What do you think?
Rate this book
Forgotten Realms - Publication Order
The Gilded Rune
A plague has ravaged the population of gold dwarves of the Great Rift. It starts slowly, but the progression is devastating. One dwarf has eyes that have become hard and glassy like marbles; a second dwarf has skin that flakes off in sharp, hardened scales; the skeleton of a third is petrified and fused in place; a fourth wastes away with blood that has turned dark and muddy.Clerical magic doesn't help. Neither do herbal remedies, nor spells meant to break curses. And in all cases, death is always the same--the heart blackens, hardens, and eventually stops beating, killing each victim with a heart attack and turning the bodies to stone.It's called the Stoneplague. It's terrifying. And it's spreading.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
8 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Smedman
79 books114 followersLisa was very much the tomboy growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia--playing in the woods behind her house, building tree forts, damming the creek, playing army with GI Joe dolls, swinging on ropes, playing flashlight tag, building models and go-carts (which she later rode down the street). She also liked reading science fiction novels from the 1940s, the Doc Savage series, and the Harriet the Spy books.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 12, 2013
It took over 25 years and 4 editions of the Forgotten Realms before someone wrote a Dwarf-centric novel, and they chose to focus on the lesser-known subrace known as Gold Dwarves. I was hesitant to read it because of my detestation for Fourth Edition FR lore and my disappointment with most FR novels in general as I get older. However,I could not resist the subject matter and I had liked some of Smedman's past work.
Despite this being a Dwarf-centric novel, the protagonist was still a human who believes he has the soul of a Dwarf even adopting the clan name of Ironstar, one of the most famous dwarven clans (though they wereShield Dwarves, the other subrace, and neither of these facts are stated in the novel) and being adopted by an exceedingly kindhearted clan as a sort of foster kinsman.
Smedman had her reasons for making him human; the plot really would not have worked if he was a Dwarf because of spoiler reasons, but then maybe she should have written a different story altogether. We never got to plumb the depths of any Dwarf characters, they were all as inscrutable and as private as they are generally depicted which would be fine if they were background characters instead of the focus of the book.
I also found her depictions of the Morndinsamman, their gods, troublesome. At one point she gave her impression of a Realms-shattering event, the Thunder Blessing, which occurred about 120 years prior to the time of the novel. She depicts Moradin and Berronar, heads of the pantheon, discussing how to help their children as too few souls return to be reforged. Clangeddin Silverbeard the god of war, Sharindlar the goddess of mercy, Vergadain the god of mercantile, Dugmaren Brightmantle the god of knowledge-seeking, and Abbathor the god of greed...along with Dumathoin, the god of mountains and mining who is described in various sourcebooks as never speaking due to his position as the Keeper of Secrets. Either Smedman never knew this or decided to ignore it because he certainly spoke.For some reason she also omitted the presence of several key gods of the pantheon while choosing to write that Abbathor, who is mostly exiled due to his evil ways, was called.
Truth be told I wish someone had written an FR Dwarves novel during the good old days of pre-Spellplague 4E FR but at least they made an effort.
Despite this being a Dwarf-centric novel, the protagonist was still a human who believes he has the soul of a Dwarf even adopting the clan name of Ironstar, one of the most famous dwarven clans (though they wereShield Dwarves, the other subrace, and neither of these facts are stated in the novel) and being adopted by an exceedingly kindhearted clan as a sort of foster kinsman.
Smedman had her reasons for making him human; the plot really would not have worked if he was a Dwarf because of spoiler reasons, but then maybe she should have written a different story altogether. We never got to plumb the depths of any Dwarf characters, they were all as inscrutable and as private as they are generally depicted which would be fine if they were background characters instead of the focus of the book.
I also found her depictions of the Morndinsamman, their gods, troublesome. At one point she gave her impression of a Realms-shattering event, the Thunder Blessing, which occurred about 120 years prior to the time of the novel. She depicts Moradin and Berronar, heads of the pantheon, discussing how to help their children as too few souls return to be reforged. Clangeddin Silverbeard the god of war, Sharindlar the goddess of mercy, Vergadain the god of mercantile, Dugmaren Brightmantle the god of knowledge-seeking, and Abbathor the god of greed...along with Dumathoin, the god of mountains and mining who is described in various sourcebooks as never speaking due to his position as the Keeper of Secrets. Either Smedman never knew this or decided to ignore it because he certainly spoke.For some reason she also omitted the presence of several key gods of the pantheon while choosing to write that Abbathor, who is mostly exiled due to his evil ways, was called.
