Spider and Stone
Lolth — patron deity of the drow, Spider Queen, regent of the Demon Web Pits — has once again stirred the dark elves into roiling aggression against the rest of Faerûn, reveling in the chaos born from her dark schemata. This is the Rise of the Underdark.
In Iltkazar, the last subterranean kingdom of the once resplendent dwarven realm of Shanatar, King Mith Barak faces a siege of drow soldiers, spies, and assassins looking to seize the powerful city and the ancient magical artifacts hidden there. Somewhere in the city, the Arcane Script Sphere — a mystical orb touched by Mystra, the long-dead goddess magic — calls out to heroes and adventurers, beckoning with whispers of power and knowledge. Mith Barak hears it and knows he cannot hold the artifact much longer, but fears what the drow may do with it.
Enter Icelin, Ruen, and Sull, Waterdavian wanders whose desire to understand their own spellscars sets them in search of Mystran mysteries — they hope to understand magic and thus understand its plague. As they move from town to town, city to city in search of knowledge, Icelin hears the siren call of the Arcane Script Sphere, and it draws the trio deep into rocks of the Underdark where they find themselves at the center of the struggle between the dwarves and drow.
Only King Mith Barak can initiate them into the mysteries they hope to illuminate. But first they must help him with a mystery of his own — a dark elf assassin, himself a seeker of the sphere, lies in Iltkazar’s dungeons shrouded in the mystery and magic of Lolth. Icelin might be the one to see past that shroud and determine the true goal of the Spider Queen’s schemes.
As the dark elves intensify their attacks, the trio realizes their quest for knowledge has taken them into a new and dangerous realm... a realm dictated by the whims of spider and stone.
Jaleigh Johnson
Jaleigh Johnson is a New York Times bestselling author as well as lifelong reader, gamer, and moviegoer. She loves nothing better than to escape into fictional worlds and take part in fantastic adventures. Her novels for young readers include The Mark of the Dragonfly, The Secrets of Solace, The Quest to the Uncharted Lands, and The Door to the Lost. Jaleigh lives and writes in the wilds of the Midwest.
Forgotten Realms
According to the setting's creators, Forgotten Realms is the name of an imaginary fantasy world that exists somewhere beyond the real world. The setting is described as a world of strange lands, dangerous creatures, and mighty deities, where magic and seemingly supernatural phenomena are quite real. The premise is that, long ago, the Earth and the world of the Forgotten Realms were more closely connected. As time passed, the inhabitants of planet Earth have mostly forgotten about the existence of that other world—hence the term Forgotten Realms.
Forgotten Realms consists of 19 total books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Moonshae Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: Shandril's Saga
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Finder's Stone Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Avatar Series
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Pools Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Empires Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Maztica Trilogy
Related series Songs & Swords
Related series The Cleric Quintet
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Harpers
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Druidhome Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Twilight Giants
Related series Starlight & Shadows
Related series The Shadow of the Avatar
Related series Forgotten Realms: Netheril Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: Mysteries
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Lost Gods
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Adventures
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Nobles
Related series Double Diamond Triangle Saga
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Cormyr Saga
Related series Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Threat from the Sea
Related series The Sellswords
Related series Forgotten Realms: Lost Empires
Related series Forgotten Realms: Sembia
Related series Counselors & Kings
Related series Forgotten Realms: Return of the Archwizards
Related series The Elminster Series
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Rogues
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Scions of Arrabar Trilogy
Related series The Erevis Cale Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Year of Rogue Dragons
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Last Mythal
Related series Forgotten Realms: House of Serpents
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Cities
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Watercourse Trilogy
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Priests
Related series R. A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen
Related series The Knights of Myth Drannor
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Wizards
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Fighters
Related series The Twilight War
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Haunted Lands
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Lady Penitent
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Empyrean Odyssey
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Dungeons
Related series The Best of the Realms
Related series Stone of Tymora
Related series Forgotten Realms: Blades of the Moonsea
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Citadels
Related series Forgotten Realms: Abolethic Sovereignty
Related series Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Wilds
Related series Forgotten Realms: Chosen of Nendawen
Related series Sage of Shadowdale
Related series Forgotten Realms: Unbroken Chain
Related series Forgotten Realms: Brotherhood of the Griffon
Related series The Legend of Drizzt
Related series Forgotten Realms: Brimstone Angels
Related series Forgotten Realms: The Sundering