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dark_reader's review
2.0
This is the first Forgotten Realms short story collection and TSR's first publication from that line in 1993. These anthologies became a more or less annual event thereafter, each with a different theme. Here we find tales of heroes, most of them established in the few dozen novels (approximately ten trilogies and a handful of others) already published. Overall it is an adequate collection, best suited for exisitng fans of these titles, since most of the heroes were established elsewhere, I think the reader will get more enjoyment from the stories if they are already familiar with the main characters, but in most cases it is not strictly necessary. The afterword is welcome as it provides a glimpse into the work that all of TSR's staff put into making and keeping the Forgotten Realms as a vital, living place to adventure, and provides a concise history of the creation and publication of the Realms for those who are not already well-versed.
Tale by tale comments, in order as presented in the book:
The Lord of Lowhill by Douglas Niles: This story features the halfling Pawldo from the author's Moonshae trilogy, enjoying a side adventure in quest of treasure, with typical halfling avarice barely restrained. The sinister setting of Ketheryll's Palace of Skuls is referenced again in another story in this collection. It's a serviceable but inconsequential story.
Elminster at the Magefair by Ed Greenwood: He created the Forgotten Realms, but I strongly dislike his stories in this setting so far. As such, I approached this story with bias. True to form, Elminster comported himself with his usual undefeatable bluster and unnecessary mystery. Surprisingly, by the end of the story, he has a vulnerable moment. Untimately, I was left wondering, why on earth would a wizard wield a 10- or 12-foot staff? How do you even enter a room with such a thing?
One Last Drink by Christie Golden: I thought at first that this was an original creation, but the reluctant elven vampire Jander Sunstar had appeared in the Ravenloft series of novels already. Regardless, it was a good introduction to this character, who despite his lamentable lot in life is much less whiny than a certain dark elf. One of the more enjoyable stories in this collection.
The Bargain by Elaine Cunningham: Arilyn Moonblade and Danilo Thann were introduced to us in Elfshadow and will be seen again soon (in publication order) in Elfsong and presumably in later books of hers as well. Enjoyment of this story benefits from knowing the characters, I think.
Patronage by David Zeb Cook: This fine story shows us a little of the fate of Koja, the narrator of the excellent Horselords by David Cook, the first part of the Empires trilogy and one of the most literary of all of the Forgotten Realms books (not that that is a high bar, but that book really did strike out of nowhere). If your memory needs a jog, Koja was the pet cleric and scribe taken in by the Tuigan (steppe barbarian) emperor Yamun Khahan, who was ultimately slain at the end of the trilogy (only the first part of which was written by Cook) by King Azoun's forces. It is a comparably engrossing story, notably so given its lack of action, monsters or magic. This was a nice treat to read.
A Virtue by Reflection by Scott Ciencin: Less of a treat was this story by my other least-favorite author in the Forgotten Realms line to date. Myrmeen Lhal, ruler of Arabel, also starred in his terrible novel The Night Parade, so I was expecting the worst. I was mildly surprised then when most of the story was decent, although I don't know about these charismatic Cat Lords. Unfortunately, the ending spoiled any good will. It was convoluted and dependent on the most minor passing characters. Learn some plot structure, man!
King's Tear by Mark Anthony: Finally, an original story, and one of the most enjoyable. This author had a Forgotten Realms novel in the release pipeline for later that year.
The Family Business by James Lowder: Lowder had written two unrelated, Forgotten Realms books at this point, and he mashed together the two main characters from those (Artus Cimber from The Ring of Winter and King Azoun from Crusade (the third part of the Empires trilogy) in this original story by going back to their youths for a chance meeting on the road. The antagonists, magic-twisted dwarf/badgers, were an odd choice but allowed for creative problem-solving and were fitting in this RPG fantasy setting.
Grandfather's Toys by Jean Rabe: Featuring a character that NO ONE was clambering to see more of, Gavin the Surly Druid from Rabe's very so-so Red Magic. After reading this story, I am 95% certain that the author has a parent who is or was a hoarder.
The Curse of Tegea by Troy Denning: This follows up on the Avatar trilogy and fortunately is helmed by the author of the least objectionable part of that series (see Scott Ciencin, above, who penned the rest of it). It was weird, and depended on a specific type of relationship between the gods of the Realms and mortals, which is not consistent seen across the books in this publishing line.
Dark Mirror by R.A. Salvatore: Of course they saved their most popular author for last; it's more likely that his fans will be exposed to more authors before getting to this Drizzt story. If there's one thing that Drizzt needed at this point, it was another reason to be more tortured and brooding. I wonder if Guenhwyvar ever gets a solo story. That would be something I would like to read.
So, this was the first Forgotten Realms book published in 1993, the last book that I finished in 2018 (10:00 PM on December 31st, family was finally all settled down for the night, and I had 70 pages left to go), and my first review posted for 2019. I guess that puts me only 26 years behind schedule.
Have a great year, everybody!
Tale by tale comments, in order as presented in the book:
The Lord of Lowhill by Douglas Niles: This story features the halfling Pawldo from the author's Moonshae trilogy, enjoying a side adventure in quest of treasure, with typical halfling avarice barely restrained. The sinister setting of Ketheryll's Palace of Skuls is referenced again in another story in this collection. It's a serviceable but inconsequential story.
