Also, Tales of the Last War was great. A lot of short stories that give you a good glimpse into various facets of society in Eberron, from the view of several different writes if memory serves.
If the Dreaming Dark is more fantastic I'd say the Heirs of Ash Trilogy has more depth about the participating persons. Its fun to read about them. How they work together, argue and love and hate each other.
Also quiet good is the Dragon Below Trilogy. Even if the first book is very longish it gets better and better with the second and third book.
Just my two copper pieces.
The Dreaming Dark gets better with each novel.
Stay away from Matt Forbecks Mark of Death (it gets worse with each book) and James Wyatt's Storm Dragon.
Marked for Death is not that good.
And the Storm Dragon does not get better? I just started the book again because I wanted to end the heirs of ash trilogy in between.
In the Claws of the Tiger is from James Wyatt as well. This book also was not that good. Solid Fantasy but nothing more.
as an aside, spoiler warning:
i have described the ending to non-dnd (but still geeky) ppl as "imagine what the end of Serenity would have been like if nothing changed, except mal never came back up the elevator." i just think it's awesome how it just cuts off, anyway, back to topic
Have 'Storm Dragon' but haven't read it yet - is it really not good?
Ditto above on 'Heirs of Ash' and 'Dreaming Dark' - both excellent Eberron flavored stories, well written, full of action.
Have 'Storm Dragon' but haven't read it yet - is it really not good?
I personally loved Storm Dragon. The problem that most people seem to have with it (as far as I can tell) is that unlike the other Eberron books where the main characters adventures go largely un-noticed by the general populace, Storm Dragon is punctuated by a major event that drew the attention of large groups of people. So in that regard, its can seem out of flavor with the rest of the Eberron novels.
I loved it, if for no other reason then, because it had character with a Siberys Mark in it
As for the Dreaming Dark series, it was a great series that perfectly fit the flavor of the setting (then again, it was made by the CREATOR of the setting so that helps a bit). Although, I have to say, the main character Daine has to stop covering his hands in butter before the start of every fight.
The Marked for Death series is ok but I personally wouldn't buy them (I checked them out from my public library). It has its good points (as few as they may be) but I always kept finding myself skipping paragraphs because they were boring to get to the interesting stuff.
I personally loved Storm Dragon. The problem that most people seem to have with it (as far as I can tell) is that unlike the other Eberron books where the main characters adventures go largely un-noticed by the general populace, Storm Dragon is punctuated by a major event that drew the attention of large groups of people. So in that regard, its can seem out of flavor with the rest of the Eberron novels.
Most of the problems people had with Storm Dragon can be found in that link. Personally I keep meaning to at least read the Dreaming Dark series but am so burnt from mediocre fantasy novels I can't really bring myself to read any.
I think I will begin with the Dreaming Dark trilogy and after that maybe with Heirs of Ash. I don't have a lot of time for reading and also I'm a little bit slow reading in English (I'm from Spain) and of course, there's also the problem that it's difficult to find some stuff in english here so I wanted to begin with a good book.
And the Storm Dragon does not get better? I just started the book again because I wanted to end the heirs of ash trilogy in between.
Have 'Storm Dragon' but haven't read it yet - is it really not good?
@Schandmaul: It gets worse.
I actually like the beginning. I reviewed the book for the unofficial german D&D-Website and gave it 1.5 points out of 5.
(Review for those able to understand german.)
I just finished the Dreaming Dark series, and they were great. The first, City of Towers, was probably my favorite. By the man himself, Keith Baker.
Also, Tales of the Last War was great. A lot of short stories that give you a good glimpse into various facets of society in Eberron, from the view of several different writes if memory serves.
Don't get me started on the Dreaming Dark series. I am running a campaign based on the dragonmark stealing. I borrowed it from the local library but guess what, they don't have 2 and 3 and neither does any book shop in Australia!
Recomend the first, very good!
Does anyone know what book im talking about?
Is it any good?
I saw a book with a black and red cover. It featured a typical detective figure with a damsel in "distress" standing at his back. That is if my memory serves me right, and it was something about an inquisitive series...
Does anyone know what book im talking about?
Is it any good?
The Left Hand of Death? I think that's what you saw. I just started it and it's decent so far.
I've also read the Dreaming Dark (Loved it), Mark of Death (Liked it), War Torn (Liked it), and the Dragon Below (Hated it)
The Left Hand of Death? I think that's what you saw. I just started it and it's decent so far.
