Release Day for Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils by Erin M. Evans

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.

Today is the release day of Lesser Evils, the lastest Forgotten Realms book from Wizards of the Coast.  I have been hooked on Erin M. Evans writing since her Forgotten Realms debut of The God Catcher.  Lesser Evils is the sequel to Brimstone Angels where we were introduced to the tiefling sisters, Farideh and Havilar, and the enigmatic Lorcan.  I am looking forward to reading this one!

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New Acquisitions

I made a trip to a new local used bookstore today.  The last thing I need is to add more books to my already gargantuan “to be read” pile (affectionately named, Mt. Readmore), but I just could not resist.  Here are the spoils of war :

Now I have to try and figure out which one I want to read first!  Any suggestions?

 

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Click-Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman

“‘What kind of story would you like me to tell you?’ ‘Well,’ he said, thoughtfully, ‘I don’t think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn’t just a little bit scary, then I won’t be interested. And you make up scary stories, don’t you?’” So begins this sweet, witty, deceptive little tale from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Lock the doors, turn off the lights, and enjoy.

Neil Gaiman has a new story out just in time for Halloween, available exclusively from

Audible.  It is available free through October 31 and for every download, Audible will donate $1 to the education charity DonorsChoose.org (up to $100,000).

Click Clack the Rattlebag is read by Gaiman himself and though only about 10 minutes long, is sure to leave the reader with chills.  It is a perfect Halloween treat and benefits a worthy cause.

Download free here, http://www.audible.com/mt/ScareUs.

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July Releases from Wizards of the Coast

July brings several excellent new titles from Eberron and the Forgotten Realms.

Skein of Shadows
Author: Marsheila Rockwell
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Format: ebook

Sabira is celebrating her Badge Day, when the party is interrupted by news of an important discovery in the expedition to Tarath Marad. However, the news is not all good. Tilde, sister to Sabira’s old flame, Ned, is missing. Sabira is designated as the leader of the rescue mission and sets off to meet her drow guide. But when a dragon attacks her wagons, and her guide acts as if he’s got something to hide, Sabira begins to wonder what she’s gotten herself into.

Prince of Ravens
Author: Richard Baker
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Format: ebook

After a hundred years, Jack Ravenwild—thief, sorcerer, scoundrel, and accidental hero—is released from a magical confinement, only to fall into the hands of the marquise Dresimil Chûmavh, ruler of an exiled drow clan who sees an opportunity in Jack. 
 
Through guile and subterfuge, the wily Jack escapes the drow to discover a new world waiting in his old stomping grounds, Raven’s Bluff, a city equally abounding in fortune and danger. Unfortunately for Jack, he is best at stirring up the latter. His former archenemy the Warlord Myrkyssa Jelan is at large, and she isn’t the type to forgive and forget. And worst of all, the drow aren’t done with Jack and they mean to get him back.

The Gilded Rune
Author:  Lisa Smedman
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Format: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

A plague has ravaged the population of gold dwarves of the Great Rift. It starts slowly, but the progression is devastating. One dwarf has eyes that have become hard and glassy like marbles; a second dwarf has skin that flakes off in sharp, hardened scales; the skeleton of a third is petrified and fused in place; a fourth wastes away with blood that has turned dark and muddy.

Clerical magic doesn’t help. Neither do herbal remedies, nor spells meant to break curses. And in all cases, death is always the same–the heart blackens, hardens, and eventually stops beating, killing each victim with a heart attack and turning the bodies to stone.

It’s called the Stoneplague. It’s terrifying. And it’s spreading.

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Winners of The Hammer and The Blade Giveaway

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner(s)! I  have randomly selected two winners for a copy of The Hammer and The Blade by Paul S. Kemp.  And the winners are (drum roll, please)…

Steven Hill and Barry Paddock

I will be sending e-mails to confirm addresses and these beauties will be shipped forthwith.  I would like to thank everyone for entering and check back regularly for more contests.  This is the first of many, because the second best thing to reading a great book is giving it to someone.  I would also like to thank Angry Robot for contributing copies of the book.  Darren, you rock!

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Faerun Feels Like Home

I have been a fan of shared world fiction for as long as I can remember.  Some of the first books I bought from TSR where the Endless Quest books (Mountain of Mirrors, Dungeon of Dread, Pillars of Pentegarn, to name a few) .  These were during my elementary school days playing TSR’s Dungeon and lusting over the red box Basic set.  Soon after moving from the blue box Expert set and into Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Advanced rules I stumbled upon the Gord the Rogue series by Gary Gygax.  That was my first real foray into shared world fiction and I never looked back.  I loved reading the fight scenes and recognizing the magic items and spells.  I incorporated the descriptions of monsters and spell casting into my campaigns and the group loved it. I then moved on to the Dragonlance books and reveled in my numerous trips to Kyrnn, longing to read more of Raistlin and company.

Fast forward a few years later.  My gaming group had disbanded as we went our separate ways to college, and I was still devouring all the fantasy I could find (Tolkien, Brooks, Moorcock, Weis and Hickman).   I was perusing the shelves at my local bookshelf and stumbled across Homeland, book one of the Dark Elf series.   The term “Dark Elf” resonated with me and I noticed it was published by TSR and carried the “Forgotten Realms” logo.  I was vaguely familiar with the name Forgotten Realms through my DnD group but we never played there, we had our own homegrown world that we had played in for several years.  Reading that book was a life changing moment, not only because I was introduced to R.A. Salvatore and his amazing character Drizzt, but because I had stepped foot on new soil, I had arrived in Faerun.   This was before the days of Amazon and I had now idea how many books were published in the Forgotten Realms but I made it my mission to track them down.  I found catalogs, I had bookstores order new titles, and I frequented used bookstores looking for anything with the Forgotten Realms logo.  Even though I was no longer playing DnD with my group, I started picking up Forgotten Realms source books such as; the Forgotten Realms Campaign set, The Seven Sisters, The Code of the Harpers, Players Guide to the Forgotten Realms, and the Elves of Evermeet, to name a few.  I traveled the Dalelands, crept through the caverns of the Underdark and gazed upon the terrible wonder of Menzoberranzen, traipsed through the jungles of Chult, ran screaming from the undead horrors of Thay, walked the streets of the incredible city of Waterdeep, and so many, many other places .  I reveled in Ed Greenwood’s creation, I was home.

There are so many fantastic authors that have written books set in the Forgotten Realms.  Authors like Paul S. Kemp, R.A. Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Troy Denning, Erik Scott deBie, James P. Davis, Rosemary Jones, Richard Lee Byers, Richard Baker, Bruce R. Cordell, James Lowder, Erin Evans, Jaleigh Johnson, and the father and creator of the Realms, Ed Greenwood.  There are so many, many others. Please forgive me for any I did not list here.  Every author that has written in the Forgotten Realms has left their mark in the realms and made it the marvelous world it is.

Here are a few of the books/series that I suggest.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a starting point.  There are many, many great books written in the Forgotten Realms by incredible authors that stand toe-to-toe with any speculative fiction author out there.  
  

If you look at my reviews you will see that the bulk of them are of books published by Wizards of the Coast.  This will not change as they publish the kind of books I like to read  in worlds that I have come to call home.  Some people still have a dim view of shared world fiction, citing that, at some point they read a book they did not like written in a shared world, and apply this generalization to all shared world fiction.  Are there some Forgotten Realms books that are better than others?  I would would turn around and ask this question of all speculative fiction.  Are there some books in the fantasy genre that are better than others?  In the end it all boils down to what you enjoy reading.  Read and share, put misconceptions aside, and give something from the Forgotten Realms a try.  I think you’ll like it.

In closing, I would like to say thank you, first to Ed Greenwood for creating and continually growing the Forgotten Realms, and second, to ALL the authors who have added their own personal touch to the Realms and make it such a wonderful place to come back to again and again.  Faerun, I am home.

PS – If Faerun is my home, then Eberron is my summer vacation spot.  I have recently been introduced to this fantasy noir setting by such incredibly talented writers like Marsheila Rockwell, Jeff LaSala, and Paul Crilley and can’t wait to read more in this world.  Be on the lookout for a post about Eberron soon.

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Giveaway – The Hammer and The Blade by Paul S. Kemp

Stefan’s Bookshelf is proud to announce it’s first giveaway contest.   The wonderful folks at Angry Robot have graciously supplied two copies of The Hammer and The Blade by Paul S. Kemp.

I think this will be the landmark fantasy book of the summer so don’t miss an opportunity to win a copy.  For those of you not familiar with the book, here is a my review.

Contest Rules

  1. This contest is open for US residents only (sorry everyone else).
  2. To enter, send an e-mail with your name and mailing address to stefan AT stefansbookshelf DOT com with HAMMER GIVEAWAY in the subject line.  Only one entry per person please.
  3. The giveaway will end on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 11:59 PM, and TWO winners will be randomly chosen and notified via e-mail.

Best of luck to everyone!

(Stefan’s Bookshelf is not responsible for random bouts of awesomeness brought on by the reading of this book.)

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