Waterdeep (Forgotten Realms: Avatar Trilogy, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Richard Awlinson (Author) "Midnight's eyes, as dark and deep as the night,followed the shadow as it moved behind the upturned roots of a toppled willow tree..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lord of Murder, Lord of the Dead, Realm of the Dead (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Streets of Waterdeep...

Where danger lurks round every corner as the avatars of the gods seek the Tablets of Fate.

Where Cyric and Myrkul, god of death, plot to capture Midnight and twist the Tablets to their own dark ends, imperiling the very existence of Faerûn.

Where the destiny of the world will be decided and a new pantheon of gods will rise into the heaven


About the Author
Troy Denning is the author of many novels set in the Forgotten Realms world, including his recent Return of the Archwizards series. He has also written Death of the Dragon with Ed Greenwood and The Prism Pentad, set in the Dark Sun world. He recently penned the New York Times best-selling Star Wars novel Star by Star for Del Rey. Denning lives in Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (October 17, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880387599
• ISBN-13: 978-0880387590
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #707,598 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Trilogy, not just this title..., April 22, 2001

By A Customer

I found the Avatar Trilogy to be quite enjoyable. Particularly for gamers of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting this set of books is a must read. Aside from that, I didn't think it was bad at all, in fact I think Kelemvor Lyonsbane is possibly one of the more interesting characters I've read about in FR novels to date. He has some very interesting quirks that I will not mention to those who plan to read the book. It's an easy and quick read, the story flows well, with perhaps one slow point. Descriptive enough to give you a picture of whats going on but not overboad with wordiness and details. Cyric's story could have been done a bit better. It seems like some pages are missing, the reader never gets the full story behind what makes Cyric do what he does. Some shallow references but all in all, if there is a drawback to this series, that would be it. And it is in fact a major flaw. Make sure you read this trilogy in order.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very worthwhile conclusion to excellent series., September 17, 2000

By	"bulldog51" (Connellsville, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This is the final installment in the Avatar Trilogy (the previous two being "Shadowdale" and "Tantras.") There's nothing I hate more in a novel (and especially a series of novels) than unresolved questions at the end. This book resolves the issues of the series in a believable and interesting way, which also opens the door to future adventures involving the same characters.

If you've read "Shadowdale" and "Tantras," then you owe it to yourself to finish out the trilogy. If you haven't, then read them first, because the actions of the characters will be much clearer with the background provided by the first two books.

All in all, a fine ending to an outstanding series and some truly unforgetable characters (my personal "favorite" is Cyric, since he's hands-down the most interesting and layered character in the series.) Prepare to be hooked (I last read these books over 5 years ago, and I still find the characters and stories compelling.) if you get started.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying Conclusion, May 18, 2003

By	Yu-jin Chia "Yu-Jin Chia" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Avatar trilogy is one of those series that starts out pretty bland and gets better as it goes. That said, Waterdeep- the "sort of" conclusion to this tale, is a great story. It's largely assumed you are familiar with the characters, and unlike the previous novels the author (this time 'Awlinson' is Troy Denning) does not try to summarize everything that happened before.

This is fortunate, as it leaves more room for fun stuff. To sum up the gist of the tale, the quest continues to recover the second Tablet of Fate and return order to the Realms. Midnight, Kelemvor, and Adon- the heroes of the story- travel to the City of Splendors in search of the missing artifact. The title is somewhat misleading, as they actually don't spend much time in Waterdeep itself. Most of the time is spent journeying there and dealing with all manner of enemies, including the baddest mortal villain currently in the Realms- Cyric.

A few things go unanswered, and the story's finale leaves a lot unwritten, but this is because the saga doesn't actually end here despite it being the third book in a trilogy. If you were disappointed in the characterization in earlier books, Waterdeep does little to improve upon it. The strength of this story is its plot, and those who aren't familiar with Forgotten Realms household names like Elminster and Khelben will be wondering who these guys are, and why everyone seems to recognize them. Little enough explanation is given for why Cyric spirals down to the bottom end of the alignment spectrum, though I suppose one could just say the guy is nuts.

I won't say anything more about the story, but suffice to say it is good. I wasn't very pleased with Shadowdale, but the authors have clearly gotten things straightened out since writing that first novel. If you've started the series already, it would be a shame to not read Waterdeep as this is where much of the trilogy's value is maintained.