Truth be told I wish someone had written an FR Dwarves novel during the good old days of pre-Spellplague 4E FR but at least they made an effort.
April 6, 2014
Disclaimer-If you read the review and feel there is a spoiler in it, please let me know and I will remove that section. Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Thank you.
The Gilded Rune is a stand alone novel by Lisa Smedman. Other book by here are the House of Serpents trilogy Venom’s Taste, Viper’s Kiss, and Vanity’s Brood, The Lady Penitent trilogy Sacrifice of the Widow, Storm of the Dead, and Ascendency of the Last, as well as book four of the War of the Spider Queen series Extinction, a short story in Halls of Stormweather with a follow-up novel Heirs of Prophecy.
The main plot of The Gilded Rune is the spreading of a Stoneplague through the dwarven race. The main character Torrin Ironstar is a human who feels he is a dwarf whom has been forged into the wrong body. Some subplots involved are Torrin’s quest to prove he is in fact a dwarf and the adversity he faces, his search for the Dwarf God Moardin’s soulforge which he aims to use a unique item he has acquired to transport him anywhere he wishes, and others that would lead to spoilers.
The pace of the novel is perfect. This one builds right from the beginning and brings the reader into the characters and what is going-on with everyone while providing adventures before even coming to the main plot of the story. I felt there was just never a dull moment as the novel progressed. The story flowed nicely along just taking the reader from one stage to the next and nothing really broke from it. The characters were easy to connect with. For me this is a realms novel that has been long in coming for enjoyment. It even takes me back to the old days of FR when the reader could catch glimpses of the gods and even see the stakes in which their immortality becomes threatened.
Some criticisms:
1. The only one that I can determine here is the lack of a real antagonist. While there is a real threat to the survival of the dwarfs, there is really no true villain to focus the reader’s dislike. Once it is finally revealed how everything was started and the reasons why, it felt like “oh, ok, they are to blame.” This however is a minor criticism and does not take away from the enjoyment of the story.
Some positives:
1. The characters are awesome with this one. They really drew out the emotions of the reader whether it was to sneer at their prejudices, celebrate their accomplishment, or morn with them during their loss.
2. Of all the books post spellplague, this is the one that should have come out first as it had woven the elements of pre and post spellplague events nicely. While there are still hints of what the spellplague had done to the realms, there was enough of an old time feel to the story to keep even the seasoned veteran of the realms engaged and enjoying the story.
This was a great realms novel. I really wish Ms. Smedman had more to offer the realms as she is a prime example of what is right in the realms when it comes to providing excellent storytelling. If you are new to the FR universe, then I can easily recommend this one. Heck to anyone wanting to read about the realms or fantasy in general, I highly recommend this story.
Happy reading
-Dimndbangr
The Gilded Rune is a stand alone novel by Lisa Smedman. Other book by here are the House of Serpents trilogy Venom’s Taste, Viper’s Kiss, and Vanity’s Brood, The Lady Penitent trilogy Sacrifice of the Widow, Storm of the Dead, and Ascendency of the Last, as well as book four of the War of the Spider Queen series Extinction, a short story in Halls of Stormweather with a follow-up novel Heirs of Prophecy.
The main plot of The Gilded Rune is the spreading of a Stoneplague through the dwarven race. The main character Torrin Ironstar is a human who feels he is a dwarf whom has been forged into the wrong body. Some subplots involved are Torrin’s quest to prove he is in fact a dwarf and the adversity he faces, his search for the Dwarf God Moardin’s soulforge which he aims to use a unique item he has acquired to transport him anywhere he wishes, and others that would lead to spoilers.
The pace of the novel is perfect. This one builds right from the beginning and brings the reader into the characters and what is going-on with everyone while providing adventures before even coming to the main plot of the story. I felt there was just never a dull moment as the novel progressed. The story flowed nicely along just taking the reader from one stage to the next and nothing really broke from it. The characters were easy to connect with. For me this is a realms novel that has been long in coming for enjoyment. It even takes me back to the old days of FR when the reader could catch glimpses of the gods and even see the stakes in which their immortality becomes threatened.
Some criticisms:
1. The only one that I can determine here is the lack of a real antagonist. While there is a real threat to the survival of the dwarfs, there is really no true villain to focus the reader’s dislike. Once it is finally revealed how everything was started and the reasons why, it felt like “oh, ok, they are to blame.” This however is a minor criticism and does not take away from the enjoyment of the story.
Some positives:
1. The characters are awesome with this one. They really drew out the emotions of the reader whether it was to sneer at their prejudices, celebrate their accomplishment, or morn with them during their loss.
