The Sundering: What does it mean for future of Forgotten Realms Novels?

Let me start by saying that if you don't read fantasy novels, specifically those based around the Forgotten Realms, then this post isn't for you.  Stop here and come back next time.  No offence intended, I can't imagine that you will appreciate this rant.  That being said:

I have been reading Forgotten Realms novels since I was very young...The very first FR novel, Darkwalker on Moonshea was published in 1987, when I was 8 years old, and I think I discovered the series in 1990...starting with Ed Greenwods Spellfire, so I would have been roughly 11 years old, meaning I have now been reading these stories for about 25 years...I believe I own a copy of every novel, novella, and e-book ever produced in the series...which amounts to a lot of shelf space in my condo, we're talking over 200+ volumes.  The Realms have always been my gateway drug to other great fantasy, fueling my discovery of authors like Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and George R.R. Martin, but I always return to the Realms enjoying a treasured reunion with favored characters, or familiar locations.  After 200 novels, you start to feel like you have a pretty solid knowledge of the source material.

I just finished reading The Herald, by Troy Denning, 5th in The Sundering series of 6 novels released by Wizards of the Coast to help transition the Forgotten Realms out of the mess created by the introduction of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and the Spellplague.  The Sundering is supposed to coincide with the release of D&D Next, which is the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons soon to hit store shelves.  At the same time D&D Next was announced, Wizards announced that The Forgotten Realms would be one of the official campaign settings used to usher in the new game mechanics.  I haven't played D&D for at least 15 years, but I still appreciate the feel of the fantasy world originally created by Ed Greenwood.

Back to the point, while I enjoyed the book, and it was nice to see Denning return to the campaign setting after a long absence, it is the lack of future novels that concerns me.  Ever since the interweb became a thing, Wizards of the Coast has forecast its upcoming releases schedule on their website roughly six months in advance.  It has been a great way for fans to get a glimpse of what is coming down the line.  Before that, all you could hope for were press pages at the back of the books, which weren't always reliable.  However, ever since news of The Sundering was first released, there have been almost no other titles announced for the series.  Ed Greenwood's conclusion The Herald which is out in June of 2014 is the only title slated for release.  Does this mean the end for the long lived novel line???

Logic says no.  The only other novel that has been released during The Sundering is R.A. Salvatore's Night of The Hunter, which is slated as the first of a trilogy of novels featuring fan favourite, Drizzt Do'Urden and the newly re-united Companions of The Hall.  Drizzt now has 28 novels devoted just to him, and each new release pretty much guarantees Salvatore another spot on the NY Times best seller list.  So we "know" that there are at least 2 more as of yet untitled novels featuring everyone's favorite Drow Ranger, but is that it for the series?  Does the introduction of D&D Next mean the end of the Forgotten Realms novel line?  Or will Wizards of the Coast announce a whole new array of authors to continue the saga once The Herald releases in June?

Only time will tell.

Go Jobra!

I just caught this weeks episode of Community, and I have to say that I haven't laughed that hard in ages!  Dan Harmon really has created something special with this little gem of a show, and his return to the series, after it's ho-hum 4th season, has been really refreshing.

I love that Community has found it's niche as that quirky show that tackles a totally different genre with each and every episode, and as a male child of the 80's I couldn't have been happier to see the choice for this week's episode: GI Joe/ animation.  Titled GI Jeff, the episode was a hilarious blend of a combination of 80's style animation, 80's action figure commercials, and live action. 

The plot for the episode was darkly funny, which is typical Community: Depressed about his advancing years on his 40th Birthday, Jeff Winger drinks a 5th of scotch, downs a handful of Asian "happy magic youth" pills hoping to reclaim his lost youth, and winds up in a coma, suffering a minor psychotic break, where he and the rest of the cast are trapped in an eternal GI Joe Cartoon, separated from actual reality by a subconscious layer of 1980's GI Joe commercials, which are partially drawn from the stock footage that I remember from my youth.

In his fantasy world Jeff becomes Wingman, a Joe with a jetpack, who doesn't play by the rules.  The other community cast also make appearances as part of Jeff's team: Shirley becomes Three Kids, Annie becomes Tight Ship, Britta becomes Buzz Kill, and Ahbed becomes 4th Wall, Each with a hilarious costume and spin on their community personas. 

I was hooked right from the opening credits where an animated Community cast fights alongside the traditional Joe's to fend of a Cobra attack lead by Destro.  Wingman actually kills Destro in the final moments of the opening sequence, which gets him and the team thrown in the brig for breaking the GI Joe code of conduct.  The rest of the episode is spent, trying to escape, and return to reality.  Hilarity ensues.

Now I can also appreciate that not everyone would enjoy this particular episode as much as I did, for example, all of the young women I have discussed this episode with, just didn't get it.  GI Joe just wasn't a significant part of their upbringing, which I can certainly understand.

But, that aside, this was 22 minutes of fantastic television.