Blackstaff (Forgotten Realms: Wizards Book 1) by Steven E. Schend

Khelben"Blackstaff" Arunsun is preparing for an endeavour unmatched in the history of the realms so this would be the worst time to be mind linked with his apprentice. Now he and Tsarra must complete his preparations with the limitations of being unable to go further apart then eight armspans and Tsarra begin overwhelmed with visions of Khelben's past.

This is the first realms book that I can remember actually featuring Khelben as the main character. This book gives us so much more information on the mysterious (and underused) Blackstaff. On the whole I loved the book and Schend seems to be a cut above most of the new batch of authors. The only problem is that the ending seems a bit cut off it could do with a bit more details on the aftermath.