2. Of all the books post spellplague, this is the one that should have come out first as it had woven the elements of pre and post spellplague events nicely. While there are still hints of what the spellplague had done to the realms, there was enough of an old time feel to the story to keep even the seasoned veteran of the realms engaged and enjoying the story.
This was a great realms novel. I really wish Ms. Smedman had more to offer the realms as she is a prime example of what is right in the realms when it comes to providing excellent storytelling. If you are new to the FR universe, then I can easily recommend this one. Heck to anyone wanting to read about the realms or fantasy in general, I highly recommend this story.
Happy reading
-Dimndbangr
January 4, 2018
Not the best book i have ever read, but i found it quite entertaining. A bit poorley written. but way way better written than the 50 shades books.. (I still have not seen som small sentences and use of period in any books.)
May 4, 2022
I enjoyed this one for a few reasons it has Drow that reversed back to dark elves and female Dwarves also not necessarily a happy ending but the best outcome that Torren wanted
February 18, 2022
Loved the 1st third and initially gave it 4.5 stars. Smedman has a great way of making you feel connected on a familial level with dwarves. They're not just stereotypically dour, gruff and alcoholic caricatures, but presented here as close-knit, salt-of-the-earth, good souls.
Unfortunately, I found the 2nd third to be kinda slow. Then let the last third wash over me, didn't really know what was happening. Don't even know how Torrin saved the day, though the ending was quite touching and felt well deserved for our hero.
Lastly, I felt his friendship with Eralynn needed to be expounded upon a lot more. Didn't get the impression they were that close, apart from being told as opposed to shown. In contrast, Torrin's relationship with Kier was firmly impressed. There are also some inconsistencies with how the disease affected their hosts. Lastly, I felt this was a timely read considering the Covid pandemic we're in. Incidentally, if you're a "plandemic" conspiracist or anti-vax loser or some such, unkindly fuck off and get the fuck off my planet. Now.
Unfortunately, I found the 2nd third to be kinda slow. Then let the last third wash over me, didn't really know what was happening. Don't even know how Torrin saved the day, though the ending was quite touching and felt well deserved for our hero.
Lastly, I felt his friendship with Eralynn needed to be expounded upon a lot more. Didn't get the impression they were that close, apart from being told as opposed to shown. In contrast, Torrin's relationship with Kier was firmly impressed. There are also some inconsistencies with how the disease affected their hosts. Lastly, I felt this was a timely read considering the Covid pandemic we're in. Incidentally, if you're a "plandemic" conspiracist or anti-vax loser or some such, unkindly fuck off and get the fuck off my planet. Now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2016
After so many recent disappointments in reading Forgotten Realms novels, this one as a pleasant surprise. The Gilded Rune is an interesting novel with a human protagonist living in a dwarven city, convinced he's a dwarven soul in a human human body. He faces mistrust, and while he is tolerated, they simply see him as a deluded human. He's a member of "delver's guild," which is a league of adventurers / archeologists. When a plague strikes the city, he works frantically to investigate and find the reason. This takes him into a search through nearby cities, some from other not-so-friendly underdark races. The book is well written, and takes its time getting started. The ending seemed a little bit rushed, but is followed by a very satisfying "epilogue." Realms lore, especially about dwarves, is present in several "interlude" chapters and this a very welcome addition to the Forgotten Realms library.
July 26, 2012
Unique and great storyline for the Forgotten Realms shared setting. I really enjoyed the unique characters...and thought the main character in particular was one of the better post Spellplague characters created thus far - Torrin Ironstar. However, I thought some of the final developments in the story didn't really reflect how the story and characters were presented throughout most of the novel, almost as if the ending was rushed. Overall though, a good read.
August 5, 2012
The only thing keeping this from being rated at 5 stars is the unbalanced pacing of the book: the first two thirds of the novel plod along as Torrin investigates the cause of the plague, but the final quest to stop it seemed very rushed. Aside from this minor fault, this was easily one of my favorite D&D novels in a very, very long time, with a very strong conclusion.
July 27, 2012
An odd character, a human who believes he has a dwarf soul, and an engaging story that could change the dwarves of faerun forever. Fun read from start to finish.
April 24, 2013
really goood
March 6, 2013
Good book, interesing story, nicely fleshes the background of the dwarven race in the forgotten realms
May 22, 2014
Outstanding book! Enjoyed the characters, and something about it may felt different. Well paced. Really felt like something new in the Realms.
March 29, 2017
Very nice writing and story. Characters were good and I was interested in their plight. Would definately appeal to a fan of D&D.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews