Blackstaff Tower

by Steven Schend

Book Overview

A Call for Heroes! A young group of friends stumble across a terrifying conspiracy that holds the heir to the Blackstaff, the defender of the city of Waterdeep, in terrible danger. These friends must... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786949139
• ISBN13: 9780786949137
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 307 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.1" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Great read!!

I really enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover. I am relatively new to Forgotten Realms, so I'm sure I missed some of the more subtle nuances of the realm. That said, I never felt "lost" or even disoriented with this book. The action started right away and kept pulling me along through the entire tale. The characters were well-defined while leaving room for my imagination and formed a quick bond with me as well as with each other. Thank you Mr. Schend for my first glimpse into the Forgotten Realms.

Excellent fantasy storytelling

While I have had the pleasure to meet Steven E. Schend, I have never read anything related to Dungeons & Dragons before in my life. Despite being surrounded by people who are fervent D & D players, I've never played a single game of it myself. With that in mind, I picked up Blackstaff Tower more out of respect for an acquaintance than for love of the world it was set in. I do know enough about D & D to know that the current edition (4th) has brought with it a "reset" of sorts to the Forgotten Realms setting, a fact that helps out this novel tremendously. Wherein I feared I was going to be confronted with names, places, and events that I needed prior knowledge of to enjoy the story, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very accessible novel that may actually suffer from the D & D branding rather than benefit from it. Blackstaff Tower is an adventure story, starting with a great wrongdoing and detailing a quest to deal with the wake of that incident. The heroes begin as a ragtag group of strangers but slowly build loyalties and allegiances through their common goals. Throughout it all, the city of Waterdeep is more than a backdrop; it is a living, breathing political scene, with developments unknown to our group of protagonists. From the moment I opened the book, my mind was full of this spectacular new world and its people. Even when I wasn't reading, I was considering the current situation and wondering what would come next. When the story took turns that I had seen coming, there was always a new element in place to surprise me. Whereas a lesser novelist would've put new obstacles in front of protagonists to lengthen their story, Schend uses these opportunities to convey the complexities of the world and of its people; this is far more than a simple "complete the quest" storyline. As I finished the book, my mind wandered to future adventures featuring these heroes. I could see this story laying the groundwork for a much more epic quest; functionally "The Hobbit" to a forthcoming "Lord of the Rings". One can only hope that Schend has more in mind.

Great heroes, great villains, I can't put this book down!

This is the first time I have ever reviewed a book...so bare with me and be gentle. I am a big fan of D & D. I have picked up a couple of the Forgotten Realms books and I am rarely impressed with them. So I read the preview chapter for Blackstaff Tower and really enjoyed the characters, the banter, and Schends style. I especially liked the idea of fast forwarding into the future of the realms...the reason for this is...I have felt like in the few Forgotten Realms books I have read I have been expected to recognize and know characters from the RPG, the novels, or where ever. This book contains new characters, new villains, new inside jokes! No need to have the entire history of the realms at your fingertips to understand the novel. I decided to buy the book. I get home, take care of family duties, and get ready for bed. Here is where I make my big mistake. I opened the book. I expected the first chapter to be the chapter I read online (which I enjoyed)! But, no - curve ball. The first chapter is a fast paced, totally surprising, explosive, kick off to a great novel. It also has a big surprise. So now I am hooked. I stayed up for five more hours (with the bed stand light on, much to my wife's dismay). I finally force myself to stop reading so I can get at least an hours sleep before work. Now I am sitting at work, bleary eyed, disheveled, tired, and looking forward to another night of reading. Thank you Mr. Schend for writing a Forgotten Realms book I can really get excited about. You did a great job. In fact, I feel like I HAD to write this review. I am not finished with the book yet...but I have to say, this is an immensely entertaining book. You will not be disappointed.

