Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 canadaman87 Jan 29, 2010 6:53:29	There are many, many D&D-based novels out there; I can't seem to find any decent reviews or recommendations on them though. Are there any sites that offer information or reviews on D&D books? Better still, does anyone here have personal recommendations on any of these novels?
#2 ViolenceJack Jan 29, 2010 7:48:54	Avoid them like the plague. All of them. Seriously, I love reading, and like to think myself a fairly literate guy. Life is short. There are much better novels to read out there. I love playing D&D, and I love reading. Basing D&D off novels is great, but basing novels off D&D has not, in my experience, led to good novels that are worth reading.
#3 Escef Jan 29, 2010 8:09:46	Most D&D based novels are diposable sword and sorcery tales. Read them for the entertainment value. I find it strange that people who have few problems watching the drivel on TV or some of the more foolish crap at the cineplex will poo-poo D&D based novels. I think that perhaps the best D&D based novel I've ever read was Vampire of the Mists. I believe it's out of print, but you may be able to find it in a used book store or on an auction site.
#4 zombie_babies Jan 29, 2010 8:50:41	Yeah, if you're lookin' for good literature, you're barkin' up the wrong tree.  Actually, it's not even a tree you're barkin' up.  It's not even the same species.  It's like a totally different and worse ... It's not what I consider a good read, is what I'm getting at, I guess.  That said, I have read some of the stuff back in the day.  I did enjoy the Drizzt stuff - mostly the older crap - and also the Moonshae trilogy.  Not bad if ya just wanna kill some time readin' ok stuff.  So I would, and do recommend those to those interested in D&D books.  Also try some of the older Dragonlance stuff (with Sturm, Tass, etc).  I never bothered, but most of my friends absolutely love that series.  Fantasy ain't my bag, but I have read some stuff.  IMO, if it's fantasy you're after and you're not concerned whether or not it's D&D, there's better stuff to be had.  Feist wrote some really cool books about a schlub named Pug (don't worry, he changes his name to Malimber or something at some point).  Anyhoo, they're worth a read if you like this stuff.
#5 Dougan_Axehammer Jan 29, 2010 13:22:20	I can't say that I'm a well read fantasy reader, but of the fantasy that I have read: no, D&D novels are not the best.  They are good for a quick, relaxing read, but they are simple storylines with simple plots (I liken them to young reader fantasy for those who like to read.)  Of the ones that I've read, R.A. Salvatore isn't too bad, and Douglas Niles was fun, but The Iron Throne from the Birthright setting was my favorite.  It is about the last king of Cerilia and how he became so.  It was a fantastic read (by D&D standards) and really brought out the feel of the setting.
#6 boraxe Jan 29, 2010 14:23:58	Keep on the Borderlands by Ru Emerson is one of the top (bottom?) three worst books I have ever read in my life. I'd rather eat the maggots out of a dead dog's ass than ever again read even a single page of that pile of putrescent garbage.
#7 Escef Jan 29, 2010 14:33:15	Keep on the Borderlands by Ru Emerson is one of the top (bottom?) three worst books I have ever read in my life. I'd rather eat the maggots out of a dead dog's ass than ever again read even a single page of that pile of putrescent garbage. You should watch some of the Angry Video Game Nerd's reviews. I think you two have similar taste in curses.
#8 Cpt_Micha Jan 29, 2010 17:05:15	If he thinks that's bad he should read any novel by C.S Goto. Especially Eldar novels. D&D books, I try to stay away from them. I auto think Drizzt when I think D&D books so that's probably why.
#9 canadaman87 Jan 30, 2010 0:55:57	Ha, wow. Well thanks for the info, guys - I had no idea.
#10 idhriniel Jan 30, 2010 8:35:42	I personally prefer the older Drizzt novels to the newer ones - the end of The Ghost King was a bit sloppy for my taste. But he did a nice job with the Icewind Dale trilogy...although I enjoy reading through and catching typos that the editor's missed. Dragonlance is good if you read the right books, like The Theives' Guild by Jeff Crook. I think that's outta print, too (even though I have two copies, hehe). The original Chronicles is good too - read them in 3rd-4th grade. Legends...not so much. Sucks that Raistlin got power-hungry...
