Wizard Books

I have read other articles by Alan Poyner, but nothing can compare with having so much of his writing in one handy place. When ever I need a pick me up and a laugh, all I have to do is read a chapter and I'm set.
Luv ya Alan!!!!!!!!! Keep up the good work. I'm ready for the next one!

Very nice reading for anytime, especially if a few chuckles are needed. I liked the short story layout, and it made for a great read whenever I wanted to smile. I would recommend this to anyone who likes humor delivered in a delightfully dry yet enjoyable manner! Good reading for all ages. Where is Volume II?

lots of humor and altogether enjoyable reading. I prarticur enjoyed the chapter where the moose stalked school kids on their way to the bus stop

I happen to be the author of this book, and I can assure you that it is NOT out of print. If you have an interest in Alaska, and like to laugh, this book is for you. It is a compilation of humor columns I have written for the Alaskan paper "The Peninsula Clarion." Most of the material appeared between 1991 and 1993, and pertains to the humorous side of living in Alaska. If Amazon won't order it for you, contact OMM Books, P.O. Box 7397, Nikiski, AK 99635

I grew up next door to Jim and moved away many years ago but reading the book from thousands of miles away brought back a flood of memories of Jim and his family who were all so kind and patient. This book should give hope and encouragement to families with children of any physical or mental challenge. There are lessons to be learned about the amazing things that can be accomplished by extremely loving and talented people with disabilities. If you haven't read this book and are thinking about it, you won't be disappointed. Mary really brings Jim's life into a light that mostly only "locals" were able to appreciate. It is a testament to his parent's love as well. The definition of family can be found here.

This is a truly inspring tale of a family that not only homesteaded in Alaska, but raised a child with Down's Syndrome with little help from anyone else. The Haakensons had 6 other children, but managed to raise them all, including Jim with Down's Syndrome, to be contributing citizens with strong Christian values. The book was written by their daughter, Mary, after Jim died in 2001. This is a book anyone should read, and especially anyone with a Down's child in their family.

Beside being a wonderful account of the life of Jim Haakenson and his family, this book sets the reader into the lives of homesteaders in Alaska and their unique lifestyle. It leaves one in awe of what these folks accomplished in their daily life as well as the raising of Jim into a very capable employee, and responsible adult who was well known and loved in the community.
Jim is a rich character and fun to read about. This is a well written, very interesting book, and definitely encouraging to any family raising a child with these kind of challenges.

This book was recommended by our daughter, mother of a Downs son, who knows the author. I expected to read a knowledgable, thoughtfully written book -- what I hadn't expected was top-grade writing, humor and a wonderful witness to family acceptance and faith. A truly inspiring story.

First I will preface my remarks by saying I have not played AD&D since around 1991. Although I am aware of the developments since then, I have never chosen to move to the new systems and feed the publisher's coffers.

One of Gygax's last major contributions to TSR, Oriental Adventures details the oriental adaptation of the 1st Edition AD&D rules (post Unearthed Arcana). This is a fantastic game and a fantastic system, although those of us coming to the genre anew might find it intimidating. Essentially this details some of the classic warrior archetypes in Asia (Bushi - soldiers, Kensai - weapon specialists, Samurai - honour-bound warriors) wizard archetype (Wu Jen) etc... Ninja is not an independent class, but a secondary class that some archetypes can have (similar to multi-classing).

There are four races, one which is like an Oriental version of Dwarves, one which are effectively shapechangers, and the three branches of part-human "Spirit folk", and lastly, humans.

Gygax lays out a couple more layers to the normal AD&D experience - honour system and class / caste system, and adds in martial arts for a full Oriental experience. The spell lists from the Player's Handbook are adapted to the Orient, and many stay roughly equivalent.

This book was criticised at the time for mixing different oriental cultures / archetypes into one book. In response to that - this is fantasy. There is enough interesting variants in here to give an Eastern flavor to any campaign. If you are interested in this area you can also pick up fairly cheaply some of the Rokugan books (published by L5R and easily adaptable to this rule set - although written for 3rd ed d20 system, or vice-versa).

