Books like Cormyr

There are some good forgotten realms books, and some bad forgotten realms books. The same can be said of the writings of Ed Greenwood. On both counts, this was a solid one.This first novel in The Cormyr Saga chronicles the history of the Kingdom of Cormyr, and tells the story of the poisoning of King Azoun IV. There are two narratives in this novel. The first is a Edward Rutherford style series of vignettes which highlights important moments in Cormyr's history. The second narrative is a mystery involving the poisoning of the King, and the court intrigues that tale place subsequent. I'd honestly like more epic fantasies to use this technique, it gives you the history of the world, while telling a compelling story.All the characters are classic Greenwood. there are thrilling dancehall girls, foolishly imperious nobles, and mysterious wizards. There's nowhere near enough character development, but I suspected that there wouldn't be. Greenwood rarely gives his characters enough flesh, but at least in this case the main characters are well known from other Forgotten realms books that preceded this one.I'm looking forward to the next book, Beyond The High Road, by Troy Denning, an author I'm much more fond of in the Realms in particular, and Sword and Sorcery in general.