Cormyr: A Novel

Did You Know?

• The novel's plot is told in a series of stories spanning from the founding of the kingdom through its history up to the time of the main story.
• The dragon is noted as a potent symbol at TSR that pervades Cormyr's proud past.

Reception

Gideon Kibblewhite reviewed Cormyr: A Novel for Arcane magazine and gave it an overall score of 7 out of 10. He described the core of the novel as an ordinary but affable tale of a conspiracy in the court of Cormyr. The review noted that the book recounts the growth of an encampment of men in a forest glade into a nation, the village leaders from whom a line of kings springs, and the myth of the forest itself as the abode of dragons, elves, and men. Kibblewhite observed that the chapters dealing with these past deeds succeed more than most game tie-in novels, adding not just flesh and structure to a campaign setting but also a sense of warmth toward the place. He remarked that while the words of Tolkien and Leiber transport a reader to a magical world, it is more difficult for a book based on a game to do so, yet Cormyr manages it with much aplomb, making it a valuable aid for those who might wish to adventure in such a land by providing both a location and a whole history. The review concluded that the story is told at great speed, flicking from age to age like a book of short stories with a common thread, and that while it is sometimes cheesy fare, that is to be expected.