Downshadow: Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep [Mass Market Paperback]

Erik Scott de Bie (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 7, 2009 | Series: Greenwood Presents Waterdeep

The Dark Knight Must Choose: Justice or Vengeance

Watchman by day, vigilante by night, Shadowbane's world is turned upside down when he runs across a powerful wizard--in the form of a confused, hunted girl who finds herself at the heart of a fell plot. When his friends start dying and the girl is kidnapped, Shadowbane must choose between the darkness and the light in his heart: to avenge the deaths of his friends, or to let the villain live to face--and possibly escape--justice.

Downshadow is thrilling tale of vigilante justice set in the classic City of Splendors and presented by Forgotten Realms(R) campaign setting creator and celebrated author Ed Greenwood. You don't want to miss out on this exciting glimpse into what the latest edition of the Realms has to offer.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786951281
• ISBN-13: 978-0786951284
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a speculative fiction author, mostly writing fantasy, science fiction, and some mix of the two. I'm probably best known for the Forgotten Realms series SHADOWBANE (the tale of a thief turned vigilante paladin, sworn to a dead god), as well as a growing body of short stories in various anthologies and available for download on the web. (Seriously, check my website, it's pretty awesome.)

I am also a known quantity in the gaming industry, designing for the legendary tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons as well as other systems.

When I'm not writing, gaming, or more writing, I compose technical documentation by day and fight injustice by night. I lives in Seattle and am married with pets

Check erikscottdebie.com for free downloads, events, and more information!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast paced, lore filled, novel May 11, 2009

By Andrew Gray

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Downshadow by Erik Scott de Bie is the third book is a series stand alone novels titled Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep. The first two books are; Blackstaff Tower: Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep by Steven Schend and Mistshore: Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep by Jaleigh Johnson. Future books to be released in this series are; City of the Dead: Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep by Rosemary Jones (June, 09), The God Catcher by Erin Evans (Feb, 2010), and Circle of Skulls by James Davis (June, 2010). This novel marks the third novel Mr. de Bie has written for the Forgotten Realms universe, the previous two novels; Ghostwalker (The Fighters) and Depths of Madness: The Dungeons, are also stand alone novels. While I have been a fan of these stand alone novels, I think it is time that the editors at Wizards of the Coast allow Mr. de Bie to really show his writing talent and give him a trilogy. I think given a trilogy Mr. de Bie will truly show his talent as a writer. Here are my thoughts on this novel.

The plot of this book follows a mysterious Shadowbane as he patrols the depths of Downshadow to deal with the nefarious denizens that inhabit the place. There are a few adventures of Shadowbane doing these altruistic deeds, but there is much more depth to the story as well.... There are more instances of people having spellscars and some explanations on just what that can do to someone. Lastly, there are multiple instances of betrayals, backstabbing, deceit, and many battles between individuals and factions. Mr. de Bie, in the past, has shown a knack for writing fast paced character driven novels with good fight scenes. For the most part, this sentiment holds true with Downshadow. The plot of this book has an almost breakneck feel at times, which is both a plus and a hindrance. There were a couple of instances where the story flew by so fast I was left grasping for what just happened. Even after rereading a scene, it almost had a manic feel to it. Those scenes may have been better serves by pulling off the throttle a little. However, with that said, there are some scenes that benefit from that fast paced nature - most notably the chase scene that happens between Shadowbane and Talanna. I loved that scene. In general, I thought the book had a decent plotline - but I never felt really invested in it as much as I have in Mr. de Bie's previous work (most notably Ghostwalker). With that said, I can easily understand how some readers will really enjoy this plot, to me it was just okay.

The characters in this book are not nearly as numerous as I had thought based on the scope of the plot. While there are numerous characters, this story revolves around seven characters; Kalen, Araezra, Talanna, Fayne, Myrin, Rath and Shadowbane. For me, the characters were hit and miss. Rath and Fayne I loved. I enjoyed their mannerisms, dialogue, ruthlessness, etc. They were perfection. Talanna, Kalen, and Shadowbane had positives and negatives for me. I really enjoyed when Kalen's back-story seeped into the story. Talanna proved to be a strong character, but at times it seemed like she was pushed to the side during the character development phase for the more central characters. I preferred Shadowbane more at the start of the story than I did once the mystery was revealed. The mystery around Shadowbane was like watching the Titanic movie, most fantasy fans will have little trouble figuring things out. That leaves me with Myrin and Araezra. Two characters I simply could not connect with. For some reason they just did not interest me at all. I was rather apathetic about those two, I understand their respective plights, but they just didn't grab me like I was hoping. All in all the characters in this book are solid and span a broad spectrum offering up something most fans should enjoy.

A couple criticisms about this novel:

1 - At times some of the dialogue seemed too long, or forced. It just didn't seem to flow as smoothly as it could have. It Mr. de Bie's first two novels, the dialogue was spot on and fit perfectly with the story. However, in this book at times it just didn't seem to click for me.

2 - Myrin and Shadowbane's spellscar `powers' are a little unnerving to me. Not in the sense that they have the powers, but as I was reading this book it felt more and more like I was reading a fantasy book with X-men mutant characters. This really applies to Myrin and her abilities and made things feel a little too convenient.

