Elves Books

I liked this book series a lot and plan on reading more of his work. Thanks for the great read. Rick

This is the first in the series of 5 books. The background is set, and pretty
much only one character is developed. If you start this expecting fast and
furious action, and a fairly easy read, then you will not be dissapointed.
Pretty much everybody is a scoundrel in the book - it is only the depth
of their depravities that varies. Overall, pretty good pulp fiction.

Malus Darkblade is the latest in a line of "Dark elf" type heroes that can be tracked back to Elric via Drizzt Do'Urden, but he has a twist. Unlike his progenitors who rise above their heritage to show some redeeming features, a touch of humanity, Malus is a complete dyed in the wool swine of the first order, he's an incestuous, homicidal, sadist who'd like nothing more than to flay you alive, simply for his own amusement. His only redeeming feature is his courage and resilience in the face of his equally appalling family and their attempts to destroy him. Yet ghastly as he is, in the world he inhabits you almost find yourself rooting for him as his opponents are even worse.
Dan Abnet writes fairly prolifically in the Warhammer format, yet the choice of scenarios available to him give him sufficient options to be original within its confines. Malus gives him the chance to exercise his fantasy muscles rather than the Sci Fi of Eisenhorn and his creation is dark, devious and deadly. Well worth checking out.

Alright, so I picked up this book with a recommendation from a relative of mine. I looked at these reviews and was pretty excited! It sounded like it would be a great book...In short, it was extremely random, there was no character development (even for the title character) and I felt that the writing wasn't too great either.
One thing that really got on my nerves was the overuse of the title "retainer". Malus was always surrounded by them and in battle scenes the word was useless. You never know what retainer he is referring to. Not that you get to know any but three by their names, And even then they aren't referred to by them that often. Seriously, I really could have gotten into the characters of Dalvar and Lhunara, but there is no attempt to develop them. I also got tired of the term "Cold One", the "named" characters should have at least had "named" mounts.
Secondly, where in the world is the story line? It's like, " go find power"..queue up the many random uninteresting battles (where you only get to know what Malus is doing). I thought the battle scenes were extremely bland. The enemies were underdeveloped and random. Not to mention that you had no sense of layout. It was just chaos, but maybe thats what the author was going for.
Lastly, the one thing that kept me reading, until the rediculous battle with the "glutinous scythe-armed monsters" was that it still might be fun since Ol' Malus is supposed to be such an evil fellow! He is the biggest wimp! There were no qualities that made me like him OR hate him. I had more emotion towards the under developed supporting characters. It wasn't enough to keep me going.
All in all I was completely disappointed by this book. I was excited from the hype of it all, and when I was reading the beginning couple of chapters I saw great potential for the characters, and then it all completely vanished. Malus is probably the most boring character I've read about to date. Maybe I'm missing out on something because I'm not into the Warhammer series, but if that's the case, this is a very user unfriendly novel.

Malus Darkblade has no redeemable virtues, so why do I care what happens to Him? It is a testament to authors, Dan Abnett and Mike Lee that I do. They have created one of the most interesting protagonists in my recent memory. Malus Darkblade is the bastard son of one of the most prominent dark elves in Hag Graef. In his quest to prove he is worthy to be called his son he manages to out evil every other dark elf I have had the pleasure of sinking my literary teeth in to. The Darkblade books (4 so far) are a raucous rollercoaster ride of violence and double-dealing. the Warhammer universe is rich in history and beautifully realized in these books. Pick them up, settle back and let the bloody ride begin!

I liked this book series a lot and plan on reading more of his work. Thanks for the great read. Rick

The second book of this series picks off right where the first book left off. Malus returns to Hag Graef from his disastrous journey to the Waste, only to find his holdings seized, and his life declared forfeit. Quick thinking and dealing with his powerful brothers and sisters saves him from being sacrificed, and he slowly begins to rebuild his power base, setting himself as a crucial ally to all of his siblings against the others, all while keeping the daemon Tz'arkan a secret.

After locating the resting place of the second of five artefacts, he forces his plan on his siblings to brave the treacherous North Sea, and his most powerful brother, all while several death sentences hang over his head should he falter or fail in the slightest.

