good dnd fiction?

[Stupendous_Man]

hi, i was wondering if there are any good dnd books or fanfiction floating around. i see a ton of dnd books when i go to the barnes and noble, bt i never know if they're any good, and a lot of them seem kinda... cliched.

don't know of many fanfiction sites that have dnd categories, and the ones that do never seem toh ave anything good up.

can anyone help me find something juicy to sink my teeth into?

[Gorbash]

Erevis Cale Trilogy. Then followed by Twilight War (same character, different series). It's made of win.

[Pronounceable]

Fire and Dust is a very nice Planescape fanfic with refreshing insight into various faction members.

[Dhavaer]

There's a decent series focusing on the D&D Iconics. They're pretty pulpy, but worth a read if D&D fiction is what you're looking for.

[Gorbash]

OP said he didn't want cliches, and D&D Iconic books are just that.

[RTGoodman]

There's a decent series focusing on the D&D Iconics. They're pretty pulpy, but worth a read if D&D fiction is what you're looking for.

I don't know, I didn't find the one I read (where Mialee and Devis fight a wight) that great. The others might be better though, since the characters are probably a lot cooler.

There are quite a few D&D-based books that I've enjoyed. Some of the various Dragonlance trilogies by Weis and Hickman are good. The Chronicles trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, etc.) is the classic original trilogy and the place to start, while the Legends trilogy (Time/War/Test of the Twins) is good if you like Caramon, Raistlin, and Tas, and the Lost Chronicles trilogy (Dragons of the Dwarven Depths and Dragons of the Highlord Skies, and the as-yet-unreleased Dragons of the Hourglass Mage) covers some of the gaps in the original trilogy. You could also read The Second Generation and some of the other stuff, but I don't really like that part of the history and tend to avoid those books. Of course, there are hundreds of other Dragonlance novels, so you can probably find some other good ones in there.

For Forgotten Realms, I like Salvatore's Icewind Dale trilogy (starts with The Crystal Shard) and if you're into Driz'zt the rest of those about him are probably decent (I only read the Dark Elf trilogy but none of the rest). He gets a lot of flak for Driz'zt's Mary Sue-ness, but overall they're not a terrible read. Also by Salvatore, the Cleric Quintet is good (or it is as far as I've read, which is the first two books).

[Jayngfet]

The first book in the war of the spider queen series. And only the first to avoid too many wall bangers.

[comicshorse]

Also by Salvatore, the Cleric Quintet is good (or it is as far as I've read, which is the first two books).

The third is good but avoid the fourth like the plague

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

The Lady Penitent series. If you like real Drow without that pansy-holding Mary Sue Drizz't, then read this, and 'the Quintessential Drow' by Mongoose Publishing. It is a 3.5 compatible sourcebook, but it really gives you good insight into how evil the Drow are supposed to be.

Basically, for all intents and purposes, the Drow and all but one of their Pantheon have ceased to exist.

[The Great Skenardo]

An acquaintance of mine pointed me towards his own work in a sub-set of the genre: D&D Fan Fiction.

This is, he tells me, his first foray into literature as a hobby, and a work in progress. (Indeed, roughly four pages of text are complete thus far, with more to be added on an irregular basis).
If you have much experience in the genre, you will find little in the way of surprises in these first four pages.
In The Stupendously Superior Story (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4369859/1/The_Stupendously_Superior_Story) you will find the beginnings of what one might reasonably assume is a take on the tried-and-true formula of a young man with a troubled past joined by a disparate cast of colorful characters, each with their own regionalisms and special powers. A warband of orcs lurk ominously on the narrative horizon, and the main character soon receives his father's sword, denied to him when he was sent into exile.
It's tempting at first to dismiss such an effort as just one more blade in the bristling hedge of Swords of Truth or Light or Lost Runesongs or birthrights denied. Such efforts form a thick literary hedge through which stick only a few proud trees in the genre; authors who have, in their time, added something lasting and unique that rises above the rest.
The Stupendously Superior Story is not such a giant of the genre, of course. You will not find in these four pages passages that can make your heart ache at the beauty of a thing, nor characters that you will remember forever nor descriptions and circumstances that could make a thousand schoolchildren wish, just for a while, that they lived in such a world.
But that's not the purpose of The Stupendously Superior Story. You know this story; the story of the young man with his razor-sharp sword and his spunky sidekicks, thrust unwillingly among a flock of wisecracks to face up to the Destiny that awaits. You know the story of the orcs who speak mangled English among themselves and know nothing beyond brutality and barbarism.
But the author knows this story too, and he knows you know. Half-earnestly, and half-winkingly he invites you to revel in the simplicity of it all; a story that (at least for the moment) doesn't look far beyond the next joke, the next quip, the next flash of prominently-showcased wit, and the notion that you should sit back, suspend your jaded attitude, and watch it. That's the invitation. Some readers will be unable to get past the first three paragraphs without rolling their eyes, and some may feel the corners of their mouths twitching with the hint of a smile. I daresay some will even find it in themselves to laugh genuinely.