However, this is a very good value book now available cheaply second hand. Buy it (and the other 8 or so original titles) because these books are full of imagination. Despite all the years of fixes within second, third, 3.5 and 4th editions, I still prefer these original texts. Buy them while they are still available.

The only fault in this book is that it is written in archaic 1st Edition D&D rules, which is not that easily adapted to 3.5. But this book is worth a translation, because it is far superior to its modern counterpart.

The rules for new races & classes (including ninja and kensai) are much better presented. The martial arts system is a munchkin's dream (It's pathetically easy for anyone to start doing 3d10 punches), but unlike it's 3e successor, its rich in flavor and easy to advance in a far more logical manner. The Wu Jen have never been done as well since this edition, and they have many great spells in the book. As an added bonus, they used a new setting for OA, instead of retrofitting everything to Rokugan, which severely crippled the 3e book.

A must have for any RPG collection.

This book is fantastic, and adds so much depth to the campaign. It has everything you need to run an Oriental Adventure, or make characters in an oriental setting. TSR has yet to duplicate in any other book the remarkebly well balanced rules of this book. For example, the Ninja in Oriental Adventures is more inetersting, better devolped, and more enjoyable to paly with only a few pages of coverage than anything in the 2nd edition complete book of Ninjas. IF you can find it, buy it, you will not regret it. The only drawbacks are that A) the book is out of print, and B) AD&D is moving to 3rd edition, and Oriental Adventures exists solely as a 1st edition book, so the rule converstaion may or may not proove difficult.

Here it is, the most coveted AD&D hardcover in existence - not only for its rarity, but for the excellence of its rules! Here, you get 128 pages of how to play ninjas, samurai, wu-jen, and more; the elaborate Honor system, oriental magic, and the unique monsters and treasures of Kara-Tur, all in one beautiful reference! The golden age of the 1st edition game, here in one volume.

"The Oz Factors" pulls back the curtain of misinformation and deceit carefully concealing the vested interests of the "great and powerful" of western civilization. What you have been taught about western history, science, archaeology and spirituality have been twisted, distorted and concealed from view to serve the self-serving lies and fears of wizards and witches.
Learn how to think for yourself. You don't have to be the victim of the "oz factors" any longer. Read this book.

You probably think it's a good thing to question assumptions. Well if a book helps to to discover assumptions that you forgot you were assuming, you might call that a revelation. I for one enjoy a good revelation. This book is full of them, and wasn't that the real story of the Wizard of OZ? I knew there was something about that movie.....

The compelling thesis of 'The Oz Factors' is that Mankind can responsibly guarantee the greatest of futures if he is willing to challenge the most cherished perceptions of his past. The author is a skillful iconoclast who opens the reader to possibilities that are novel and insightful. The book is a "must read", a visionary milestone.

This is an incredible book that will open your eyes to the real history of mankind, the current precarious conditions of our world's ecology, economy, and social structures under the influence of the powerful and oppresive vested interests, and the propaganda machines they control and use so well.

I could not put this book down as Lawrence Spencer gave me a history lesson unlike any I ever had before. And even as I was being amazed by this tapestry of the history and development of the educational, medical, pharmaceutical, banking, government and military organizations of our world, it was the combined impact of their effects on our planetary environment, the health, sanity, and freedom of all beings that changed my viewpoint forever. I was so shocked that it took this book to draw back the curtains of illusion and make the truth so evident that I had to admit to an old, nagging apprehension that things were not quite as they appeared or were being "officially" presented to be.

The author's humor and wit kept me glued to this story, and the analogy of "The Wizard of Oz" to these frightening mysteries of life made the vast scope of this work magically comprehensible. He even exposes the simplicity of how to handle our information overload so that we can actually see and determine for ourselves just what is actaully going on "in the merry old land of Oz" so we can act to help create a meaningful future on this planet. I foresee this book as a major motivation for increased global awareness and social responsibility that will rejuvenate our hopes for the future generations with positive and effective actions taken now.

