Escape from Undermountain

Forgotten Realms: The Nobles #3

by Mark Anthony

To rescue a missing noble, Artek the Knife must venture deep into the Undermountain, a vast and lethal labyrinth created by a crazed wizard, a place that is not only difficult and dangerous to access but nearly impossible to escape. Original. 75,000 first printing.

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

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 27, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Mark Anthony learned to love both books and mountains during childhood summers spent in a Colorado ghost town.

Later he was trained as a paleoanthropologist but along the way grew interested in a different sort of human evolution—the symbolic progress reflected in myth and the literature of the fantastic. He undertook Beyond the Pale to explore the idea that reason and wonder need not exist in conflict.

Mark Anthony lives and writes in Colorado, where he is currently at work on his next writing project.

Also writes under Galen Beckett.

Reviews

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover art accurately represents an early scene from the story, in which our hero, Artek the Blade, one-eighth orc, is trapped in an exitless room with a large headless statue shooting lightning from its fingers. This is where this review's story begins.

Think, Artek, he told himself urgently. You've got to think! It was no use. His mind was a blank. With a groan of frustration, he smacked his forehead against the hard stone of the statue.

He noticed two things. First, this idiotic action hurt. Second, it resulted in a hollow echo deep inside the statue.

Quickly, he began running his hands across the statue's smooth stone surface. It had to be here somewhere. Then his finger brushed a small, slightly raised circle in the center of the statue's back. That was it. He smashed the circle with his thumb. There was a grating noise as a small, circular door opened between its shoulder blades.

"Now this adds new meaning to the term back door," Artek quipped with a satisfied grin.

Let the groaning begin!

This book was fun, because it accomplished what so many Forgotten Realms novels couldn't: it was an acceptable popcorn read. After a string of terrible, absurd, just plain lousy novels in this line, including the last one from this author, I didn't expect much. And that's good because it didn't deliver much, but what it did provide was what I started reading these D&D-based novels for in the first place: a mild D&D fix at a time when I couldn't get the same from a live table game.

This book is filled with groans: terrible gags, tired scenes lifted from countless prior media, countless plot holes that aren't even worth thinking about. It's also surface-level, goofy fun, with oddball characters that receive the barest, surface-level development, like Guss the Friendly Gargoyle, and a chatty skull.

Mark Anthony writes with hints of Jim Theis-like lack of restraint. Why should anything ever be cut in two when it could be cut in twain? Why shouldn't multiple things undulate? No one has a face, only a visage, all that kind of thing. It's a wonderful, nothing-but-popcorn, random encounter-filled jaunt into perhaps the most dungeony dungeon of D&D lore. The setting gives the story free reign to pinball from one random set piece to the next, stringing the characters along to the obvious conclusion.

It's fun, it's short, I don't recommend that anyone seek it out, but after all the Ed Greenwood and libertarian agenda and deeply, unredeemably awful Forgotten Realms novels that preceded it in my publication order reading, it was deeply refreshing.

I leave you with another eye-rolling excerpt:

"So what are we going to do with it?" he asked quietly.

"It's not an it, Beckla replied testily. "It's a him. I'm going to call him Guss."

"Whatever for?" Artek asked.

"Terrathiguss is too long," Beckla exclaimed. "And it really doesn't suit him. He's much too nice to have that kind of a name."

Artek shook his head, trying to follow her reasoning. "But why call it—I mean him—anything at all?"

"Because we're adopting him," Beckla replied crisply.

"Oh, how delightful!" Corin exclaimed happily.

"Are you insane, wizard?" Artek hissed. "In case you hadn't noticed, he's a gargoyle. We are not adopting him!"

"Quiet, Ar'talen!" Beckly said crossly. "You'll hurt his feelings."