Elminster at the Magefair by Ed Greenwood: He created the Forgotten Realms, but I strongly dislike his stories in this setting so far. As such, I approached this story with bias. True to form, Elminster comported himself with his usual undefeatable bluster and unnecessary mystery. Surprisingly, by the end of the story, he has a vulnerable moment. Untimately, I was left wondering, why on earth would a wizard wield a 10- or 12-foot staff? How do you even enter a room with such a thing?
One Last Drink by Christie Golden: I thought at first that this was an original creation, but the reluctant elven vampire Jander Sunstar had appeared in the Ravenloft series of novels already. Regardless, it was a good introduction to this character, who despite his lamentable lot in life is much less whiny than a certain dark elf. One of the more enjoyable stories in this collection.
The Bargain by Elaine Cunningham: Arilyn Moonblade and Danilo Thann were introduced to us in Elfshadow and will be seen again soon (in publication order) in Elfsong and presumably in later books of hers as well. Enjoyment of this story benefits from knowing the characters, I think.
Patronage by David Zeb Cook: This fine story shows us a little of the fate of Koja, the narrator of the excellent Horselords by David Cook, the first part of the Empires trilogy and one of the most literary of all of the Forgotten Realms books (not that that is a high bar, but that book really did strike out of nowhere). If your memory needs a jog, Koja was the pet cleric and scribe taken in by the Tuigan (steppe barbarian) emperor Yamun Khahan, who was ultimately slain at the end of the trilogy (only the first part of which was written by Cook) by King Azoun's forces. It is a comparably engrossing story, notably so given its lack of action, monsters or magic. This was a nice treat to read.
A Virtue by Reflection by Scott Ciencin: Less of a treat was this story by my other least-favorite author in the Forgotten Realms line to date. Myrmeen Lhal, ruler of Arabel, also starred in his terrible novel The Night Parade, so I was expecting the worst. I was mildly surprised then when most of the story was decent, although I don't know about these charismatic Cat Lords. Unfortunately, the ending spoiled any good will. It was convoluted and dependent on the most minor passing characters. Learn some plot structure, man!
King's Tear by Mark Anthony: Finally, an original story, and one of the most enjoyable. This author had a Forgotten Realms novel in the release pipeline for later that year.
The Family Business by James Lowder: Lowder had written two unrelated, Forgotten Realms books at this point, and he mashed together the two main characters from those (Artus Cimber from The Ring of Winter and King Azoun from Crusade (the third part of the Empires trilogy) in this original story by going back to their youths for a chance meeting on the road. The antagonists, magic-twisted dwarf/badgers, were an odd choice but allowed for creative problem-solving and were fitting in this RPG fantasy setting.
Grandfather's Toys by Jean Rabe: Featuring a character that NO ONE was clambering to see more of, Gavin the Surly Druid from Rabe's very so-so Red Magic. After reading this story, I am 95% certain that the author has a parent who is or was a hoarder.
The Curse of Tegea by Troy Denning: This follows up on the Avatar trilogy and fortunately is helmed by the author of the least objectionable part of that series (see Scott Ciencin, above, who penned the rest of it). It was weird, and depended on a specific type of relationship between the gods of the Realms and mortals, which is not consistent seen across the books in this publishing line.
Dark Mirror by R.A. Salvatore: Of course they saved their most popular author for last; it's more likely that his fans will be exposed to more authors before getting to this Drizzt story. If there's one thing that Drizzt needed at this point, it was another reason to be more tortured and brooding. I wonder if Guenhwyvar ever gets a solo story. That would be something I would like to read.
So, this was the first Forgotten Realms book published in 1993, the last book that I finished in 2018 (10:00 PM on December 31st, family was finally all settled down for the night, and I had 70 pages left to go), and my first review posted for 2019. I guess that puts me only 26 years behind schedule.
Have a great year, everybody!
xterminal's review
4.0
James Lowder, ed., Realms of Valor (TSR, 1993)
Realms of Valor was the first short story collection to showcase the continuing adventures of various well-known personages in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons world of the Forgotten Realms (a second, Realms of Infamy, appeared later). Each of the stories is written by someone who was instrumental in the creation of the original characters, e.g. Scott Ciencin, who wrote parts of the Avatar Trilogy under the name Richard Awlinson, gives us a tale about Adon, the priest from the adventuring party in those books, and Robert Salvatore brings back Drizzt Do'Urden, who's spent time on the New York Times bestseller list on quite a few occasions over the past decade.
The book's probably not a starting point for reading about the Realms, but for those who have a few series' worth under their belts, it's great to see one's old friends again. The stories, in general, live up to the novels that introduced the various characters within. They do so well enough, in fact, that some characters with which the reader might not yet be familiar may inspire the more industrious reader to go looking for the books that the characters came from. Very good stuff. *** ½
Realms of Valor was the first short story collection to showcase the continuing adventures of various well-known personages in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons world of the Forgotten Realms (a second, Realms of Infamy, appeared later). Each of the stories is written by someone who was instrumental in the creation of the original characters, e.g. Scott Ciencin, who wrote parts of the Avatar Trilogy under the name Richard Awlinson, gives us a tale about Adon, the priest from the adventuring party in those books, and Robert Salvatore brings back Drizzt Do'Urden, who's spent time on the New York Times bestseller list on quite a few occasions over the past decade.
The book's probably not a starting point for reading about the Realms, but for those who have a few series' worth under their belts, it's great to see one's old friends again. The stories, in general, live up to the novels that introduced the various characters within. They do so well enough, in fact, that some characters with which the reader might not yet be familiar may inspire the more industrious reader to go looking for the books that the characters came from. Very good stuff. *** ½
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