POLL: Reading Ed Greenwood

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So, I was surfing Amazon the other day, and was cruising through some book reviews for Forgotten Realms books. At some point, I began looking at the reviews for all of Ed Greenwood's books.

To put it bluntly, most people think he is a terrible writer and is not worth the six or seven dollars spent on his books.

Although I agree with the fact that his writing style is a bit - er - lacking, generally his books are still at the least an entertaining read.

What are your opinions on the creator of the Forgotton Realms?

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 12 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Reading Ed Greenwood (12 votes.)

What do you think of Ed Greenwood's Books? (Choose 1)
* Oh My God! Mystra is soooo hot!!! - 0% (0)
* The Best! They should be mandatory high school reading! - 8% (1)
* Decent. His style is lacking, but his stories are entertaining. - 83% (10)
* Terrible! How did Greenwood ever get a publishing contract? - 0% (0)
* Elminster must die!!! - 8% (1)

 

Trust me, Taluntain, I know -- I own most of them and have read them all many many times! Besides, it is not just about literature - it is about aesthetics, too. Anyways, I am just checking out what others think about the books of the more prolific FR novelist and creator

 

Well, I disagree with both of you! While, admittedly, I started reading fantasy books just recently, I thought that Greenwood's El books were not only entertaining as fiction, but a superior example of lifelike characterization and plot weaving, to the point that I read all four of his books, cover to cover, scarcely being able to put them down. His ability to create his character, Elminster, to be bigger than life, with a personality that, quite simply, leaps off the page at you, should not be understated. I thought his books moved quickly plot-wise, his characters, in general, were very memorable, and, while Greenwood may not be viewed as a literary icon in your eyes, I can most definitely say that his writing made quite an impression on me. Waiting on #5!

 

Well, Spellbound, I would have to agree with you - his Elminster books are his finest work, but have you ever looked at some of his other books? Perhaps the Spellfire series - just one big circular chase scene. THere are good things in there, but he tends to be a little overblown in his characterization. Still good escapism, though!

 

I'm curious....what is it, in your view, that's so sub-literary about his writings? I'm sure, as time goes on, I'll read other authors' works that I find as interesting, if not more so than Greenwood's. But I compare his work to other general fiction that I have read, and I don't see the shortcomings that you've alluded to. Can you elaborate?

 

Hmmm, I do indeed enjoy reading about sexual escapades, but I hadn't made the connection of this common theme in all of the fiction that I've been reading lately -- how could I have missed that?

Sex in a novel does indeed sell, but I thought there was more to his work than just that....I was comparing his work on writing quality, ability to hold a reader's attention, etc. Your thoughts?

And, no, I'm not touching the "women too eager to give" remark, though I did note a touch of that.

 

I've never read any of Greenwood's books, but I always enjoyed his "Ecologies" and "Tomes" articles in Dragon Magazine. He is the creator of the FR too!

I would like to check out the Elminster book series...I remember seeing them in the bookstore, but I never picked it up...

 

Ditto to all of the things Taluntain just said - Sometimes you just get tired of hearing about Elminster's escapades with the opposite sex. Personally, I feel that his characters remain largely undeveloped - they stay static for the entire story - although they may learn secrets about themselves, this knowledge does not really change them in any way. Also, his heroes are too infallible and his villains too predictable.

As for his style, well, he could certainly invest in a new thesaurus - it is just the same words over and over and over again.

Still - he is entertaining at the very least.

 

Elminster is Greenwood's version of James Bond, with a personal diety added in for spice. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on how much you enjoy B movies.

 

There was an interview with Ed Greenwood in a local magazine not too long ago and he said that he wrote approximately one book every two days. He spends all his weekends and evenings writing and scribbles a bit during slow hours at the library where he works. So I'd be amazed if he *didn't* use the same phrases over and over in new combinations. Actually a lot of writers who aren't nearly so prolific end up doing that by about their tenth novel anyway. And as for the sex, well, that's a common problem with SF and fantasy novels in general. The male protagonists have sex with every female in the book who isn't obviously a villain, sometimes with most of them at the same time. Once I thought this was a combination of wishful thinking and over-identification with the protagonist, but having met a particular science fiction author that is infamous for this once, it occurred to me then that maybe men who don't have much sex think this is what male-female relationships are really like for other guys. Someone who spends every waking moment with a pencil in hand probably doesn't get laid much so can't write from personal experience... poor guys. Anyway. My point is that I suspect that he's doing the best he can under the circumstances. For books written in two days, they really aren't bad at all!

 

A lot of what Ed writes, and has written, doesn't get published. Or at least it hasn't yet. In the article Sprite is referring to he did say that he manages to write at that prolific pace. But writting and publishing are certainly two different things. And I'm pretty sure that he (Ed) is also referring to a lot of his writing that gets disected into various spreads in Dragon magazine and various other places.

I think that, as a creator, there are very few who can match his skill and ability at present in creating an entire world. But for actual novel writing, he definitely could improve IMO. That said, there are a lot of people (including major fans) that will say the same thing about Tolkien - I know I'm going to take heat for this, but hear me out Tolkien's actual writing style (the prose) isn't that great, and by itself doesn't warrant the attention and fame his name has gained. It's *what* he wrote that makes him great: an entire world, complete from beginning to end.

Also, from the very beginning of the published life of the Forgotten Realms, TSR (and now WotC) have pretty much dictated a lot of the material. Originally, they also had the absolute final say in content as well. IRC some of Ed's first books were quite bastardized by the time they came to print.

 

I agree with the Tolkien observation. He's great at describing nature and putting together languages and history...But I always thought his descriptions of characters was a little shallow and lacking.

You never really feel like you're getting to know a character in Tolkien's books, you are always an observer being guided along on a tour. There seems to be a lack of richness and definition to his character descriptions. At least I've found that.

 

Hmmm, I have never really noticed that, Bel, I guess that I will just have to go back and read Lord of the Rings yet again...

darn...

But at least Tolkien has a vocabulary - you really cannot say the same for Ed, no matter how important and prolific his work has been. I am glad he created the FR, but I wish he had used one of the thesauri in his library.

(And yes, I still like reading Ed Greenwood)

 

As for Greenwood, I've only read his Elminster series and those books he wrote in the Double Diamond Triangle Saga (9 books less than a hundred pages each, written by a big mix of authors), and I found that in his description of Elminster he did a fine job, but that's it, he didn't seem capable of bringing any other characters to life, IMO. I agree that Greenwood tried too hard to stuff sex into his books, especially El in Hell, the book was like a fantasy-romance hybrid.