Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: A worthy sequeal for the 'Making of a Mage'. However more effort could have gone into gving more life to the other elven chracters of the Elven Court. Little is know of the Starym, the Coronal and the Srinshee or any of the other great families. The book gives the impression that Ed was in a rush to get the book out to the printers. It is however a must buy for those who ernestly pursue the life of Elminster the Mage
Rating: 
Summary: Greenwood should leave the elves to Elaine Cunningham
Review: After reading a few books by Elaine Cunningham featuring elves as main characters I admit I'm a little spoiled. This novel just didn't do it for me. Myth Drannor is described pretty well, but Greenwood has a problem fleshing out the elves. There is none of the magic that Cunningham so easily captures when describing elven life. Elves are special magical creatures in her novels. Having read other novels by Greenwood I noticed that his elves talked, and acted exactly the same as his humans do. If he didn't tell you they were elves you'd never know. In on scene the Coronal is described as snoring. Ed, surface elves don't even sleep! Argh! Stuff like this bothers me. And of course the most beautiful elf in the book will eventually fall in love with Elminster (of course we all know that Elminster is Greenwood's alter ego, Greenwood even looks exactly like a young Elminster). Greenwood frustrates me. He's not a bad writer, but his super-characters are getting old. I was disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing?!??! But a good book
Review: After reading Elminster The Making of a Mage, I was ready to jump into this book. This is a good book never less. But the bickering between the elves was very confusing. I got lost in many of the spell battles in the book. But at the end I understood what was happening and was glad that I finished it.
Rating: 
Summary: Leave elves to other authors
Review: After reading through the Making of a Mage, the Dark Elf Series (through current), and, of course, Tolkien, this book held little interest. I had a hard time fighting my way through this book in favor of reading the Merck Index for fun (a chemistry reference). My thoughts were:1. Are the elves of Cormanthor not just Drow with light skin? They had matron/patron elders of houses who were plotting, diabolical, and beat their servants. "Accidents" were talked about being arranged, and nearly everyone was out for themselves or their house. And they are supposed to be good? Huh? 2. Characters were rather under-developed. Some of the main characters had a decent background, but for the most part, the characters were rather 2-dimensional and didn't really attach themselves to me.3. According to this and the Making of a Mage, Elminster is a weakling. There is only ONE battle/encounter in the entire book that Elminster handles on his own. Every other time in his life, he doesn't even bother to think for himself, he just goes off crying for help to Mystra. "Mystra help me" is his tag line, and 99% of the time, she does. I don't care if he is a chosen of Mystra, it's ridiculous. Mystra might as well have come down in avatar form that looked like Elminster and done the same stuff. 4. Of course, the spells don't adhere to the rules of the D&D game at all, in any edition that I know of, but it's just a book. The only problem comes when the spells and powers become internally inconsistent. Why not just use the rules laid out in the D&D rules? Hell, Ed wrote half of the rules, he's certainly familiar with them. Elminster has this infinite ability to shape his spells to whatever he wants, but can't even figure out if a person is a friend or a foe without calling to Mystra. You may disagree, but this is based on my opinion compared to other fantasy novels. Obviously, Tolkien is far and away the master. However, Salvatore does an excellent job in writing fast-paced novels that manage to keep consistent with the D&D game rules, which provides a consistency throughout the series. Salvatore's writing is more masterful and he crafts much better characters and stories than Greenwood. I have since started reading Elaine Cunningham's Evermeet book and it presents elves the way they should be presented, in my opinion. The quality of writing style is much better than in Greenwood's book. My last complaint is the title of the book. I thought it was going to be about Elminster and his adventures in Myth Drannor. Not so. The Mythal wasn't laid until the very end of the book, and there are no adventures of his in the book. It should be called "Elminster in Cormyr: the Founding of Myth Drannor" For the money, the book was not worth it to me. I would have rather spent the money on another Cunningham book.
Rating:
Summary: Leave elves to other authors
Review: After reading through the Making of a Mage, the Dark Elf Series (through current), and, of course, Tolkien, this book held little interest. I had a hard time fighting my way through this book in favor of reading the Merck Index for fun (a chemistry reference). My thoughts were:1. Are the elves of Cormanthor not just Drow with light skin? They had matron/patron elders of houses who were plotting, diabolical, and beat their servants. "Accidents" were talked about being arranged, and nearly everyone was out for themselves or their house. And they are supposed to be good? Huh? 2. Characters were rather under-developed. Some of the main characters had a decent background, but for the most part, the characters were rather 2-dimensional and didn't really attach themselves to me.3. According to this and the Making of a Mage, Elminster is a weakling. There is only ONE battle/encounter in the entire book that Elminster handles on his own. Every other time in his life, he doesn't even bother to think for himself, he just goes off crying for help to Mystra. "Mystra help me" is his tag line, and 99% of the time, she does. I don't care if he is a chosen of Mystra, it's ridiculous. Mystra might as well have come down in avatar form that looked like Elminster and done the same stuff. 4. Of course, the spells don't adhere to the rules of the D&D game at all, in any edition that I know of, but it's just a book. The only problem comes when the spells and powers become internally inconsistent. Why not just use the rules laid out in the D&D rules? Hell, Ed wrote half of the rules, he's certainly familiar with them. Elminster has this infinite ability to shape his spells to whatever he wants, but can't even figure out if a person is a friend or a foe without calling to Mystra. You may disagree, but this is based on my opinion compared to other fantasy novels. Obviously, Tolkien is far and away the master. However, Salvatore does an excellent job in writing fast-paced novels that manage to keep consistent with the D&D game rules, which provides a consistency throughout the series. Salvatore's writing is more masterful and he crafts much better characters and stories than Greenwood. I have since started reading Elaine Cunningham's Evermeet book and it presents elves the way they should be presented, in my opinion. The quality of writing style is much better than in Greenwood's book. My last complaint is the title of the book. I thought it was going to be about Elminster and his adventures in Myth Drannor. Not so. The Mythal wasn't laid until the very end of the book, and there are no adventures of his in the book. It should be called "Elminster in Cormyr: the Founding of Myth Drannor" For the money, the book was not worth it to me. I would have rather spent the money on another Cunningham book.
