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Forgotten Realms: Finder's Stone #2
The Wyvern's Spur
High fantasy doesn’t get better than this—revisit the classic Forgotten Realms in this 2nd book of the Finder’s Stone Trilogy by veteran authors Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb.
More than a hunk of junk, the Wyvern’s Spur has moldered in a crypt for fifteen generations until now. The Wyvernspur family’s powerful heirloom has been stolen, and grand wizard and patriarch Drone Wyvernspur is the first to fall to the ancient item’s curse. The family fool, Giogi, is left to find it, but even recovering the spur cannot guarantee his clan’s safety. Fortunately, the famous halfling bard Olive Ruskettle and a mysterious and talented mage named Cat are determined to help. But when betrayal and enchantment threaten Giogi’s progress, he must invoke the spur’s awesome might . . . or become its next victim!
More than a hunk of junk, the Wyvern’s Spur has moldered in a crypt for fifteen generations until now. The Wyvernspur family’s powerful heirloom has been stolen, and grand wizard and patriarch Drone Wyvernspur is the first to fall to the ancient item’s curse. The family fool, Giogi, is left to find it, but even recovering the spur cannot guarantee his clan’s safety. Fortunately, the famous halfling bard Olive Ruskettle and a mysterious and talented mage named Cat are determined to help. But when betrayal and enchantment threaten Giogi’s progress, he must invoke the spur’s awesome might . . . or become its next victim!
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
64 people are currently reading
1017 people want to read
About the author
Kate Novak
28 books70 followersKate 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
January 21, 2022
I enjoyed this novel more than I anticipated. There's only a couple of characters from the previous Finder's Stone book, and one of them (Olive) I didn't even like. I still don't like her.
This book follows the side-character and noble-turned-adventurer, Giogioni Wyvernspur, as he's pulled into a new adventure concerning a family heirloom, a ghost, an evil mage, and the re-appearance of Olive, and yet another Alias clone.
This book doesn't have a lot to do with the first one besides the characters and there doesn't seem to be some big hook connecting them all together, so I'm curious to see what the conclusion in this trilogy will look like. I also didn't expect to like Giogi as much as I did, I thought he would be whiny and foppish and a buffoon... and he kind of is those things, but he's also a good guy and a good adventurer. However, TSR can't seem to write a halfling that isn't an insufferable greedy liar, so the Olive parts really dragged.
I'm curious to see how this trilogy ends so I look forward to the conclusion.
This book follows the side-character and noble-turned-adventurer, Giogioni Wyvernspur, as he's pulled into a new adventure concerning a family heirloom, a ghost, an evil mage, and the re-appearance of Olive, and yet another Alias clone.
This book doesn't have a lot to do with the first one besides the characters and there doesn't seem to be some big hook connecting them all together, so I'm curious to see what the conclusion in this trilogy will look like. I also didn't expect to like Giogi as much as I did, I thought he would be whiny and foppish and a buffoon... and he kind of is those things, but he's also a good guy and a good adventurer. However, TSR can't seem to write a halfling that isn't an insufferable greedy liar, so the Olive parts really dragged.
I'm curious to see how this trilogy ends so I look forward to the conclusion.
April 14, 2009
Another good one! I truly thought I was not going to like this series, but now that I've gotten through 2 of them, I'm pretty sure that whole thing will be great.
The characters in this story are great, funnier than in the last book. The authors make a minor player in the first book into the main character of this one. There isn't as much action in this tale, but they make up for it with the intriguing characters. I liked it.
The characters in this story are great, funnier than in the last book. The authors make a minor player in the first book into the main character of this one. There isn't as much action in this tale, but they make up for it with the intriguing characters. I liked it.
July 10, 2015
A twist on the standard AD&D fantasy novel
24 May 2012
This is quite an unusual novel for the standard fair that tends to come out of TSR (now Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro). Most of the AD&D books are stock standard fantasy adventures that involve quests to either retrieve an artifact, kill a bad guy, or both. However this one is different: it is set in a single location and takes place over a week. It is not so much an adventure but more of a romance novel with some mystery and intrigue thrown it. It is not what one would expect when one comes to play an AD&D game, though over the years there has been some improvement on the standard hack and slash dungeon crawl.
The novel only includes one major character from Azure Bonds: Olive Russkettle the halfling. While Giorgioni Wyvernspur did appear in the previous novel, he was only a supporting character, but in this story he is the major character. This novel is not strictly a sequel in that it seems to have little to do with the previous novel with only one of the other characters making an appearance. However, this may change when we come to the third novel in the series.
