Blackstaff (Forgotten Realms: The Wizards) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Steven E. Schend (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Khelben Arunsun, Chosen of Mystra, Archmage of Waterdeep, is as close to a demigod as you're likely to meet on the streets of Faerûn's mightiest city. But when the skies rain lightning and a long-forgotten city arises from the earth, he can seem like just another wizard.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786940166
• ISBN-13: 978-0786940165
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,057 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many characters - too much chaos., July 24, 2006

By	Ben Wand "I used to be cool..." (Gresham, OR United States) - See all my reviews

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed Khelben in Elaine's books, as his gruff, mysterious nature was a stark contrast to Danilo. However, the author of Blackstaff fails miserably to add or really delve into who the man behind the gruffness and mystery is. All we get is flat dialog and visions into his background.

After a good prologue, The book starts off introducing a whole slew of apprentice mages, which is an unfortunate waste of space since most of these characters basically disappear. Then an event happens, out of nowhere and written without much flow, that thrusts Khelben and one of his apprentices together and they must save Waterdeep.

Through the rest of the book, Khelben runs around Waterdeep talking to other mages, the other main character has visions (which are the best parts of the book, providing the only good action), meanwhile the supposed danger to Waterdeep never really feels that "dangerous". Khelben often says "we have very little time" yet why they have no time is never explained or shown.

Also, the interaction between Khelben and his wife is irritating. Supposedly Waterdeep is in grave danger yet his wife is giggling and making sarcastic comments. The author portrays her as an idiotic teenage girl, yet she's supposedly one of the most powerful mages in Waterdeep.

Khelben's interactions with his students, and the other main character, is also annoying. While Waterdeep's safety supposedly hangs in the balance, he conducts an in-depth research session with his student. The scene was painful and reminiscent of the TV show "House", where the smug Doctor really knows the answer but instead forces his underlings to come up with it just to prove a point.

Overall the author tried to do too much with this book. There are flashbacks that show Khelben's past, descriptions of mundane activities (like the taste of ale) that add nothing to the plot, and a whole host of characters are introduced briefly (with great description) but then disappear. In such a short book, the author wastes valuable space describing things and people who have no role whatsoever in the plot instead of giving us more story, action, and plot elements.

I don't recommend this book unless you are a hardcore FR fan. Even then, there are much better FR books to read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, July 27, 2007

By	J. Okerlund "J.Paul Okerlund" (Jamestown, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think what I liked most about this book was the LACK of the bizaare, unique, characters that have been so prevelant of late in Forgotten realms books. No half golem humans, dragons that spend that the bulk of their time in human form, or exiled goliaths. Good old basic half elf wizard apprentice, her familiar, a human thief and of course a few Chosen of Mystra.

The story flows well at a steady pace. A couple minor editing errors, the worst of which was a paragraph that was printed twice.

It was nice to see another author's take on the Blackstaff. Mr. Schend did an excellent job, I think, of expanding this character without radically changing anything that previous authors have done with him.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Damnit! Why'd you do that??, March 6, 2007

By	Mark - See all my reviews

4 stars for the writing. 0 stars for the story's end result.

The book's certainly not an easy read. I found myself flipping back and forth quite a bit to understand earlier parts of the book and discerning their significance. It's a complex but enjoyable read.

Author doesn't fill in all the details, and there's a lot that left dangling, but you can only do so much in a single book.

My biggest complaint however is leveled towards the WofC and whoever's in charge of the Forgotten Realms series. I've read this series since Waterdeep and followed the franchise since I was a kid. Why the hell would you kill off one of the best (and my favorite) characters in the series? Wasn't Azoun enough a few years back?

Khelben's been there from the beginning, and has always stuck in my mind since making an appearance in the Eye of Beholder games. It would be shallow to kill him off and suddenly resurrect him in a later story, as well.

To the WotC and Greenwood, stop recycling Salvatore's crap, write some more stories, invent some new arcs, and stop killing off favorites. You've pushed your loyal audience to the very edge of quitting.