Abnett and Lee produce yet another great storyline, with great character interaction, well described combat scenes, and fantastic dialogue. They describe the culture of the Dark Elves without apology, and manage to work in subtles of their behavior that're shocking to even fans of dark fantasy without being overwhelming or disgusting. Magic is a pivotal plot device without being a deus ex machina. The ending is incredibly well written, with a final battle scene that is very inventive and captures the tone of Chaos well.

I picked up this book the other day mainly because of the cover, art work is amazing. Having never read a Warhammer novel, I had no intentions of reading it until I learned more about it. Well I sat down to look at the cover art work once more, before shelfing the book, when I decided to read the first page...Hooked! That has rarely ever happened for me.

The author(s) detail is so vivid I might as well been in an IMAX theater! The opening seen is so well described I had to keep reading to find out what happens...and what happens is entirely frightening. This book is dark! From brutal fleshly tortures to the depths of wickedness of demonic cult gatherings this book explores all that is macabre and dangles you in front of it to make sure you see it all!

Full of surprises and leaves you wanting to know more and worst of all...see more gruesome rendezvous. Action packed to the last page got to get more of this Malus Darkblade! This is the second volume in a series but reads well on its own telling you much of the back story leading to this particular edition. Rushing out to get the others!

This 2nd novel of three started out just like the 1st - excellent and dark fantasy that hinted to greater things to come - but didn't for me.

Just like the 1st novel, the first half of the 2nd volume seems to be written by one of the authors, while the other half is written by the other. And it seems, whomever wrote the two first halves of both novels - is the better writer. I liked the fist halves of both novels way better than the latter halves.

Still, all in all, both novels are thrill rides, filled with dark mayhem and fantasy-filled adventure. I just purchased the 3rd volume. These are two of the better fantasy Warhammer novels out there. Graham McNeil's Guardians of the Forest is thus far the best in the fantasy Warhammer series. Check both of these series out.

All three cover artworks are excellent. I wish Malus's nauglir beast would have been in this story more.

You get pretty much get what you expect from this book:
a fast read, with unrelenting action. The character development
is pretty much restricted to illustrating Malus' depravities,
and taking them further notch by notch. No other
characters really get developed, and you can pretty
much guess why. If you are willing to accept these as
features, rather than bugs, then this book is quite a fun
ride.

Note that I have the 1978 reprint, so the typesetting issues are not present in that edition.

This work was to be the authoritative study of its day on the topic of fairy folk lore. It succeeds in this role brilliantly, although much of the author's analysis is dated and/or overly simplistic. The author was a contemporary of Jacob Grimm and was clearly inspired by the various works by the Grimm brothers on cultural lore.

This work provides a general analytical overview of the lore side-by-side with the folk tales. Most of the book is taken up by source material so even if the analysis sometimes wanders. About a third of the analysis is such that I don't think that we have better conclusions today, while about a third of it is clearly obsolete. Since such analysis is the minority of the book, this is no big issue.

One point that may drive some readers crazy though is the way in which his spellings by dialect and era are far removed from the present Servian instead of Serbian, Majjar instead of Magyar, etc may drive some readers crazy. However, the bulk of the work is sufficiently interesting that I woud give this work a 5-star rating regardless of these criticisms.

My husband loves this book. He has been looking for a book that describes "little people" for a long time.

Cleverly written, chuck full of items of interest. Just a pocket of information for the researcher.
Loved this book.

This edition looks like someone typed this up on an early manual typewriter, that was made in the 1800's. Then it was ran off on an old fashioned copy machine, afterwards. The text is splotchy in some parts and parts of letters are missing in others. While some may not be bothered by that, I found it distracting and annoying.

This was not an easy to read book. I am guessing that is due to how old it is, and people just don't speak that way anymore. It was interesting to see how people really believed in this and how they handled it. I think I read it a little at a time over a 6 month period.

Typical of the "Idiot" instructional books, this one informs and entertains. If you want to know about fairy legend and lore, this book is most helpful.

