Quote from: DefNotAnInsiderNopeNoWay on October 11, 2021, 09:28:28 AM

Quote from: Shasarak on October 10, 2021, 09:22:50 PM

Quote from: dkabq on October 10, 2021, 05:37:31 PM

Quote from: Slambo on October 10, 2021, 05:30:11 PM

Quote from: Aglondir on October 09, 2021, 08:46:22 PM

Quote from: ChrisFox on October 09, 2021, 11:29:03 AM
Reading about Drizzt ...

What's the best book for the Drizzt saga? There is a large selection, and I don't want to pick a mediocre book.

Just read Elric instead

Or Corum.

Or Harry Potter

Y'all need Terry Pratchett and it shows.

We all need Terry Pratchet.  RIP 😢

Quote from: DM_Curt on October 11, 2021, 09:38:29 AM
Or Steven Brust, starting with "Jhereg".

Can confirm.   

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 11, 2021, 10:21:57 AM
How about Eddings? He wasn't that bad.

I read Eddings. Not bad, but I prefer swords-and-sorcery/Appendix N over High Fantasy. YMMV.

You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 08:13:15 AM

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

The Unwilling Warlord is the other book at the top of the Ethshar stories. LWE doesn't have the most developed characters, but the world building, scope of history, and twists on magic are interesting.

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:05:31 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 08:13:15 AM

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

The Unwilling Warlord is the other book at the top of the Ethshar stories. LWE doesn't have the most developed characters, but the world building, scope of history, and twists on magic are interesting.

I'm thinking about adapting aspects of the otherdimensional castle from With A Single Spell for use in my 5E game, once my players gain a few more levels. 'Yes, we will sell you this castle, dirt cheap... no backsies though.'

And the castle is infested with spriggans (or some other appropriate critter), the unseen servants are obnoxious, and there may be an invasion looming. Just another day at the office for adventurers, right?

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 09:08:50 AM

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:05:31 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 08:13:15 AM

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

The Unwilling Warlord is the other book at the top of the Ethshar stories. LWE doesn't have the most developed characters, but the world building, scope of history, and twists on magic are interesting.

I'm thinking about adapting aspects of the otherdimensional castle from With A Single Spell for use in my 5E game, once my players gain a few more levels. 'Yes, we will sell you this castle, dirt cheap... no backsies though.'

And the castle is infested with spriggans (or some other appropriate critter), the unseen servants are obnoxious, and there may be an invasion looming. Just another day at the office for adventurers, right?

Not the spellbook?

A lot of the Eshthar stories remind me of giving a PC a vorpal sword or other immensely powerful magic items at first level, and seeing how the campaign plays out.

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:30:43 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 09:08:50 AM

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:05:31 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 08:13:15 AM

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

The Unwilling Warlord is the other book at the top of the Ethshar stories. LWE doesn't have the most developed characters, but the world building, scope of history, and twists on magic are interesting.

I'm thinking about adapting aspects of the otherdimensional castle from With A Single Spell for use in my 5E game, once my players gain a few more levels. 'Yes, we will sell you this castle, dirt cheap... no backsies though.'

And the castle is infested with spriggans (or some other appropriate critter), the unseen servants are obnoxious, and there may be an invasion looming. Just another day at the office for adventurers, right?

Not the spellbook?

A lot of the Eshthar stories remind me of giving a PC a vorpal sword or other immensely powerful magic items at first level, and seeing how the campaign plays out.

The problem is that most D&D magic items (outside of artifacts) don't usually have tangible complications that make up for their powers.

My party currently has possession of a very powerful magical item. The problem is (a) they don't even know they have it, and (b) they'd need to figure out how to use it first (although just carrying it around would be a good benefit).

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 10:17:22 AM

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:30:43 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 09:08:50 AM

Quote from: Pat on October 12, 2021, 09:05:31 AM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on October 12, 2021, 08:13:15 AM

Quote from: palaeomerus on October 12, 2021, 02:29:08 AM
You might like Lawrence Watt Evans

Oooh, good call. I consider With A Single Spell to be right up there in terms of  good fantasy yarns.

The Unwilling Warlord is the other book at the top of the Ethshar stories. LWE doesn't have the most developed characters, but the world building, scope of history, and twists on magic are interesting.

I'm thinking about adapting aspects of the otherdimensional castle from With A Single Spell for use in my 5E game, once my players gain a few more levels. 'Yes, we will sell you this castle, dirt cheap... no backsies though.'

And the castle is infested with spriggans (or some other appropriate critter), the unseen servants are obnoxious, and there may be an invasion looming. Just another day at the office for adventurers, right?

Not the spellbook?

A lot of the Eshthar stories remind me of giving a PC a vorpal sword or other immensely powerful magic items at first level, and seeing how the campaign plays out.

The problem is that most D&D magic items (outside of artifacts) don't usually have tangible complications that make up for their powers.

My party currently has possession of a very powerful magical item. The problem is (a) they don't even know they have it, and (b) they'd need to figure out how to use it first (although just carrying it around would be a good benefit).

