Rating: 
Summary: Good for the FR/D&D player; so-so for the casual reader
Review: I mainly read this book because I play D&D in the Forgotten Realms system, and the history of Forgotten Realms fascinates me. In that sense, the plot and story of the book are quite creative and enjoyable. However, I found the writing style that related this plot and story to be cumbersome and undeveloped. "Awlinson" (which is actually a pseudonym for about 4 authors that wrote this series) barely gives any descriptive or sensory information, especially when you meet new people. The dialog too often leaves the reader out. The writing is too "fantasy typical," in that many situations are overexplained, beat to death, and characters are all too emotionally unstable to accomplish anything. If I hadn't enjoyed the stories themselves so well, especially as background for the campaign, I'd have given these books 2 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Unmemorable
Review: I read this trilogy ages ago when I was a kid and the fact that I remember so little shows that it was nothing special. Many others have said that the writing style is very ordinary and this is true in that it did not stand out at all. There was some interest in the plot (in this book I do remember the battle around Shadowdale to be an interesting section) but I guess having read it as a kid means the plot could be interesting to kids but not necessarily adults.
If you are a Forgotten Realms fan (which I'm not, I was given the books) then the added interest of this as a background story as well as connections to the world of the Realms will probably outweight the negative aspects of the book such that it may be worth reading. Otherwise, it's fairly pointless.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good the second time around but still worth reading.
Review: I remember reading this back in my grade school days right after it came out. At that time I read all three books in quick succesion and loved them. Thinking about all the fond memories I had about the books, I decided to reread the series and see how they fared on a second perusal.In the end, I found Shadowdale to be the best book of the three. It had a lot of action, a grand adventure, and good character development. Unfortunately, this book is much better than the other two. They pretty much stop the character development and focus more on carrying out predictable stories based on the excellent foundation created in the first book.
Rating: 
Summary: The start of a great trilogy.
Review: I'm a hard core D&D fan, yet I was kind of hesitant to buy this book. Ya see, my town has a small library, and I could count the number of Forgotten Realms books they have on one hand. So if I want to read a book, I usually have to buy it. I must say that I was pleasently surprised. I found the story great, and the characters deep and involving. Most people complain about a book having too much talk, or action, or not enough of both. This book has it all. A must read for any D&D fan!
Rating: 
Summary: Just Bad Writing
Review: If this is an example of books that TSR release, then theyshould just stick to role-playing games. This book is filled withliterary cliches one after another. The characters are flat. The descriptions are bad. The only reason I gave this book a two instead of a one is because the plot is not so bad. If someone else was writing this book using the same plot, then I might bring myself to complete it.
Rating:
Summary: Good intro to the series and its main characters
Review: If you like fantasy literature, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Once you do, you'll be compelled to get the rest of the series (and probably any other books involving the same characters.) The gods of the Forgotten Realms have been cast down from the heavens to live among mortals by their overlord (Lord Ao, or "The One Who is Hidden.") because of the theft of the Tablets of Fate (two Ten Commandments-like items that show the names of the gods and their roles in the pantheon.) The are to remain among the mortals until the Tablets are recovered and their thief (or thieves) uncovered. Four heroes are thrust into the role of questing for the tablets: Cursed mercenary Kelemvor Lyonsbane, vain priest Adon of Sune, mysterious soldier Cyric, and novice magician Midnight. I'm not going to spoil the book(s) for you by going any deeper than that, but I will say that each of the characters will evolve tremendously throughout the course of the series. The climactic battle between the heroes and the armies of the evil Bane (God of Strife and Tyranny) is something to behold. It will whet your appetite for the rest of the series. Stick with it, 'cause it's worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: The Best D&D Module You'll Ever Read!
Review: It is clear from the way this novel is written that author Scott Ciencin expects the reader to have read the D&D Player's Handbook, or the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting at the very least. Quite simply, Shadowdale reads more like a D&D module than a fantasy novel, complete with terse descriptions of spellcasting that refer only to the spell's name. I was almost expecting to see a footnote in the margin saying "See Pg. 168 in the Player's Handbook for description." Some of his attempts at detailed description are rather amusing, such as a reference to "Spanish moss." I'm sure everyone in the Realms knows exactly where Spain is, eh? The author consistently refers to the party of four (Kelemvor, Midnight, Adon, Cyric) as 'the heroes,' even before they have demonstrated the capability to do anything remotely heroic. By the way, that's exactly how a D&D module would describe [insert your player character's names here]. The characters in this book are described like a Dungeon Master would describe them- basic physical stats like hair color, height, and build, and everything else is what they're doing at a particular time. There's some thoughts here and there, but it's random and shallow, as if Ciencin himself isn't quite sure what they're thinking. At the same time, the author sometimes goes to great pains to distance this novel from D&D. Please note that he calls Midnight a 'magic-user' rather than a 'mage' or 'wizard,' even though the term gets noticeably repetitive and it's much easier to type the other two. The perspective jumps around in seemingly random fashion, and the characters often say things that don't make much sense, and that I doubt real people would say. At first I thought that this was because Ciencin was a lousy author with no sense of how to write dialogue, but after reading more than halfway through this novel I decided that he probably is a good one (at least potentially), but he's just not good at indicating the passage of time on paper. On closer examination, some single-line phrases span whole days, which is why his running description of events seems completely disjointed. Then again, some things the characters do STILL don't make sense, even considering the unseen passage of time. I don't think any self-respecting woman would let a complete stranger treat her like dirt for so long, even if he's a big buff stud like Kelemvor. Midnight not only puts up with him, but decides to bed him! With some explanation of what's going on in her wizardly mind, perhaps there could be a justification for this, but the author leaves you guessing. Also, Cyric sticks with the rest of the party on their whole string of quests... but for what? The guy is obviously a rogue with no real loyalties or desire to work for free, but that seems to be exactly what he's doing. At the same time, there's something sinister brewing in the guy (those who have read the FRCS may have some idea) and he regularly lies to his trusted companions. I can totally see Cyric as being the PC of a new D&D player that doesn't really like the adventure, but just wants to play to be with the rest of his friends. So he puts up with the plot and with the stupidity of his fellow party members while snickering to himself the whole time and doing things to make the DM squirm. Speaking of reluctant PCs, has anyone figured out why Adon was even in this novel? It must be something in one of the other books in the trilogy, because I couldn't figure it out by reading this one. Another mystery is the first thing you'll notice when you pick up this book- the cover. Who are these people in the illustration? They don't seem to match the descriptions of any of our heroes. I wouldn't be surprised if they just took the picture out of Dragon magazine, for lack of an available artist. If this isn't enough to convince you that Shadowdale reads like a D&D module, also consider the plot itself. The heroes periodically run into encounters of ascending difficulty, with enemies often appearing out of nowhere and attacking for no particular reason. The only thing it was missing was the DM doling out experience points and gold at the end of each encounter. I found one encounter particularly amusing, in which a haunted forest pops out of nowhere and conjures undead monsters and spider-dogs that swarm the party. I suppose this could be reasoned to be a result of magic going nuts, or an indirect attack by someone (who?), but the author does little enough to explain it. Rather, it looks more like a 'hey, we're due for some killing' random encounter that Ciencin put in to break the monotony of a long journey. I must say that as the story progresses, things do get a bit better, especially toward the end. It seems like this story took a lot of time to write- time which the author used to learn how to write a novel. He gets steadily better until the end, which culminates in a cool battle. In short, Shadowdale is a 'good book' with some great ideas and epic adventuring experiences. Note that this is precisely the way you would describe a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I had never even heard of Ciencin prior to this, but just by reading this I can tell that the author is far better at writing modules than novels. He should stick to those, and leave the novels for experts like Denning and Salvatore. If you are the type of person that gets kicks just reading D&D rulebooks, then this is your game. If not, then maybe you should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: The Best D&D Module You'll Ever Read!