#11 saint_matthew Jan 31, 2010 12:57:38	Ok, so some, if not most of the D&D novels are pure drivel. However its easy to dismiss them all as crap without high lighting the good novels, after all crap novels are not restricted to being published by WotC. There are in fact a few good stand-out example of really good writing executed well. Here are my top 5 1. The City of Ravens (by Richard Baker) A good example of a lovable rogue. A liar, a thief, a murderer & our reluctant hero. He may be Ravenbluffs only chance of survival, god help us 2. Bound by Iron (by Ebward Bolme) One of the Inquisitives Set, published for the 3.5 Eberron Setting. An Ex-Paladin & a morally ambigious Chroniceler team up with a newly freed warforged to solve a murder. Quickly the entire case spirals out of control as things become a lot more comlicated then they first appeared. 3. Heirs of Ash Series (by Rich Wulf) The Ultimate Eberron series i would have to put these on the list somewhere so i'll add it as one novel. Not a solid start (the writer struggles to find his voice), at least for the first chapter or two, but quickly becomes a great read, without getting bogged down in the setting to much. The entire plot revolves around a group of mismatched characters aboard a skyship, trying to stop the completion of a doomsday weapon by a mad man set to destroy the known world. 4. Oath of Nerull (by T.H Lain) This was an early attempt at a pulp D&D novel utilizing the iconic characters & an easily recognised plot format. Suprisingly it turns out that this particular entry into a otherwise bland series was actually pretty good. Its a little campy & kind of cartoonish, but it isn't hampered in any way by being a D&D novel. It has everything a good "BFFN" needs. Some flawed reluctant heroes, some funny NPC's, some big bad evil guy with horrible personal habits (in this case a penchant for eye eating) & a prophercy. All delivered in 180 pages. 5. Swordmage (by Richard Baker) Last but not least the first of the 4E novels. Now i may not be a 4E fan, but this doesn't stop this book being pretty alright. If you ever needed a novel to base a "hometown heroes" game on this would be the book to read. Two adventurers turned small business men have come home only to find that everything is not right in town & its time to get back to ones roots. Honourable mentions go to "Knights of the Silver-Dragon" series, which is a great introduction to the fantasy genre for young kids. I've purchased them in the hopes of one day having my own kids to read them to. -M
#12 brianusa Jan 31, 2010 14:47:28	Y'know... I never read any of those publications. I was too busy with auto hobby magazines, I think. I started to read a little more Clive Barker in the late 90's, but it wasn't for the homosexual element, because Anne Rice never appealed to me. It was Clive's descriptions of the astral plane, I think. Anyway, the books to come later were non-fiction, almost exclusively.  I read Moorc'cks Elric series when I was younger, plus Lovecraft's Cthulu (c is silent) , then maybe a few autobographies of rock bands the last ten years.  Those are probably half fiction anyway (except Chuck Berry). But fantasy, hmmm... Tolkien, now it's 3.5 D&D... That Dragonlance movie cartoon was watchable, if it wasn't so laudable for the Odin-Paladine character...which kinda sent my head a reelin'...because Paladin is a Fighter class in the rules, so I was like... ...well, scoffing a little at the writers there.  I waste my time with cinema these days, I think.  Books are worth collecting though, they retain value in this type of economy.
#13 idhriniel Feb 01, 2010 13:27:32	Y'know... I never read any of those publications. I was too busy with auto hobby magazines, I think. I started to read a little more Clive Barker in the late 90's, but it wasn't for the homosexual element, because Anne Rice never appealed to me. It was Clive's descriptions of the astral plane, I think. Anyway, the books to come later were non-fiction, almost exclusively.  I read Moorc'cks Elric series when I was younger, plus Lovecraft's Cthulu (c is silent) , then maybe a few autobographies of rock bands the last ten years.  Those are probably half fiction anyway (except Chuck Berry). But fantasy, hmmm... Tolkien, now it's 3.5 D&D... That Dragonlance movie cartoon was watchable, if it wasn't so laudable for the Odin-Paladine character...which kinda sent my head a reelin'...because Paladin is a Fighter class in the rules, so I was like... ...well, scoffing a little at the writers there.  I waste my time with cinema these days, I think.  Books are worth collecting though, they retain value in this type of economy. Paladine, in the Dragonlance universe, is a god that we in the FR world know as Bahamut (The Platinum Dragon). Paladin is the class.
#14 entreri- Feb 04, 2010 10:57:38	Anything written by R.A. Salvatore is fantastic! Drizzt is a bit of a bitch though, lol. I find myself liking the villains more.
#15 modern_iconoclast Feb 04, 2010 11:33:40	Keeping in mind that these novels are for pure entertainement (I kind of compare them to TV shows or mainstream Movies, in that it's good for the eye but you won't be changed on a personnal level by anything in it really). That being said, I've enjoyed Paul Kemp's novels and the adventures of Erevis Cale. I find something in James Lowder's style that keep me interested also, I liked his novels featuring Lord Soth in Ravenloft. Drizzt, well you love or hate the guy. I guess I'm one of the few that he leaves indifferent. I read most, some I liked, and some I though was too whinny. I've read the latest Drizzt novels mainly to read on what happened in that universe after the dreaded spellplague.
#16 saint_matthew Feb 04, 2010 12:14:18	Anything written by R.A. Salvatore is fantastic! Drizzt is a bit of a bitch though, lol. I find myself liking the villains more. Yeah, i'm not a huge fan of Salvatore, but i'm not a fan of Greenwoods writings either. Both seem to me to be to much of a genre piece... they're trying to hard to write a BFFN, rather then write an interesting story. Then again my preference for fantasy novels has always been something a little more situated in reality. I prefer my characters to have some emotion & life outside of mindless killing... so the exact opposite of a D&D game *huge cheeky grin*. I prefer something closer to the Briar King by Greg Keyes. Keyes is not a D&D author but he did get my attention through D&D. Keyes wrote a bunch of short stories in Dragon Magazine back in the day about a barbarian called "Fool Wolf" who had a demon spirit trapped within his "Mansion of Bone." I actually really loved Pual Kidds greyhawk stuff, regardless of how bad the story is, the character interaction is to die for & the naughty sexual jokes he somehow slipped in there are so funny that they will make you explode with unintentional laughter. I remember at one point the pixie in the story sees Llolth naked (taking a bath in the blood of her enemies) an says something like, "Wow, she really is a blonde" or something to that effect. Seriously read these if you can because they are so irreverant. -M
#17 MechaPilot Feb 04, 2010 22:12:33	I don't know if you can still find them, but the Ravenloft novels produced by TSR were fantastic.  I personally own 8 of them, and I still reread some of them from time to time.