Rating:
Summary: Great spells, a little confusing
Review: Anyone who has played Baldur's Gate 2 can really appreciate the different spells used in the numerous mage battles in this book. The tactical attack/counterattack approach is much more interesting than the typical "firewall" spells. The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that many times the author glosses over explanations of scenarios, launching the reader headlong into important situations without you ever having heard the characters' names. You almost have to skim ahead. Overall the book is pretty good though, and well worth the read if you like the genre/character.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, Despite A Few Continuity Problems
Review: As one reviewer noted, there are a few problems with the portrayal of the elves, such as the Coronal snoring. However, I take issue with the other aspect's of that person's review. The "fact" that the most beautiful of all elf-waifs falling in love with Elminster isn't even true. The most beautiful elf-waif wants to USE Elminster and loves him less than the rest of his enemies. Two elves love him: The Keeper of the Tomb, and his fellow captive. Secondly, the elves are portrayed with quite a bit of realism, just not in the way that the reviewer would like. Many people read about elves and dream of being one to escape dirty, greedy, selfish humans. If you are one of those people, this is not for you. However, if you like to read about what an ancient people with thousands of years in their lifespan might be like, it is for you. Ed portrays the elves as being much like White Wolf's vampires. If you aren't familiar with the concept, they are selfish, greedy, malevolent, manipulative beings, bent on controlling everything and being quite egomaniacal about their own nature. If you have read this book, this will immediately sound familiar to you, as this is exactly how all of the elves behave. In short, Ed Greenwood did that most forbidden of fantasy novel things: He didn't leave the ugliness of our world behind when he wrote it, and, thus, created characters that you can hate. Characters that aren't even noble while they are evil, but are simply selfish and cruel. The elves are insulated and xenophobic, casually cruel in places, and concerned only with their own existence. In short, they are all you would expect of an arrogant race that lives thousands of years. They are realistic. None of this noble houses of morality banalness. Rather, they are believable. You will hate the Starym, and you will smile at Elminster's charisma and wisdom as he lives amongst the elves of Myth Drannor. It was wonderfully written, a beautiful piece. It dares challenge the belief that fantasy is all about escapism, alone earning it five stars. But, in addition to all of that, it is satisfying, fun, and pleasant. Well done. Buy this book, read it, enjoy it, and read it again.
Harkius
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Despite A Few Continuity Problems
Review: As one reviewer noted, there are a few problems with the portrayal of the elves, such as the Coronal snoring. However, I take issue with the other aspect's of that person's review. The "fact" that the most beautiful of all elf-waifs falling in love with Elminster isn't even true. The most beautiful elf-waif wants to USE Elminster and loves him less than the rest of his enemies. Two elves love him: The Keeper of the Tomb, and his fellow captive. Secondly, the elves are portrayed with quite a bit of realism, just not in the way that the reviewer would like. Many people read about elves and dream of being one to escape dirty, greedy, selfish humans. If you are one of those people, this is not for you. However, if you like to read about what an ancient people with thousands of years in their lifespan might be like, it is for you. Ed portrays the elves as being much like White Wolf's vampires. If you aren't familiar with the concept, they are selfish, greedy, malevolent, manipulative beings, bent on controlling everything and being quite egomaniacal about their own nature. If you have read this book, this will immediately sound familiar to you, as this is exactly how all of the elves behave. In short, Ed Greenwood did that most forbidden of fantasy novel things: He didn't leave the ugliness of our world behind when he wrote it, and, thus, created characters that you can hate. Characters that aren't even noble while they are evil, but are simply selfish and cruel. The elves are insulated and xenophobic, casually cruel in places, and concerned only with their own existence. In short, they are all you would expect of an arrogant race that lives thousands of years. They are realistic. None of this noble houses of morality banalness. Rather, they are believable. You will hate the Starym, and you will smile at Elminster's charisma and wisdom as he lives amongst the elves of Myth Drannor. It was wonderfully written, a beautiful piece. It dares challenge the belief that fantasy is all about escapism, alone earning it five stars. But, in addition to all of that, it is satisfying, fun, and pleasant. Well done. Buy this book, read it, enjoy it, and read it again.
Harkius
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great, Great
Review: As usual Ed Greenwood has woven a tale of fantastic adventure and mixed in a considerable amount of reality. How much our world echoes the major plight of Cormanthor is truly astonishing. Ed are you a politician in disguise??? On to the book review. I tought this was a really good novel with the ability to draw the reader in. The characters have a tremendous amout of dept and the story line flows well. I am looking forward to several more tales on the life and times of Elminster!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great. Great for Forgotten Realms background.
Review: As with other postings on Ed Greenwood's material, I agree that he tells a good tale, but can be somewhat scattered in his approach to storytelling. Elminster in Myth Drannor is a great story, providing excellent background material for the Forgotten Realms setting in one of the, until now, most mysterious settings. Often referenced in other Greenwood and Realms' books, Myth Drannor is an intriguing look into the inner workings of this elven society while still letting the reader learn more about Elminster. Ed Greenwood does a good job overall, but again, he can be too jumpy in his storytelling, not letting things flow as smoothly as they could, and can become slightly confusing. Overall, a very good book, but could be so much better.
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