Rating: 
Summary: Read this I Beg you
Review: (...) I would like to clear some things up. 1st the point in the endless memories and romantic memories that some where not even his was to contact his friends by using their own memories, further more he was stalling, he did not want to give Nergal(the arch-devil)what he wanted. 2nd Mystra did not get beat by devils down in Hell, she killed hundreds of devils, and then left because her being a God and all, and crashing her way into Hell to find Elminster and basically turning it upside down she was opening many more rifts in the surface that would cause more harm than good so she left to fix that little problem. (...) But anyway this book is very good, and really tells the reader that not everyone is invincable and shows you that the great Elminster is no exception. The arch-devil also kind of tells you how powerful Elminster really is compared to all other mages on Toril. I think this book was very good and you should read it, but it is for I would say more advanced and mature readers (...) but mainly because of how Ed Greenwood has written the book and you will see what I mean if you read it. And there is a bit love memories in there but whats a book without Elminster and love? If you are wondering how Elminster got into Hell in the 1st place(they dont tell you in the book)then I suggest you read The Summoning Return of the Archwizards Book I(which is a very good book by the way)and Elminster In Hell is kind of a side adventure or quest to that book and the upcoming The Siege Return of the Archwizards Book II, and The Sorcerer Return of the Archwizards Book III. Thank You for reading this and I hope it will be helpful to you.Recommends: Elminster: Making of a Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor, Temptations of Elminster, Homeland, Exile and Sojourn(The Drizzt Do'Urden trilogy) and The Summoning Return of the Archwizards Book I(which I really recomend because it's great and its circled around a lot of Shadow magic and Shadowmages which are really cool too)
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious and boring aren't strong enough words
Review: As a devoted fan of the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms series, this book was an automatic purchase as soon as I saw in on the shelf. I have never, ever in my life failed to finish a book I have begun. This book changed that forever. The story is ponderous and never really goes anywhere. It is a collection of unrelated snippets of Elminster's memory. I forced myself to reach a halfway point because I couldn't believe that Ed would put out such a piece of .... I then skipped ahead and scanned the remaining chapters and it never changed!! Unless you have read every other book that has been published by every other author, I strongly suggest you skip this book and not feel the least bit remorseful about missing it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Faerunian Tales: Starring Elminster Aumar
Review: Before I begin to praise this unique novel, I'd like to start off by saying that I strongly recommend reading the previous three Elminster novels by Ed Greenwood before embarking on this outstanding book. After doing so, I decided to pick up Elminster in Hell despite the fact that I heard chronologically it takes place most recently in the Forgotten Realms' extensive timeline. Nevertheless, upon reading about twenty pages into the book you realize that you're in for an immensely interesting and informative read. Elminster of Shadowdale; one of the most recognized, respected and powerful beings in the land of Faerun is attempting to destroy a rift between the Nine Hells and Toril, when he is captured by an arch-devil named Nergal in Avernus. Nergal plans on appropriating valuable memories dealing with the magical technique Silver Fire in Elminster's mind for his own diabolical usage. Elminster displays bravery and sly cleverness despite his predicament, but inevitably is forced to release his memories one by one. Here in lies the greatness of the book. Ed Greenwood takes over twenty(!) of his signature characters and has them each playing roles in the various recollections that Elminster is providing to Nergal. It was truly satisfying to read page after page, seeing different characters that I have read about in Forgotten Realms source books finally in action all in one book. Without giving away any truly satisfying surprises there are cameos and fairly dominant roles by The Simbul, Storm Silverhand, Sylune, Alustriel, Laeral Silverhand, Mirt, Durnan, Piergeiron, Vangerdahast,and my favorite Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun. Divulging any details about the events that occur in both El's memories and the present day involving Elminster's friends would be spoilinig the overall experience, so I won't reveal any of that info. Elminster in Hell is truly an engaging, informative novel by the creator of Forgotten Realms himself. There are many moments where you'll laugh out loud at Elminster's sly and witty remarks, Khelben Blackstaff's rhetoric, or the clever plan carried out by the main protagonist at the end of the tale. Lastly, be on the lookout for a truly redeeming quest of a formally evil and aimless villain(and I'm not referring to any of the aforementioned characters.) At the end of this novel, I couldn't help but feel satisfied and impressed by the sheer ingenuity and spellbinding quality of this book(IMHO,the best of the four books in the Elminster series). I'd qualify this book as being worthy enough to be classified in the same league as Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's DragonLance epics and R.A. Salvatore's equally epic Drizzt saga. In conclusion, I highly recommend Elminster in Hell to any fan of the Forgotten Realms, any readers of other D&D book worlds and to anyone who enjoys fantasy fiction at its finest.
