Tuesday 30 September 2003

Pic of the day: Elminster - the making of a mage. Picture shows paperback.

Forgettable Realms

I've finished reading Elminster – The Making of a Mage by Ed Greenwood. This is more than I can say about two of the three Forgotten Realms books I have read before. I did not come very far into The Halfling Gem before I gave up. I did somewhat better with another, I think it was called "azure" something, but I may confuse that with Curse of the Azure Bonds, the prequel to a computer game I did not play for very long either. I believe I have read through another of these books sometime in the past, but I can absolutely not remember its name or what it was about. Perhaps I confuse it with the handbook that came with the AD&D 2 – Forgotten Realms boxed starter set which I bought several years ago. Well, probably more than several, since I believe AD&D is now at version 3 or rather 3.5, judging from what I saw in the shop today. There was an AD&D 3.5 player's handbook at least.

Back to the book I have just recently finished. It was mediocre, I guess. And that's with cutting it some slack because I was genuinely curious as to the background of this most famous character in the realms, probably in the entire AD&D world. Ironically, the part that made the strongest impression on me did not come until the last page. And I don't mean the last page of the story, which consisted of Elminster not getting more sex, at least for the time being. Sorry, but if spoiling it means you don't waste your money on the book, I consider it my good deed of the day. (Particularly if you considered buying this book for your kids.) No, the most memorable page was the inside back cover, in which it was revealed that Mr Greenwood actually was the guy who created the Forgotten Realms nearly forty years ago. It also claims that Elminster is his alter ego, but I seriously hope that's just the publisher blurbing and has no root in truth. Please. For the love of Mystra.

That said, I remember I liked the handbook in that boxed set. I just may buy the corresponding set for AD&D 3.5, if there is such a set, and if I live long enough. I really really like worldbuilding, even when it is not my own. And there has gone a lot of worldbuilding into the Forgotten Realms. Shame that, after all that hard work, they are still so forgettable.

Oh, I am sure there will be people praising (and some cursing) Ed Greenwood's name long after even my relatives have forgotten my grave. It's just that those people are not people like me, not by a long shot. And for that we are probably both thankful.