I was exited when I got it a few day's early, quickly finished up another book I was on then read the first 50 pgs of EiH. It's not so good.
The title is awesome, the cover is great, I disregarded all the bad reviews because of those two things, I shouldn't have. It started out great, a heck of a fight scene, spoilers then a demon jumps into El's head searching for something. I thought the next chapter would be equally as good. I quickly realized that the demon stay's in his head and the entire novel is snippets of other characters lives.
Non linear, unsatisfying glimpses. That's not the worst part, the worst is the format. The dialogue between El and the demon is only that, dialogue. The descriptive verse is not there save for the parentheses. And El showing the demon memories it doesn't want to see. Unfortunitly neither did I. About the parentheses though, this is important, the author uses no descriptive verse when the demon and El speak throughout the book, instead he inserts Parenthesis with words and phrases like [dark glare][disgust] [furious volley of mind bolts] [diabolic satisfaction].
It looks like side notes an author would have on a rough draft or the format of a screenplay. It feels like lazy writing. I hate to be so negative about this, my tastes might change over the years I may rediscover the author etc. This book took me a few chapters to get into but once the story got going it did not let up. Loved seeing the various aspects of the characters as well as the realms.
A very good read. The other books were clunky but good. But this one was more boring than the wheel of time come on ed. You can write a p. But not a solid storty? The story was good, but following the conversation El and demon got to be a pain. I have read this book several times now and I laugh and cry every single time I have read it.
See all 56 reviews. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? Pages with related products. See and discover other items: There's a problem loading this menu right now. Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. I was promised dragon punching and instead there was graphic torture, infuriatingly flaccid threats, overuse of the word 'diabolical' and whole sections where the author gave up on complete sentences. I am so disappointed.
Feb 18, Bridget rated it did not like it Shelves: Dec 21, Billy rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: My favorite in the elminster series. Apr 12, Joe rated it it was ok. Not as good as I thought it would be. I expected something different so that might be the issue. Sep 16, Kagan Oztarakci rated it liked it. Love it I have read this book several times now and I laugh and cry every single time I have read it.
Nov 30, JJ rated it liked it. Elminster finds himself trapped in Hell and this novel chronicles what he underwent there and the various attempts of his friends and colleagues to rescue him. The framing device is strange, hopping back and forth between the thoughts of Elminster and those of the arch-fiend Nergal who has captured him. The rest of the novel moves back and forth between Elminster's sometimes fragmentary memories and present-time events. In some ways, Elminster in Hell reads as a collection of short stories, but there is an overarching story and plot to the work.
At the beginning, I almost abandoned the book, not sure what to make of it, but I stuck with it. Even though the ending is perplexing, even though it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all of the characters, even though some of the scenes of Hell's tortures were particularly gruesome and gut-wrenching, I ended up liking the book. Some of the memory vignettes, such as the mystery surrounding the murders of a number of Lords of Waterdeep, were quite captivating. And I particularly enjoy Greenwood's ability to describe the way magic looks and feels and acts as it is being cast, and I think he is particularly good at describing spell battles.
Plus, I give Greenwood bonus points for trying something different and experimenting with storytelling styles. This is the fourth Elminster book I've read all in the space of a few months and although it turned out to be an enjoyable read, I think I'm ready to be finished with the Old Mage for a while. The Elminster books are good, but not great, and I've read a bunch of them, so I need a break. But I'm sure at some future point in time I'll be back to read more of Elminster's adventures.
Dec 23, Theresa Ramseyer rated it liked it. You do start in the middle of the action in this book. A bit more lead in would have been nice.
I haven't read any of the other Elfminister books, so this was probably not the best for me to start on. But this is the first one the library had, so. I did find it mostly easy to tell when he and the devil were communicating, and when Elminister was giving up a memory. It got complicated when the devil's buddies started showing up. Who was who, and where did you come from again?
But that was on the You do start in the middle of the action in this book. But that was on the demon side; telling who was who on Elminister's side was easier. The book is graphic in describing pain and torture. The ending and one other part seemed too magical - Elminister is reduced to literally almost nothing, then one magic spell and he's whole and restored and just hunky dory again, thank you very much, whether to be tortured all over again or to celebrate being saved.
No residual problems, it seems. Given a choice, I would definitely read the first three books first. Otherwise you might get lost in the who's who and some unanswered questions. I might read this again once I have finished those, and see how I like it then. I listened to this in audio book format.
See a Problem?