I do believe there are some aspects of this book that seem a bit farfetched, and there are topics that I feel the author makes up a reason just to bring them up and relate them to faeries, such as Harry Potter, stargate SG1 (wormholes) and a few others. However I have often been asked by people, since I've been studying faeries and celtic and irish mythology and folklore for many years, where to begin learning about faeries? I always recommend this book. It outlines all the basics of the folklore and how stories originated, as well as the history of faeries. It gives an excellent overall picture of faeries and elves so that any novice could comprehend it easily. Towards the end there are guides for meditation and inviting the fae into your life, and I feel the author gives a simplistic outline of instructions for those who believe in the faerie realm to follow. And for those who don't believe, the book is still an excellent source of information for any beginner.

Sirona Knight's book is a really excellent resource book on the elves and fairies. I keep going back to this book and doing more of the exercises and meditations. I really like the way the book is written. It's easy to follow. Sirona Knight's book FAERY MAGICK is really cool too!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I suppose there is a worthwhile pursuit in the study of folk history (though I would scarcely call Harry Potter an element of folk history and that seems to be a large portion of the source material used in this book). But seriously, learning to see and hear and meet them? Give me a break. You can believe in whatever imaginary creatures you darn well please but please don't go insisting that they are real.

When I bought this at the book store, I couldn't wait to get it home and read it. I had found Sirona's previous books, such as "Faery Magick" and "Empowering Your Life With Wicca," to be very enjoyable reading. My expectations were well rewarded as this is the best book I have read all year. I found it both interesting and informative, while at the same time feeding my insatiable appetite for anything having to do with elves and faeries.

I have most of her books. This is one of them. I hope she has more books, I finish them so fast. Anyway I like her books.

I KNEW THAT THEY EXISTED! Real pictures, great photos.

I ordered this "book" based on the strength of the other reviews, but I found it sorely lacking. First of all, it's really more a pamphlet than a book. Second, it is poorly published. The publisher did not clean up the spelling mistakes, and wrote everything IN UPPER CASE, which is annoying to read. But my biggest beef with this "book" is that the pictures are of such poor quality, I cannot believe that anyone would recommend them the way they have. I'm all for believing in fairies, and I don't discount them offhandedly, but if you want to see pictures, this isn't the way to go. I would want the author to come up with pictures that have more pixels, that are clear, that are printed on good paper. This "book" looks like it was printed on someone's cheap home printer, directly from their computer.

If the author is such an avid photographer, can you get some better reproductions of your pictures?

Great color pictures of all types of fairies. Allows you to understand how they hide. Wierd but cool pictures.

I am an avid fairy hunter and I was beside myself when I saw these pictures. I had seen a picture long ago of a fairy... ever since I have been in search. Thank you for shareing your pictures. Ann Marie

As with any anthology, some of the stories in Realms of the Elves were good, some were bad, and some were just average.

The first tale in the books was "Traitors" by Richard Lee Byers. I enjoyed this story as I thought the author did a good job of exploring the conflict between the characters' beliefs and what they learn as the story progresses. The characters were interesting and the story was engaging. (4 stars)

The second story was the "The Staff of Valmaxian" by Philip Athans. This one started out quite good and really grabbed my attention but I found the ending a bit clichéd. Although it was well written, I found this story to be just average. (3 stars)

The third tale in the book, "Necessary Sacrafices" by Lisa Smedman, was my favorite. As others have mentioned this is a tragic tale. You really feel for the main character and see where his road is leading him, but still in the end you are left thinking "no that can't be happening" (5 stars)

The fourth tale was "The Greater Treasure" By Erik Scott de Bie. As Beezer mentioned in his review, this story is the hardest to rate. While the story started out good the characters' motivations were unclear to me. The dialogue was hard to follow and in the end I was left feeling a little disappointed. Overall, just average (2.5 stars)

I enjoyed the fifth story in the collection, "Comrades at Arms" by R.A. Salvatore. But then again I am biased as Salvatore is one of my favorites. I liked that the story was not just about the action. I think the story was a nice bridge between The Two Swords and The Orc King, but might not stand so well on its own. (4 stars)

"Tears so White" by Ed Greenwood was the sixth story and was my least favorite. All action and no substance. The story felt repetitive and the dialogue was not good. (1 star)

Finally, we have "The Bladesinger's Lesson" by Richard Baker. Although a bit clichéd at times, the story is well-written and interesting. The main characters showed development, which I think is hard to do in 50 pages. The dialogue was good and the action well done. I found myself eager to read what would happen next and wondering how the characters were going to get out of their predicament. (4.5 stars)

Overall, I gave the book 3 stars but would definitely recommend it to fans of the Forgotten Realms and fans of R.A. Salvatore.

