I have just finished reading the first book of the new Forgotten Realms trilogy, Return of the Archwizards. The book is called The Summoning, by Troy Denning (of Avatar Trilogy and Crucible fame) and it is excellent. Here's the synopsis at the back:

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From the depths of the demiplane of shadow comes a new magic so mysterious it confounds even the Chosen of Mystra.

From beneath the dune seas of Anauroch escapes one of Toril's most powerful and ancient evils - the phaerimm.

From Evereska, the last elven refuge on Faerun, comes word of invasion.

From nowhere appears a group of enigmatic sorcerers determined to destroy the phaerimm and save Evereska...for purposes known only to themselves.
</font>

It is, in a word, excellent. Denning's prose can get a bit muddy at times, but he is in pretty good form here. This trilogy is set in DR 1372 and introduces us to the "new" 3rd Ed world of Faerun.

I won't give too much of the story away as there are several incredible plot twists in this book. The Chosen of Mystra (Khelben Arunsun, Elminster, Laeral, and Storm Silverhand) all make an appearance, as does elven high magic, shadow magic and even the arcane magic of Netheril. You will be pleased to know that Elminster is not quite as munchkinny as Ed Greenwood normally makes him out to be - he's actually very mortal here - or maybe it's just because he (and the other Chosen) are facing some very powerful foes. It's also very heartening to see some of the Seven Sisters in action - there are so few books about them. And also, a much-loved character from Crucible (you can guess WHO!) makes an appearance as well.

Similar to the Avatar Trilogy, all these earthshaking events are set as a backdrop to some pretty intricate relationships between the central characters - a pair of elves from Evereska and some humans from Vaasa, as well as a mysterious archwizard who wields a form of dark magic that has not been seen in Toril since the Shadowed Age of Netheril, over seventeen centuries ago - a form of magic that does not use the Weave. The end of the novel contains a screamer that will have you salivating for the second book (not due out until the end of this year).

Definitely not to be missed.

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[This message has been edited by Memnoch (edited 06-17-2001).]

<font color="white">I have it, but cannot read it until I catch up on all the other books that I have.
I am going in order by release date, and have to read all the old books that I have.
I currently have 31 novels in front of The Summoning.</font> http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/frown.gif


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Witness of the 4,000th post by Cloudposter

Even though I normally don't like Denning books, you've convinced mehttp://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif. I'll go and order it now.
I do hope Dennings gets the background characters right though (unlike the Shadowdale book in the Avatar trilogy).


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ROFL! Start reading, quick! Larry, if you want to find out more about the new state of affairs in Faerun, I strongly suggest you buy the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sourcebook. Even if you don't play PnP (I don't) it is an excellent source of interesting information and you will find it very useful for NWN.

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Which characters did he get wrong in Shadowdale? Also, Denning didn't write Shadowdale (that honour went to Scott Ciencin). Denning wrote Waterdeep. http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

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Just goes to show that sources should be checked before typing starts - I take back my commentshttp://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...es/redface.gif (It's been a quite a while since I read the series).
I will also add that I quite enjoyed Waterdeep (ironically enoughhttp://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif)

WARNING - SPOILER FOR AVATAR TRILOGIES BELOW -
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As for Shadowdale, it was the way that Lord Mourngrym (I think that's how you spell it) and his cohorts acted towards Midnight and Cyric when Elminster disappeared. They automatically assumed he had been murdered, even though he's one of THE most powerful mages in the realms. They also made no attempt at an investigation, instead opting for a Kangaroo Court. Mourngrym is supposed to be good and even handed as are the people of Shadowdale.
Spoiled the book as far as I was concerned, at the time anyway.
Rant overhttp://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif.

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[This message has been edited by dominions (edited 06-18-2001).]

hmmm.,...you gotta point.
I actually never thought of it like that.
Thanks for the post.

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Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club
Witness of the 4,000th post by Cloudposter

Not just that, the way Storm Silverhand is shown as a vengeful, hateful person when she is not that way at all is another one. It was really Storm that pushed that entire trial on with the way she questioned Midnight and Adon.

Don't worry, they all make really good - and mortal - appearances here.

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Hey, Larry_OHF

You might try a hardback book called Forgotten Realms Adventures. I'm not sure if it's still available though. It was my introduction to the Forgotten Realms and 2nd Edition Rules. It's very good.

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[This message has been edited by dominions (edited 06-19-2001).]