Ed Greenwood Books

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Ed Greenwood is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. He is responsible for the Forgotten Realms, a fictional world that gained notoriety when it was assimilated by Dungeons and Dragons.

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Born in 1959, Greenwood spent his childhood in Don Mills, an upscale Toronto Suburb. When he created the Forgotten Realms, the author had no idea that it would go on to become one of the most beloved fictional settings in RPG history.

Greenwood was a voracious reader. He started reading adult-level stories when he was four. His interest in writing was actually sparked by his hunger for reading. A young Ed Greenwood would read the books in his father’s den.

And whenever he found a novel he particularly liked, he would go hunting for a sequel only for his father to tell him that the author had died and there were no more books to be found in that particular series.

Greenwood’s father would end such conversations by telling the boy to go write his own sequels if he was so determined to continue the stories that had grabbed him. It is unclear as to whether the older man actually intended for his son to take this advice to heart or if he was simply being sarcastic.

Either way, Greenwood listened and acted accordingly. At four years of age, he started writing. By the time he was 6, Greenwood was a published author, though he would have been the first person to tell you that everything he wrote in those early years was dreadful.

The novelist was more than happy to see the first person space operas and romance stories of his youth disappear. That being said, the experimentation of his childhood wasn’t a complete waste.

Greenwood was still a child when he started producing stories within the Forgotten Realms. At the time, the author just wanted a platform within which he could set all the swords and sorcery stories swirling around in his mind.

He took great pleasure in adding detailed backstories to the various corners of the Forgotten Realms universe. In 1975, when the boy discovered Dungeons and Dragons, he started setting all his campaigns in the Forgotten Realms.

The players who participated in the author’s campaigns were always thirsty for more detail and he met their demands by giving the Forgotten Realms as much life as any real-world setting.

As luck would have it, a magazine called The Dragon agreed to publish short articles from Ed Greenwood that explored the facets of the Forgotten Realms. These articles drew the interest of TSR, the company behind Dungeons and Dragons.

They sent Jeff Grubb to prod Greenwood. Upon learning that the Forgotten Realms was truly his own distinct creation, they did not hesitate to add it as a campaign to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Game.

They also brought Ed Greenwood onboard, tasking him with writing novels and short stories for the Dungeons and Dragons version of the Forgotten Realms.

Today, the Forgotten Realms is celebrated both in Literary Fantasy Fiction and in the arena of Role-Playing Games. Despite his busy schedule as a writer, Greenwood finds the time to work as a library clerk.

Ed Greenwood Awards

Greenwood is a member of the Gamers Choice Hall of Fame. He also joined the Academy of Adventure Gaming’s Hall of Fame in the early 2000s.

Best Ed Greenwood Books

Greenwood has been commended for creating a fictional RPG setting that is epic in scope whilst also offering opportunities for localized, grounded storytelling, with some of the best books in his bibliography including:

The Making of a Mage: Times are hard. Dragons rule the sky. Evil sorcerers walk the land and barbarians abound. But none of that matters to Elminster. After all, he’s just a simple shepherd boy, or at least he was. Then a mage lord swept down on the back of a dragon and changed everything.

Myth Drannor: Elminster is a powerful and enigmatic figure in the Forgotten Realms. This book continues the exploration of his life, specifically delving into the events that brought him to Cormanthor, the nature of his education under many mighty mages and the steps he took to put his magic to good use in a world saturated with evil sorcerers, wicked dragons and barbarians.

When Does The Next Ed Greenwood book come out?

Ed Greenwood doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Quests of Doom 4 and was released on June, 1st 2018. It is the newest book in the Ed Greenwood Game Books.

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