Swordmage (Forgotten Realms: Blades of the Moonsea, Book 1)

Straight to the point, a great book. Interesting all the way through. The series gets better in the second book, i am really excited to read the third.

This is a very well written and Mr. Baker gets you to care about the characters very earliy on. The basic story is about an adventurer that comes back to his hometown after being away for 10 years to find out what happened to an old friend who has been murdered. The story keeps you engaged the whole way thru. The second half of the books really moves and I couldnt hardly put it down. I snuck in chapters even at work it was so good! I can't wait for the second book! Great Job Rich!

I thought that this wasn't too bad a book, considering we have very little information of what is going on. I think I have read one book mentioning the death of Mystra, and there was a mention of the Spellplague in the latest Drizzt novles. Still, this book only gives us a glimpse of what has happened. I do see the 5th Age in this, and that pretty much chased me away from Dragonlance. Here's hoping that doesn't happen here. Once you get past the "HUH???!!!" factor, its is a pretty good novel. The characters are interesting, and the plot has.....been done to death! I still enjoyed it, and would recommend it. I just wish there was more information about what has happened between 3.5 and 4e.

Richard Baker's "Swordmage" is the first book of the Blades of the Moonsea trilogy, which takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realms world. This is the first novel utilizing the new fourth edition rules introduced during the course of this year. The story takes place approximately one hundred years after the Realms event called The Spellplague, which is the method used to introduce the changes to the rule set. It is set in the Northern Moonsea in a growing and thriving town called Hulburg. Geran, the main character, is a human swordmage who studied magic and swordplay from the elves in Myth Drannor and is the nephew of the town's leader, the Harmach. After ten years away from home, Geran receives a letter stating that his childhood friend had died. He returns to pay his respects and makes sure that his friend's estate and family are taken care of and not ruined by the loss. Traveling with Geran is a halfling named Hamil, a good friend from his earlier adventuring days and his business partner. Upon returning to Hulburg Geran notices the many changes in the city, not all of them positive. A run-in with a nefarious slave trading gang in his city sets Geran off to find out what has happened while he was away. Little by little Geran learns that the situation in Hulburg has gone down hill while leaving the Harmach powerless to do anything about it. Meanwhile, brewing in the plains far north of Hulburg a mysterious warlock makes a deal with an orc chieftain to raise an army. This army soon begins marching south to take control of the lands around them with Hulburg in its path. Geran also discovers the reason behind his friend's death and investigates the opening and robbing of sacred barrows located near the town. Political intrigue, an advancing army, and leadership strife within the town establish a story rife with possibility, and seeing how this is the first of three books, we can only watch and see how Mr. Baker can weave the elements together to complete the trilogy. Overall, this was a good book. I enjoyed reading it and was interested in following the story. The setting was very well done and the Mr. Baker weaves some interesting subplots around the whole story arc. The characers kept my interest and the pacing was very nicely controlled. I liked the escape scene from Griffonwatch, it contained plenty of action and suspense. Regarding the characters though, I believe this story could have used more intimacy with the spotlighted characters. They were good but the narrative felt a little more distanced than I think it should have been. I would have enjoyed the story to be just a slightly bit more cerebral and emotionally involved. Again, the characters were done well but I think as a reader it would've made for more involvement. **Info for Realms fans below** As an avid Realms fan, my big disappointment regarding this particular book, which I must add was my expectation going in, was the introduction o

Swordmage by Richard Baker is the first book in the Blades of Moonsea trilogy. Forgotten Realms fans will be most interested in this book due to the fact that it is the first book in the post-Spellplague era. The second book is titled Corsair, but as of yet there is no release date announced for it. The prelude takes place in 1477 DR and the rest of the novel takes place in 1479 DR. There has been much talk about just what the Spellplague means to the Realms and the repercussions of it. After finishing this novel, I have to say that the jury is still out. There was not much real `change' blatantly apparent in this book. The plot of this book is a somewhat recycled, clichéd, plot. That of a small town trying to turn back what appears to be an insurmountable horde of monsters. To further cliché that plot line there is an evil mastermind using the horde as a marionette to further his own goals. There are also several subplots woven into this story. The largest, most important subplot for the book, is the political tensions in the town of Hulburg. There are several factions vying for control of the city and the textiles within the city. There is also a mystery surrounding the death of a beloved captain of the Shieldsworn. Another subplot is the discovery that someone, or a group of people, are violating long standing laws and breaking into barrows scattered around the realm. The reason these laws are in place and just what lays in some of the barrows is well explained in a few small subtle passages. Along the way a few other subplots are tossed into the mix to add to the overall story. Even though the basic premise of this novel has been told before, as well as some of the subplots, for he most part it works for this book. The overall plot, and for that matter the subplots, don't come across as overstated or too much. However, I was disappointed that being as though this was billed as the first Forgotten Realms novel set in the post-Spellplague era that it did not include more fact about the Spellplague and just what it did to the Realms. The characters in this novel are the highlight of the novel for the most part. I do have a couple minor complaints about them, but for the most part they are interesting and well written. The only real complaint I have about any of the characters is there is a `bad guy' who is written in such a way that the reader isn't supposed to know that the character is `bad'. However, to me anyway, the character was written too strongly that when the character is revealed as being evil it is not really a surprise. There are several interesting characters in this novel such as; Hamil, Mirya, Kara, Geran and many more. The heroes in this book are all well written and seem to have their own individual motivations, actions and dialogue. Nothing frustrates me more than when every character seems to talk the same in a book even though they are vastly different. That's not the case with this book and I appreciate that. Being that t