the publishing arm of WotC wants newcomers to pick up these books.
#6 18DELTA Nov 04, 2008 13:41:56	-Check out this link. -Also do you have a Half-Price Book store near you? One can find some real gems in one of those. 18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric) ;)
#7 tancread Nov 04, 2008 14:54:32	-Check out this link. -Also do you have a Half-Price Book store near you? One can find some real gems in one of those. 18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric) ;) Thanks, I hadn't seen that thread, that is a great start.
#8 18DELTA Nov 04, 2008 16:13:43	-Glad I could be of some help. 18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric!) :evillaugh
#9 old_sage Nov 04, 2008 17:46:03	Brian has the right of it. Additionally, I've seen no better answer than this from The Hooded One, one of the players in Ed's campaign:- ". . . I would recommend the following books to get a grounding in the breadth of FR fiction: Ed Greenwood: Spellfire, Elminster: The Making Of A Mage, Elminster's Daughter, Swords of Eveningstar Ed Greenwood & Jeff Grubb: Cormyr A Novel Ed Greenwood & Elaine Cunningham: City of Splendors Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak: Azure Bonds Elaine Cunningham: Elfshadow, Evermeet Bob (R.A.) Salvatore: Homeland lots o' folks: Halls of Stormweather Then I'd stop, take a breather, and consider Paul Kemp's Erevis Cale trilogy and Blackstaff by Steven Schend. Then back to Elaine . . . Then I'd take stock of who I liked, of the above titles, and go from there in reading their other works, each series in order of course (we scribes can help)." ... Swords of Eveningstar, and the rest of Ed's "Knight of Myth Drannor" trilogy, would be my first choice for good background novels, with Spellfire close behind.
#10 rauric Nov 04, 2008 20:38:16	I have found Eds books as a hit or miss thing. So beware there. The one with El in Cormanthyr is pretty good since you learn about Myth Drannor in it. The Finder's Stone Trilogy are very good IMO. They detail places like Cormyr and Westgate and give some ideas on how the Harpers work.
#11 rinonalyrna_fathomlin Nov 04, 2008 21:22:34	*I* recommend anything by Ed Greenwood or Elaine Cunningham.
#12 merrikcale Nov 04, 2008 21:28:36	I disagree with Uphendras. I'm a designer and I absolutely want to you dive in and enjoy the rich history of the Forgotten Realms. If you can find them, I recommend the old Harper series of novels for a well rounded sampling of the setting. I agree that some of the old books, especially the Harper series, are great and well worth the read. However, I agree with Uphendras in that they are virtually useless for 4th edition realms
#13 18DELTA Nov 05, 2008 20:46:52	*I* recommend anything by Ed Greenwood or Elaine Cunningham. -Lord Cyric agrees with thee woman! ;) 18DELTA (Blessed of Cyric!)
#14 merrikcale Nov 06, 2008 21:59:04	while Mr. Greenwood is the father of the Realms and his books are great for lore, I feel he is a poor fiction writer
#15 gabeth Nov 08, 2008 1:56:07	For history, the Avatar Series can't be beat, especially since the tension between characters in those books directly relates to the events that lead up to the current official campaign. It details the events of the Time of Troubles, one of the most important events in Forgotten Realms history. 1. Shadowdale by Scott Ciencin 2. Tantras by Scott Ciencin 3. Waterdeep by Troy Denning 4. Prince of Lies by James Lowder 5. Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad by Troy Denning