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Tierflin and Doum’weille are half-Drow siblings, locked in competition for the ownership of the bloodthirsty sword Khazid’hea—the Cutter! Their father, the Drow renegade Tos’un—a veteran of battles against the Kingdom of Many-Arrows—is forced to choose his heir… but what does the powerful sword have to say on the subject?

The most popular character from the most popular fantasy world of all time comes to life in his first original comic book tale.Drizzt leads this massive thriller into R. A. Salvatore’s next blockbuster novel. Drizzt and his companion Dahlia hunt for something that seems part vampire and part elite dwarven warrior and must find out how the evil lich Valindra Shadowmantle and her minion Korbin Dor'crae factor into the mystery.

From R. A. Salvatore, the legendary creator of Drizzt Do’Urden, comes the start of abrand new epic journey.When Aoleyn loses her parents, she is left to fend for herself among a tribe of vicious barbarians. Bound by rigid traditions, she dreams of escaping to the world beyond her mountain home.The only hope for achieving the kind of freedom she searches for is to learn how to wield the mysterious power used by the tribe’s coven known as the Song of Usgar. Thankfully, Aoleyn may be the strongest witch to have ever lived, but magic comes at price. Not only has her abilities caught the eye of the brutish warlord that leads the tribe, but the demon of the mountain hunts all who wield the Coven’s power, and Aoleyn’s talent has made her a beacon in the night.

War stories from the battlefields of Faerûn!The millennia-old history of Faerûn is punctuated by wars both local and world-spanning. This anthology of all new stories are set against the backdrop of a dozen of those conflicts. From forest elf assassins to jungle-dwelling halflings, from the mighty Seven Sisters to primitive goblins, warriors in every form struggle for their place in the Forgotten Realms world.Realms of War is an anthology of all new war stories from The New York Times best-selling authors R.A. Salvatore, Paul S. Kemp, Elaine Cunningham, and Lisa Smedman; Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood; fan favorites Richard Lee Byers, Mel Odom, Bruce R. Cordell, and Jess Lebow; and talented newcomers Mark Sehestedt, Jaleigh Johnson, and Susan Morris.

1. Venom's Taste: Venom's Taste is the first title in a new trilogy exploring the political intrigues of the yuan-ti race, the details of which have been little explored in previous Forgotten Realms products. Lisa Smedman will be penning the entire trilogy, which will affect many other storylines in the Forgotten Realms setting.2. Viper's Kiss: Viper's Kiss is the second title in a new trilogy exploring the political intrigues of the yuan-ti race, the details of which have been little explored in previous Forgotten Realms products. Lisa Smedman will be penning the entire trilogy, which will affect many other storylines in the Forgotten Realms setting.3. Vanity Brood: Medusanna, A priestess of terrifying power convinces the Se'sehen, A yuan-ti tribe from the distant jungles of Chult to serve her growing cult of Sseth, The merciless god of the serpent people who languishes in the foul plane of Smaragh.Where a trapped and desperate Karell can only hope Arvin will find her before the House of Serpents Finally destroys their last hope for freedom.

What could bring heaven to the depths of hell?Aliisza betrayed her lover, her mentor, and her son in order to try to stop the dark plot to kill the goddess Mystra. She failed. Now the goddess is dead, magic is malfunctioning, and Aliisza and her companions are trapped. Her only hope of escape lies is in convincing the angels and demons she just betrayed to trust her and work together — before they kill each other."The Crystal Mountain" is the climax to an epic tale of Realms-shaking events. A must-have for any true Forgotten Realms(R) fan.

What brings a demon to the gates of heaven?  The half-fiend Kaanyr Vhok finally arrives at the destination he has sacrificed so much to achieve--he is in the heart of Celestia with his lover and consort, the succubus Aliisza. Only to find that the House of the Triad is falling apart, and he is bound by a vengeful Aliisza and a renegade angel into trying to save it--not exactly the goal he had in mind.  The second full-length novel in The Empyrean Odyssey, "The Fractured Sky" continues to follow War of the Spider Queen favorites Aliisza and Kaanyr Vhok as the pair of fiends struggle to escape the heart of a deeply troubled Celestia while bound to a particularly determined angel.