The spellbook from A Single Spell doesn't have any real complications, but the sword in the Misenchanted Sword definitely does. And the spriggan mirror is a self-inflicted wound.

D&D never really did the enduring magic items with complications well. It's more into serendipity and magic item churn. But still, I've always liked the idea. Tie the item to an individual, give a serious boost and downsides right from the start, and let additional features slowly be revealed.

Better to read the initial Salvatore, Eddings, Feist, Brust, etc. of the suggestions above, then decide.  They all have one thing in common--the early books are mostly better than the later books.  Brust has the least fall-off and writes in two completely different styles in different series.  Feist has a very slow fall-off, and the "Nakor" character almost makes up for it.  Eddings wrote the same series 5 times, with each one worse than the last (with a few key exception in the initial Sparhawk trilogy).  I read Salvatore way past the point where I should have quit, and can confirm that it never turns around.

Eddings you pretty much read for the characters. The story is pablum.  If you like the characters, it's worth the ride.  Brust is the only talented writer in the bunch.  Feist is workman-like and knows how to put together a plot--a skill not to be despised compared to most current fantasy writers.

Pratchett is better than all of them, but also not the same kind of stories.  Certainly should read him.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on October 12, 2021, 11:02:57 AM
Pratchett is better than all of them, but also not the same kind of stories.  Certainly should read him.

Maybe not at the surface, there's much more humor at the surface, but at their core Pratchett's work touches on the timeless things in ways few modern authors can.

I highly recommend Reaper Man, Small Gods, any of the Watch books, all things Rincewind and The Last Hero (the art is as fantastic as the story). All of it is great, but those particularly stand out.

Quote from: Chris24601 on October 12, 2021, 11:33:13 AM

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on October 12, 2021, 11:02:57 AM
Pratchett is better than all of them, but also not the same kind of stories.  Certainly should read him.

Maybe not at the surface, there's much more humor at the surface, but at their core Pratchett's work touches on the timeless things in ways few modern authors can.

I highly recommend Reaper Man, Small Gods, any of the Watch books, all things Rincewind and The Last Hero (the art is as fantastic as the story). All of it is great, but those particularly stand out.

Oh, I agree.  I was being deliberately vague with "not the same kind of stories" because I think the reasons why I say that are a discussion all by themselves.  You've touched on some of it already.  I'm partial any scenes with Death and Susan and the Ludwig von Moist stories myself, but there is something worth talking about in all of them.

Brust has an element of that, but 1.) he got uneven in the middle, kind of lost his way on the story, and 2.) he hasn't finished the Taltos cycle yet, and may not.  Kind of disappointing to start it and not know where it goes.  The last one was the best one he's done in awhile.  So I hold out hope that he'll wind it up with a bang. 

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on October 12, 2021, 11:02:57 AM
Better to read the initial Salvatore, Eddings, Feist, Brust, etc. of the suggestions above, then decide.  They all have one thing in common--the early books are mostly better than the later books.  Brust has the least fall-off and writes in two completely different styles in different series.  Feist has a very slow fall-off, and the "Nakor" character almost makes up for it.  Eddings wrote the same series 5 times, with each one worse than the last (with a few key exception in the initial Sparhawk trilogy).  I read Salvatore way past the point where I should have quit, and can confirm that it never turns around.

Eddings you pretty much read for the characters. The story is pablum.  If you like the characters, it's worth the ride.  Brust is the only talented writer in the bunch.  Feist is workman-like and knows how to put together a plot--a skill not to be despised compared to most current fantasy writers.

Pratchett is better than all of them, but also not the same kind of stories.  Certainly should read him.

I agree with all of this.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on October 12, 2021, 11:02:57 AM
Better to read the initial Salvatore, Eddings, Feist, Brust, etc. of the suggestions above, then decide.  They all have one thing in common--the early books are mostly better than the later books.  Brust has the least fall-off and writes in two completely different styles in different series.  Feist has a very slow fall-off, and the "Nakor" character almost makes up for it.  Eddings wrote the same series 5 times, with each one worse than the last (with a few key exception in the initial Sparhawk trilogy).  I read Salvatore way past the point where I should have quit, and can confirm that it never turns around.

Eddings you pretty much read for the characters. The story is pablum.  If you like the characters, it's worth the ride.  Brust is the only talented writer in the bunch.  Feist is workman-like and knows how to put together a plot--a skill not to be despised compared to most current fantasy writers.

Pratchett is better than all of them, but also not the same kind of stories.  Certainly should read him.

Greetings!

Excellent observations, Steve. I agree. I always thought that Feist, Edddings, Salvatore, Brust--were all pretty decent authors. I never quite understood the ocean of hate and derision for them as writers.

However, I must have read the first three or four books from each of them.

I can't really explain why I didn't keep up with reading further books written by them--I somehow just got involved in reading other stuff. I probably got even more into reading Non-Fiction History books, and kind of left off from reading Fantasy Fiction.

I always enjoyed David Gemmel, Harry Turtledove, Bernard Cornwell, and Jack Whyte, as well. As you may know from such authors, they definitely have a more historical style than the earlier group--more history, war, religion, politics, and drama, and less fantasy and magic for sure.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK