Eberron Novels... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eberron Novels... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Pallin Rahl
08-10-06, 01:43 PM Which, if any, of the Eberron novels have you found "good" / worth reading? :)

I dig the setting... (and will soon be running a campaign in it) :D
...but there are always other good books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. ;) Are any of the Eberron novels (or series of novels) worth adding to that ever-increasing reading list?

Any general "reviews", recommendations, or the like - regarding the Eberron novels - is appreciated. :)
SQuigley316
08-10-06, 02:21 PM I don't get on here alot and my knowledge of all things D&D is still pretty limited as I have only been playing less than a year in my entire life (at 28 I'm a late bloomer I guess), but from what I know you are not supposed to talk about the novels on these boards because apparently when you were there was a lot of insults hurled at certain writers and such. So if you are looking for a forum to find out about some good novels, you should probably check out HellCow's website who is Keith Baker the genius who created Eberron who also wrote two of the Eberron novels out there City of Towers and Shattered Land in the Dreaming Dark saga. ;)
ieattrollsforbreakfast
08-10-06, 02:35 PM Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now.

Most of the Eberron novels are good reads, they have their flaws but as fantasy writing goes, they aren't bad.
The best of the bunch IMO are the Dreaming Dark and the Dragon Below trilogies. Both capture the Eberron feel well, and have a great story to boot. So, if you're planning on picking up some Eberron novels, those are the ones to go for. Currently, only 2 of each trilogy are out: The City of Towers and The Shattered Land for the Dreaming Dark trilogy, and The Binding Stone and the Grieving Tree for the Dragon Below trilogy.
Raziel_Brokodar
08-10-06, 02:50 PM Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now.

Most of the Eberron novels are good reads, they have their flaws but as fantasy writing goes, they aren't bad.
The best of the bunch IMO are the Dreaming Dark and the Dragon Below trilogies. Both capture the Eberron feel well, and have a great story to boot. So, if you're planning on picking up some Eberron novels, those are the ones to go for. Currently, only 2 of each trilogy are out: The City of Towers and The Shattered Land for the Dreaming Dark trilogy, and The Binding Stone and the Grieving Tree for the Dragon Below trilogy.
Agreed, they're the best out of all the series'... the Dragon Below one has to be my favorite of the two. (Geth kicks too much ass)
Naudachu
08-10-06, 03:55 PM I've read a few of the novels and they definitely do help to immerse you in the world. The City of Towers of course really gets you into Sharn and is written by the setting creator. I just picked up Dreaming Dark book 2, but I haven't started it yet.

My favorite so far has been Orb of Xoriat (War-Torn book 2) which surprised me because book 1, Crimson Talisman was my least favorite. In fact its the only one I didn't finish. Although I did end up using some of the locations for my Karrnathi campaign. The War-Torn series is different in that each book is a different author and a separate story.

I've been meaning to check out more of the novels. I just noticed this one on Amazon, Tales of the Last War (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786939869/sr=1-15/qid=1155238775/ref=sr_1_15/002-3267095-4037657?ie=UTF8&s=books), which looks interesting. A collection of short stories about the Last War.

Of course, if you haven't read Shadows of Stormreach (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fict/20060612a) yet, its a free online story by Keith Baker. Its pretty interesting so far and gives you a glimpse at the city of Stormreach.
MJMurtha
08-10-06, 04:02 PM Hi All,

My order of preference of the books

City of Towers The Dreaming Dark Book I
The Shattered Land The Dreaming Dark, Book 2
Keith Baker knows Eberron better than anyone else obviously, it shows in the books

The Binding Stone The Dragon Below Book 1
The Grieving Tree The Dragon Below Book 2
very good series with engaging characters

Thieves of Blood The Blade of the Flame, Book I
good look at some of the Lhazhar area

The Orb of Xoriat The War Torn, Book 2
liked it a lot for the Eberron feel it had, checking papers at the borders and such

Tales of the Last War
lots of tales in here crossover to other books so worth it for that alone

The Voyage of the Mourning Dawn Heirs of Ash, Book I
a little wait and see but I like it so far

In the Claws of the Tiger The War Torn, Book III
could have been much higher on my list but I felt like I was reading a campaign I would have run, good read and all but struck to close to home, figuring it out easily-wise for me

Marked for Death The Lost Mark Book I
The Road to Death The Lost Mark, Book 2
thought it started off slow in book one and got much better in book two, might jump up my list depending on how it ends

The Crimson Talisman The War Torn Book 1
not a horrible book just felt like the story could have been in any fantasy world by changing some names

Of course the usual YMMV applies
Flame_Drake
08-10-06, 05:00 PM Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now.

What the hey? When did they do that?

Anyhow, I agree with Trolls, The Dragon Below and The Dreaming Dark are my favorites, but to be honest, I think all of the novels are of a very high quality.