The story is about how a family heirloom, the Wyvern's Spur, goes missing. The omen is that if the heirloom is lost then the Wyvernspur family will fall into misfortune. Remembering that this novel is set in a magical fantasy world, such omens tend to hold more weight than they do in our world. My general position on omens in our world is that they only have power over you if you let them. I do understand, especially when one is quite superstitious, that it can be difficult not to let it control you, but I guess it takes a lot of willpower to resist such thoughts. The idea is known as thought control and it is a method that psychologists use to assist people cope with depression and anxiety. The idea is that if we have such intruding thoughts then we need to replace it with an opposing thought and attempt to focus on that new thought. For instance, if we go for a job and fail then we can begin to believe that we are failures. However, if this is only one job then there is quite likely other reasons why we may not have got the job. Thus, when we start to think about how we are a failure because we did not get this job, we need to banish that thought and consider other reasons why we failed to get that job (maybe there was somebody a lot more qualified for the position, or maybe, in the end, we really did not want to work for that place). However, sometimes it may be us, and we need to sit down and consider what it is we are doing wrong, or what it is that is keeping us from succeeding.
However, in this novel we are in a fantasy world, and there is magic in the world, so there are reasons behind the bad omen. In the case of this novel, it is because the spirit of a wyvern (a magical draconian creature) is bound to the heirloom and is the protector of the family. However, when the heirloom is stolen, the wyvern, who is bound to the heirloom, can no longer protect the family, so trouble no doubt befalls them.
The series is called the Finder's Stone trilogy. We do hear of the Finder's Stone in the first novel, but it seems that it does not appear in this novel. However we discover that one of the patriarchs of the Wyvernspur family is named Finder, so I suspect that not only will this become important in the next novel, I also suspect that the Wyvernspur family may play a more important role as well. However we will await to see what the next novel brings.
24 May 2012
This is quite an unusual novel for the standard fair that tends to come out of TSR (now Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro). Most of the AD&D books are stock standard fantasy adventures that involve quests to either retrieve an artifact, kill a bad guy, or both. However this one is different: it is set in a single location and takes place over a week. It is not so much an adventure but more of a romance novel with some mystery and intrigue thrown it. It is not what one would expect when one comes to play an AD&D game, though over the years there has been some improvement on the standard hack and slash dungeon crawl.
The novel only includes one major character from Azure Bonds: Olive Russkettle the halfling. While Giorgioni Wyvernspur did appear in the previous novel, he was only a supporting character, but in this story he is the major character. This novel is not strictly a sequel in that it seems to have little to do with the previous novel with only one of the other characters making an appearance. However, this may change when we come to the third novel in the series.
The story is about how a family heirloom, the Wyvern's Spur, goes missing. The omen is that if the heirloom is lost then the Wyvernspur family will fall into misfortune. Remembering that this novel is set in a magical fantasy world, such omens tend to hold more weight than they do in our world. My general position on omens in our world is that they only have power over you if you let them. I do understand, especially when one is quite superstitious, that it can be difficult not to let it control you, but I guess it takes a lot of willpower to resist such thoughts. The idea is known as thought control and it is a method that psychologists use to assist people cope with depression and anxiety. The idea is that if we have such intruding thoughts then we need to replace it with an opposing thought and attempt to focus on that new thought. For instance, if we go for a job and fail then we can begin to believe that we are failures. However, if this is only one job then there is quite likely other reasons why we may not have got the job. Thus, when we start to think about how we are a failure because we did not get this job, we need to banish that thought and consider other reasons why we failed to get that job (maybe there was somebody a lot more qualified for the position, or maybe, in the end, we really did not want to work for that place). However, sometimes it may be us, and we need to sit down and consider what it is we are doing wrong, or what it is that is keeping us from succeeding.
However, in this novel we are in a fantasy world, and there is magic in the world, so there are reasons behind the bad omen. In the case of this novel, it is because the spirit of a wyvern (a magical draconian creature) is bound to the heirloom and is the protector of the family. However, when the heirloom is stolen, the wyvern, who is bound to the heirloom, can no longer protect the family, so trouble no doubt befalls them.
The series is called the Finder's Stone trilogy. We do hear of the Finder's Stone in the first novel, but it seems that it does not appear in this novel. However we discover that one of the patriarchs of the Wyvernspur family is named Finder, so I suspect that not only will this become important in the next novel, I also suspect that the Wyvernspur family may play a more important role as well. However we will await to see what the next novel brings.
August 28, 2018
I really like this series of books. As a sequel to Azure Bonds, this is rather brilliant. It brings back many of the characters from that book, but often in a different form than we saw them before, and it uses many of the ideas from that book, but goes off in a completely different direction. Its kind of what you'd like sequels to be....not carbon copies of the original work, but with ideas from that original work explored more fully. Its a much more grounded book, which is odd for a fantasy, and there's a lot of emotion, helped by a cast of well realized characters.
June 26, 2019
A refreshingly sweet mystery/adventure story set in the Forgotten Realms. This is part 2 in a trilogy, but in actuality is largely a side story to the events of the first and third installments. The main character, Giogioni ('Giogi') Wyvernspur is not a typical adventurer, but rather a naive, kindhearted, independently wealthy fellow who I found quite charming. There is plenty of subtle comedy in this tale, which came as quite a surprise. This is one of the earliest Forgotten Realms novels ever published (the third trilogy to be published, based on the publication dates of the first volumes), and it shows a lot of heart. The authors were not slavish to the conventions of D&D-themed works, and produced a nice, thoroughly enjoyable story. Plus, based on their photos and bio in the back, the authors Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb are a simply nerdorable couple!
March 27, 2022
THE WYVERN'S SPUR is the second installment of the Finder's Stone trilogy. Surprisingly, it doesn't star Alias the protagonist of the Azure Bonds book despite being such a fascinating character. Instead, it switches to spoiled idiot Giogi Wyvernspur as well as halfling Olive Ruskettle. Someone has stolen the Wyvernspur, the magical artifact that gives the titular noble family its name. I really enjoyed this book and think it might actually be better than the Azure Bonds despite its absence of Alias. Part of this is due to what an impressive villain Flattery is. The insane necromancer is really one of the more impressive villains in the Forgotten Realms canon and his motivations are pretty unique compared to how they normally do.
March 2, 2022
Tengo un muy recuerdo de esta novela. Me pareció muy divertida. Y no, nunca leí el primero de la serie.
June 26, 2025
What a wonderful tale by these two fellow Pittsburgh natives. The hunt is on for the mysterious family heirloom--The Wyvern's Spur! The main character Georgi Wyvernspur (reminds me of Danilo Thann, the from Elaine Cunningham's Elfsong & Elf Shadow) is set to become a reluctant hero even though the wealthy family and townsfolk view him as wealthy dandy. The Wyvern's Spur is a family heirloom, has gone missing from the family crypt; the family has to find it or else! His cousin though gets captured by a bunch of little creatures called kobolds whom he rescues and meets up with an estranged mage, a Lady called Cat. Meanwhile his uncle was mysteriously turned to ash but not before sending family into the crypt to discover the would be thief! Also the halfling, Olive Ruskette, was turned into a donkey so she now spies on everyone to try and find out who killed her friend. Worlds collide when the antagonist turns out to be an angry relative? The authors do a great job connecting the some of the characters to other books I read (Asure Bonds, Finder's Bane, Tymora's Luck) but the artifact "The Finder's Stone" has a minor role in the story so I barely see the connection to trilogy name "Finder's Stone Trilogy." Overall, great story with a great map so you don't get lost in the town and a break down of the family lineage to help see who is who.
September 29, 2022
Wyvernspur family feuds
As the book that follows after the Azure Bonds book in the Finder's Stone trilogy I would suggest reading Azure Bonds first though it is not necessary to do so since they basically explain why certain characters act as they do as the less serious characters from that book find themselves dealing with some fallout from the past as the more serious characters from the first book are off doing their own things while the bard like rogue Olive Ruskettle finds herself mixed up with Wyvernspur family business when her rogue ally and friend is murdered by a familiar looking figure from her past. Honestly seeing Olive Ruskettle and Giogioni Wyvernspur getting a chance to show they are capable of being more than just side kick characters was a nice experience as I listened to the audiobook.
When the family artifact that guarantees the Wyvernspur line prosperity is stolen from the family crypt various factions are set into motion as danger, mysteries, and a whole lot of Wyvernspur family are trying to discover what happened and where the spur is at present.