A Bit of Old with a lot of New

Right now I sit at my in-laws. It is 10PM CST and I have just set down Blackstaff Tower, finishing it's Epilogue with a great smile on my face. This book and Mistshore by Jayleigh Johnson are the first books to give us an inside view of Waterdeep -- The City of Spenldors, as it appears in the 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Now I hope that last statement does not turn anyone off to this wonderful tale. Whether you love or hate the changes to D & D or the Forgotten Realms, this book is well worth reading. After the shock that hit me during the Prologue it was actually about two days before I was able to move onto Chapter One (but for that I do truly blame work). I fell in love with Renaer Neverember. He reminded me of me, which one always sees as a positive when picking up a new book. Renaer likes to know things, he researches, he collects, but in the end it's all about the knowledge and its what makes a difference. Now for those who are coming in fresh, Khelben Arunsun is dead. He died in the year 1374 - The Year of Lightning Storms while participating in a ritual of high magic to bring about the City of Hope -- Rhymanthiin. Upon his death, Tsarra Chaadren took up the mantle of the Blackstaff leading us into the whirlwind that begins this book. I'll avoid the history lesson further (while I may post some later) except to say at the beginning of the book, Samark Dhanzscul is the fifth to hold the title of Blackstaff. I went into reading this book sitting of the opinion that I was reading it purely for information ... I had no interest whatsoever in what has happened to the Realms. I was expecting the same rich and informative writing that Steven has brought to us in his previous novel (Blackstaff) and his other game materials. I went into this book hoping to see the history of Tsarra Chaadren. Well what can I say except that I was thrown for a loop. Steven has continued to impress me with his fiction writting (as opposed to game writing -- which tends to blur together at times). His references to minor characters of the Realms' past have always driven me to research ... I like knowing what I'm reading about, and this book was no exception. How many people can make me constantly wonder about a penguin? As for information on Tsarra? It's there, but as I previously mentioned the book begins with the fifth Blackstaff ... it was a small shock to me, but knowing how some things have been torn apart recently it wasn't completely unexpected. The fact that her history was still gotten across decently with her being deceased for such a long time was impressive. Now I get back to my previous mentioning about the Forgotten Realms of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. I had no interest in it, and still have very minor interests. Upon finishing this book, not only do I want to do some research on some of the mentioned characters, but I want to dive straight into Misthore, re-read this book, and am seriously considering checking out

A fine read!

First off, I'd like to congratulate you, Mr. Schend. You have graduated to the ranks of Ed, Elaine and Bob in (at least my) standings. The story kept the flavor of the Realms, from reluctant heroes and smart-alec rogues to adventurers being in way over their heads, but still going forward because it's the right thing to do. I know I listed HEAVY SPOILERS on this, not because I want to give away the overall story, but because a lot of things discussed here are going to be spoiler-like, being that they were covered by NDA in other areas. Now, into the review. As a reader of shared-world fiction, and most of those being set in gaming environments, I'm pretty good at spotting the "rules" behind the story. In Battletech novels, I can "read" the hit locations and such and in most Realms novels, I can identify the spells being used and powers of various weapons. With Blackstaff Tower, I can see the 4th edition creep of rules (at-will powers, rituals, etc.) but Steven did a fine job of making them more of a balance between the two. No where did the fighters/rogues powers seem to be an ability, but rather tactical circumstance of their actions, while the sorcerers* and wizards still "felt" like the magic-users of old (editions). As for the story itself, it was a fine job bridging the gaps between our Realms and the Shattered Realms. Using the shades of the Blackstaffs to show us and teach Varja (the newest Blackstaff) what a Blackstaff has become since Khelban is a nice story device and gives the fans of the Realms a way to relate to the new heroes and Waterdeep's newest protector, making her more in touch with us. And giving us that small taste of Krehlan Arunson, Khelben and Laeral's son was the right amount of "filling in the blanks" so that if anyone set a game in his era, they could play him, while leaving enough unsaid that you can go back to him again and again for more detailed stories. The same goes for Tsarra, Ashemmon, Kyriani and Samark. Each of the Blackstaffs have been unique individuals with with very unique personalites, but the underlying commonality of being there for Waterdeep's protection. The biggest problem with all of this, of course, is that it leaves the reader wanting more of the history and stories of these individuals. The nearest comparison I can make would be to Ghost War by Michael A. Stackpole. Not in writing style, or somesuch, but in the the situation behind the novel. Michael had the 100 year jump in BattleTech to deal with and needed to show what happened to the world and people the fans had known. His story, although well-written, was still a let-down to me because the world did not feel familiar and I no longer cared what became of those that lived in the world. You've succeeded, however, in tying the current story to elements in the past, using the main character's Renaer's interest in the history of Waterdeep. By having him explain to his friends on historical notes, you lead the reader up from the past to the