A rising tide of adventure!The sahuagin have brought back an ancient evil to wage war against the surface dwellers. From the murky depths of the Shining Sea rises a prehistoric menace who commands a rising tide of invasion to crash over the shores of Faerun. Iakhovas has plotted for long bitter years to regain the powers that were torn from him by an angry goddess. Oblivious to the growing danger of the undersea civilizations, the surface world is about to awaken to a new horrifying threat from the sea. Award-winning author Mel Odom's Forgotten Realms(R) trilogy is now repackaged as a stunning trade paperback collector's edition. Exploring an area of the Realms few think to tread--the bottom of the ocean--Threat from the Sea takes readers for a ride that's full of high-seas adventure and monster battles.

A sword's steel splintered the weak moonlight, sweeping toward his head.Ah. The old shared-world hack-and-slash adventure fantasy fiction. More specifically: Forgotten Realms. I purchased The Threat from the Sea (way back), on the strength of its cover art. My introduction to fantasy was Tolkien, the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the original Dragonlance Chronicles. When I was younger, I enjoyed shared-world fiction, and Forgotten Realms in particular, because of the potential for immersion. So, I suppose it’s no real surprise that I still, every so often, get a nostalgic kick out of this sort of thing. Also, I’m not as picky as literary critics (self-appointed or otherwise). It’s not like I get paid to force my opinion on others write book reviews, so I have the singular privilege of, well, reading random books purely for the sake of a yarn. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I’m easily sold on fantasy that features interesting or exotic settings. So, to it then:The general consensus seemed to be that he'd gone insane, and everyone knew the gods favored those too stupid to save themselves.Though it isn’t the silliest D&amp;D story I’ve ever read (not even close) it’s pretty representative of this kind of fiction in at least one sense: namely it reads like a B-movie… all plot and not too much characterization. Every situation seems to be an excuse for some sort of confrontation. This isn’t by default a bad thing if you’re looking to read something that’s pretty much action oriented, featuring exotic settings and strange beings, and reads at a fair trot. I also found the use of Sahuagin as the enemy at least somewhat novel, tying in as it does with a big event in the greater Forgotten Realms universe.The action scenes are competently written (often exceptionally so), which is important in a story such as this, in which it takes front and center. In fact, there are sequences that are the literary equivalent of a fireworks show. In small ways that I appreciated, the book illustrates wonderfully how unknown factors, such as the use of magic or alchemy, can change the course of events and battles just so. A large portion of the book deals with the battle for Waterdeep after being attacked from the sea. I probably found this whole sequence more exciting than I had any right to, but I can’t apologise for that.I was partial to the bard Pacys as far as characters were concerned. Jherek initially struck me as too much of a straight arrow trope, albeit an extremely unlucky one, but he eventually grew on me. Events seem to suggest that he is being groomed to become a Paladin, which could be interesting. In the end it’s a fairly typical D&amp;D story with all the expected trimmings, but with the added benefit of some interesting underwater locales and critters, and written very competently to boot. I’m certainly not naïve enough to view this as top shelf fantasy fiction, but for nostalgic value and a nice quick old-school fantasy-buzz it will get you there. If you regularly read and enjoy Forgotten Realms stories, this should be on your list. It’s the first in a trilogy, and I am rather invested in seeing what happens next.In closing: there is also a brobdingnagian albino Kraken in this book, which surely accounts for at least one of the stars awarded.

(I am playing catch up here with my reviews.) Again I will say I got this as part of the omnibook format which is an insanely good price for a lot of good Realms reading. The last in the series this book doesn't disappont. If I could draw a line to represent how well Odom does in increasing the overall setting and plot of the series I would. The setting is extremely interesting and Odom does a magnificient job describing everything for us. The characters are ones I could really identify with, not meaning they are cliche or overdone. No, Odom picks cliche elements and uses them with the most grace and tact in developing characters which are unique and memorable. The series closes well with a lot of anticipation and excitement. I will say, the final battle with Iakhovas was a little bit of a let done. It was interesting, but it seems like it is missing something. Still, I would recommend the whole series to any Realms fan.