Review: It is clear from the way this novel is written that author Scott Ciencin expects the reader to have read the D&D Player's Handbook, or the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting at the very least. Quite simply, Shadowdale reads more like a D&D module than a fantasy novel, complete with terse descriptions of spellcasting that refer only to the spell's name. I was almost expecting to see a footnote in the margin saying "See Pg. 168 in the Player's Handbook for description." Some of his attempts at detailed description are rather amusing, such as a reference to "Spanish moss." I'm sure everyone in the Realms knows exactly where Spain is, eh? The author consistently refers to the party of four (Kelemvor, Midnight, Adon, Cyric) as 'the heroes,' even before they have demonstrated the capability to do anything remotely heroic. By the way, that's exactly how a D&D module would describe [insert your player character's names here]. The characters in this book are described like a Dungeon Master would describe them- basic physical stats like hair color, height, and build, and everything else is what they're doing at a particular time. There's some thoughts here and there, but it's random and shallow, as if Ciencin himself isn't quite sure what they're thinking. At the same time, the author sometimes goes to great pains to distance this novel from D&D. Please note that he calls Midnight a 'magic-user' rather than a 'mage' or 'wizard,' even though the term gets noticeably repetitive and it's much easier to type the other two. The perspective jumps around in seemingly random fashion, and the characters often say things that don't make much sense, and that I doubt real people would say. At first I thought that this was because Ciencin was a lousy author with no sense of how to write dialogue, but after reading more than halfway through this novel I decided that he probably is a good one (at least potentially), but he's just not good at indicating the passage of time on paper. On closer examination, some single-line phrases span whole days, which is why his running description of events seems completely disjointed. Then again, some things the characters do STILL don't make sense, even considering the unseen passage of time. I don't think any self-respecting woman would let a complete stranger treat her like dirt for so long, even if he's a big buff stud like Kelemvor. Midnight not only puts up with him, but decides to bed him! With some explanation of what's going on in her wizardly mind, perhaps there could be a justification for this, but the author leaves you guessing. Also, Cyric sticks with the rest of the party on their whole string of quests... but for what? The guy is obviously a rogue with no real loyalties or desire to work for free, but that seems to be exactly what he's doing. At the same time, there's something sinister brewing in the guy (those who have read the FRCS may have some idea) and he regularly lies to his trusted companions. I can totally see Cyric as being the PC of a new D&D player that doesn't really like the adventure, but just wants to play to be with the rest of his friends. So he puts up with the plot and with the stupidity of his fellow party members while snickering to himself the whole time and doing things to make the DM squirm. Speaking of reluctant PCs, has anyone figured out why Adon was even in this novel? It must be something in one of the other books in the trilogy, because I couldn't figure it out by reading this one. Another mystery is the first thing you'll notice when you pick up this book- the cover. Who are these people in the illustration? They don't seem to match the descriptions of any of our heroes. I wouldn't be surprised if they just took the picture out of Dragon magazine, for lack of an available artist. If this isn't enough to convince you that Shadowdale reads like a D&D module, also consider the plot itself. The heroes periodically run into encounters of ascending difficulty, with enemies often appearing out of nowhere and attacking for no particular reason. The only thing it was missing was the DM doling out experience points and gold at the end of each encounter. I found one encounter particularly amusing, in which a haunted forest pops out of nowhere and conjures undead monsters and spider-dogs that swarm the party. I suppose this could be reasoned to be a result of magic going nuts, or an indirect attack by someone (who?), but the author does little enough to explain it. Rather, it looks more like a 'hey, we're due for some killing' random encounter that Ciencin put in to break the monotony of a long journey. I must say that as the story progresses, things do get a bit better, especially toward the end. It seems like this story took a lot of time to write- time which the author used to learn how to write a novel. He gets steadily better until the end, which culminates in a cool battle. In short, Shadowdale is a 'good book' with some great ideas and epic adventuring experiences. Note that this is precisely the way you would describe a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I had never even heard of Ciencin prior to this, but just by reading this I can tell that the author is far better at writing modules than novels. He should stick to those, and leave the novels for experts like Denning and Salvatore. If you are the type of person that gets kicks just reading D&D rulebooks, then this is your game. If not, then maybe you should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: And then they fell.
Review: It is the Year of Shadows, and all is about to change. In this, the first of the core avatar series, we witness as four common souls embark upon a most life-altering journey. Midnight, Kelemvor Lyonsbane, Cyric of Zhentil Keep, and Adon of Sune: some of the most renown figures in the Forgotten Realms library, if you desire to see where it all began, this is the book. I have read this title twice, the first time I read the tale I devoured it, lusting for more, and finding it in the pair of sequels. The second time I read through it, tempered by my recollection of the tale, and by the reading of other novels. I have concluded that while not ground breaking; the book is well worth the read. I have recommended it to three other friends, and they all enjoyed the novel as well. However, more importantly it opens the door to the series. Often I have heard complaints against the series as a tactic to usher in AD&D2e. I have also heard complaints that the writing and editing were poor. I disagree, while not "The Hobbit" or "Great Expectations", the writing maintained a consistent voice, and handled the deific characters admirably. I also found the novel, and the trilogy as a whole, stood up better as novels than as gaming tools. If you do decide to take up the tale of Shadowdale, be sure to follow it up with the rest of the Avatar series: "Tantras" & "Waterdeep" by Richard Awlinson, The Shadows of the Avatar series ("Cloak of Shadows", "Shadows of Doom", & "All Shadows Fled") by Ed Greenwood, "Prince of Lies" by James Lowder, and "Crucible: Trial of Cyric the Mad" by Troy Denning. I rather liked the later pair best, but the magic of the first three allowed for that emersion.
Rating:
Summary: a little help please
Review: Ok, i just bought Shadowdale , by Richard Allsion(a pen name for 4 Tory Denning) I have not started reading it yet and i see this. What is the deal here, who is this 'Scott Ciencin' and why is this book being re-releasled in his name?
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