[Kd7sov]

Not nearly enough people are familiar with The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. (I generally prefer the component volumes (Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold) individually.)

Basically, Moon heard from a friend about how many people play paladins and said to herself, "That's not how a warrior of the gods would behave!", so she sat down to write a book about how one would. It's not very obviously D&D, but it's got paladins and fighters and druids and mages (who seem to have equal facility with enchantment, evocation, and healing magic), as well as gnomes (very, very Lawful), dwarves, elves (including the Drow Kuaknom), St. Cuthbert Gird, [s]Lolth[/i] Achrya, magic scrolls that follow pre-3E scroll rules, and so on.

Paks herself can be a bit thickheaded sometimes, especially in the first two books, but I'm fond of the books.

[Stupendous_Man]

wow that was a wordy post, tgs.


is it me or are a lot of the names in that story people on this forum?

[Reinforcements]

Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville.

What? There is totally a D&D party in there, and it's better than any book with an actual D&D setting by leaps and bounds.

Okay, seriously. The original Dragonlance trilogy is okay - the rest is just silly with time-hopping and general confusion. I stand strong in my belief that R.A. Salvatore has never written a decent book, though. I seem to remember enjoying some of the Eberron novels, but they didn't make much of an impression on me.

[SilentNight]

I whole-heartedly second rtg and Reinforcements' posts. All of those are good books. Also by CHina Mieville is Iron Council which admittedly doesn't have a party but it's still a good read. By R.A. Salvatore, there's one trilogy that I can't remember the name of but it starts with Servant of the Shard.

[EvilElitest]

The first book in the war of the spider queen series. And only the first to avoid too many wall bangers.

meh, the second one is still good, if weaker, but yeah after that........


Anyways, the Drizzt books of course

darken comic is a good webcomic about it, along with goblins
Can people link stuff
yeah i'm a lazy hypocrite
from
EE

[Manga Shoggoth]

As already stated, The original Dragonlance trilogy is good, and the original Icewind Dale trilogy isn't too bad.

The Cleric Quintet started well, but went off in the last book or so.

I rather liked the first two books in the Finders Stone trilogy (Azure Bonds and The Wyvern's Spur) - the books stand together pretty well, so you don't have to read the third book (Song of the Saurials). Masquerades (which contains several of the characters) isn't too bad either.

[Vael Nir]

"Cormyr" is my favourite. A collection of short stories spanning the entire history of that nation, with the focus on the Obarskyr family and the royal wizards.

After that: the Erevis Cale trilogy isn't bad (dark and empty!). I liked the year of the dragons books as well. They have some good characters. Pavel as a fairly rogueish cleric of pelor, the avariel bladesinger (what was his name again?) with his pixie dragon companion, Chatulio the dragon and a few others.

Oh, and the half-golem.

[EvilElitest]

As already stated, The original Dragonlance trilogy is good, and the original Icewind Dale trilogy isn't too bad.

The Cleric Quintet started well, but went off in the last book or so.

I rather liked the first two books in the Finders Stone trilogy (Azure Bonds and The Wyvern's Spur) - the books stand together pretty well, so you don't have to read the third book (Song of the Saurials). Masquerades (which contains several of the characters) isn't too bad either.

on the Cleric Quintet, the first two books are good, the third is meh, the last is more meh, the last one is very good
from
EE

[shadowxknight]

try City of The Ravens and Temple Hill.
Both are set in the Forgotten Realms.

Also I second the Lady Penitent triliogy. I've only read two so far, but they've been great.

[Manga Shoggoth]

on the Cleric Quintet, the first two books are good, the third is meh, the last is more meh, the last one is very good
from
EE

At least we agree on the first two...