There’s certainly nothing subtle about the Forgotten Realms. This is a setting that is unashamedly and overtly fantastical. This kitchen sink approach is arguably its greatest strength or its greatest weakness, depending on who you ask. Of the many sentient cultures and races to be found on Faerun, a good few are aquatic (or at least amphibian). I can’t offhand think of many (if any) story arcs, in Forgotten Realms or Fantasy in general, that focus on aquatic races. As such, the Threat From The Sea trilogy does, at the very least, have some novelty value going for it. This entry follows Rising Tide.[He] sat on an outcropping of rock overlooking the sea elf city of Faenasuor. [He] gave no thought to the two hundred feet of ocean above him, nor to the bluish hue it seemed all the world had taken on. The folk of Seros called all depths between one hundred fifty feet and three hundred feet the Gloom. The Sea of Fallen Stars itself served to stratify civilizations and undersea worlds. A few tall towers, mute testimony to the hubris of the elves of the ancient empire, stood up from the sea floor, rising over the other recovered structures and the new dwellings that had been built. The city sprawled unevenly across the irregular seabed the elves called the Hmur Plateau.The underwater peoples of Faerun feature heavily, as you may imagine: Merfolk, Sahuagin, Sea Elves, Tritons, Morkoths et al. While the previous book dealt with events in the Sea of Swords, this one introduces the Sea of Fallen Stars as an important location. This makes for a fascinating dynamic (it’s landlocked). There are some very cool locales, such as the Sharksbane Wall that keeps the Seros Sahuagin effectively imprisoned in the southeastern arm of the Inner Sea. Often with Forgotten Realms I enjoy the portions of the story dealing with the world at large more than I do the character driven sequences. Before he knew it, he'd started a new song weave. The notes from the struck crystals cut through the water like a knife, pouring out into the sea.As with the previous novel music plays an important part in the story. In keeping with this, the prophecy of the taleweaver and the taker is expanded on.Live, that you may serve.It looks like a foregone conclusion that Jherek Wolf’s-Get is becoming a Paladin. To be honest, I wasn’t too enamored with the whole thread of “Jherek the chosen hero boy” that runs throughout the story. This is, I suppose, par for the course, but it is also where things come undone a bit. It is laid on too thick, and he is remarkably whiny (and has a knack for self-pity).Speaking of characters: Iakhovas is growing on me a lot, even though he is the antagonist (the Taker).For the most part I’m still enjoying the trilogy. This is the second, or bridging, novel and should be taken as such. It’s a story filled with all kinds of craziness and some spectacular fighting sequences. Possessed pirates with red-eyes come standard. 3.5 stars."He's here. The Taker has arrived in the Sea of Fallen Stars!"

The second in a gripping trilogy from R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen author Lisa Smedman.  Viper's Kiss is the second title in a new trilogy exploring the political intrigues of the yuan-ti race, the details of which have been little explored in previous Forgotten Realms products. Lisa Smedman will pen the entire trilogy, which will affect many other storylines in the Forgotten Realms setting.  AUTHOR BIO: Formerly a magazine editor, Lisa Smedman splits her week between working as a reporter/editor at a weekly newspaper and writing fiction. She is a frequent contributor to various science fiction and fantasy magazines, and her most recent credits include authoring Extinction: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book IV, Heirs of Prophecy, and Venom's Taste, and contributing a short story to The Halls of Stormweather.

The first in a new trilogy from R.A. Salvatore's "War of the Spider Queen" author Lisa Smedman. "Venom's Taste" is the first title in a new trilogy exploring the political intrigues of the yuan-ti race, the details of which have been little explored in previous Forgotten Realms products. Lisa Smedman will be penning the entire trilogy, which will affect many other storylines in the Forgotten Realms setting.

Erevis CaleThe loyal servant of the Uskevren family, has a terrible secret.Now, when a ruthless evil is unleashed on Selgaunt, the butler's ties to the underworld may have put the Uskevrens in jeopardy. Erevis must finally prove his loyalty  to the city and to the Uskevrens.He won't get a second chance.