I must say that Ms. Smedmen's story was the best in this book, which is saying something considering I'm a big Drizzt fan. Still, "Necessary Sacrafices" is a deep, compelling story that grabs you and doesn't let go. Even after I finished the story, it didn't let me go and I actually cried for the both the seen and unseen tragedy. To me, all of the characters were tragic, most especially in what they themselves didn't see or realize.

"Comrads at Odds" was a nice character builder and sneak preview. I was surprised to see the development of a heretofore minor character, but now I'm anticipating him playing a much bigger role in The Orc King. In fact, the potential for this guy is pretty damn good, and I hope he gets used more even if it isn't what I want/anticipate.

Most of the stories here are about average to good, and the reviewers before me have mentioned all the really good ones. This book is worth your time, if only for the nice little fiction bites it provides.

Here are my reviews of these seven not-so-short stories.

1. Traitors by Richard Lee Byers. I'm not a big fan of Byers' works, because I find his novels way too action oriented for my liking, with plot and character development often completely disregarded. I was pleasantly surprised by this story. A very strong story of conflicting loyalties. He kept a nice pace through all of 70 pages, and gave us a good ending. Indirectly touches the events in his Year of the Rogue Dragons trilogy. ****
2. The Staff of Valmaxian by Philip Athans. This story didn't sit with me, to be honest. Had a promising start, by completely faded towards the end, which was a big cliché by itself. **
3. Necessary Sacrifices by Lisa Smedman. A beautiful, sad story. The idea was simply great, but got a bit drawn out. Could have been shorter. A very good story, nevertheless. ****
4. The Greater Treasure by Erik Scott de Bie. The author shows us again that his storytelling is brilliant. The characters are interesting (if a bit annoying) and well fleshed out. It is worth the mention that this is maybe the most erotic story ever published by WotC. Very good.****
5. Comrades at Odds by R.A. Salvatore. Besides some good, deep dialogues on the nature of orcs, this book also gives some flesh to one potentially important character in the upcoming books. A good Drizzt short story. ****
6. Tears so White by Ed Greenwood. I've given up on trying to decipher Greenwood, so I simply skipped this story.
7. The Bladesinger's Lesson by Richard Baker. While reading this story, I had a feeling of déjà vu, and that is never a good thing. Don't get me wrong, it's not boring or anything, but it really offers nothing new or unique. ***

As you can see, there are only seven stories in the 340 pages of this book, so you can do the easy math and see these stories are significantly longer than usual WotC short stories. I must say I like to see a greater number of shorter stories. The book offers a number of very good stories, but none of them are brilliant. They just lacked that something extra.

A very good anthology, check it out.

Compiled and expertly edited by Philip Athans, Realms Of The Elves: The Last Of The Mythal Anthology is an impressive and memorable collection of fantasy stories and the history of Faerun. Showcasing the storytelling talents of Richard Lee Byers, Ed Greenwood, Erik Scott de Bie and many others, Realms Of The Elves is comprised of such entertaining tales as: Traitors, The State Of Valmxian, Necessary Sacrifices, The Greater Treasure, Comrades At Odds, Tears So White, and The Bladesinger's Lesson. Realms Of The Elves is very highly recommended to all readers of the wonderfully heroic fantasy with a Mythal orientation, for those searching for a new and engaging fantasy series, and as an ideal introduction to the Elven world.

Realms of the Elves is the latest anthology released by Wizards of the Coast and is set in the Forgotten Realms. Like most of the other anthologies WotC releases there is a central theme to this one, and that is Elves. This anthology is supposed to drum up more interest for the final installment of Richard Baker's Last Mythal trilogy.

Instead of giving a full review for each short story, which would take entirely too long, I will try to say a few words about each story. I will do so in the order they are in the book.

#1- "Traitors" by Richard Lee Byers. This is an ok story. For whatever reason, Mr. Byers can't stay away from dragons right now. Everything has to have something to do with his The Year of the Rogue Dragon trilogy. See his last novel Queen of the Depths for what I mean there. I had a feeling dragons would appear and they did. I was disappointed by this story. Average at best.

#2- "The Staff of Valmaxian" by Philip Athans. Athans was the editor of this book, so I am a bit surprised he found time to write his own short story as well. Decent short story here. As with most short stories they either grab you quick and interest you, or you have to drudge through and finish it to move one. I enjoyed this story, but not to the extent I was hoping. Slightly above average for this one.

#3- "Necessary Sacrafices" by Lisa Smedman. This story, I think anyway, is the crown jewel of this anthology. It was a fantastic read. It has a small compact plot, interesting characters and a very, very good ending. In fact I gasped at the ending of this. This story grabbed me right away and didn't let go the whole time. Excellent read in my opinion.

#4- "The Greater Treasure" By Erik Scott de Bie. This story is the hardest to rate out of this anthology. There were some things I liked, the Character Twilight for example and some things I didn't like, the character Yldar for example. The actual story, plot etc, is pretty good. I still think Mr. de Bie's short story in the last Realms of the Dragons anthology was better. This story does have some good moments though. Above average for this one.

#5- "Comrades at Arms" by R.A. Salvatore. This story is probably the most anticipated short story in this anthology because it features Drizzt. However, some Salvatore fans may be a little disappointed in that it's not the classic hack and slash Drizzt we see here. This story is all character development for Drizzt. Saying that other Salvatore fans will absolutely love it. Myself, I would have like to see a mixture of both, but that is merely my opinion. Very good story none-the-less.

#6- "Tears so White" by Ed Greenwood. There are few books or stories by Greenwood that I have ever liked. This proves to be no exception. I did not finish this story because, to me, it had very little flow and even less purpose. I will withhold a rating on this one for fear personal bias would cloud that judgment.

#7 - "The Bladesinger's Lesson" by Richard Baker. Mr. Baker does a very good job in writing this short story. He captures the readers attention right away and keeps the plot moving at a pretty good pace. Not only is the plot good, but he made me care about the main character in just a few pages. While I don't think this story is as good as Ms. Smedman's, I think it is right up there with Salvatore's. Very good read.

In my opinion there are four good stories in this anthology. Most are fairly quick reads, so even if you don't like them you didn't waste too much time at all. I recommend this anthology to fans of the Realms, but if you have no connection to the Forgotten Realms there are probably betted books out there for you to buy.

This brief book reads like a mythic tale out of Icelandic folklore--and perhaps it is. The author spent time as writer in residence at the cultural center in Gunnarssfnun, Iceland, and thanks the people for their songs and stories.

The story takes place at a time "when trolls and elves roamed the earth." The unknown woman heroine, the chief character, is a magic-user, but she can no longer fly to the stars, our ancient home. She is set on a difficult path by a Raven-Wizard: she must use a runic sword, slay a vicious wyvern and recover a lost Elven gem, which gives our world its light. These seem impossible tasks, since she must oppose the Shadow Sorcerer, the evil one loosed upon our world.

The writing has a lyric mystical quality about it, even though it uses simple words; and in a few sentences it reminds us that men can make of Earth either a heaven or a hell.

Armchair Interviews says if mythic fantasy is your forte, then you will want to read this one.

This tale from the Icelandic Eastfjords takes the readers by the hand and leads them through a magic realm of sparkeling snow and colorful skies into legendary lands. As you wonder through winter's wonderland the wind searches your bones, the heart yearns for life light as the stars and you drift into tales within tales, some of them as ancient as archaic fears. Despite the songs and stories contained within a story the tale is not just that. The adventures of the reluctant heroine beset with doubts only serve as a fable - much like Paolo Coelho's Alchemist - for the reader to look inside and change the little voice that we all carry in our head so that it may speak of freedom and success and no longer of defeat and failure.

Based on Icelandic myths, this story takes place in the distant past, when trolls and elves still walked the earth. A woman lives alone in a cottage, far from anyone else. It is full to overflowing with books, parchments and scrolls, many written in languages that were dead even back then. She yearns to return to the stars, but her broomstick refuses to function, for she has lost the magic.