[Jason Kalinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! The imprisoned, Artek the Knife a half human/half orc and theif, is offered redemption if he can return Nobleman Corin who is lost in the mad wizard's maze, beneath a mountain near Waterdeep. Finding Corin turned out to be the easy part, escaping from Undermountain is next to impossible, especially when you are set up to fail! This sojourn takes Artek into many parts of the maze, encountering new friends, new creatures and unexpected challenges. Artek, together with Corin--the nobleman, Beckla--the young lady-mage, the compassionate gargoyle nicknamed Guss and Muraugh--the talking skull who will not stop talking, is forced to traverse the many layers of the maze in hopes of finding the mad wizard's apprentices or Halaster--the mad wizard himself, in order to Escape from Undermountain! Overall it was a fun read and a true DnD adventure🤓

[Georgina Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

one the best dungeon and dragons I ever read, a Classic, lots of action, a wonderful chase through a dungeon mazes to rescue a noble.

[Cee Sturdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm mainly reading these for completion's sake, but this one was actually a lot of fun.

[Vanteacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun dungeon delve.

A man in dire straits. A wizard with less wiz than a bottle of pop. A nobleman lost in undermountain. Halaster the mad mage, toying with all adventurers. Will they make it out alive?

Will the hero overcome his dark heritage and rise to the dungeon? (or occasion)
Read the book and steep yourself in the lore of Waterdeep.

Very cool intro in the yawning portal. It will inspire any Dungeonmaster to run Dungeon of the mad mage! Old school and brimming with fun.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escape from Where? First off I enjoyed the story. The beginning remind me of Escape from New York, a party of one slowly growing to a party of five. At every turn each of the party members had to over come a personal barrier. I highly recommend this book.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another old favorite! Escape from Undermountain is a great dungeon crawl, and there's never a dull moment as our heroes delve ever deeper into a wild and dangerous wonderland built by a Dungeon Master an insane wizard with too much time on his hands. There's plenty of roleplay, and the combat encounters really crack along, with a great variety of foes and some dynamic fights and clever tactics. Always a fun read.

One of the things that I feel separates D&D storytelling from novels is the fact that D&D is a live improv performance by a group of amateurs. So it's often dumb and goofy, but you have to roll with it, because it's genuinely the best people can come up with on the spot, and there's a charming wild energy to it as the rest of the table laughs and builds on funny bits. Other reviews might have things to say about gullible NPCs and silly plans that somehow work, but it is absolutely peak D&D vibes, and Mark Anthony perfectly captured the experience of the game. I love a rowdy pack of numbskulls bumbling their way through an adventure.

[Jon L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book reminds me of an old Saturday morning cartoon. Think Scooby Doo. I'm guessing this book was written for a younger audience than the previous Forgotten Realms books? I'm forcing my way through it to get to the next book (of course after all this reading I have to find out how it ends).

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter, specifically the first eleven pages are why this gets a very solid three stars. A well written and fun introduction to the Yawning Portal tavern in the city of Waterdeep. After that it’s a fun read for any D&D fan and earns a solid two and a half stars.

[Michael Pilgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it after having played Eye of the Beholder, as the idea of the dungeons under Waterdeep appealed to me. It was an okay story. Not the best Forgotten Realms I've read, but definitely worth reading.

[Stuart Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acceptable. I would have changed a few things

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it to get acquainted with the City of Waterdeep, but it spends a little too much time in undermountain, as the title suggests, to give a really good feel for the city.

[Andrea Santucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non terribile ma decisamente troppo formulaico, più adatto a un lettore di bocca buona con la metà dei miei anni che a me.

[Ogre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing outstanding here; literally not one unexpected thing happens and anyone hoping for a closer look into the realms of Undermountain is sure to be disappointed.

[Hailey Snider · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure. If your DM won't run Dungeon of the Mad Mage just read this!

[M.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly written with dice firmly in hand, but it does have a certain charm.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story and characters for this book were much more interesting then the first 2. Felt like a campaign for your group, not knowing what monsters you will find in the next room.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit of a weird story. I was really looking forward to this book, but was kind of let down.

The coolest stuff was: the main character was this semi-noble half orc theif. He wanted to be good, but still had these orcish tendencies...I liked the idea, but it would have been better if it was sorta humorous, instead of dramatic. However, for the humorous stuff, there was a talking skull that knew all kinds of lore about undermountain, and I really like that guy. Besides that...i don't know.