In the 2nd book of the multi-author Sundering series launched by New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, the shadow legacy of Erevis Cale lives on even as his old foe Mephistopheles seeks to stamp it out at any cost. Cale’s son Vasen—unmoored in time by the god Mask—has thus far been shielded from the archdevil’s dark schemes, alone among the servants of the Lord of Light who have raised him since birth. Living in a remote abbey nestled among the Thunder Peaks of Sembia, Vasen is haunted by dreams of his father, trapped in the frozen hell of Cania. He knows the day will come when he must assume his role in the divine drama unfolding across Faerûn. But Vasen knows not what that role should be . . . or whether he is ready to take it on. He only knows what his father tells him in dreams—that he must not fail. Enter Drasek Riven, a former compatriot of Erevis Cale, now near divine and haunted by dreams of his own—he too knows the time to act is near. Shar, the great goddess of darkness, looks to cast her shadow on the world forever. Riven has glimpsed the cycle of night she hopes to complete, and he knows she must be stopped. At the crossroads of divine intrigue and mortal destiny, unlikely heroes unite to thwart the powers of shadow and hell, and the sundering of worlds is set on its course.

If you love spending time in the Forgotten Realms then there is no reason I can think of why you wouldn't love the Erevis Cale Trilogy. Many people in the Forgotten Realms Facebook Group consider this series to be among the best in this crazy magic-filled world. For me what sets The Realms apart from other worlds is its copious amounts of magic - there's a spell for everything and a dweomer for everyone. If you haven't spent time in The Realms you might find all this sorcery a tad indulgent on the part of the writer, but this is not the case - this world just happens to be a bit over-the-top, and for me, it's a perfect fit. I love the wands. And I love traveling between planes. Because this world and its magic system are so established, you have a lot of resources at your fingertips if you get lost or confused - the Forgotten Realms Wiki on Fandom for instance. And the character development does not suffer - I teared up plenty - the friendships were as real and meaningful as anywhere else. The odd-couple pairing of Cale and Riven was well-executed and I will never forget them. They reminded me of Hadrian and Royce from Michael Sullivan's Ryria series - or rather, the other way around because Erevis Cale came first! Kemp is a master storyteller and an adept writer. He seems to always find just the write words and phrases. I found myself looking up words that I had never heard of and yet they always perfectly fit the context. I can see why writers hold him in such high regard - this reader certainly does. And the good news is there's another series with Erevis Cale - The Twighlight War series.

3.0/5If you think this is a 5 star book, you've been reading the wrong fantasy books -- perhaps the wrong books in general.Spoiler: Set your standards higher, please.I understand rating books is subjective. With each book one finishes a person can't help but compare it to their personal reading history. I'm sure your total number of books conquered is different from mine, as is the genre composition of those books. Many Goodreaders rating "Twilight Falling" read HEAVILY D&amp;D Forgotten Realms novels or niche, obscure, pulpy paperbacks. I know this because I checked their profiles to find out what some of them have been reading to better understand people's tastes and the high rating. The overwhelming number of you giving this 5s suggests to me a severe lack of quality and variety in your fiction consumption. I was right, I realized, when I checked your books. Yes, I'm casting judgement, and yes, it is bright in my shiny tower.Having said this, I didn't hate anything about this book. It was good. I'd recommend it to fantasy gluttons, but to someone who just dabbles in fantasy? No. Some things just didn't deliver as well as they could have, and ultimately made me shrug, wince, roll my eyes, or say "oh, well." Some stuff works competently in "Twilight Falling" while other stuff feels like above average fan fiction. Yes, that's a backhanded compliment.If this is the best Forgotten Realms has to offer from the past decade and a half -- as some of you have suggested -- it's no wonder science fiction and fantasy doesn't get respect and is often tucked away in the corners of libraries.Books like this (directly related to tabletop gaming and steeped in years of fictional mythos) has an elitist readership to me -- and strange ones they often are. I got on the SF/F bandwagon late in life, about the age of 24, and I've been made to feel like an outsider by many purists online. How's that for irony: I feel outside from the outsiders. They say I don't "get something" or don't "understand" why their paid-by-the-word, anti-literature books aren't immaculate golden peaches. These books can be fun books, but the vast majority of science fiction and fantasy titles today are rarely award-winners and not always finishable. It's frustrating as someone who genuinely tries to enjoy these books to be frequently stunned by a community going ape-shit for an average as hell book. It stuns me. Confuses me.In the end, you think I'm dumb and should stay away from your precious books and I think you're dumb and are weirder than me (which I thought was impossible). Only one of us can be right.In addition: Many books in series like these -- Forgotten Realms and otherwise -- have no good starting place or jumping on point. I'm often being told, in person or in threads, that there is something else I "should" have read first, and worse, the series "gets really good" in book 3. "Just keep reading," they say, even if you didn't love the first book. Man, I hate that. Don't you respect yourself and your time? Are you a glutton for punishment? What kind of standards do you have that you'd read one or more "okay" books before the story "really comes together and is worth it"? Life is short.Get out of here with your 5 Stars. And please stop reinforcing the stereotypes I've listed above. Speak clearly, don't dress like Harry Dresden, Buy new shoes after two years, learn to read civilization's basic social cues when people are trying to stop you from talking, change up your deodorant once in a while, don't wear red contacts in your eyes and expect people not to react, and for the love of god, don't get mad when someone doesn't understand your funny reference to a game they've never heard of; or don't appreciate the symbol of some "clan" on your T-shirt you bought online. (I've met all these people, at colleges, in libraries, and at Barnes and Nobles.)Don't be an elitist fantasy nerd. Join the world. And from my high tower, I decree the following: please read a better variety.Paul S. Kemp is a take it or leave it fantasy author in a ballpark full of 'em.Man, this review makes me sound like a super dick. But seriously, stop reading R.A. Salvatore.(Or read whatever you want. Fuck it, right? What do I know?)3.0/5MH