Yeah that was the one. Found it here.
I saw a book with a black and red cover. It featured a typical detective figure with a damsel in "distress" standing at his back. That is if my memory serves me right, and it was something about an inquisitive series...
Does anyone know what book im talking about?
Is it any good?
It's The Left Hand of Death.
To be honest, I felt it was pretty...meh. Not bad, but not great, either. Better than the Blade of the Flame books (which I felt were pretty terrible - the one I read felt like it was Generic D&D Fantasy Novel with a find-and-replace to insert some Eberron-specific terms).
The characters in Left Hand are pretty so-so (the main character's not particularly sympathetic...his sidekick, the loutish bar-owner is more...appealing). The overall plot isn't too bad (a Xen'drik Arcane Device makes an appearance, and it does some...odd...things). The main villain wasn't developed in a particularly interesting way, and the author seems to be taking a pretty heavily anti-religious angle (pretty much anyone demonstrating faith is either a treated like a simpleton (like the sidekick) or capital-E evil like the main villain). Some other elements sort of stretch my suspension of disbelief when it comes to setting details (example: the main Temple of the Silver Flame in Sharn is not only heavily enchanged with dimensional magic to make it bigger on the inside than on the outside, it also contains an violent assassin-cult secretly posing as a monastic order). Basically, on a readthrough, you get the impression that the Church of the Silver Flame are completely and totally corrupt and underneath the surface are completely amoral. Actually, it makes that point about religion in general...
Other bits are pretty cool - I really enjoyed the portrayals of many of the lower-class districts in Sharn.
The villain's interesting, but could have been developed a little differently to make for a much more compelling (and plausible) villain. I may actually adapt him as an NPC in my campaign...
So it's dark. It's reasonably noir-ish. Some of the scene descriptions are pretty good for inspiration/evocative setting material. But there's MUCH better...
Like the Dreaming Dark series (pretty much goes without saying). Or the Heirs of Ash series (very cool, nifty airship stuff, interesting characters, etc).
The two books from the Inquisitives line that I've read (Bound by Iron, Nights of Long Shadows) were very good (in different ways).
Bound by Iron felt very noir - a player of mine whom I'd lent the book to didn't twig to our grizzled war-weary protagonist being a paladin of the Host until most of the way through. Good characterization (of both pro- and antagonists). The other protagonist (a female elf rogue) made for an awesome foil for the paladin (she's very much an ends-justify-the-means type). Lots of interesting flashbacks to the Last War, and a very evocative portrayal of the setting.
Night of Long Shadows takes a different tone. It's Sherlock Holmes through a pulp-fantasy action-hero kaleidoscope - this Sherlock is a roguish, aristocratic and fairly arrogant half-elf inquisitive/artificer with numerous vices (he smokes, he drinks, he womanizes, he's well known in the brothels!), and Watson is an honest and upstanding (borderline "goody-goody") dwarven fighter (not quite as massive a foil as the elven rogue in Bound). They Fight Crime! They Save Sharn from Impending Doom! There's multiple skycoach chases! A prison-break orchestrated by the hero! Doublecrosses! Assassins! The entire novel takes place in Sharn (and all over the place), and overall I felt it did a fantastic job. Really fun read. It definitely FELT like Eberron (and how Eberron seems to really want to be played...borderline over-the-top).
The only complaint I have about it is a couple-chapter vignette that felt really out of place (they meet the Lich and the Cleric (Gaia) over in the graveyard district...forget the name). That scene was just...goofy. Cutting it out would have improved the flow of the book without losing anything of substance, I think. The tone almost turns into outright comedy for those chapters (Gaia is bonkers, and the lich, for all of his spookiness, is basically overcome with some Tom & Jerry antics).
So in summary, when it comes to "Must Read":
Dreaming Dark Series: 4 Dragonshards (of 4)
Heirs of Ash Series: 3.5 Dragonshards
Bound By Honor: 3.5 Dragonshards
Nights of Long Shadows: 4 Dragonshards
The Left Hand of Death: 2 Dragonshards
Forge of the Mindslayers (Blade of the Flame #2): 1 Dragonshard
The Dragon Below: I thought this was a great trilogy. It has a lot of great fights and a very interesting party make up. At one point the group had an orc, a half-orc, a human, a kalashtar, a hobgoblin, and a shifter. That's something you're only going to see in eberron. I will admit that the final revelation about the main character's past at the end is less impressive than it could have been and went to much towards creating a happy ending.