As the book that follows after the Azure Bonds book in the Finder's Stone trilogy I would suggest reading Azure Bonds first though it is not necessary to do so since they basically explain why certain characters act as they do as the less serious characters from that book find themselves dealing with some fallout from the past as the more serious characters from the first book are off doing their own things while the bard like rogue Olive Ruskettle finds herself mixed up with Wyvernspur family business when her rogue ally and friend is murdered by a familiar looking figure from her past. Honestly seeing Olive Ruskettle and Giogioni Wyvernspur getting a chance to show they are capable of being more than just side kick characters was a nice experience as I listened to the audiobook.
When the family artifact that guarantees the Wyvernspur line prosperity is stolen from the family crypt various factions are set into motion as danger, mysteries, and a whole lot of Wyvernspur family are trying to discover what happened and where the spur is at present.
August 28, 2019
I was shockingly pleased by this story! I have had mixed-to-negative experience reading Forgotten Realms novels up until this one, and I was prepared for this to be the worst one yet. But I really liked it!
The scope was smaller than previous entries and had next-to-nothing to do with the first Finder's Stone book. I think these things worked in its favor. It's a lovely romance about a fop, a mage thief, and some other assorted characters. I had a lot of fun with this one. It was a real palette cleanser for the FR books that came before! Readers will find Giogi either very amusing or very annoying. Olive and her journey is the highlight of the story.
The scope was smaller than previous entries and had next-to-nothing to do with the first Finder's Stone book. I think these things worked in its favor. It's a lovely romance about a fop, a mage thief, and some other assorted characters. I had a lot of fun with this one. It was a real palette cleanser for the FR books that came before! Readers will find Giogi either very amusing or very annoying. Olive and her journey is the highlight of the story.
November 8, 2016
The character development in this story is superb. We were introduced to Giogioni in the first book, Azure Bonds, as just a 'honorable mention for comedic relief'. In this book he is the main character. Flawed, aloof, clumsy. He is a character that is liked well enough, because of these flaws. As the story progresses and he becomes the hero (especially with an unexpected twist), I realized how well I liked the book. Great read. I recommend the whole trilogy, although the last book in it is a little slower paced.
February 16, 2024
I've never been more obsessed with a book I know to be just average. The story, the characters, the setting isn't anything new or amazing, it doesn't have a nuanced message or good prose. And yet there is so much fun and joy, it far surpasses the other books in the series and most books in the forgotten realms canon.
Giogi is a surprisingly engaging main character, he's silly, fun and easy to love but most of all his character development feels so natural and well thought out. It's hard to describe how unusually perfect it is and how it doesn't belong in just a basic middle book in a fantasy trilogy. His development from kind but somewhat cowardly, to brave and compassionate feels so real and genuine. And I feel like an idiot for liking him so much. His scenes with his family are weirdly touching and relatable to me and his initial and final meeting with the wyvernspur guardian are so good.
Olive is so much more likeable and is such a great compliment to Giogi that it's hard to see a book without them together. Kate Novak makes the bold decision of removing the two central protagonists from Azure Bonds, and having the only main character return unable to talk for over the first half of the book. And yet it's also weirdly amazing?????
Having Olive be a silent observer lets Giogi fully shine for the first half of the book, and this evolves really well into the second half of the book where she is forced to take a more disciplined/serious act while contrasting really well with her more lively/funny internal monologue. This contrast of character dialogue paired with her secret knowledge of the overral story makes for such an enjoyable secondary character.
The entirety of the book focuses on a pretty unusual mystery that doesn't really get revealed until the climax, and on a second read I began to really appreciate the structure of the overall story. Hints are constantly dropped and the reader is meant to speculate a lot what exactly could be happening, but at the end it turns out things are a lot more simpler than they turn out to be.
The big reveal doesn't 0vercomplicate things with an overly large info-dump, or feel forced without explanation, nor does it feel to easy to figure out and paints the characters as idiots. It feels simple yet effective.
I know that for fantasy universes the forgotten realms isn't very popular, nor very full of quality, most people only know it from drizzt, and his books are alright at best, and yet this book captures a level of magic and joy not many books can achieve for me. Immersea feels like a lived in space, the main characters are fun and and enjoyable, the side characters have surprising depth. The main antagonist feels like a genuine threat but is surprisingly interesting. Maybe this is just some basic ass popcorn fantasy book that doesn't mean much and will be forgotten about, maybe I'm just going insane but I swear deep down this book is something really special.
Giogi is a surprisingly engaging main character, he's silly, fun and easy to love but most of all his character development feels so natural and well thought out. It's hard to describe how unusually perfect it is and how it doesn't belong in just a basic middle book in a fantasy trilogy. His development from kind but somewhat cowardly, to brave and compassionate feels so real and genuine. And I feel like an idiot for liking him so much. His scenes with his family are weirdly touching and relatable to me and his initial and final meeting with the wyvernspur guardian are so good.