Rating:
Summary: Good for skimming and nothing else.
Review: I had read the other elminster books and found them to be on the level. This one however, seemed to be written for no other reason than to make money. I found myself skimming through the book to find ANYTHING that was at all exciting to read. If I wanted to read about one mans random thoughts I would write my own down.
Rating:
Summary: Good for skimming and nothing else.
Review: I had read the other elminster books and found them to be on the level. This one however, seemed to be written for no other reason than to make money. I found myself skimming through the book to find ANYTHING that was at all exciting to read. If I wanted to read about one mans random thoughts I would write my own down.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible, terrible book
Review: I just completed the novel, "Elminster in Hell." It is my policy to complete every book I start, and this one was painfully agonizing. I am certain that Greenwood is an accomplished writer, but this novel left something to be desired. The premise sounded really interesting: one of the most interesting characters in all of Faerun trapped in Hell and must fight to stay alive. Unfortunately, the approach was less than interesting. I wish the book focussed more on Elminster's past (and over 800 years, there should be quite a bit to write about), but instead the book focussed on one boring story to the next (similar to anthology). Do not get me wrong, there were a few interesting tidbits, but not enough to keep the book moving. Because of this book, Greenwood's writing style has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I may be a little leery about trying trying another one his novels in the near future. If you wish to read really interesting stories in the Forgotten Realms universe (in my opinion), you may wish to check out the Cleric Quintet or the novels featuring Drizzt Do'Urden, all written by R.A. Salvatore.
Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining but got too repetitive in the end.
Review: I read quite a lot of Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms novels and I enjoyed most of them. However, Elminster in Hell is one of his lesser works. While I have enjoyed Elminster's earlier books, this one was bit on the boring side. It had an interesting premise and story but the writing and concept got rather boring as the story line got repetitive. Its also a book of "flashbacks" which is nothing but Elminster trying to buy time for himself. The story also dispelled some disbelief at this weak arch devil who have Elminster in his power but still allowed himself to be toy by his victim. Overall, I thought the book was the weakest of the four Elminster novels and one of Ed Greenwood's lesser efforts.
Rating:
Summary: Only for Forgotten Realms fanatics
Review: I've read most of the Forgotten Realms & Dragonlance series of books. This is one of the most disappointing. It seems like it is simply an effort to takes parts of other short stories and bind them together to tell the story of Elminster's trials in hell. I keep asking "where's the beef". Definitely not worth the money. Wait for it in paperback if you're a huge fan of the Forgotten Realms and you just have to have it.... otherwise don't waste your time. In general I don't like the short story format and this really is just a collection of them. As other reviewers have pointed out this book is short on action and long (and I mean lonnnnng) on stort-telling. And to be blunt, I found more than half the stories are simply boring as all heck. At times I felt like I was in hell along with Elminster. I hate putting books down before I've finished them but this one really challenged me! Apart from real Forgotten Realm fanatics, I don't see this book appealing to most fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: The most tedious Forgotten realms book I have ever read
Review: If you are looking for more stories about El's life then this is a good book for it, but If you are looing for a novel with a strong plot then don't get it. This book is frustrating and tedious. There are a ton of unrelated stories spanning El's lifetime, a great deal of which aren't even about him.
Rating:
Summary: This book is awesome, but be prepared
Review: Let me start by saying that this is an amazing book, easily the
best Elminster book yet. However you will want to prepare yourself
before you read this book, this book is not a first-read book. This
book has quite a few prerequisites, including the previous 3 El books,
the Avatar trilogy, and the shadows of the avatar trilogy (and the two
books that follow those), and MOST definately Silverfall. I should
point out that this book takes place in the current date of the Realms
timeline, and occurs just after the events in The Summoning, and a
reader may also consider reading that book before hand to see what
caused El to go to hell (and also consider the three Netheril books as
a prerequisite to The Summoning) Now that the prerequisites are out of
the way, we can reveal some content. The book is about our beloved
Elminster trapped in the first layer of hell by a powerful devil who
will not rest until he has raped El's mind of all his precious
memories. The first few pages of the book explain this, and also give
the realms dates for those memories. This book is one of the very
best Forgotten Realms books I have ever read (numbering over 70, and
growing), and would place this book in the top five, along with
Servant of the Shard (another amazing Realms book). This book is very
enjoyable if you take the time to prepare yourself by reading
Silverfall, and the other books mentioned above.
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