Some things I liked about this novel:

1 - I have long been a fan of Mr. de Bie's darkside of writing. Simply put, he drags his characters through the gutter, slaps them around, kicks them down the stairs, then steps on their fingers as they try to pull themselves out. Those same things apply to this book as well. If you are looking for light reading material with a generous dose of humor... find a different book.

2 - The villains. Rath may be one of my favorite villains I have ever read about. Although, he is much like Tasselhoff Burfoot from the Dragonlance Chronicles, in that almost every scene Rath is in he steals it. Even if he is a minor character in the seen I was captivated by him. His ruthlessness, crassness, bitterness, and how he uses people to meet his needs was near perfection.

3 - In Ghostwalker Mr. de Bie showed that he could write a fight scene almost as well as R.A. Salvatore, however in this book he proves he is no longer near the level of Salvatore, but equal to (if not better) than Salvatore. The fight scenes in this book are descriptive, action packed, but more importantly they are realistic.

While reading the above, some may think I did not like this book. Quite the contrary actually, there were many things I enjoyed about the novel. Maybe Mr. de Bie is simply a victim of his own success by first writing Ghostwalker, everything else will forever be compared to that. Fans of the Forgotten Realms and Erik de Bie's work will no doubt find elements in this story to enjoy. It is everything one has come to expect to find. I know there is a segment of Forgotten Realms fans who have shunned the Realms after the switch to 4th Edition rules. However, I would emplore them to give these Waterdeep books a read and then make a determination. I have enjoyed all the 4th Edition novels and think it makes for some interesting storyline possibilities. After reading this book I have no doubt that Mr. de Bie will be writing great stories for years to come, and I for one am excited to see what he pens next. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I had expected October 14, 2009

By James Holland

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Wow, I did not expect to like this book. Having been bored and looking for a new series to start, I chose the Post Spellplague Waterdeep series. So far, I am loving it..but this book...was the best. Nice mystery, romance and swordsplay...I am begging for a sequel. Fayne is an enjoyable character and should be made a permanent part of Waterdeep Lore..and that goes for Rath as well. The ending to the book leaves you hanging...will Kalen find Myrin? Who is Myrin really?
*********spoiler************
Does Myrin hold some part of Mystra within herself? Why cant she remember her past? Was are the blue runes? So many questions...with zero answers!
There had better be a sequel!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars DeBie does it again April 11, 2009

By Stefan Gore

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Downshadow by Erik Scott DeBie is the third book in a series of stand alone novels in the Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series. The story centers around Shadowbane , a paladin that is desperately trying to adhere to his faith while ridding Downshadow of its more nefarious denizens. He struggles to choose between justice or vengeance when he encounters a nearly unstoppable adversary.

The story was fast paced and drew me in from the beginning. DeBie gives the reader just enough information to set the hook and draw the reader deeper and deeper into the story. The characters grow throughout the story and are very well fleshed out by the end. The fight scenes were vivid and well thought out. I could actually hear Hans Zimmer in the background as the heroes and villains battled throughout the book. DeBie made me really care for the characters, good and bad alike. They are all tortured and flawed in some way and their histories are interwoven throughout the book and I kept turning page after page for a glimpse into what made these characters tick.

I highly recommend this book to new and longtime readers of the Forgotten Realms. If you are looking for a fast paced, action packed book with fantastic characters that leave you wanting more, then Downshadow is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best New Realms Author June 16, 2011

By Lix

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was totally blown away by the writing in this book. To say I am an avid reader, and huge Realms fan would be an understatement. I`ve read every novel. And yet, this story jumped off the page for me like none other I can remember. The characters are truly life-sized and the story winds a well woven web of adventure. He captures the real city of Waterdeep. The racy, sexy love triangles, fight scenes with exceptional realism and common blood wading in noble foppishness themes that smacks of Greenwood. This is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat read, and if your thinking about buying it, please do! You`ll be glad you did, I guarantee it. I look forward to De Bie`s next masterpiece.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing September 4, 2009

By Rebecca Welch

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Firstly, a warning. This book is /not/ sweetness and light; the title is also an area beneath the city of Waterdeep, but it is also a pretty accurate reflection on the mood.

My daughter and I have both read it--she's 14, I'm 43. We both enjoyed it enough to want to read a sequel(with the understanding from my daughter, however, that Kalen not die).

The presence of Waterdeep, both above-ground and below, running in the background of the story itself, was a very nice touch. The book is clearly a Dungeons & Dragons setting, and reflects that consistently, which I liked. The descriptions of places in past adventures, people in past stories, and new places have added a great deal to scenarios we use for gaming, but the book itself is a good read whether you're a fan of the D&D game or not.

(Spoiler below!)

My primary criticism isn't the X-men flavor, though it has that, but that many of the characters that were interestingly described are then killed later. Perhaps this is good--after all, how many returning villains/friends can you have?--but dang it. I LIKED some of them. The ending is also rather a cliff-hanger. Something you'd expect to see at the end of a television season, to encourage viewers to watch the season opener--except there is no sequel!

My daughter literally threw the book angrily at me after she finished(she read it straight through, in several hours on summer vacation), and demanded to know 'what happens afterward!'.

Still, in all, it's a nice good read with some neat 4e Forgotten Realms flavor, and a slice of super-hero mixed in.... In fact, something happened with that that I have ALWAYS wondered how superheroes dodge--secret identities are deuced difficult to successfully keep--so kudos for having THIS hero, have his slip a few times. Read more ›