Blade of the Flame: I don't think that the final book in this trilogy is out yet. I find it to be a pretty good read with interesting characters. Their is a prequal to it in the Tales of the Last War anthology.
Heirs of Ash: A truely wonderful tale of adventure. I found the end of this trilogy to be a bit of a let down, but the rest of it was a great story. I was slightly annoyed with the way the author changed his focus on who was the main character in each book. Still, it gets my recomendation for high adventure and having a very funny halfling.
Tales of the Last War: A great anthology. Several of the authors also have other Eberron novels. It ranges from mystories to adventure.
The War Torn: I have only read the first two books from this series. The first one, The Crimson Talismon, was absolute drible. I have read few books that I thought were so lousy. Fortunately the stories are not conected so you don't have to read it to read the others in the series. The second one, the Orb of Xoriat, was much better. It had a good combination of action, humor, and character developement. I look forward to reading the next book in the series because it continues one of the stories from Tales of the Last War.
The Mark of Death: I personaly though this was a great trilogy. The first novel is an excelent adventure in the Mournland and the second has a great fight with a dragon. The third one has a slightly less action oriented pace, but wraps the story up nicely.
That's it for what I've read. I would like to point out that none of the stories, even Keith's, are considered cannon for the Eberron Campaign Setting. In fact, a lot of them have one or two inconsistancies (i.e. Crimson Talismon has a half-elf with the mark of passage) or make presumptions that would likely be incorect (i.e. The Mark of Death and the power of the mark of death).
It does have story connections to both Bound By Iron (book 1) and Night of the Long Shadows. Essentially, it's a murder mystery set in Karrnath.
Incidentally, the fourth book of the Inquisitives series is about to come out (Tuesday). Not that I'm biased in pointing it out. ;)
It does have story connections to both Bound By Iron (book 1) and Night of the Long Shadows. Essentially, it's a murder mystery set in Karrnath.
Holy cow, it is not set in Sharn! This is a good thing because I think some of the other cities of Khorvaire needed some time in the spotlight.
But the inquisitive in this book does comes from Sharn (and was, in fact, a one-time employee of the same inquisitive in Night of the Long Shadows).Man, they should put that on the back of the book. I love it!
Paul C
Of the sets of books, I would have to say that the Heirs of Ash and the Dreaming Dark are the two stongest and interesting trilogies (except for the end of the Dreaming Dark in book 3). The Dragon Below set also is pretty good.
Also, In The Claws of the Tigar is also a good read. The only other book in the War-Torn set I would recommend is the Ord of Xoriat.
I have to say that the Blade of the Flame is a set that has seriously let me down. I am reading book three, Sea of Death, and nothing so far has changes my mind about not recommending this set.
Of the books out, I have not read Storm Dragon or Left Hand of Death, so I cannot give an opinion on them, but I own everything published for the Eberron setting (setting accessories, Dungeon and Dragon mags, adventures, novels), so I would say that I am fairly well versed in the setting.
I have to say that the best book I have read so far was Legacy of Wolves, book 3 of the Inquisitives. Hands down this is a great book!! The Inquisitives as a set of stand alone books is really strong and gives you a good feel for the setting IMO
Thanks so much for the kind words! (Where do I send that check again? Heh.) ;)
Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell
Thanks so much for the kind words! (Where do I send that check again? Heh.) ;)
Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell
Hey, no need for that. I like what I like and am more than willing to tell people about it. Of course a signed copy would never be rejected ;). Now I was able to figure out a plot-twist in the book before the big reveil, but I had also made a several other assumptions that I was totally off base with. I like that kind of thing and given that I have read several thousand books, it is really nice to be surprised!
So thank you for the read and I hope you have a new book in the works.
I didn't know a fourth one had come out. I will have to check it out. If it turns out it is not quite good enough, however, there will be blood. ::waves pitchfork::
As for blood....there's more than enough spilled within the story than is needed without.
And surely it can be said that the Inquisitives books have the best covers. :P
Really?
The best? Now I know that this is a fantasy setting and all and we are supposed to use our imaginations, but that is a bit of a stretch don'tch think!Show
Hahahaha - just joking! Love the covers - and I agree that they are better than many of the covers in the series so far, though I think that the Dragon Below books have the cap on best covers IMO (next to the Legacy of Wolves cover that is, because come on - he has fricken werewolf claws as a necklace!!!)