Olive is so much more likeable and is such a great compliment to Giogi that it's hard to see a book without them together. Kate Novak makes the bold decision of removing the two central protagonists from Azure Bonds, and having the only main character return unable to talk for over the first half of the book. And yet it's also weirdly amazing?????
Having Olive be a silent observer lets Giogi fully shine for the first half of the book, and this evolves really well into the second half of the book where she is forced to take a more disciplined/serious act while contrasting really well with her more lively/funny internal monologue. This contrast of character dialogue paired with her secret knowledge of the overral story makes for such an enjoyable secondary character.
The entirety of the book focuses on a pretty unusual mystery that doesn't really get revealed until the climax, and on a second read I began to really appreciate the structure of the overall story. Hints are constantly dropped and the reader is meant to speculate a lot what exactly could be happening, but at the end it turns out things are a lot more simpler than they turn out to be.
The big reveal doesn't 0vercomplicate things with an overly large info-dump, or feel forced without explanation, nor does it feel to easy to figure out and paints the characters as idiots. It feels simple yet effective.
I know that for fantasy universes the forgotten realms isn't very popular, nor very full of quality, most people only know it from drizzt, and his books are alright at best, and yet this book captures a level of magic and joy not many books can achieve for me. Immersea feels like a lived in space, the main characters are fun and and enjoyable, the side characters have surprising depth. The main antagonist feels like a genuine threat but is surprisingly interesting. Maybe this is just some basic ass popcorn fantasy book that doesn't mean much and will be forgotten about, maybe I'm just going insane but I swear deep down this book is something really special.
November 13, 2013
Wasn't what I was expecting in terms of pace and plotting coming out of Azure Bonds. A strange twist for the series with this book two in terms of a divergence from the setup in book one. More of a romance/drama than an adventure.
February 9, 2021
When I started this book, I expected it to be really lame. I was going into it essentially for Forgotten Realms lore, but being somewhat marginal even by the standards of FR books, my expectations were quite low.
I was actually pleasantly surprised. The book is smooth and never boring, the story is interesting, a sort of fantasy detective story with some surprises, and overall it is neither too long nor too short. It is quite original, as well. It spans a total of three days (six, if one considers the final chapter which takes place a few days later), and is wholly set in the town of Immersea. Furthermore, it is centered on minor characters from the previous book (a sidekick and a bit player, actually), and not the Alias and Dragonbait one might expect from a sequel. Given that, it is not really a sequel either.
I won't push it further than this. The book is nice but rather bland. The characters are really flat (pun intended), there are plenty of stereotypes, and some of them only begin becoming slightly interesting late in the book. For the first half, all characters look like dumbasses who have no clue about how to deal with anything outside their stereotypes. The feeling I got was that of an AD&D adventure where players were being a bit driven by the DM because at the beginning none of them were particularly interested in the adventure, so they dozed off most of the game, except when expressly called upon by the DM.
The latter is also the drawback of the story, in that it feels like a RPG adventure (which I bet it was) based on an investigation. While the writer is like a quite good DM in revealing the details only as the characters discover them, some of the events in the story are a bit out of place.
Also, both the story and the characters seriously lack a bit of heart. The reader will never sympathize with the characters, nor will the story light strong emotions.
All in all, it is a fun reading, no less and no more.
An observation with a minor spoiler. At some point, one of the characters casts a detect magic spell in a wizard's lab, and everything starts flaring a blue light that blinds all the people present. While this effect is very Eye of the Beholder-like and might therefore be enjoyed by old guard gamers, as far as the manual reads it is not like that that the spell works. The caster is able to detect magic, so, even assuming magic items radiate light when subject to this spell (which does not appear to be the case), that should be apparent to the caster only, and not to others (who remain unable to see magic auras).
I was actually pleasantly surprised. The book is smooth and never boring, the story is interesting, a sort of fantasy detective story with some surprises, and overall it is neither too long nor too short. It is quite original, as well. It spans a total of three days (six, if one considers the final chapter which takes place a few days later), and is wholly set in the town of Immersea. Furthermore, it is centered on minor characters from the previous book (a sidekick and a bit player, actually), and not the Alias and Dragonbait one might expect from a sequel. Given that, it is not really a sequel either.