Since Goodreads still doesn't support audiobook versions, I tried to get as close as possible. The narration was quite good. The narrator did a good job of making the characters' voices different. I do suspect that paragraph notations would have made this easier to understand in a non-audio format, since the story does jump about both betwen characters and in space and time, since it deals a great deal in memories and how those memories interact with what I listened to this in audio book format. I do suspect that paragraph notations would have made this easier to understand in a non-audio format, since the story does jump about both betwen characters and in space and time, since it deals a great deal in memories and how those memories interact with what is going on with particular characters in the present.
Still, I rather enjoyed it as classic Greenwood. Some reviews I had read mentioned that this book might not make a lot of sense if you just followed from the previous Elminster books, but that you would need to have read another laundry list of books, as well. I had not read most of the other books, but did have a fair grounding in Realmslore, having read some other Forgotten Realms authors, as well as some rule books, so I didn't have any particular trouble.
I wouldn't doubt that there might have been other dimensions if I had read those other books, but they were not required reading, either. Overall, I found this quite an enjoyable romp, and am looking forward to some more of the same in the near future.
Mar 27, Jesse rated it really liked it Shelves: I feel like it's important to say that the four star rating is relative. I'm rating this book against other books by Ed Greenwood, not judging it on the same level as, say, Tolkien Elminster was instrumental in forming the Rangers Three, who aided him in recurring battles with the mysterious Shadowmasters during this time.
Elminster also took time to defend Shadowdale from an army of Zhentarim led by the avatar of Bane. Bane and Elminster battled, and both were caught up in the spell that Elminster had called upon to dispose of the avatar. Elminster was originally thought to have been destroyed, but when he later reappeared it became apparent that he had merely been transported to another plane of existence for a time.
The forces of evil tried to rally in Elminster's absence, but the other Chosen, the Knights of Myth Drannor, and the Rangers Three held them at bay until he returned. With the present crisis averted, all seemed calm, but the Shadowmasters had other ideas. Elminster and the Rangers Three, along with their allies, managed to frustrate and foil the plans of this race of shapeshifters. Elminster also confronted the overgod, Lord Ao , over his instigation of the Time of Troubles while innocents were being killed.
As the critical moment of the Time of Troubles approached, Mystra knew of what was to come and shed most of her power into the human wizard Midnight, so that all of her essence would not cease to exist.
Since Elminster obtained his power from Mystra, this change left him personally powerless at a critical juncture. He recruited one of the Rangers Three, Sharantyr, and they equipped themselves from Elminster's cache of magical items. The two of them were later reunited with the other two members of the band, Itharr and Belkram, but even the Rangers Three could not prevent Elminster from being wounded in battle.
Despite this setback, Elminster and the rangers, along with their allies, freed High Dale and defeated Manshoon of the Zhentarim. They also outlasted the Time of Troubles, and Elminster regained his magic.
Forgotten Realms: Elminster Series by Ed Greenwood
The immortal rulers of the city came to Shadowdale, and one of the shadow princes was struck by Storm's silver fire. The collision tore at the fabric of reality and created a rift to the Nine Hells. Elminster realized that the only way to close the portal before a legion of devils spilled forth onto Toril was to close it from the other side.
In the opening of Elminster in Hell , Elminster narrowly managed to close the portal at the expense of much of his magical strength. Once in Hell he was abducted and enslaved by an outcast Arch-Devil known as Nergal, who wished to discover the secret of Mystra's silver fire.
Navigation menu
In the most graphic scenes of The Elminster Series , Elminster was subjected to brutal tortures, surviving only because of his exceptional endurance and ability to heal himself with silver fire. While the arch-fiend plundered Elminster's thoughts and memories, Mystra became aware of her favorite servant's plight and entered Hell herself to find him. Realizing that her presence in Hell was less than inconspicuous, due to the Pact Primeval that prohibits the presence of any god in the Nine Hells, Mystra retreated and dispatched more subtle agents to find him; first Halaster Blackcloak , the Mad Mage of Undermountain who was defeated and then the Simbul.
After much searching, the Simbul found him, and together they defeated Nergal and returned home. Elminster's Daughter [10] takes place a few years after Elminster in Hell. A relatively light-hearted book when compared to the more violent Elminster in Hell , it focuses primarily on the life of one of Elminster's children, Narnra Shalace.
Elminster in Hell
Narnra is a thief who was raised by a single mother in Waterdeep. She eventually finds her way to Marsember and becomes involved in the intrigues of the Cormyrean nation. She also meets an old man who turns out to be Elminster, and learns that he is her father. Following the events of the Spellplague caused by the destruction of his patron, Mystra, Elminster lost much of his power but remained unaging.
He continued to live in Shadowdale, but he became bitter and withdrawn. Elminster aids the player's party from Limbo, offering advice and direction and shuttling them back and forth between the dimensions they must travel in order to undo Bane's plot. He also serves as a trainer, equipment store and healer to the party.