Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood delves into the kingdoms of Molthune and Nirmathas in the world of Golarion, the setting for the Pathfinder roleplaying game. His protagonists are a fighter/rogue who's been cursed by a stolen wizard's mask - the curse is slowly erasing his face - and a young escaped halfling slave, herself also a rogue. The two run away from authorities in Molthune after a the halfing's escape, only to run into an even more ruthless lordling who sends them to Nirmathas to retrieve a powerful show more magic from the tomb of a wizard. Escapes, battles, traps and a lot of running away dominate the book. Like many of Ed's books, this could benefit from a little LESS action, but its certainly fast paced and exciting. show less

This is the last read for this particular copy. It has been through years of worldwide travel, reading, and more than one flood. (I'm not going to elaborate on that tussle with the geese) So I shall bid a tearful farewell to Shandril, her friends, and my old battered and beloved copy as I take it to the recycle. Don't gasp if your reading this.. it is in no condition to ever be read again... believe me if I didn't recall the missing parts it wouldn't have been readable these last few times. show more =)

I've not read much else in this series - which I understand is very good - but obviously I have enjoyed this trip into the Forgotten Realms. I don't think I can write much about the story without spoiling it. So I will leave it at this, If you have a chance to pick this up and read it - do so. I don't think you will regret a moment spent on this adventure.

please note my affection for this novel stems from my early teen years. I don't apply the same stringent criteria to it as I do other items read as an adult. You have been warned show less

This collection of the first 3 Elminster novels felt like taking a step back in time. I first got into reading fantasy through Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels back in the '90s. But upon reading this I realized that they are not mature novels, but rather simple adventure stories with little time for character growth or depth, which are important for making the reader sympathize with the characters. These novels tell much of the lore or origin stories that made Elminster into the show more character he is (or was, I don't know if he's still around). I am not knowledgeable enough in the lore of the Forgotten Realms but that didn't stop me from enjoying the stories when I was younger, but I feel like these relied a lot on the reader recognizing the famous places, people, and battles that were discussed in the modern timeline. These novels are basically adventure stories, almost like shonen manga, where the character would move from one battle to the next, so it became a bit of a slog to get through, but it was kind of nice to have a bit of "lighter" reading, but I would not re-read this tome. show less

For as long as can be remembered Niflgar -- dark elves -- have been raiding the Blindingbright for slaves. Orivon Firefist was captured as a child of six on one such raid. Many years pass and Orivon has grown to be one of the greatest men at forgework. Harassed and abused by his cruel mistress, Taerune, Orivon bides his time planning his escape. When a rivals attack the city he just may get his chance.

I ended up enjoying Dark Warrior Rising more than I expected. The first 80 pages or so show more layout a lot of groundwork, covering everything from Niflgar society and basic world building, outlining the family and society hierarchy as well as setting up rival religions. We get a taste of dark elves that are both familiar and yet different. It also ends up being an interesting look at just how quickly a few egos can tear a city apart given the opportunity. The names of just about everything took some getting used to though.

At the very end of the novel the author includes an essay tracing the origin of dark elves in mythology, focusing primarily on Norse myths though Celtic also gets a mention, and how it has been translated today. He gives examples from Beowulf to Lord of the Rings to D&D. He also explains how he chose his setting, which is deliberately not true to the myth, and why he wanted to tell his story the way he did.

The main book I would recommend to those that enjoy a good hack and slash, assuming they can make it through the slightly boring set up. The essay is a fantastic read that I would highly recommend to anyone interested on where some of our popular stories originated. show less