The Summoning

The Summoning by Troy Denning is the first novel in the Return of the Archwizards trilogy.

"From the depths of the Demiplane of Shadow comes a new magic so mysterious it confounds even the Chosen of Mystra.

From beneath the dune seas of Anauroch escapes one of Toril's most powerful and ancient evils—the phaerimm.

From Evereska, the last elven refuge on comes word of invasion.

From nowhere appears a group of enigmatic sorcerers determined to destroy the phaerimm and save Evereska... for purposes known only to themselves.

From the author of Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad, Beyond the High Road, and Death of the Dragon (with Ed Greenwood) comes the most Realms-shaking event since The Threat from the Sea."

Summary
The Summoning focuses on the elf Galaeron Nihmedu, an Evereskan Tomb Guard, as he patrols the desert border south, coming across a band of tomb robbers his patrol intervenes and inadvertently releases a great evil imprisoned below the desert. A prince from a powerful realm offers assistance to save Evereska, all the while following a plot that the Most High has fashioned for more than a millennium during their exile to the Plane of Shadow.

This novel is an excellent opening to the Realms-shattering events that the trilogy is mainly about. It features heroes old and new, villains so powerful and mysterious that even require the combined forces of the Chosen, including Elminster himself (though his part in the series is very much limited). While a reader new to the Realms can still manage to understand the scope and intricacies of this book, as there are allusions to several character background, he/she is advised to read first at least all the books in the Netheril Trilogy, which provides a good background story of the this book's arch-villains.