Once Around the Realms (Forgotten Realms) [Mass Market Paperback]

Brian Thomsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 1995

On a dare, Volothamp Geddarm pledges to circumnavigate the globe without the aid of his magic and becomes an unwitting pawn in a devious plan that threatens the realm of Faerun. Original. 75,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (April 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786901195
• ISBN-13: 978-0786901197
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,781,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Paperback bound bathroom tissue!, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Around the Realms (Forgotten Realms) (Mass Market Paperback)

I feel guilty writing a review of a book that I could not bear to read in its entirity, but doesn't that describe how bad this so-called novel was?! Apparently this author thinks that if he writes in enough fleeting appearances of every popular FR character into his story then he'll have an FR novel. There was no attempt at creating a substantial plot, there was only meaningless chance encounter after chance encounter with other authors' characters. Even if the reader can accept the sheer implausibility that these famous encounters could happen one after the other, the reader would have to be disappointed by Thomsen's misuse of these people. What was he trying to accomplish? Why not develop Volo's character (he could use some) instead of butchering those that other more capable authors have so carefully constructed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Once bitten...., January 7, 2000

By 

Duncan Haldane - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Around the Realms (Forgotten Realms) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoy the Forgotten Realms, but I suggest to all who also like the realms, avoid this book! Volo has been used in a series of roleplaying aids to help us get to know the realms, and those books have been very successful - they are well written and useful - and weren't written by Brian Thomsen.

Brian steals other people's characters and other people's plots (this could've been called "80 days around the realms") and drags the readers through a series of chance encounters with almost every character ever written about in the realms.

I wish I hadn't finished it, but I wanted to see if the novel had any redeeming features. No, I didn't find any.

Brian, if you are going to inflict us with your writing, at least try to be original!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst fantasy novels ever written, September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Around the Realms (Forgotten Realms) (Mass Market Paperback)

Far too full of trite in-jokes, token character appearances (some of them completely butchering characters who have been well-developed elsewhere) and a stupid, unconvincing plot, this work is entirely a waste of paper. If anyone other than a high-up at TSR had written it, it would never have been published.