The invasion of the arch-wizards is on! The archwizards of Shade Enclave have come out of the desert with a message of peace, and an act of war. Split by petty disputes and causeless feuds, the merchant realm of Sembia is wide open for invasion, and with no shortage of Sembians more than happy to sell out to the Shadovar, can only one man--even if that man is Erevis Cale--do anything to stop it?

The Lady has spoken to me.  It has already begun.  Shadows move out of the shrinking desert, south to the rich and arrogant cities of Sembia.  “Be brave, little man,” says the shadowman, and the boy thinks his voice is surprisingly soft. “Stay with your mother. This will be over soon.”  The shadows swallow him and he is gone.  On the edge of a war that will change the face of Faerûn, the world will find that not all shadows serve Shade.

From the mean streets of Sembia ...Erevis Cale might just seem like just another loyal butler for just another wealthy family in the merchant realm of Sembia, but he has always been a whole lot more than that. When the world itself is threatened, Erevis Cale takes it personally, and takes the fight all the way to the Plane of Shadow.This massive trade paperback omnibus edition collects Twilight Falling, Dawn of Night, and Midnight's Mask into one book.

Nope Nottoday

Empyrean Odyssey

book

threat from the sea

 Venom's Taste

Erevis Cale

It’s a simple thing.Rejected at birth and raised in a village of tiefling misfits, Farideh expects a life without friends, love, or control over her destiny. Then she makes a pact with a devil named Lorcan, and everything changes.You’ll have the power to do as you please.Lorcan promises all she ever dreamed of and asks for nothing in return. Her twin sister Havilar urges Farideh to resist the devil’s sway. But Farideh’s not so sure. Lorcan may be dangerous but the power he offers is exhilarating.Say you’re mine.In the ruins of Neverwinter, Farideh’s doubts get tangled up in a devilish snare six layers deep. A succubus playing human pawns against an otherworldly foe sees the twins as obstacles in her path. And Lorcan’s monstrous sisters have their eyes on the city—and on Farideh. There’s no time to question her pact with Lorcan—it will take every ounce of Farideh’s newfound powers to get out of Neverwinter alive.