Of course a signed copy would never be rejected ;).
If you want to send me your book, I'd be more than happy to sign it and send it back. PM me and we can figure out the details.
So thank you for the read and I hope you have a new book in the works.
Well, nothing I can talk about yet, but I will say your hope is not in vain. ;)
The mark of death book were good nothing amazing but a very nice read.
I am currently reading the blade of flame series I personally look it. Im on the second half why thought read half of it in a day couldn't put it down.
The War-Torn series, by and large, isn't that good. Orb of Xoriat is decent, but Claws of the Tiger is fantastic. The other two books suck.
The Heirs of Ash trilogy is fantastic, as is the Binding Stone trilogy.
Last, though, the Inquisitives series is amazing. 4 stand-alone books where each one rocks.
Overall a pretty good book and I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Eberron because it has all of the right elements that makes this setting unique.
...but... (SPOILERS BELOW)
.
.
.
For starters, the book rife with misspellings, missing words, and a few really poorly worded sentences, which is a bit distracting and also forces you to reread sections because some part does not make sense.
There were also elements that seemed "tacked on". One for instance would be the weapon that Tallis uses. It is described as having a mithril head at some point (I think it is when he gets it back from the warforged), but later we learn that the hammer head is adamantine and the hook is mithril (the weapon is a gnomish hook hammer). Now, when the weapon was first found, you would think that this up-and-coming inquisitive would have made a mental note when she discovered it as to the unusual metal that the weapon was crafted from, but that did not happen IIRC.
In addition, I think that the author tipped his hand too early in implicating the BBEG. For me, it was apparent through the whole book that the character would turn out to be responsible, and while the author did throw a neat twist with the true identity for the bad guy, in general any reader would be able to say that "X" character is responsible without knowing all the twists and without knowing the characters true identity.
And finally, the end seemed to leave too much hanging and unanswered. This series of novels are all stand alone books, but the end of The Darkwood Mask does not have that satisfying finish that usually comes with this type of book. Sure, I like the fact that there are unanswered things out there...if I knew that there was going to be a book two. Seeing as how none know that they will ever see these characters, the ending leaves one with that nagging bit of "what happened" out there.
As far as what the inquisitive observes, that's just a matter of the character's point of view. She owns a mithral object herself. The actual unusual or expensive metal involved wasn't immediate relevant to the identity of its owner. Warforged often have mithral or adamantine components. These materials might be very expensive, but they're not truly rare in Eberron.
As for the female characters PoV, I can understand that things would appear more commonplace when you own one - anyone who has ever bought a car knows that it seems like suddenly there are a million similar cars on the road just like theirs. But as far as I can recall, it was never stated that he blade was mithril - "magewrought" (or something like that), but I do not recall that it was mithril. I could be wrong and will not take offence if someone tells me that I am, but this is what I remember of it.
Now I would argue, just for the sake of arguing, that the material one's weapon is made out of speaks volumes about the identity of it's owner. A poor brigand would likely not have an exotic, gnomish weapon made of these two materials, so you would assume that this person would have access to a good amount of money or was a very successful thief. Also, unless you have some psionic powers, it would be kind of pointless to carry around a crysteel weapon - so finding a weapon made from such material would heavily suggest that the weapon's owner possessed such abilities.
@Ashlock - I hope you do not think that I disliked your work, because I thought it was good and I would buy another of your novels without much consideration at all. I am only pointing out these items out because IMO these are the small features that kept a good book from being great
So m'lady mrockwell still has the number one Eberron book with her Legacy of Wolves as far as I am concerned ;)
Oh, and no offense taken! Especially since you're praising Mrs. Rockwell and she does, indeed, rock.
Oh - and I will be more than happy to have you critique my work when I can actually get it done. It would only be fair...though I will have to finish it first of course. The do about three or four rewrites to get it all right and squared up. Then find an agent. Then sell it to a publisher. Then chop it apart to make the editor of said publisher agree to publish it. And then wait about a year after that to see it actually hit the shelves.
