- Mass Market Paperback: 308 pages
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (Jun 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0786918640
- ISBN-13: 978-0786918645
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.6 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 312,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
A band of young and inexperienced adventurers joins forces to search for a missing prince, only to be swept into a perilous conspiracy led by evil sorcerers, a powerful and ambitious demigod, and a vicious she-demon intent on wreaking worldwide havoc. Original.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the outset this book had me riveted. A fantastic mix of action, intrigue and romance based around a setting which few gamers will not be familiar with.
The characters are well developed and compliment each others style perfectly particularly the underlying romance between Shirral the druidess and the books central character ShanHaeval. This alone had me crooning to reach the next chapter.
Set against these valiant heroes is an equally impressive villanous cast who aptly capture the atmosphere of the temples evil past, breathing life into the complex web of politics cast about the Temple.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this remains one of my favourite books and I can only hope we see more adventures of this Endearing band.
The characters are well developed and compliment each others style perfectly particularly the underlying romance between Shirral the druidess and the books central character ShanHaeval. This alone had me crooning to reach the next chapter.
Set against these valiant heroes is an equally impressive villanous cast who aptly capture the atmosphere of the temples evil past, breathing life into the complex web of politics cast about the Temple.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this remains one of my favourite books and I can only hope we see more adventures of this Endearing band.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons/9147) is my favorite roleplaying adventure of all time. Many an adventurer has fallen amongst its deadly walls. I was mixed with delight and fear when I heard that a novel about this extraordinary piece was being written. I am happy to say that this novel does it justice. For those who have played the adventure before, you will relive past glories and defeats as images of Temple come back to you.
The setting with Hommlet, Nulb, the moathouse, and the Temple itself have remained the same, and you will remember some old faces like Burne, Elmo, Otis, Ostler, Rufus, and more. Reid's descriptions of the Temple and the surrounding areas are incredible and put you there again with a new band of adventurers. The characters are wonderfully portrayed and they remind me of many adventurers that I have played. The main character in the story is Shanhaevel, an elven wizard, who is thrust into the adventure of his life, ill prepared and scared out of his wits, after his mentor is slain. Shanhaevel arrives in Hommlet to meet with Burne and representatives from the King of Furyrondy and soon finds himself along on a journey to discover what new evil threatens Hommlet and to determine if the Temple has awaken again. As the adventure begins, Shanhaevel rides out with a veteran warrior from the first battle against the Temple's forces named Melias who leads the expedition, a rogue named Ahleage, a warrior talented with a bow named Draga, a half-elven druid named Shirral, and Elmo a warrior who turns out to be more than he appears. The characters are developed through their actions and garb and are not simply described by class like in the novel Against the Giants (Greyhawk Classics). For instance, Govin who they meet later is not described as a paladin, but it can be inferred from his actions and abilities. And Elmo's true character can be determined from his hidden talents.
Aside from all this let me just say...you will enjoy this book whether you are new to The Temple of Elemental Evil or not. The storyline is exciting and entertaining from the beginning and holds you till the end, unsure quite how it will all end up. I give this novel my highest recommendation. If you like this novel there is also a new adventure called Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (Dungeons & Dragons) and computer game Temple of Elemental Evil, which I hope will also live up the standards of the original.
The setting with Hommlet, Nulb, the moathouse, and the Temple itself have remained the same, and you will remember some old faces like Burne, Elmo, Otis, Ostler, Rufus, and more. Reid's descriptions of the Temple and the surrounding areas are incredible and put you there again with a new band of adventurers. The characters are wonderfully portrayed and they remind me of many adventurers that I have played. The main character in the story is Shanhaevel, an elven wizard, who is thrust into the adventure of his life, ill prepared and scared out of his wits, after his mentor is slain. Shanhaevel arrives in Hommlet to meet with Burne and representatives from the King of Furyrondy and soon finds himself along on a journey to discover what new evil threatens Hommlet and to determine if the Temple has awaken again. As the adventure begins, Shanhaevel rides out with a veteran warrior from the first battle against the Temple's forces named Melias who leads the expedition, a rogue named Ahleage, a warrior talented with a bow named Draga, a half-elven druid named Shirral, and Elmo a warrior who turns out to be more than he appears. The characters are developed through their actions and garb and are not simply described by class like in the novel Against the Giants (Greyhawk Classics). For instance, Govin who they meet later is not described as a paladin, but it can be inferred from his actions and abilities. And Elmo's true character can be determined from his hidden talents.