I won't push it further than this. The book is nice but rather bland. The characters are really flat (pun intended), there are plenty of stereotypes, and some of them only begin becoming slightly interesting late in the book. For the first half, all characters look like dumbasses who have no clue about how to deal with anything outside their stereotypes. The feeling I got was that of an AD&D adventure where players were being a bit driven by the DM because at the beginning none of them were particularly interested in the adventure, so they dozed off most of the game, except when expressly called upon by the DM.
The latter is also the drawback of the story, in that it feels like a RPG adventure (which I bet it was) based on an investigation. While the writer is like a quite good DM in revealing the details only as the characters discover them, some of the events in the story are a bit out of place.
Also, both the story and the characters seriously lack a bit of heart. The reader will never sympathize with the characters, nor will the story light strong emotions.
All in all, it is a fun reading, no less and no more.
An observation with a minor spoiler. At some point, one of the characters casts a detect magic spell in a wizard's lab, and everything starts flaring a blue light that blinds all the people present. While this effect is very Eye of the Beholder-like and might therefore be enjoyed by old guard gamers, as far as the manual reads it is not like that that the spell works. The caster is able to detect magic, so, even assuming magic items radiate light when subject to this spell (which does not appear to be the case), that should be apparent to the caster only, and not to others (who remain unable to see magic auras).
December 2, 2024
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Originality & Surprise: 4/5
Entertainment & Cant Put it Down Factor: 3/5
Overall Impression: 4/5
Main Genre: Fantasy
Overlapping Genre Elements: Mystery, Romance Drama, Comedy, Thriller
A fun cast of fairly loveable and complex characters that were only secondary actors in book one of the series. The narrative unfolds as characters develop from their cursory book-one forms into deeper more complex characters with unique and interesting quirks, powers, skills, and shifting motives that evolve with the plot. The plot is essentially a "whodunnit" murder mystery and bank heist type of tale set in the fantasy world of D&Ds Forgotten Realms. While the middle section felt a little cumbersome and slow at times, the story is quite clever and fun, and does well balacing the humorous and silly with a driving hook of impending doom and mystery all sprinkled with romance, drama, and comedy.
The middle section was a struggle for me to get through as the main character's inner thoughts fleshed out all the details in painstaking analysis. However, the payoff was worth it as the closing chapters prove to be great fun with some interesting battles, new characters and a surprise or two in plot twists.
Overall I would recommend this as an idle read for anyone interested in D&D or a fun mix of mystery in a fantasy setting. Im glad I read it and am looking forward to cracking open book three!
Plot: 4/5
Originality & Surprise: 4/5
Entertainment & Cant Put it Down Factor: 3/5
Overall Impression: 4/5
Main Genre: Fantasy
Overlapping Genre Elements: Mystery, Romance Drama, Comedy, Thriller
A fun cast of fairly loveable and complex characters that were only secondary actors in book one of the series. The narrative unfolds as characters develop from their cursory book-one forms into deeper more complex characters with unique and interesting quirks, powers, skills, and shifting motives that evolve with the plot. The plot is essentially a "whodunnit" murder mystery and bank heist type of tale set in the fantasy world of D&Ds Forgotten Realms. While the middle section felt a little cumbersome and slow at times, the story is quite clever and fun, and does well balacing the humorous and silly with a driving hook of impending doom and mystery all sprinkled with romance, drama, and comedy.
The middle section was a struggle for me to get through as the main character's inner thoughts fleshed out all the details in painstaking analysis. However, the payoff was worth it as the closing chapters prove to be great fun with some interesting battles, new characters and a surprise or two in plot twists.
Overall I would recommend this as an idle read for anyone interested in D&D or a fun mix of mystery in a fantasy setting. Im glad I read it and am looking forward to cracking open book three!
September 23, 2023
This book takes a lot of bad press and gets a lot of bad reviews. I can't say I disagree with all of them. But unlike most, I think I know why.
The first book was very good. Instead of following that up with another story about the same characters, the Authors chose a background, nothing character from the first book, and made him the main character of the second book. Moreover, the main character and two of her major supporting cast aren't in this book at all and barely mentioned, used more as plot points. So I get it, and my rating of the book reflects that.
It's also very hard to separate it from the first book. I tried to look at it from the perspective: if this was the first book, would I love it as much as the actual first book? Novak's pros are still on point, the story arc is engaging, and none of the characters seem cookie cutter or boring. But I keep coming back to the fact that it's not the first book. I love Alias and Dragonbait and Akabar. Again, this my rating of this book.