;)
As far as stories go, again I have to say along with nearly everyone else, Rich Wulf's Heirs of Ash series is brilliant. The Inquisitives is also very good, I especially enjoyed the character interactions in Paul Crilley's Night of long Shadows. Another nice intro read was the Tales of the Last War, as it includes previews of characters in the various longer series and stand alone books in the War Torn series so is definitely worth a read, even if you don't enjoy all the stories there's bound to be one or two you will like, and it gives a pointer for which authors you'll personally like.
So m'lady mrockwell still has the number one Eberron book with her Legacy of Wolves as far as I am concerned ;)
From your lips to my editor's ears, heh.
Seriously, thank you. Eberron has some very talented authors; I'm just happy to be able to hold my own with them.
@Schandmaul: It gets worse.
I actually like the beginning. I reviewed the book for the unofficial german D&D-Website and gave it 1.5 points out of 5.
(Review for those able to understand german.)
I actually really liked the Storm Dragon. I thought it was a great story.
for trilogies:
Don Bassingthwaite's Dragon Below series,
Rich Wulf's Heirs of Ash series, and
Keith Baker's Dreaming Dark series
for stand-alones:
The Orb of Xoriat, by Edward Bolme
The Night of Long Shadows, by Paul Crilley
Legacy of Wolves, by Marcy Rockwell
and
The Darkwood Mask, by Jeff LaSala
Heck, the entire Inquisitives series of stand alones was excellent!
favorite unfinished trilogy:
The Draconic Prophecies, by James Wyatt (as mentioned above I really enjoyed the first book).
And so does Mr. Wulf's Heirs of Ash series, which I was also exceedingly impressed by. It's fairly late right now, and I just came home this evening from a rather lengthy vacation (e.g. I'm rather slumberous) so I won't go into detail, but I unflinchingly recommend the Inquisitives (Legacy of Wolves in particular - Night of the Long Shadows also did an excellent job) and the Heirs of Ash series!
- Tharkan
I actually really liked the Storm Dragon. I thought it was a great story.
Let's say it had potential. It only was told badly.
So far, I'm most awed by Legacy of Wolves - everything about the novel seemed great...I sincerely loved everything about the novel, and it serves as a spotless representation of the "Eberron atmosphere".
Thanks so much for the kind words! I love the setting, and I really tried to do justice to it, so I'm glad you enjoyed the book so much.
The Trilogy about the Heirs of Ash is also very nice.
Ditto! Loved it. I even modeled my whole Eberron campaign after it.
Some people ripped on the Mark of Death trilogy, but I enjoyed them.
Talking about fiction I'm currently reading China Mieville's 'Peridido Street Station'. I'd highly recommend that book just for seeing how a book can bring a setting to life.
Picked up The Darkwood Mask a couple of weeks ago now I guess, and picked up right away on the links to Night of Long Shadows and Bound By Iron. I also realized that there could be slight connection to Legacy of Wolves.
While they are in the Tower of the Twelve (can't remember if that's what it's called), the inquisitive reads a plaque of blacklisted students, which would likely include the name Greddark d'Kundarak (hope I got the name right, the dwarf from Legacy of Wolves anyways).
I would very much like to see more in the Inquisitives series.
I also didn't clue in the Cimmozjen was a paladin either, when I read oathsworn, I guessed he was a cleric.
Incidentally, Soneste does get a mention within Night of the Long Shadows as well.
You're sharp, Lancer.
Indeed. Legacy of Wolves has references to Orb of Xoriat, Bound by Iron, and Night of the Long Shadows. Couldn't quite fit any in to The Darkwood Mask on my side, but Jeff managed to sneak one in.
Ok so I have just finished the dreaming dark trilogy, and I seem to remember Keith mentioning something about a next book. Do we have anything more solid to hold on to? (if this is derailing, please ignore).
The only thing I know about it is that it will involve different characters... though he plans to return to the DD crew eventually.
also from having the PUBLISHED AUTHOR on this thread
Paul Crilley (Night of the Long Shadows) and Jeff LaSala (The Darkwood Mask) also post on this thread -- Jeff is Ashlock and Paul is pcrilley (I think).
(just so you know, I hate you! I can never get more than ten pages of garbage down!)
I have more days like that than you want to know! ;)
I think I'll have to do to the nearest Chapters tomorrow and buy Legacy of Wolves.
That's great! I hope you enjoy it -- come back and let us know what you think! Or join us over at the Worlds of D&D forums:
http://worldsofdnd.com/forum/index.php
A lot of the Eberron authors hang out there, too.