Aside from all this let me just say...you will enjoy this book whether you are new to The Temple of Elemental Evil or not. The storyline is exciting and entertaining from the beginning and holds you till the end, unsure quite how it will all end up. I give this novel my highest recommendation. If you like this novel there is also a new adventure called Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (Dungeons & Dragons) and computer game Temple of Elemental Evil, which I hope will also live up the standards of the original.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
22 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Standard Adventure, Popcorn Reading.
25 Nov 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"The Temple of Elemental Evil" is another of WoTC's revisits to the legendary dungeons of the early campaigning days of the AD&D world of Greyhawk. There is an undeniable amount of nostalgia for some readers, like myself, but this book reads like popcorn, it's light, it's filling, and it's ultimately no big deal.
Decades have passed since I first visited the Temple of Elemental Evil and the Village of Hommlet. There is an undeniable amount of fun in revisiting places I once saw only through the imagination of my mind and that of my fellow gamers.
The story: Shanhaevel, a young elven wizard is accompanying his aging master on a mysterious mission to the village of Hommlet, for reasons unkown to Shanhaevel. An ambush on the road results in the death of his master, and the burden of the mission falling to the elven wizard.
His task: go with several adventurers to scout out the ruins of the Temple of Elemental Evil, a place of powerful evil (as the name implies, ^_^ ) and find out if the forces of the temple, which were defeated at great cost a decade ago, are on the rise. As often happens, things don't quite go as planned.
Nostalgia aside, this is a fairly pedestrian book. Mr. Reid doesn't spend much time on character development, the group bonds far too fast, etc. The wit and verve of a writer like Paul Kidd, who has written 3 other of the Greyhawk dungeon novels is not apparent in Mr. Reid's style.
So, this book is nothing special, but it doesn't commit any major offenses. The book reads sort of like a checklist: it appears that the author was told he needed to do certain things, which he did, but it still has almost an outline feel to it.
The true rating of this book should be 2.5 stars, but I freely admit to being a tad biased by nostalgia, which is why I gave it 3 stars.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I liked it, but it wasn't the best book I've ever read
19 Sep 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I picked up this book after having played the game more times than I can count (mostly running it). There are several things I really enjoyed about the book, but others that made me feel a little disappointed.
The good:
1: It was great getting a refresher in the structure of the temple, and it brought back a lot of memories. It also gave me some interesting ideas.
2: It was not written in the typical preteen fashion that many books derivative of the games are.
3: It was entertaining.
The Bad:
1: Not the greatest character development -- it seemed a bit rushed.
2: Anyone who's played the game will recognize that this went entirely too easy and quickly to even compare.
3: A bit too many stereotypical elements.
All in all, if you love the game, you will enjoy the book. If you are just looking for a good fantasy novel, try Tolkein or Alexander.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Dull D&D Adventure Novel
14 Jan 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
There were elements of this novel that could have made a good story but on the whole it was very dry and boring. The prologue was too short. In the span of a hundred pages the main characters go from hardly knowing eachother to being best friends. There is no interesting interaction between them.
The vilians are equally drab. So drab that not even tired old vilian cliches can be attatched to them. They are underdeveloped and you dont believe their motivations. Hedrach seems kind of intriguing at the beginning but as the story develops his intrigue quickly diminishes.
The only reason this book deserves two stars instead of one is that avid gamers will recognize certain familiar elements. Many spells used, and dieties named, and secret doors found will ring bells.
If you want to read a better book set in the Greyhawk campaign world read some of Paul Kidd's novels they are well written and have more interesting characters.
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