Drake
Trannic
08-10-06, 05:15 PM So far, I've read all of them and I've enjoyed everyone quite a lot. I agree that Kieth Baker's are probably the best series over all, but I also really liked Wyatt's contribution, especially the fact that I could quickly figure out the class levels each character had. I also enjoyed his descriptions of some of the mechanics of the game.
ChimericalWolf
08-10-06, 05:55 PM I like them all, except for Crimson Talisman. I'll probably continue to buy them all until I'm old and bald and yelling at the punk kids about the good old days.
Nived
08-10-06, 08:03 PM No offense to Keith, but the Dragon Below series ranks above The Dreaming Dark for me. I like the Dreaming Dark series, but the second book in the series was weaker than the first.

After those two series, I'll go with Orb of Xoriat. Solid book with a nonstandard D&D novel construction, and I just love Praxlle's (probably spelled that wrong but I'm not hunting for the book now) comment's on the differences between spellcasting styles.

Voyage of the Mourning Dawn was a light read (I killed it in an afternoon), but solid with vivid characters. Bonus points for it because pie is indeed better than answers. Pie doesn't disappoint.

I like Marked for Death, mainly for the characters, dispite the subject matter. I really wish the Mark of Death would have been left alone.

Tales of the Last war was hit & miss. Some of the stories were awesome, some were extremely weak and seemed more like pitches than stand alone stories.

Crimson Talisman I did not care for at all.

I haven't read Whatever of the Tiger Claws, Thieves of Blood, or that short story by Keith in that year of the dragons coffee table book (the one with R.A. Salvatore, and Weis and Hickman).
Bluebrush
08-10-06, 08:55 PM No offense to Keith, but the Dragon Below series ranks above The Dreaming Dark for me.Seconded, though I think that's mainly due to the fact Keith's probably still finding his feet as a novellist. (City of Towers was his first novel.)

Don Bassingthwaite's Dragon Below series was good enough for me to look into his other work, though so far this has jusy involved the FR novel "The Yellow Silk", which was also pretty good.

Anyhow. Orb of Xoriat was another great book, which I heartily reccomend.

As you may see, my top three basically consists of the above authors in no exact order.
reese
08-11-06, 08:29 PM i really really like "The Mourning Dawn", despite the speed at which i read it. i love the characters, and Rich Wulf's style. the characters all had alot of attitude and vivid personalities. i also think it gets more into the intrigue of higher powers than the other novels i've read.

my second is "Thieves of Blood". not entirely sure why, maybe its the whole forgiven assassin aspect, but i really enjoyed reading it.