Queen Ferris by S.C. Butler is the second book of the new young adult fantasy series, The Stoneways Trilogy.

Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris have grown to adulthood, and are capable of ruling the land or detroying it. Ferris is wooed by the prince Brizen, whose father (might or might not have) usurped the reign of the kingdoms of Banking and Wayland from Reiffen when he was a babe. Avender patrols the border, guarding the kingdom against the three evil wizards who are about to unleash a war from the north.

Reiffen voluntary returned to the Wizards at the end of Reiffen's Choice; he now serves the wizards. Is he ensorceled or turned traitor? Does it matter? If he leads theWizards' armies, only his death will save the lives of the people of the land. Or so the powerful and wise declare.

But the years have not weakened the friendship between Avender, Ferris, and Reiffen. What do their hearts tell them about Reiffen? What will they do when he, because of love and friendship, willingly gives himself into their power?

I enjoyed Queen Ferris even more than Reiffen's Choice, which is saying a lot. Mr. Butler used the power of description in Reiffen's Choice to anchor the reader in the land. He drives Queen Ferris forward with the power of characterization, for Reiffen, Avender, and Ferris have grown to adulthood.



Everybody always wants to be something they're not," said Ferris. "I'm sure I'd love to be a princess."
Brizen's foot scuffed closer across the brown needles. With a bit of a shock, Ferris realized what she'd said.
"You can be a princess a lot easier than I can not be a prince," he told her.
"I don't love you, Brizen," she replied, trying to recover what she hadn't even known she might let slip.
"I know." He sighed quietly and looked at his empty hands.


In Reiffen's Choice, Mr. Butler hints at a new creation mythos. In Queen Ferris, he develops the creation story more fully. I enjoyed seeing how the story lines arose from and were driven by his creation mythos. Imagining the beginning of a new world that is so different from our own is quite a feat. To logically carry the creation mythos forward so that the story is internally consistent is amazing.

With this volume, Reiffen and Ferris's story is nearly complete. I'm looking forward to the third volume to see how Avender's story comes to completion.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Reiffen's Choice, S.C. Butler's first book of the Stoneways Trilogy, I was thrilled to discover that Queen Ferris, the second book, stands up just as well. The characters age into young adults in this sequel, which takes place over several years, and become more complex as they move through their world and develop other relationships. In addition to the dark deeds and challenges Reiffen experiences as part of the frightening world of the wizards, Butler layers on the emotional entanglements of family and friends, self-doubts and struggles that are common to all young adults. Once again, Butler balances the dark evil and cruelty of the wizards and their minions with a dose of humor, compassion, nobility and warmth from other characters. Butler's descriptions of the characters and their surroundings are so incredibly detailed and precise, you may begin to wonder if this is really fiction or if he actually lived among the dwarfs in Issinlough, was a captive in Ussene, or spent time in Valing observing the habits of shape-shifting bears. He describes not only the scene of the current adventure but has imagined a whole mythology for the creation of his world. This is a terrific series. While I look forward to reading book three, I dread the end of the Stoneways Trilogy and not being able to follow the further adventures of the characters I have come to love.

Everyone who loved Reiffen's Choice - rejoice, for Queen Ferris is here!

As is to be expected, the second book in the Stoneways Trilogy delivers adventure and humor. What readers of the first book may not have expected is that this one also packs a good solid dose of romance. The children have grown up, they are now young adults with young-adult concerns, and everything has become more complicated than it was when they were children together in Valing.

Ferris in particular gets her chance to shine, as she has to juggle loyalties and friendships, balancing the demands of her heart against the demands of her position in society.

Redburr is back, bigger (and funnier) than ever, and a few new characters add depth and realism to this story of magic and its terrible cost.

In this book, the consequences of Reiffen's Choice first become apparent, as everyone in the story has to find a way to live with the decision he made. Don't miss this trilogy, and keep an eye open for the third book next year. This is the best book I've read all year. Absolutely a keeper!

