Finder's Bane

Forgotten Realms: The Lost Gods #1

by Kate Novak, Jeff Grubb

When Joel became a priest of the new god Finder, he knew it meant forfeiting the honor and security of his position as a master bard. Now his freedom and his very life are at stake as powers of evil embroil the priests of Finder in a struggle against a plot to resurrect the dead god Bane.
With his only allies the young freedom fighter Holly Harrowslough, the mysterious winged woman Jas, and the aging priest Jedidiah, Joel embarks on a mission to recover the Hand of Bane. His quest leads him from the Realms all the way to the extra-planar city of Sigil. There Joel must rely on all his courage, wisdom, and strength to thwart the return of Bane the Tyrant and rescue the god Finder from imminent death.
Finder's Bane is the fifteenth in an open-ended series of novels focusing on the Harpers, the secret organization for Good in the Forgotten Realms fantasy world.

Genres: Forgotten Realms, Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Kate Novak graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Chemistry. She is a fantasy author primarily published in the Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft shared worlds. She is married to Jeff Grubb. Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb are co-authors of the best-selling Finder's Stone Trilogy, and collaborated on the book Azure Bonds. The success of the book resulted in the creation of the computer game, Curse of the Azure Bonds.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning to be a god
2 December 2019

Honestly, I really don’t know why I keep on insisting on buying these books when, well, they are little more than a means for the producers of Dungeons and Dragons to capitalise on, well, their product. Then again, when I was a teenager I was literally all over these books because, well, they happen to involve Dungeons and Dragons, and anything that involved Dungeons and Dragons, in my opinion, was awesome.

Well, times have changed, but in a way these books do provide some little light reading apart from many of the other, somewhat heavier, books that I find myself caught between the pages. Another thing, this wasn’t actually all that bad. Sure, it certainly isn’t at the height of literary prowress, but a part of me feels that the writers weren’t aiming for that. Rather, it is just a book that is designed to entertain people who like fantasy, and in particular, like Dungeons and Dragons.

Finder’s Bane is a sequal to the trilogy surrounding the Azure Bonds – sort of. Apparently, at the end of the trilogy, one of the heroes, the Nameless Bard, ascended to godhood. Now, years later, we are watching his fledgling church grow, while he tries to determine what it is that he is a god of. The story follows a young priest/bard of Finder, who is on a pilgramage to Finder’s temple in the Lost Vale. However, on his way there he happens to get caught up in a lot of trouble. First he rescues a young paladin from the clutches of some Zhentarim, and then he enounters a priest of Bane, whose desire is to resurrect her god so that she might become his high priest.

In a way the book explores the nature of gods and worshippers in the Forgotten Realms. It also takes us on a trip to the outer planes, and to the city of Sigil, a city where gods are forbidden to enter, and contains doors that literally lead anywhere and everywhere. Apparently, this city was designed for the Planescape setting as a place where adventurers can set up their base of operations.

In fact, the book brings in a number of settings in the Dungeons and Dragons universe, though I should point out that we are still in the second-edition ruleset, and many of these settings where dumped in later editions. So, we have Planescape, we have Spelljammer, and of course we have the Forgotten Realms.

Look, I’ll be honest, and admit that the world building really isn’t that great. For me, who studied history at University, looking at the worlds that were created for the game literally makes me cringe. Honestly, there are much better worlds, with much deeper backgrounds, out there, where much, much more thought has gone into the creation as such. In a way, when I look at the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, a part of me just simply cringes.

Still, this book was fun, and it does give me the ugre to go off and start playing computer roleplaying games again, such as Planescape. However, I really don’t have that much time, and honestly, I am still making my way through Bards Tale II.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spelljammer!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the original Finders Trilogy so this was a welcome return to the characters and world they inhabit. It kept me guessing until the end and had me wanting more of these characters.

[Dimitris · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best forgotten realms book out there. Interesting diverse characters, good unified world building, and an insight and exploration into themes and mechanics of the dnd universe in an easy and understandable way.

The friendship between joel and jedidiah is genuinely heartwarming and their discussions on the nature of faith in the dnd multiverse extremely interesting. The best part is the fact that faith in this context, as well as the relationship with ones God, has no real point of comparison with those concepts in our world. Its formulated as a discussion, as two way relationship built on mutual strength and respect. And indeed thats how is should be as it surely cannot be the same, in a world where unlike our own, gods are demonstrably real, flawed, mortal and not omnipotent in any way.

For return readers its wonderful to see the character development of finder, as well as how saurian society has progressed
I was also excited to see jas play a part, as well as spelljammer and planescape in a realsm book. There is a tendency to keep those two separate sometimes, despite the fact that the main point of both those settings is how not separate things are.

I could however do without the inexplicable "bdsm is like slavery/abuse and evil" theme that rears its ugly head a couple times. Aside from how obviously wrong it is, it feels like it was written by someone who thinks turning the lights on is a little too risqué. Same for some frankly baffling lines such as "he assumed the creature was female because she was holding flowers" or "what do you a fool woman have to offer me" coming from a character whose retinue is half comprised of women.

It also feels a little rushed in places, especially in the encounter with the illithids or the stay at the lost vale. Especially for the later, while i understand the in universe need for urgency, i feel like glossing over the original destination of the main characters journey in a chapter or two feels a little rushed. Or how little time is spent acclimatising to the astral plane.I think the book would benefit from about 25 more pages or so.

But these are small complaints in the face of a truly great book. You might need knowledge into the dnd multiverse to fully appreciate this book, but thats a feature not a flaw. Surely if we cannot fault the 4th book of a series for not giving all the info to newcomers we cannot fault this one for essentially the same.

[Gerard Van Der Waal · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason this book scratches the itch I'm looking to scratch when I read Forgotten Realms novels. It has deities that are involved in the affairs of mortals and a party of adventurers whose interests conflict.

Having never read the original Finder's Stone trilogy I could still hop into this novel without having the idea that I was missing significant parts of the backstory. We follow Joel, one of two priests of the new god Finder, who on his way to a pilgrimage of the Lost Valley gets involved with a paladin of Lathander and a Speljamming Harpy (?) (what she is, other than a female human with wings, is never really explained) who get blackmailed to locate the Hand of Bane, so a (hot but) evil priestess of Bane and her boss the Banelich can resurrect the dead god of strife Bane. In their pursuit they visit a couple of fantastic locations (not the least of which is Sigil) and relations evolve/deteriorate. I was relieved to find out that this book actually had a decent amount of Forgotten Realms lore and history wrapped up in a nice little adventure novel. I'm excited to continue this series as it's the first book of a trilogy about dead gods.

The writing, while not particularly artful, was way better than many of the D&D novels I have read up to this point. So, I gladly recommend this to anyone... ...that is interested in this kind of fantasy novel...

[Justin Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the 90's were a great time for fluff D&D novels. Pulp high fantasy at its finest.

"Finder's Bane" is a rather unusual tale centered around a new God of the Realms - Finder - a former Harper who was banned from the organization due to foul experiments involving terrifying energies. Fast forward a bit and Finder has not only redeemed himself, he's a new God - a God of creativity and "new art" - basically something along the lines of a portfolio concerned with an alien race of lizard people as well as making sure art never falls prey to stagnation.

As Finder is a new God, he only has... limited followers. As in, very limited followers. As in, well - everyone has to start somewhere with their first, right? Well, this is a story about a God feeling out his Godhood and the symbiotic relationship between mortals and their divine beings of worship.

Really different for a D&D novel, lighthearted without being silly, and one of my favorites from this time period.

[Daniel Willis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read many Forgotten Realms novels and have to rank this among the worst. The twist at the end was so predictable, and I didn't get the resolution to the tension/drama between the main character and his new god. Others below mention this book had more to do with explaining certain aspects of the Forgotten Realms setting. Me, I just want a good story, and this didn't deliver.

[Kagan Oztarakci · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What they believe is just as strong as, if not strongerthan, the truth."
"People don't call them evil because they wear black. It's because they hurt people and think it's all right because they do it in their god's name."
"Art belongs to everyone. People can create it or change it any way they want..."

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off well, then goes sort of silly after that. An interesting story let down by rapid changes of pace, popcorn characterisation, and no real surprises. Not sure why this is part of the Harpers series, as none of them are directly involved, save for an exile of theirs in the titular Finder, now a god of bards. But either way, this isn't about the Harpers.

[Derek Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I normally rate books based on my objective opinion, this book gets my subjective 5-star rating. It's a simple story with just the right amount of complexities at the right moments. Morals, Gods, and loyalties are all questioned with a ponderous tone. The rich lore was a great filler in what could have been otherwise dull moments.

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant read in the Forgotten Realms. Stronger, as others have noted, in the first half, a bit weird in the second as a solid swords and sorcery adventure turns to examine how deities depend on their followers.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book did manage to surprise me regarding the final showdown.
I was convinced the brief mention of Finder's god powers including dominion over rot
was laying the groundwork for infecting the Hand of Bane.

[Kevin Chau · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first book in the series

This focused around Joel and his priests. The depth of the story is not very compelling but the curiosity towards the world is at its peak

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people complain that they don’t like the divine in books, and that there is too much of it. I can guarantee that if more people read this book- for whatever reason, it seems to be more of a “cult classic” than a widespread, mainstream novel, among Forgotten Realms fans- they wouldn’t be saying that. This book encapsulates almost everything I like about the Forgotten Realms, and D&D- Planescape, Spelljammer, Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Ilsensine, Saurials…

First, I’ll deal with the plot. Bane is dead, and a Banelich with delusions of grandeur believes itself to be Bane, and with the use of the Hand of Bane, a Banite relic, it’ll be able to reclaim its divinity. Joel, the Rebel Bard, his companions, and Finder Wyvernspur find themselves “forced” to help the Banelich, and it’s servant, Walinda of Bane. This is the second “Bane is back” type novels, the first being Stormlight, which was released not too much time before Finder’s Bane. Finder’s Bane is much better than that travesty, on that front. The ultimate conclusion, once the Hand of Bane was retrieved was a little weak (and, in retrospect, with Bane randomly returning, it made little difference, anyway), not in what happened- Bane not returning- but rather, the ultimate fate of the antagonists.

The characters were pretty good. Joel the Rebel Bard, he had no real crazy personality, and was fairly generic, as those things go (He seemed to be a low level Bard/Cleric), but I liked him nonetheless. It might have been because he seemed real. He had plenty of doubts about plenty of things. He wasn’t superman, and couldn’t wield a blade masterfully, nor could he cast apocalyptic spells. But, there was something about him that made him likable. Holly, the Paladin of Lathander, she was fairly straightforward, as Paladins usually are, but she was likable. Being of Zakharan descent didn’t hurt, either. Jas, I didn’t like too much. While the Human with magical feathers isn’t explained too much in this novel (see Tymora’s Luck, if you want a deeper, more complete explanation), I generally found her character boring. She was acerbic, to a degree, conceited, to a degree, and generally annoying. This, however, is a good thing, in a way. She’s not a “groundling”. Having that type of attitude, especially concerning groundlings, is something that she should have had. Walinda of Bane was a character that I liked a lot. She was probably my favorite character in the book. She’s a good characture of how religious fundamentalists think. And, I am not shy on criticizing religious fundamentalists whenever I can; I don’t like those types of people. Walinda allowed herself to be physically, mentally, and emotionally abused (and, in turn, did that to others, at points) for the glory of “Bane” (the Banelich).

I didn’t like the depiction of Finder Wyvernspur, but for personal reasons. I am of the opinion that even a minor demideity is leaps and bounds “ahead” of mortals, like a Giant is heads taller than a Human, and a Human is heads taller than a Halfling, and so on, like that. Finder seemed much too Human for my tastes. And, yes, he did become a Human, to a degree, and yes, he was a Human for most of his life, but like I said, upon apotheosis, no matter how minor it was, he should have separated more from his mortal upbringing.

One thing that I thought was interesting were the scenes in the Lost Vale, with the Saurials, and seeing how the Church of Finder Wyvernspur needed to be built literally from the ground up. Joel and Copperbloom were Finder Wyvernspur’s only actual Clerics, and he had very few other worshipers, outside of a handful of Bards, and the Saurials. It was also interesting seeing Finder discuss how deities that are generally good, and who are generally labeled as good guys, were depicted not in a bad light, but rather, as enemies- Milil and Oghma, for Finder “stealing” their worshipers, and Chauntea and Lathander, for “stealing” their involvement in revitalization and renewal. I thought it was nice to see, as a reminder that just because a deity is good, or lawful, or evil, that doesn’t mean that they are going to be friends or allies with other deities who share their alignment.

All in all, this demonstrates that "bigger is better" is not necessarily a winning mantra. In the end, nothing changed, and the status quo remained the status quo.

[Adam Duclos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Forgotten Realms book is part of two series... the Harper's series and the 'Lost Gods Trilogy.' I had read the third book a while back, and liked it... it had a lot of plane jumping and spelljamming going on. This book seemed a lot slower (or else I'm getting used to faster paced books) but it was a fairly good introduction. Unfortunately for me, I knew some of what was going to happen because of that third book (Tymora's Luck). I'm not sure I want to read the middle book, because the title suggests it takes place on Krynn, which isn't my favorite game world because I've never thought it really fit in with the feel of DnD. I mean, really? They use steel as money instead of gold, because it is so rare? Wouldn't all of their money eventually rust? Couldn't they use magic to call more iron up? Wouldn't spelljamming ships have brought in loads of the metal by now? They could, and they would. Anyway, I probably won't be expending much energy seeking out book two.

[Jason Kalinowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book delves into the challenges of both becoming a new priest (Joel )and a new god (Finder) while going on a journey to prevent the resurrection of an old god (Bane). Bane's faithful's' have to strike a deal with the pair in order to get what they both want, which is the same thing, the Hand of Bane... Finder accompanies Joel on the adventure, sharing his own life force while journeying to other planes of existence! It was a delightful read with adventure, the undead and the questioning of faith. Unfortunately for Joel, he has to endure the flirtation from a priestess of a rival faith. Overall I thought it was great tale and it kept me interested. In particular I wanted to know if Joel was going to give into temptation and if Finder was going to lose his god-hood by letting the hand of band slip away!

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I now think that I have made it through the sorry excuse for writing that was produced by TSR in the early 90's(I know that sounds like trash talking, but forgotten realms books are my guilty pleasure, and I've read soooo many bad ones).

BUT! This one was really good! Novak came back to good old tactics of cool monsters, a nice amount of magic, and of course the gods have to be involved.

Not only that, but we get to see some of the Outer Planes as well as the great city of Sigil in this book...so that was fun.

I'm excited to read the next, and I think last, book in this series.

[Nick (LackingZones) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from a handful of big characters (Drizzt, Elminster, etc.), what really sets the Forgotten Realms apart from other Tolkein-esque D&D-inspired settings are the celestial politics and geography. In, like, half the novels, the gods get directly involved in what's going on in the mortal plane.

"Finder's Bane" is an excellent example of one of those stories, featuring priests of various faiths trying to resurrect or prevent the resurrection of a dark deity. Fans of the Time of Troubles series ought to enjoy this one as well.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tee hee. A guilty pleasure for sure, but I will say that this particular series, starting with Azure Bonds, is quite readable. I believe the authors are husband and wife, and they are very funny and clever. Read this series and I promise you will never look at a pile of leaves the same way again.

[Jason Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent. Enjoyed it. Different than what I thought it would be.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good pace. Finder is always amusing

[Ida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Missed opportunity
The plot is interesting, it takes us to a collection of interesting places and the reader keeps wondering about the story behind each of the main cast...
Missed opportunity.