A raven-wizard gives her three tasks, in order to help heal a broken world. The woman must return a runic sword to its proper owner, a knight who has been dead for many years. She must, single-handedly, defeat a hideous wyvern living in a huge lake (think of the Loch Ness Monster, but with a nastier disposition). Then, the woman must find and return a large blue gem, the Stone of Antariel, to its rightful owners, a race of elves. It's not as easy as it sounds; the forces of evil are keeping a close eye on the woman and her progress.

This story has a different, almost mystical, feel to it, and it's really good. It's a short novel, about 100 pages, and anyone who enjoys ancient, mythical stories will enjoy this one.

Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (5/07)

In this somewhat slim volume, a world of mystical, magical life begins. Set in an icy world filled with wintry beauty, we meet a woman on the first page of "The Woman and The Raven," who though strong in her independence, is caught within a nightmare of her own making. Though she seems satisfied carving a life for herself out of what the wintry land around her offers, still she dreams of more. Her dreams, incantations and legends interwoven within this book, are simple yet so complex, that at times the reader isn't sure what is happening is within the present, the past or possibly the future. Her nightmares become reality as she is faced not with the demons and monsters most are afraid of, but terrors which are hers alone.

There is no doubt in the mind of the reader that this woman is fantastical in many ways, but as the story grows, the legends and magical life of this woman create a tapestry of such contrast between beauty and horror that the ending of the book leaves the reader realizing that the monsters she battled were not of the real world around her but were monsters created of her own fears. These fears are those which live within her heart....fears which she alone must face and overcome.

The mood set within the pages of "The Woman and The Raven" is also touched by this woman, for her experiences had the ability to take this reader from a small room in a home amidst a big city and transport her to a fortress of elves within a far away land. This was a book where I found myself enraptured with the story within while feeling an odd sense of internal connection while visiting this land so different from my own. Perhaps it was because this woman was battling demons not unlike many we battle each day or perhaps it was because she seemed to be someone we all have known at one time in our lives. Whatever the reason, "The Woman and The Raven" was a book this reader will not long forget and which will I expect, be one drawn from the shelves and experienced over and over again, each time anew as the woman within makes discoveries, not unlike those many of us make every day.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this original and exciting adventure among trolls and elves. People of legends and sagas come to life and you get to know them as well as your next-door neighbor.

While I sympathize with the anti-consumerism ideals behind it, this book is just poorly done. The rhyming scheme is stilted and forced, it's overly wordy, and the narrative is disjointed. It's bad, folks. This book is bad. As Dorothy Parker said, "This book should not be set aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." Do yourself and those Chinese printers a favor: suppress your consumerist tendencies! DON'T BUY THIS BOOK! May it go out of print immediately. Amen.

I thought it might be a little strange to order this book during the summer, but hey Christmas in July why not? Although, it's not quite what I expected, I surprisingly got a big kick out of this mean-spirited little book I think due to my own aversion to Christmas festivities.

Particularly well done was the demise of the other reindeer at Rudolph's hands:
"And all the reindeer games at which Rudolph could never play,
He'll be the one who's laughing and name calling Christmas Day."
The illustration that accompanies it is very well done and really sick-minded.

If you like books that are a little out there, and convey a sick sense of humor, then you can't go wrong here. I thought it was really audacious.

Dark and angry, and yet hysterically funny, Brian Gage and Jeff Peterson have created a scathing commentary of Christmas that looks like a children's picture book.

Bippy the Elf (whose real name is Eugene Vladimir Von Triton Krinkeltoot), gives us a rhyming tour of Santa's famous "workshop" where the head CEO himself forces the elves to work night and day and where they never get any benefits in return, ("Last year reindeer droppings were the bonus to the staff.") all so that YOU can have a Merry Christmas.

So this year, Bippy and the elves decide to stage an Elven Revolution to get out of Santa's Sweatshop and are planning to come right into YOUR HOME!

Anyone who has overloaded on Christmas marketing and the exploitation of the worldwide labor force will love this little book, even if the symbolism is a bit obvious.

I would recommend one for everyone on your Christmas list...but it is printed in China...

Burn, Christmas, Burn!!!

Finally! A book that sinks it's teeth into the glitter of Christmas and rips out its heart! It's really funny and really dark. The author is a sick person, and I mean that as a compliment. Christmas has deserved this kind of send up for some time, and the elves in this book are just the ones to do it! I haven't laughed at a book this much since Get Your War On! I highly recommened this twisted Christmas tale.

In a respective nod to Tolkien, the elves of the Forgotten Realms, when too many centuries of pain and desire have passed, journey into the farthest west, to a misty isle where elven lords and ladies rule in a majestic, eternal realm of Faerie. But wouldn't you love to explore such a place? Now you can! This spectacular book makes Evermeet a living, breathing world - details are given on the land, the cultures (strongly influenced by Celtic mythology), the wondrous spells and magic items unique to the isle, the great heroes, possibilities for grandiose adventures (dragons abound!), and even, far below, the sinister machinations of the Drow. If you love elves and high fantasy, you owe it to yourself to read this book!

i think anyone, and everyone who use Forgotten Realms Elves, this is a must have.

The reason I gave this book such a low score is this. You really don't need it to run a AD&D campaign. It is really interesting, especally to elf nuts like me, but really it is completely unneeded for any AD&D campaign. This is manily because it is rare for any race besides elves to go to Evermeet, and if elves go there they normally don't leave.

A good product about the elves of the Forgotten Realms. However, if you want information about the elves, get Complete Book of Elves first, as that is the BEST regarding their information! This is THE book to get for information about the elves on the Forgotten Realms. The reason this source book did not get a five star is that they kind of cheated within the source itself. For a lot of the information, they said that we could look up the information in other products (this especially the case for kits!) They give a one paragraph description, and we learn that the rest of the information can be obtained from another source. They also did this with some creatures (like Baelnorns, which are originally found in Ruins of Myth Drannor).

However, that does not mean that this product is not good on its own. Being the second of my Forgotten Realms products, I got along just fine without some of the information. It does well in describing Evermeet, the lifestyle, the major differences between the various subraces of elves (except for the drow!) They introduced new creatures, two of them (for me at least) being VERY intersting (including the lythari - the lycanthrope elves; and the elves that come back from Avador to help the "mortal" elves!). Don't expect any adventures from this product.

If you're interested in elves, and the Forgotten Realms setting, then I recommend this source book. But if you don't like those source books that mention that most of the information can be found in other source books (especially Player Supplements), then this is a warning, that this source book has that!!

A nicely panoramic view of the Lord of the Rings, that begins lines of exploration many casual readers may not have thought about without getting too deep or technical. A quick, easy, and enjoyable prose. Like a survey course, the text sometimes provides more questions than answers, but without leaving the reader feeling cheated or deprived. A very readable introduction.

You'd think someone who had taught Tolkien at the university level for decades might have a keen insight into this wonderful fantasy world. And if you want some of the most insightful commentary on Tolkien’s world, you won’t find a much better book than this--it's great!

Stanton's strength is not merely insight, but the organization of that insight. The book is neatly divided into separate discussions of elves ("...elves are men made perfect"), dwarves, men, orks, hobbits, etc. In each discussion, the author provides thoughtful information as only someone who knows Tolkien this well is able. There is also a very helpful background to Middle Earth, which was of great assistance to me in understanding the story.

Other chapters are devoted to summary of the "Lord of the Rings" series--a very helpful inclusion for those of us that became most familiar with the story through the film. The film itself is also discussed, with excellent analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both cast and script. Stanton includes answers to some of the most often asked questions about the movie.

Finally, Stanton includes an interpretation of Tolkien’s literary techniques in discussions on parallelism, religious theme (excellent), and use of language. He also mentions interesting inconsistencies in the stories, as well as unresolved issues, which have become sources of great trivia, e.g., what happened to the Ent Wives, Gimli's occupation, etc.

If you just love the story, know it by heart, and care little for themes and characterizationsâ€"you might want to pass on this book. However, if you're fairly familiar with the “Lord of the Rings”, and would like to delve beneath the surface of the story, this book is wonderful! It's an easy read, is organized nicely, and is written by someone who understands the master--probably even better than Tolkien’s own son. Highly recommended!