After the escapades with the three powerful wizards who gave him the selection between being their puppet or being their puppet because they planned to put him on the thrones of Wayland and Banking (see REIFFEN'S CHOICE). However Reiffen endured their abduction until he was rescued, but also knows for him to survive and keep the thrones that are rightfully his, he must face the enemy in their lair and find a way to defeat them. Thus, he decides to leave the comfort of friends Avender and Ferris and his mom to return to the malevolent wizards' home in Ussene. There he hopes to persuade them that his time with them has turned him to the dark.

However, the wizards did not become so powerful by being stupid. They demand Reiffen prove his conversion by performing some ugly tasks. He reluctantly agrees to misuse his power to perform nasty deeds although he fears his inner soul will become tainted forever.

Whereas the first book of the Stoneway's saga was more a coming of age tale starring a twelve years old sheltered boy, the second book is more a morality play that is relevant in the world today. Reiffen justifies his behavior of performing evil deeds as a means to achieve a worthy end. His choices are much more complex and potentially hurtful to others than he had to face in the previous tale as for the most part only he was directly impacted. Thus Reiffen is even a more complicated protagonist leading fans of all ages to enjoy his latest adventures.

Harriet Klausner

Seeds of Vision is a great book filled with short stories about vampires, dragons, witches and wizards, evil statues from other worlds, nasty little children messing around with the wrong magic for the wrong reasons, twisted priests, Gods of all kinds, and our favorite, good conquering evil!!!

I also love this book for the moral of every story,don't mess with magic you don't understand. It only gets you into trouble or worse, makes you evil and will eventually kill you!!! I believe, correct if I'm wrong, curiousity did kill the cat!!! I hope you enjoy his stories as much as I did and will continue to do so as long as Mr. Fesmire continues to write!!!

This is an anthology of short Fantasy stories, made much like the ones compiled by Marion Zimmer Bradley. They mainly involve magic spells, and some are better than others. But I found it to be very well written and highly entertaining!

A great book for fantasy lovers to curl up with and enjoy.

Jonathan Fesmire masterfully weaves together many elements in his book of short stories, Seeds of Vision, and frequently with large doses of humor. After finishing most of the imaginative tales, I found myself thinking, "That's pretty clever." Furthermore, Fesmire's thorough knowledge of both modern and ancient Eclectic Wiccan and Pagan practices is apparent in many parts of this anthology. Moreover, the surprising twists and turns kept me guessing up until the end of most of the tales. Fesmire's writing reaches a vast audience as well, for stories like "Chasing Down Charlie" and "Brotherly Curse" will appeal to children, while teaching good moral lessons at the same time. However, a more mature audience will appreciate stories dealing with suicide and rape such as "Signs of a Witch" and "The Missing Half of Irian." Finally, I would be remiss as a writer of vampire tales myself not to mention "Heather's Family." In this unique short story the trials and tribulations of a vampire family are visited.

G.L. Giles, author of The Vampire Vignettes and V2:B4 (The Vampire Vignettes Prequel)
[..]

Sometimes, fantasy can become a bit monotonous. In fictional worlds where magic exists and everyone has amazing powers and the line between "good" and "evil" is always razor sharp... well, perfection gets tedious after awhile. That may just be why Fesmire's work is so refreshing; in the stories of Seeds Of Vision nobody's perfect and not all wizards are created equal.

The first story in the collection seems tailor-made for Tales From The Darkside or Amazing Stories. Laurence, a young man with too much time on his hands and far more money than he needs, and his best friend, Miranda, give magic a try and find themselves in over their heads. Miranda is a feisty woman who thinks on her feet, and is an extremely appealing character. Picture "Her Likeness" on the screen and see what I mean.

For a truly chilling villain, turn to "Mud Puppies." Herman Underwood is one of the most disturbing sociopaths to come along in quite awhile, and he just gets more horrifying as the story progresses. As much as I loathe pit bulls, I wouldn't wish Herman on a dog. Come to think of it, maybe they are perfect for each other.