the only ones i have not read yet are the War-Torn books, because i've heard bad things until now. i do wish they would put the books out faster, because having five story lines without any conclusions is driving me nuts :banghead:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pallin Rahl 08-10-06, 01:43 PM	Which, if any, of the Eberron novels have you found "good" / worth reading? :) I dig the setting... (and will soon be running a campaign in it) :D ...but there are always other good books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. ;) Are any of the Eberron novels (or series of novels) worth adding to that ever-increasing reading list? Any general "reviews", recommendations, or the like - regarding the Eberron novels - is appreciated. :)
SQuigley316 08-10-06, 02:21 PM	I don't get on here alot and my knowledge of all things D&D is still pretty limited as I have only been playing less than a year in my entire life (at 28 I'm a late bloomer I guess), but from what I know you are not supposed to talk about the novels on these boards because apparently when you were there was a lot of insults hurled at certain writers and such. So if you are looking for a forum to find out about some good novels, you should probably check out HellCow's website who is Keith Baker the genius who created Eberron who also wrote two of the Eberron novels out there City of Towers and Shattered Land in the Dreaming Dark saga. ;)
ieattrollsforbreakfast 08-10-06, 02:35 PM	Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now. Most of the Eberron novels are good reads, they have their flaws but as fantasy writing goes, they aren't bad. The best of the bunch IMO are the Dreaming Dark and the Dragon Below trilogies. Both capture the Eberron feel well, and have a great story to boot. So, if you're planning on picking up some Eberron novels, those are the ones to go for. Currently, only 2 of each trilogy are out: The City of Towers and The Shattered Land for the Dreaming Dark trilogy, and The Binding Stone and the Grieving Tree for the Dragon Below trilogy.
Raziel_Brokodar 08-10-06, 02:50 PM	Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now. Most of the Eberron novels are good reads, they have their flaws but as fantasy writing goes, they aren't bad. The best of the bunch IMO are the Dreaming Dark and the Dragon Below trilogies. Both capture the Eberron feel well, and have a great story to boot. So, if you're planning on picking up some Eberron novels, those are the ones to go for. Currently, only 2 of each trilogy are out: The City of Towers and The Shattered Land for the Dreaming Dark trilogy, and The Binding Stone and the Grieving Tree for the Dragon Below trilogy. Agreed, they're the best out of all the series'... the Dragon Below one has to be my favorite of the two. (Geth kicks too much ass)
Naudachu 08-10-06, 03:55 PM	I've read a few of the novels and they definitely do help to immerse you in the world. The City of Towers of course really gets you into Sharn and is written by the setting creator. I just picked up Dreaming Dark book 2, but I haven't started it yet. My favorite so far has been Orb of Xoriat (War-Torn book 2) which surprised me because book 1, Crimson Talisman was my least favorite. In fact its the only one I didn't finish. Although I did end up using some of the locations for my Karrnathi campaign. The War-Torn series is different in that each book is a different author and a separate story. I've been meaning to check out more of the novels. I just noticed this one on Amazon, Tales of the Last War (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786939869/sr=1-15/qid=1155238775/ref=sr_1_15/002-3267095-4037657?ie=UTF8&s=books), which looks interesting. A collection of short stories about the Last War. Of course, if you haven't read Shadows of Stormreach (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fict/20060612a) yet, its a free online story by Keith Baker. Its pretty interesting so far and gives you a glimpse at the city of Stormreach.
MJMurtha 08-10-06, 04:02 PM	Hi All, My order of preference of the books City of Towers The Dreaming Dark Book I The Shattered Land The Dreaming Dark, Book 2 Keith Baker knows Eberron better than anyone else obviously, it shows in the books The Binding Stone The Dragon Below Book 1 The Grieving Tree The Dragon Below Book 2 very good series with engaging characters Thieves of Blood The Blade of the Flame, Book I good look at some of the Lhazhar area The Orb of Xoriat The War Torn, Book 2 liked it a lot for the Eberron feel it had, checking papers at the borders and such Tales of the Last War lots of tales in here crossover to other books so worth it for that alone The Voyage of the Mourning Dawn Heirs of Ash, Book I a little wait and see but I like it so far In the Claws of the Tiger The War Torn, Book III could have been much higher on my list but I felt like I was reading a campaign I would have run, good read and all but struck to close to home, figuring it out easily-wise for me Marked for Death The Lost Mark Book I The Road to Death The Lost Mark, Book 2 thought it started off slow in book one and got much better in book two, might jump up my list depending on how it ends The Crimson Talisman The War Torn Book 1 not a horrible book just felt like the story could have been in any fantasy world by changing some names Of course the usual YMMV applies
Flame_Drake 08-10-06, 05:00 PM	Actually, SQuigly, the ban has been lifted for now. What the hey? When did they do that? Anyhow, I agree with Trolls, The Dragon Below and The Dreaming Dark are my favorites, but to be honest, I think all of the novels are of a very high quality. Drake
Trannic 08-10-06, 05:15 PM	So far, I've read all of them and I've enjoyed everyone quite a lot. I agree that Kieth Baker's are probably the best series over all, but I also really liked Wyatt's contribution, especially the fact that I could quickly figure out the class levels each character had. I also enjoyed his descriptions of some of the mechanics of the game.
ChimericalWolf 08-10-06, 05:55 PM	I like them all, except for Crimson Talisman. I'll probably continue to buy them all until I'm old and bald and yelling at the punk kids about the good old days.
Nived 08-10-06, 08:03 PM	No offense to Keith, but the Dragon Below series ranks above The Dreaming Dark for me. I like the Dreaming Dark series, but the second book in the series was weaker than the first. After those two series, I'll go with Orb of Xoriat. Solid book with a nonstandard D&D novel construction, and I just love Praxlle's (probably spelled that wrong but I'm not hunting for the book now) comment's on the differences between spellcasting styles. Voyage of the Mourning Dawn was a light read (I killed it in an afternoon), but solid with vivid characters. Bonus points for it because pie is indeed better than answers. Pie doesn't disappoint. I like Marked for Death, mainly for the characters, dispite the subject matter. I really wish the Mark of Death would have been left alone. Tales of the Last war was hit & miss. Some of the stories were awesome, some were extremely weak and seemed more like pitches than stand alone stories. Crimson Talisman I did not care for at all. I haven't read Whatever of the Tiger Claws, Thieves of Blood, or that short story by Keith in that year of the dragons coffee table book (the one with R.A. Salvatore, and Weis and Hickman).
Bluebrush 08-10-06, 08:55 PM	No offense to Keith, but the Dragon Below series ranks above The Dreaming Dark for me.Seconded, though I think that's mainly due to the fact Keith's probably still finding his feet as a novellist. (City of Towers was his first novel.) Don Bassingthwaite's Dragon Below series was good enough for me to look into his other work, though so far this has jusy involved the FR novel "The Yellow Silk", which was also pretty good. Anyhow. Orb of Xoriat was another great book, which I heartily reccomend. As you may see, my top three basically consists of the above authors in no exact order.
reese 08-11-06, 08:29 PM	i really really like "The Mourning Dawn", despite the speed at which i read it. i love the characters, and Rich Wulf's style. the characters all had alot of attitude and vivid personalities. i also think it gets more into the intrigue of higher powers than the other novels i've read. my second is "Thieves of Blood". not entirely sure why, maybe its the whole forgiven assassin aspect, but i really enjoyed reading it. the only ones i have not read yet are the War-Torn books, because i've heard bad things until now. i do wish they would put the books out faster, because having five story lines without any conclusions is driving me nuts :banghead: