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ArmondElzaim
Acolyte
Canada
5 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Oct 2008 : 20:47:14
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I know this is probably the wrong place to post such a question but my sisters birthday is coming up and as Forgotten realms is one of our more favorite settings for novels to read.
I'm looking to purchase her a book that deals with the forgotten realms, the problem is she tends to prefer stories where the main protaganists are characters who exibit personalities more classically given to the antagonist. Basically a book that stars bad guys.
She's cornered the market on Drow books, things like Drizzt, The War of the Spider queen and the Lady penitent.
I'm kinda really out of ideas, anyone got any suggestions?
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He finds you when you're sleeping and as the daylight fades. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2008 : 21:04:07
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| Oooh... I think she might like the Richard Lee Byers Haunted Lands books. Unclean and Undead are out now, with Unholy coming out in February. They are pretty horror-intense, however. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
Edited by - Ashe Ravenheart on 09 Oct 2008 21:04:35 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 09 Oct 2008 : 23:19:27
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| She could also try the Erevis Cale series. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3738 Posts |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2008 : 00:45:24
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And I will third the motion. Paul S Kemp's characters are the definitive example of Realmsian anti-heroes. Let me highly recommend the beginning of the series, Twilight Falling.
Another option, of course, would be any of Salvatore's work with Artemis Entreri as the hero, starting with the Silent Blade. Half of the novel is from the villain's point of view: http://ww2.wizards.com/books/Wizards/Products/?doc=959827200
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My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2008 : 02:28:29
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| heck, I was going to second it but everyone beat me to it. I highly advise getting any novel series with Cale and feel that it would meet the op's question. |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2008 : 13:30:36
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| I would go with Ghostwalker, the "good guy" is really not such a good guy at all! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2008 : 15:55:01
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
I would go with Ghostwalker, the "good guy" is really not such a good guy at all!
Yes, that's another example. Heck, you can say Depths of Madness stars an anti-hero as well (a female one to boot). |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Lord Nemes
Seeker
Canada
58 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2008 : 02:01:10
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| One more vote for Erevis cale if you are looking for this kind of character |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2008 : 04:03:42
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I like Cale, don't get me wrong. But he's not that dark in my book. I put him on the same level as Drizzt for anti-hero because he's not asking to do this stuff, he's forced to.
But the stories are definitely a good read and I'll put my vote out there for him. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2008 : 16:04:39
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| I have to disagree about Drizzt being an anti-hero--I see him being a fair distance away from Cale, to be honest. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2008 : 17:53:18
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Reluctant hero and anti-hero are different styles of hero, though there is occasionally overlap. In the strictest definition, an anti-hero is simply a protagonist whose traits are antithetical to the traditional hero (shadowy where the hero is bright, deceptive where the hero is honest, weak where the hero is strong, etc).
A case could be made for most modern heroes (who usually have the sort of flaws and moral weaknesses traditionally eschewed by heroes) being antiheroes of one stripe or another--so it's important to be clear what you're looking for when you say you want an "anti-hero."
In my book, Drizzt is a reluctant hero: he is pushed into doing heroic things but still exhibits classic traits of a hero like physical and moral strength, empathy, and the like. And though he is tortured and prone to self-doubt (i.e., more morally complex than a crusader for goodness), it doesn't shake his fundamental moral core--he's definitely a hero. He didn't set out to be a hero, but he's comfortable in that role.
Cale, on the other hand, is a reluctant anti-hero IMO: he was never particularly "good" at heart (more "neutral") and does things based on his own personal view of right and wrong, not the dominant moral majority. Lots more room for debate there. His powers are pretty evil in origin, and he uses them more for his own direction than for trying to help others (though helping others is something he has done and is doing more often lately). He doesn't have the same black-and-white morality that you find with a classic hero.
I find both characters fascinating, though I think for the purposes of the OP (looking for a "bad guy hero"), I would recommend Cale over Drizzt. Also, this is because one of Cale's nearest allies (Riven) is way more villainous than, say, Wulfgar. 
For Cale, start with Twilight Falling, or go all the way back to his first starring role in Shadow's Witness or the Halls of Stormweather anthology. Either would stand you in good stead.
Artemis Entreri is one you might look into, as well--start there with Servant of the Shard (though that's more reliant on being familiar with the previous Drizzt books--which it sounds like your sister is).
I might suggest a few others:
Bloodwalk, by James Davis, has a dark avenger sort of hero, though the real star is the evil blood sorceress Morgynn.
Mistshore, by Jaleigh Johnson, is full of well-realized, shady characters with iffy pasts and dodgy morality.
And, of course, Thomas Reid's Empyrean Odyssey trilogy, starting with the Gossamer Plain, whose heroine is the pretty-much evil alu-fiend Aliisza from War of the Spider Queen. (On the subject of gray heroes, I've heard good stuff about Reid's previous trilogy--Scions of Arrabar--but alas, have not yet had the chance to read it.)
Cheers
P.S. A small shout-out to Lyrna and RW for recommending two books by me. Not that I would ever shamelessly plug my own stuff.  |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2008 : 18:47:36
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Hmmm... after reading that, I'd have to agree with you Rin & Eric.
As for Scions of Arrabar, a very worthy read. One of the best trilogies set in the Realms (without that annoying RSE stuff...). |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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maransreth
Learned Scribe
Australia
157 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2008 : 10:13:31
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| If she likes drow, does she have the Shadow & Starlight trilogy with Liriel by Elaine Cunningham? |
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Ranak
Learned Scribe
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2008 : 12:13:48
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Stardeep and the other novel featuring Kiril would be a great choice. She is a complex and dark character, and not in a typical way.
quote:
Originally posted by ArmondElzaim
I know this is probably the wrong place to post such a question but my sisters birthday is coming up and as Forgotten realms is one of our more favorite settings for novels to read.
I'm looking to purchase her a book that deals with the forgotten realms, the problem is she tends to prefer stories where the main protaganists are characters who exibit personalities more classically given to the antagonist. Basically a book that stars bad guys.
She's cornered the market on Drow books, things like Drizzt, The War of the Spider queen and the Lady penitent.
I'm kinda really out of ideas, anyone got any suggestions?
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Kairin
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2008 : 09:36:29
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| Queen of the Depths by Richard Lee Byers. It wasn't the best ever, but I was pleasantly surprised anyway. The priestess of Umberlee's fanatical devotion to her evil goddess was fun to read about. Her goal might have been pretty noble in the book but she wasn't exactly nice. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2008 : 02:54:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
(On the subject of gray heroes, I've heard good stuff about Reid's previous trilogy--Scions of Arrabar--but alas, have not yet had the chance to read it.)
I thought that was a good trilogy--great if one wants a lot of political intrigue. Although the protagonists aren't really traditional heroes, I'm really not sure that I'd classify them as "anti-heroes", either.
quote:
P.S. A small shout-out to Lyrna and RW for recommending two books by me. Not that I would ever shamelessly plug my own stuff.
Heh, thanks. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Novel Series question