Undermountain is sposs to be this infinite dungeon run by a mad wizard, right. But the author portrays it like a series of unconected dungeons that had nothing to do with one another. And, of course, the party has trouble with some easy monsters, and then defeats liches like its no problem...I hate that. They also make friends with a sad and lonely gargoyle. This was too much for me. He was sorta like the scarecrow in the wizard of oz...And the main character, whos name is Artek, treats him badly all the time even though he's this gental guy...I didn't like it. Lastly, and perhaps the worst part, Halaster, the mad mage himself, the guy who has lived for centuries and created this massive dungeon and filled it with all these traps and killer beasties...was a stupid muttering old cogder playing with a model. Seriously! I mean....seriously!!!! Couldn't he have come up with something a bit cooler?!?

The whole plot was pretty shaggy. Lame double crosses, one encounter after the other, and miraculous saves that had no bering one paragraph before they happend...

All and all, I thought with something as cool as 'undermountain' to play with, the author could have done a lot more. I understand that he was limited by the amount of pages, and maybe he was told what they wanted the characters to be like(namely Halaster).

I'm writing this months after I read it and put it in goodreads and I just noticed that I gave it 4 stars, so there must be some redeaming qualities that I'm not recalling right now. I would recomend it if you are a fan of the realms.

[Hyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgotten Realms Noble series book three.
First surprise, the main character isn't a noble, but it didn't affect the story.

First 100 pages are really good, Artek is a interesting character with enough background for a small novel like this.
The plot is good too, Artek, a renown thief repentant is imprisoned but got a second chance, saved a Noble from the mythic Undermountain maze.

I got a little bored after that because Undermountain is too chaotic the middle of the books is just challenge after challenge with no flavor. The mad maze has underground Jungle, river, crypt... all you can think so no link between chapters.
Artek found curious allies on the way, a wizard, a noble, a polite gargoyle and a talking skull so this didn't really help to make a better story.
Still some entertaining idea by Anthony in the book I wished he cuts on a few rooms/challenge in Undermountain to make a better final battle.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book set in the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons setting of Faerun. Overall this was a simple book with a briefly interesting plot. The characters are not too complex, making this novel suitable for teenage reading. Some of the writing in this novel was a bit cringe.

For adults, I would not recommend this book. I read it to expand on the DotMM adventure in 5e and although it helped flesh out some of the ideas in this vast setting, in the end, it was a tough read because it was so simple. After reading this, I am taking a break from reading D&D novels as I'm assuming most of them are for young teenagers or extreme fantasy fans.

[PickinDavis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry. You lost me at a 'talking gargoyle with a conscience'. I read this book back in 96 and again in 2012. I remembered not liking it the first time, but had successfully repressed all the faults it had to the point where I was willing to give it another try after I stumbled across it in a box of old books. This is probably the worst FR novel I've read (ironically in my favorite setting in FR), which is saying something given they have a penchant for being fairly low quality reads.

Of all the things you could potentially do with Undermountain, this is not a good one.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having owned the AD&D boxed sets of Undermountain adventures I was a bit disappointed in this book. There could have been a lot more to it as the huge dungeon has so much more potential for exciting adventures. You could write a whole series of books based there.

[Ted Fauster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read. Simple with good flow. Old-school D&D set in the fabled city of Waterdeep. I enjoyed it.

[Scott Hibberson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic D&D romp in the labyrinthine dungeons under the city of Waterdeep - enjoyable fantasy with more than its fair share of twists and turns.

[Shiroiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, but not much to do with the Nobles of Waterdeep (other than the plot character). Love the secret of Undermount with the insane Howlester's game!

[Anthony Faber · Rating 2 out of 5]

My guess is that this is a D&D tie-in novel. Not worth reading.

[Gwynn]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13996352

[Kosh Koshover · Rating 2 out of 5]

not that great, but with just enough nostalgia to make it worthwhile