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Shadowdale

Forgotten Realms: The Avatar, Book 1

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Shadowdale

By: Scott Ciencin
Narrated by: Nicole Greevy
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About this listen

An all-new audio version of one of the key titles in the entire Forgotten Realms novel line.

At the time of its original release, this series presented key events that impacted the entire Forgotten Realms world, and the effects of those events are still felt in current novels. This title was originally released under the author's pseudonym, Richard Awlinson.

When the gods are banished from the heavens, they must travel through Faern in the guise of mortals.

When four companions, last survivors of the Company of the Lynx, find themselves in possession of a mysterious amulet, they must escape death at the hand of Bane, god of murder.

When magic itself runs wild, no one can say that the most innocent of spells will not destroy the world.

©1989 TSR, Inc., 2003 Wizards of the Coast LLC (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Mythology
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Well passed, interesting characters I really enjoyed it. I look forward to learning what happens next.

An interesting introduction of the gods for D&D

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To actually enjoy this story you need to be a fan of the forgotten realms setting. I only like this story because I'm a DM and wanted to learn more about the . if you are not then you will struggle to be captured by this story.

if you like forgotten realms you will like this.

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it was a good story but alot if the time it was like a bunch of facts and instructions. I knew what was happening but it was robotic and I didn't feel the characters like other novels.

it may have been due to a lack or character dialogue and more he did this she thought that.

the narrator did what they could

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Back when this first came out I read it and wasn't that impressed but thought to give it another chance considering its importance in FR lore. Words defy how bad this book is, terrible truly terrible dialog a plot that's so dumb that it must have been created by committee. An untalented 12yo couldn't have written a worse book, this is the plan nine from Outerspace of fantasy books without the redeeming cheesiness that plan nine has. So maybe it's the Highlander 3 of fantasy books (the only film to have all the worst features of the two previous films and none of the good but still get a cinema release). Whatever your least favorite film this is its match in book form. Avoid at all costs.

I'd forgotten how bad this book was

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I'm a fan of Ed Greenwood's books and the Forgotten Realms setting in general. Wanting to better understand "The Time of Troubles" era of Faerun's history, I sought out this book. As the chapters wore on, I became more and more dissapointed. After my third attempt to get through this nook, I closed the (audio) pages of this book in frustration for the third time.

My first criticism is the writing. It is amateurish, to say the least. It reminds me of the bad pulp fantasy of the 20th century's first half - not the good stuff that people remember, but the drivel that gets forgotten by time. A commonality between those books and this is the author's overuse of adjectives - particularly when describing unnecessary details. It is as if the book had no editor to tell the author to be more succinct, that describing unimportant elements not only waste the reader's time but distract from the narrative momentum. An example of tastefully elaborate writing is Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance - proof that it can be done without being boring and unnecessary.

The author also has a habit of telling us exactly what each character is thinking. This grinds my gears. "Show don't tell" is the phrase that comes to mind, but all we get in this book is telling. The characters don't act in-character, we are merely told what their character is. On the occasion when a character does take decisive action, its lack of subtlety leaves one feeling like a preschool teacher grading a creative writing assignment. A good example of the author telling us what the character is thinking is the A Song of Ice and Fire series by Geoege R.R. Martin which, while it can be boring at times, uses the POV of one character at a time, so the reader may interpret the feelings of the rest of the cast as the POV character does.

Now the narrator. When she's not delivering lines in the monotone voice of the "please stand by and a customer service representative will be with you shortly" robot, she's doing female voices with the breathiness and personality of a air conditioner, and male voices like a kindergarten teacher might voice a biiiiig mooonsterrr roooaaarr. An example of fantastic voice acting can be found in virtually any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld audiobooks.

I will not comment on the narrative structure as I only made it half way through the book. Certain aspects of it were gripping, but then again so is my right hand when it's [REDACTED].

I know I sound like a hater, but don't be fooled by your love for the setting. This product is poor, and any information it can give you regarding the Realms can be found elsewhere. Even reading a wiki is less tedious than sitting through 12 hours of this trash (and paying for the displeasure).

Bad narration fails to compliment bad writing.

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The story was ok. Clearly emulating d&d. Some ideas for running games in here. I was just interested in how they dealt with the changes between editions. Interesting how sexism was clearly a theme of the time. Performance didn't feel natural. Narrator wasn't surprised during surprise, didn't seem angry enough when angry etc.

Just ok

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