The long-awaited finale of SCRIBE award winning-author Erin M. Evans’s riveting Brimstone Angels series, featuring her signature character, Farideh, as she’s caught up in an epic battle of good versus evil, rife with deception and intrigue, where the question is as much who is evil, as how they can be defeated.In the long-awaited finale of her riveting Brimstone Angels series, Erin M. Evans thrusts her signature character Farideh into an epic battle of good versus evil, rife with deception and intrigue, where the question is as much who is evil, as how they can be defeated. The stakes have never been higher, and the fallout will shake the Hells, and through them, the Forgotten Realms.Before Farideh took a devil’s pact, before she was Chosen by the god-king of the Hells, before any of this started, there was Bryseis Kakistos, the original Brimstone Angel, first of Farideh’s line. Now, at the end, there is also Bryseis Kakistos—but this time, instead of helping the king of the Hells achieve godhood, she’s going to kill him. All she needs is a little help from Farideh—which she should, by all accounts, be happy to give. After all, who could object to killing the king of the Hells? Except, it turns out, Farideh. Because as always, things are far more complicated than they seem.

In a direct follow-up to her fourth book in the Brimstone Angels series, Fire in the Blood, Erin M. Evans thrusts her signature character Farideh into a fast-paced murder mystery rife with political intrigue.  In the wake of the war brought on by the Sundering, Farideh’s adopted father Mehen has been called back by the clan that cast him out, and Farideh and Havilar mean to go with him. Just as Mehen confronts the head of his former clan, a clutch of young dragonborn is found in the catacombs, brutally murdered, an infernal summoning circle that looks all-too-familiar to Farideh, nearby.

Mere weeks after escaping Neverwinter, Farideh’s dreams are still haunted by Lorcan, the cambion devil whose power fuels her own. One of only four known descendents of the original Brimstone Angel, Farideh has no regrets about the pact she made with the devil. But no one in the Hells knows that she has a twin—an impulsive eager sister, just waiting to be corrupted. At least as long as Lorcan can keep her secret.Determined to protect her sister, Farideh searches for a ritual that could call Lorcan out of the Hells. But in the midst of her hunt, she’s drawn into an assignment for the secret society the Harpers, an assignment which leads her and a ragtag group of allies to an ancient Netherese library deep underground. While the group combs the site, dodging ghosts and magical traps, Farideh discovers a magical book whose pronouncements throw into question everything she thought she knew about herself and her sister.The more the Book gives up its macabre secrets, the more one thing becomes clear—a traitor lurks among them.

erin m evans

Halisstra Melarn has lived her life in the service of Lolth, every second knowing she would spend her endless afterlife at her godess's side. Serving the capricious whims of a chaotic demon goddess was never easy, but it promised great reward. Now the Spider Queen is gone, and she may never come back. What then? For one priestess, turning her back on teh goddess who abandoned her might be her only way out, her only way to escape oblivion. While Pharaun, Quenthel, Jeggred, Danifae, and Valas search for a way into the burning infinity of the Abyss itself, all the while selling each other cheap, Halisstra and Ryld discover a world where life has value and the shadows are free of assassins. But in an effort to survive, will they lose everything it means to be a dark elf? The simple act of asking that question could bring the entire drow race to teh brink of extinction. The War of the Spider Queen gets personal.

"Danifae Yauntyrr, former battle-captive of House Melarn, has come too far to stop now. She has regained her freedom after years of servitude, but has yet to exact her revenge. Though she has grown in both power and ambition, Danifae still needs to kill Halisstra Melarn. But how can she when she's followed by Quenthel and Pharaun into the heart of Lolth's reformed domain, a hellish world of demonic spiders bent on eating each other, and anything else stupid enough to get in their way - including the chosen vessel of Lolth herself." Halisstra has come to Demonweb Pits with a very different agenda. In her hands she holds the fabled Crescent Blade, a sword she believes will grant her the power to kill the Spider Queen herself - but only if she finds Lolth before the goddess fully completes her mysterious resurrection.

The New York Times best-seller, now in paperback! This paperback edition of the New York Times best-selling title expands the civil upheaval among the drow, one of the most popular races in the Forgotten Realms setting. Best-selling author R.A. Salvatore wrote the prologue toAnnihilation and continues to consult on the series, lending his expertise as the author who brought drow society to the forefront of the Forgotten Realmssetting.

The War of the Spider Queen spreads...A hand-picked team of the most capable drow adventurers begin a perilous journey through the treacherous Underdark, all the while surrounded by the chaos of war. Their path will take them through the very heart of darkness, and the Underdark will be shaken to its core. If the powerful dark elves falter, the world below is open for Insurrection.

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