This book is remarkably dry. Considering the subject matter I would've thought that was impossible but Michael Stanton has proved me wrong.The writing is dull and workmanlike.It's very much like a literary text book.

The best thing I can say for Elves, Hobbits and Wizards is that it gives the casual Tolkien fan an almost encyclopedic view of the characters and ideas of the books.

If you are planning on writing a term paper on Lord of the Rings this is a useful reference text but if fun is what you're after, pass this one by.

As a scholar who has studied and taught J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for twenty-five years, there are very probably very few better qualified to write an introductory book on the subject than Michael Stanton. He's obviously a great fan on the book (that is, he does not seem to be simply trying to cash in on the recent popularity that the movies have caused) and writes in a simple, chatty style that is easy for most non-academics to understand. For those who are more experienced in reading essays and critiques, "Hobbits, Wizards and Elves" may come across as either too simplistic or repetitive - and I admit that there was very little here that I hadn't already come across in more comprehensive essays on this subject.

But Stanton is well aware of this, and has no delusions about what it is that he's writing - in fact on many occasions he encourages other authors that go deeper into the text, and often apologises for his `bare-bones' treatment of the subject. To like the author's own voice makes up a great part of one's enjoyment of these exploratory books, and there's nothing pretentious or overtly opinionated in Stanton's techniques.

In saying that however, this is a book for beginners to the world of Tolkien - long time studiers or fanatical fans will know all this stuff already - and probably through their own readings of the book. Yet for those starting out, or those that need a helping hand in grasping the finer details of Tolkien's great work, this is a readable and clear-cut `helpmeet' to "the Lord of the Rings".

In Part One of the book Stanton gives us a (very) brief biographical account of Tolkien's life and his inspiration for the book, and the publishing history, followed by a chapter devoted to the geography, history and themes that make up Middle-Earth. The bulk of the book is taken up with accounts of the six books that make up the complete "Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King." This is perhaps the most interesting part (at least for me), as he explores the meanings and finer details of the chapters and the events and characters within them.

Part Two divides up the `species' of Middle Earth and explores their cultures closer: Elves, Dwarves, Ents, Humankind (including Hobbits) and the forces of evil are all discussed separately, and then finally Tolkien's use of language (undoubtedly the basis of the entire saga) and the use of dreams and spirituality throughout the story.

Lastly comes a chapter on the Peter Jackson version of "the Fellowship of the Ring" that is enthusiastically advertised by the publishers on the front cover: "includes a new essay on the first part of "the Lord of the Rings" film trilogy!" As it turns out, this is the most unnecessary parts of the book, and I couldn't help but feel that Stanton was either coerced into doing this for the benefit of sales, or was simply a little `pet-project' of his that he wanted to sneak in. As it is, it is not an `essay' at all, but simply a list of opinions concerning the movie that nearly verges into being a movie review. As you may have guessed, the absence of Tom Bombadil and the role of Arwen are mentioned, as are a few other little nitpicks, but at least Stanton appreciates Sean Bean's role as Boromir - a performance that I believe is often overlooked by viewers.

He's not afraid to criticise certain portions of the book (he points out that only three of five wizards sent to Middle Earth are identified, and that Tolkien puts the title of `oldest living thing in Middle Earth' on two separate characters: Tom Bombadil and Treebeard), and to go against popular fan speculation (in his opinion the `unsung hero' of the story is not Samwise Gamgee, but Prince Imrahil) but on the whole you can tell that he simply adores Tolkien's work and has read it multiple times.

He also points out some interesting titbits that are obvious in hindsight, but which were overlooked by me in my own reading of "Lord of the Rings" - such as the fact that Pippin is the only character in the book to directly converse with Sauron.

It is not a thick book, nor a very deep one, but it is interesting nonetheless and would be valuable to those just beginning to explore Tolkien's world. I've been exploring for a few years now, and I still found some interesting theories and explanations - but then I brought this book at the University's book store for only two dollars, so I'm hardly going to take a harsh view of something brought so cheaply. Any one well-versed in Tolkien's universe has more comprehensive works to explore, but beginners are most welcome here.