I'm still going to finish the series, but unlike when I went straight from the first book into the second, I think I'll take a break and come back to it in a while. Give myself some breathing room.
The first book was very good. Instead of following that up with another story about the same characters, the Authors chose a background, nothing character from the first book, and made him the main character of the second book. Moreover, the main character and two of her major supporting cast aren't in this book at all and barely mentioned, used more as plot points. So I get it, and my rating of the book reflects that.
It's also very hard to separate it from the first book. I tried to look at it from the perspective: if this was the first book, would I love it as much as the actual first book? Novak's pros are still on point, the story arc is engaging, and none of the characters seem cookie cutter or boring. But I keep coming back to the fact that it's not the first book. I love Alias and Dragonbait and Akabar. Again, this my rating of this book.
I'm still going to finish the series, but unlike when I went straight from the first book into the second, I think I'll take a break and come back to it in a while. Give myself some breathing room.
February 28, 2022
This here is a pleasantly good Forgotten Realms book, though quite different from the usual approach. Our protagonist is a quirky, unheroic type that we typically don’t see leading the story in a traditional volume of this series.
The tone is light, there are moments of humour, but the story still contains key elements that you would expect to see in a good fantasy novel.
The highlight for me was Giogi venturing alone into the (monster inhabited) ancient family crypt to discover who has intruded and, stolen the family’s heirloom. The part where they fight zombies from a moving horse-drawn carriage was also pretty enjoyable.
Also, Olive, a character from the previous book who I found to be somewhat annoying, spent a good portion of the story magically transformed into an ass. It was an unexpected occurrence that turned out to be pretty amusing, and she didn’t bother me this time around at all.
I figured out a few of the puzzles on my own before the answers were revealed, but all in all this was a memorable Forgotten Realms title.
The tone is light, there are moments of humour, but the story still contains key elements that you would expect to see in a good fantasy novel.
The highlight for me was Giogi venturing alone into the (monster inhabited) ancient family crypt to discover who has intruded and, stolen the family’s heirloom. The part where they fight zombies from a moving horse-drawn carriage was also pretty enjoyable.
Also, Olive, a character from the previous book who I found to be somewhat annoying, spent a good portion of the story magically transformed into an ass. It was an unexpected occurrence that turned out to be pretty amusing, and she didn’t bother me this time around at all.
I figured out a few of the puzzles on my own before the answers were revealed, but all in all this was a memorable Forgotten Realms title.
February 18, 2019
Following the successful Azure Bonds novel, Kate Novak and Jeff Grub released the 2nd book, Wyvern's Spur, about the fourth and least involved character in that first book, Giogi Wyvernspur. This story set in Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms is somewhat forgettable.
There were parts of this book which were interesting and well written. One usually reads this setting to get a variety of creatures and dangerous situations. In this book I felt like the mundane interactions between characters was the best part. There are a few mysteries which you may guess ahead of time or have a suspicion before they are revealed. This is not the point as the characters confusion and duplicity (somewhat strong word for it) are what make it fun. The actual climax and monstrous encounters usually feel thrown together, unimportant, and dull.
I wouldn't recommend picking this up unless you are doing a realms read through as I am.
There were parts of this book which were interesting and well written. One usually reads this setting to get a variety of creatures and dangerous situations. In this book I felt like the mundane interactions between characters was the best part. There are a few mysteries which you may guess ahead of time or have a suspicion before they are revealed. This is not the point as the characters confusion and duplicity (somewhat strong word for it) are what make it fun. The actual climax and monstrous encounters usually feel thrown together, unimportant, and dull.
I wouldn't recommend picking this up unless you are doing a realms read through as I am.
November 28, 2022
Surprisingly good
I wasn't expecting much after learning Olive and Giogio were the protagonists of this story but in the end this novel was a really good change of pace. The story works more like a mystery novel and is a lot smaller in scope than Azure Bonds, while Azure Bonds went to multiple places across the dales, Cormyr and beyond this sequel happens in an around Immersea. This novel is more lighthearted than its predecessor and is a very exploration of a single locale within the Realms. Loved this book which made a fan of Giogio and improved my perception about Olive.
I wasn't expecting much after learning Olive and Giogio were the protagonists of this story but in the end this novel was a really good change of pace. The story works more like a mystery novel and is a lot smaller in scope than Azure Bonds, while Azure Bonds went to multiple places across the dales, Cormyr and beyond this sequel happens in an around Immersea. This novel is more lighthearted than its predecessor and is a very exploration of a single locale within the Realms. Loved this book which made a fan of Giogio and improved my perception about Olive.