"The Missing Half Of Irian" introduces Fesmire's intriguing concept of "duals." Irian and Oanya, you'll find, have a lot in common, especially when you consider the fact that they inhabit a single body. Of course, you wouldn't know it was the same body, unless they let the secret slip. This one body shape-shifts from a male to a female, depending on which person is in control. Oanya is the one in the dress and the missing half. Both are in danger.

If you're experiencing vampire deficiency, "Heather's Family" is there for you. This is not your average, glamourous undead story; this is more like the sobering reality of what would really happen to an average family with such a problem. No castles, no raven-haired temptresses in this picture, just a bare-roots existence and some difficult choices.

Of course, not all is intrigue and a war of powers. Seeds Of Vision offers plenty of comedy relief. Just looking at the title "Free-Loki.com," it's obvious that this is a naughtily playful look at a meeting of legend and life today. "Chasing Down Charlie" is a charming fantasy that will entertain plus is perfect to read to children. In fact, put Fesmire together with a talented artist, and there is a children's book in the making.

Comedy, action, sorcery -- it's a taste of everything fantasy can be. And it features characters that feel real, not perfect or all-powerful; people with talents and weakness -- just like us. The very best part may well be Fesmire's voice. He tells a story in a way that is so accessible, it feels as if he were there, telling you the story face-to-face.

He's waiting to tell you a story. Take a seat and listen.

Copyright © 2000 Lisa DuMond

In between reviews and interviews, Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. DARKERS, her latest novel, will be published in early 2000 by Hard Shell Word Factory. She has also written for BOOKPAGE and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Her articles and short stories are all over the map. You can check out Lisa and her work at her website hikeeba!.

My book was nice. The Amazon staff and shipping were very horrible. I will not be purchasing from Amazon again. The book's cover was literally taped into the OUTSIDE of the box. The customer service was polite but forced me to return the ruined book. This involved me having to give the nasty book to someone for a gift and then replacing it, packaging the damaged book back up and going to the Post Office. This was a lot of gas and work. I deeply resent having to do all of this. Other people do not want a damaged book. Why not just throw it away? It was their mistake and I had to do the work. Bad service.

Angie Sage keeps the Septimus Heap series going strong with Physik - the third book after Magyk and Flyte. In Physik we have a complex web of plot elements (no spoilers in this review) that take the narrative deep into the history and architecture of the castle and deeper into a an increasingly sophisticated magical realm. There's more about the forms and uses of magyk in this title, and less focus on the weird creatures of this place. Nothing is lost. The central trope is magnetically compelling and there is action and danger and new fabulous characters. The Septimus Heap world keeps getting deeper and weirder with each new title in the series - yet the stories remain page turning romps that don't give kids nightmares. Sage treads the line between thrilling action and stuff that's too scary for kids with brilliant sensitivity. As an adult I don't get the feeling she's condescending - yet I have no qualms giving this to my second grader. He devours these Septimus books with gusto and is well ahead of me in the series.

If you read Magyk and Flyte you'll definitely be reading this on your way to Queste - so it's not vital that I tell you that Physik rocks. It's probably the best title in the series so far.

As for paperback versus hard cover - these are pretty thick chunky books (more than 500 brief quick reading pages) - the paperback adds some much needed lightness and flexibility and saves about 35% of the price. I was the 3rd person to read our particular paperback copy (after my son and wife). It was still in fine condition (no pages falling out or smudged ink). I have no problem recommending this dirt cheap edition.

I truly enjoyed this book. My grand daughter is reading it now. The
series is terrific - hope there are more to come.

I just reread this book recently... It hasn't lost its charm. Awesome third book. I can't wait until Queste!

I've read many books published by WotC. I've been pleased with some, but disappointed by most. So, I was hesitant to try this one by a relatively new author. (of novels, that is) I have to say I was quite pleased. Mr. Wulf brings his characters to life in such a way as to draw you into who they are and gets you to invest time and energy into their story. He brought way more main characters into a story than I usually find safe, but did so without distracting the reader from the overall story. Each of them has a background and personality very unique, but all fall beautifully into the main story and are brought to bear in the same general direction.

The dialogue comes across flowing and reasonable. No ridiculous statements that make no sense or seem totally out of character. The rhythm of the tale itself is also expertly pulled off. Most fantasy books nowadays seem to drag on for the first 3/4 with nothing happening and then cram excitement and essential scenes into the last 1/4. Not this one. Mr Wulf keeps the story unrolling throughout the book, with little peeks into characters, motivations and mysteries all along the way. This leads us to an ending that leaves us wanting more answers and wanting to know the rest of the tale.

All in all, I was quite pleased with this book. Now that I just finished it, I intend to go out and pick up the next in the series. This was definitely what the Eberron setting needed--an actually well written book. Too bad there aren't more in the setting that live up to this level.

I don't like changlings. I don't like them as characters and I don't like the way authors use them to side step the challenge of creating a formidable spy, informant, or antagonist.

Changling are always bad. ALWAYS. Their methods are always deceptive, underhanded, and extremely cowardly. I've never read an Eberron novel where I enjoyed the use of a changling. Not even one with as solid of a back story as Marth. For all the rage and hatred has over the way people see and judge the changling race, he makes absolutely no attempt to redeem himself or his race in any way. Marth is cold, spineless, and absolutely evil. He kills even Kiris who is responsible for nearly all of the progress he has made towards the Legacy, not to mention the restoration of the Seventh Moon and saving his life. Marth makes monologue after monologue about how wrong it is for people to judge him just because he's a changling then he goes about giving us more reasons to hate him and his race. Ugh! Marth's only saving grace is that he does not prance around the entire novel disguised as someone else and that Wulf actually gave him a reasonable back story. At least that's slightly more original than the rest *glares at James Wyatt*.

Changling aside, I did enjoy the book and the rest of it's characters. Tristam Xain especially was a character I empathized with and routed for. I hope to see more development into his character in the future. At the beginning of the book I didn't like Seren at all, but she grew on me. I was pleasantly surprised to find out she was much more than just a thief. She was surprisingly trustworthy, loyal, and brave throughout the remainder of the book, which was a breath of fresh air from you typical female rogue character.

Voyage of the Mourning Dawn by Rich Wulf is the first book of the Heirs of Ash Trilogy set in the world of Eberron. The second and third books, Flight of the Dying Sun and Rise of the seventh Moon will be released in 2007.

Reading every Eberron novel thus far, I can say some have been good and some have been not so good. So far the authors they have writing in this world have been hit and miss. I have never heard of Mr. Wulf before, but I am always willing to give authors a chance so I picked this book up. I was not disappointed in the least. While some authors, most notably Keith Baker, feel a need to include all the `technology' they can in their novels, in this novel the technology is not what makes the story - it's merely a supporting element.

The plot of this book is rather linear, but it is also very well laid out and all the characters actions have a purpose behind them. They don't simply do something to be doing it. The plot also follows a logical line of thought that makes it not only believable, but fun as well. There is very little in terms of subplots in this book, but that works here. Some books need those subplots to continue the story - but this book has a pace where I think subplots would have detracted from the overall story and slowed it down.

The characters of this book are what truly make this one special. The vast majority of the characters are well thought out and very memorable. A great deal of thought went into not only where the characters came from, how they got where we find them, but also a simple thing like dialog. Each character holds true to how one would expect them to talk. I don't mean that there is cheesy dialog in this novel, rather each character has a unique was of talking that adds to that characters appeal. Even the villains are well thought out and have some character development; they are not simply this figure that appears once and a while to battle the heroes.

Being that this is the first book of a trilogy you can expect this book to mostly set up the over all plot arc as well as introduce the characters. This book does that very well. There is also a very good ending to this book that I would go into because I don't want to spoil anything, but it `fits' with how the book was written. The author also does a very good job at answering a couple simple questions that arise during the book only to replace them with large all encompassing questions that the reader has to wait for the answer until 2007.

Overall, I must say that this is one of my favorite books in the Eberron world. It was a fun read, a definite page turner that kept me interested throughout the entire book. If you are a fan of the Eberron world have no qualms about picking this up, you will enjoy it. If you are thinking about getting started reading Eberron books, I would recommend this one to give you a good idea of what Eberron has to offer. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of this trilogy, although it will be hard for Mr. Wulf to top this!