October 25, 2021
A delightful romp through the fantasy worlds of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In my opinion the Wyvern's Spur is the best of the Forgotten Realms group of stories and the best of the Finder's Stone trilogy. The introduction of Giogi Wyvernspur as the main character, a minor character in earlier works, is fun, as he is teamed with the bard Olive Rustkettle and mage Cat Ordulin . If you've read P.G. Woodhouse's books you will enjoy the nod to the Wooster and Jeeves stories, but better. Magic, mysteries to solve, challenges to overcome, and ties of Family to bind.
Read
August 12, 2019I was a bit disappointed to find out that the novel does not exploit the adventures of our team reaching new levels of humorous epic, and a bit annoyed at all the people with the same faces. While the plot might be a tad bit contrived, it is still a fun read, and Giogi is a likeable protagonist, whose real powers might lie in the ability of charming any antagonist that comes his way, except perhaps for the undead.
Also, Olive is an ass. A wise ass, perhaps.
Also, Olive is an ass. A wise ass, perhaps.
September 25, 2020
Thoroughly fun. Thought Alias would be in this one, she wasn't. But that's got more to do with my expectations than the book itself.
Think I enjoyed it more than the first book in the series. The hapless Giogioni turns into an adventurer in steady strides. Will read the third installment for sure.
I'm thankful for ebooks. I doubt I would have found a print copy here in South Africa.
Thanks for a great experience Kate and Jeff!
Think I enjoyed it more than the first book in the series. The hapless Giogioni turns into an adventurer in steady strides. Will read the third installment for sure.
I'm thankful for ebooks. I doubt I would have found a print copy here in South Africa.
Thanks for a great experience Kate and Jeff!
February 18, 2020
Sono rimasto sorpreso da questo libro che risulta anche migliore del primo, che già mi era piaciuto molto.
I personaggi sono molto ben delineati e stavolta anche il "cattivo" è ben congegnato.
Ci sono dei punti che potevano essere migliorati, specie il finale un pò troppo "all'americana", con parecchi effetti speciali.
consigliato.
I personaggi sono molto ben delineati e stavolta anche il "cattivo" è ben congegnato.
Ci sono dei punti che potevano essere migliorati, specie il finale un pò troppo "all'americana", con parecchi effetti speciali.
consigliato.
May 20, 2023
Very enjoyable FR adventure
This does not follow the same cast as the first finder’s stone novel, except for Olive Ruskettle, the Halfling bard. Instead it follows a side character, Giogioni Wyvernspur as he finds himself and resolves a family crisis. It’s a fun adventure that’s pretty encapsulated within one book.
This does not follow the same cast as the first finder’s stone novel, except for Olive Ruskettle, the Halfling bard. Instead it follows a side character, Giogioni Wyvernspur as he finds himself and resolves a family crisis. It’s a fun adventure that’s pretty encapsulated within one book.
September 1, 2018
I liked a lot about this book. It's got elements of a "who-done-it", characters with wit and depth, an interesting plot, action, comedy. It works on many levels and is hard to put down.
This is as good as pulp fantasy gets and rivals many giants of the fantasy genre.
This is as good as pulp fantasy gets and rivals many giants of the fantasy genre.
January 19, 2019
As a follow up to Azure Bonds this book did wonders to develop old characters and introduce new ones. Thoroughly enjoyable and the change of pace from an action type story to a mystery with some action really suits this sequel.
November 12, 2020
While more of a spinoff from the first book, this is a good book. It's a mystery, and our protagonist is the fop Giogi Wyvernspur. We also meet more people related to Nameless and Alias, as well as get an adventure starring halfling "bard" Olive Ruskettle.
August 17, 2025
fun
These science fantasy books are just plain fun books to read. I’m starting the 3 rd one and with this crazy political stuff going on I think I will stick with forgotten realms for awhile.
These science fantasy books are just plain fun books to read. I’m starting the 3 rd one and with this crazy political stuff going on I think I will stick with forgotten realms for awhile.
November 11, 2025
Bertie Wooster on a fantasy adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
I shouldn't objectively rate it above three stars, but I really enjoyed my reading experience, so I'm adding another star to account for that.
I shouldn't objectively rate it above three stars, but I really enjoyed my reading experience, so I'm adding another star to account for that.
December 8, 2017
Great story with a good flow. Nice addition to the Finder's Stone Trilogy.
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