This book was suggested to me by a friend, on the merit of the authors work on the "Lengends of the 5 Rings" ( L5R ) roleplaying game and several books about that setting. I am moderately familiar with that setting and was interested to see some of Mr. Wulfs work in another setting. I was completely unfamiliar with the Ebberon setting but I find myself very interested after reading this book. Without getting to indepth into the plot, a thief get herself involved in a quest. The book is the story of her journey from the city streets to amazing adventures on an airship. It's great stuff, highly reccomended.

The first three books of this series - especially the first one - are quite well written. The writers are clever and have a good sense of telling a story. I enjoyed reading all three of these books, and looked forward to the next.

I would, however, caution someone against starting this series. While books 1 - 3 are well written, 4 - 6 were a huge letdown for me. Even before I finished the series, I was sorry I started it and spent as much time as I did on it. At last when I finished the 6th book, not even the climax was worth it. While the first three books are well written, the series on a whole is rather unimaginative and underdeveloped.

This was actually the first time I bought a box set of anything and I was not disappointed in the least. I loved everything about these books from the characters, setting, and the smooth transition between books. I highly recommend this set to anyone that enjoys fantasy books.

I eagerly await the second set.

I bought this gift set for myself. The books themselves are page-turners.
the boxes are cool. great as a gift or for yourself. enjoy reading

...you'll become fully engrossed in this compelling series. The series follows the journey of a group of drow from Menzoberranzan on the quest to discover the fate of Lloth, the Spider Queen. The party is comprised of high priestess Quenthel Baenre, sister to now matron mother Triel Baenre, Jeggred the draegloth and son of Triel, Pharaun Mizzrym, mage and apprentice to Archmage Gromph Baenre, Rhyld Argith, Pharaun's "trusted friend", Faeryl Zayvirr of Ched Nasad and her slave Drisinil, and the scout Valas Hune. (I think that's everyone) As the story progresses, other story lines weave into the grand web.

Each book is written by a different author which I thought at first was going to affect the atmosphere of the series. Let's face it not many people can really capture the duplicitous and intriguing nature of drow. Each author's style is really what makes the series prominent and memorable. Each book was unique both from point of view and style. For example one book was told exclusively from Pharaun's point of view while another was from multiple points of view. Another cool aspect of the series was that the reading level was vastly superior to RA Salvatore's books. I love a book (in this case books) that makes me find the definition of a word while I'm reading and expands my vocabulary.

Another selling point is the authors are much more vivid and slightly graphic than RA Salvatore, but not overly so. Just enough to compel you say "wow what a way to go, very cool," then turn the page. Lastly and simply these books are a must read because they involve drow while not involving Drizzt!

This game has an excellent RPG system and storyline.
I like the 'random # table' and 'combat results table' Dever uses in this book (and other RPG books of his). The book is just like a video game with all the options that you can do (Which makes those "Choose Your Own Adventure Books" I played as a kid a big joke) and many options in the battles (fight, cast a spell from your staff, flee, use item, etc.). The story is gets a little complex as your character uses his newfound powers of the moonstone to defeat an evil wizard in book 4.

the whole series is great! I wish there were as many sequels as in the original lone wolf series!

Grey Star has his work cut out for him. As the finale of the series, Dever and Page really went the full nine yards to create a quest that is not only suspenseful, but challenging. I would have to say that my favorite moment is when you are being chased by a thousand ugly demons and your horse is put out of commission. You are left with two options: run 20 miles to safety, or die! There are new challenges around every corner. I wish that more of this series was written.

I first read the book two years ago when I found it at a used book store. I recently have gone back to the book and tried to go through diffrent paths in the story. The story was fantastic! With the excellent choices you can make in the story and an excellent battle system which makes it almost feel like a role-playing video game. Unlike other role playing story books which either have good story or an excellent battle system, this one is the only one I found to have both!