Yet another book thread: - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Yet another book thread:

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
skrap-san
Nov 04, 2008 13:48:33 I'm just to lacy to dig up the old "what books do you recomend" threads. And besides all I wanted was to know if this book was worth buying.
#2
Ogiwan
Nov 04, 2008 14:48:51 The Left Hand of Death was, IMO, ok. If you want a single book of awesome, any of the books of the Inquisitives series or Claws of the Tiger are prolly a good bet. For series, well, my fav series is the Heirs of Ash trilogy.
#3
Iskandr
Nov 04, 2008 15:06:20 Having read both of "The Lanternlight Files" novels I can honestly say they aren't the most amazing novels, I enjoyed them but I don't think I would pick them back up. I'd have to agree with Ogiwan, the Heirs of Ash trilogy was amazing. And out of all the Eberron novels out so far(minus Queen of Stone, just got it today), The Darkwood Mask and Claws of the Tiger are my favs on any given day. The Darkwood Mask probably has one of the best endings ever!
#4
grug_the_just
Nov 04, 2008 15:32:28 Darkwood Mask, and Doom of Kings. Both hands down must reads. As for the book you are interested in, it's on my shelf. I have yet to finish the Blade of Flame trilogy, not too thrilled with it to finish it quickly.
#5
skrap-san
Nov 05, 2008 0:28:12 Thanks for all the great feedback. So far I have only read "the Dreaming dark trilogy", (since its sort of mandatory in my head) and "the tales of the last war" "Queen of stone" is running around in the Norwegian mail system so all i can do is wait for now. But I'm quite keen on getting some new things to read, helps me "get" the feeling of the world.
#6
Hideous_Phidias
Nov 05, 2008 1:31:04 I have read just about everything printed about Eberron and have to say besides the novels wrote by the creator Keith Baker, the Binding Stone Books followed by the Doom of King are my favorite. But, the Heirs of Ash Books are a close second.

I am sorry to say I would not bother with The Blade of the Flame books. It may just be me but the book just were not there for me.
#7
Ogiwan
Nov 05, 2008 13:38:56 No, I'd have to agree with you about the Blade of the Flame books. I mean, I hate being critical of an author, but it's kind of a generic fantasy everything that's kinda dumped in Eberron (and in a gods-forsaken corner at that) and with some Eberron elements cut-and-pasted. I got the first two books, not going to bother with the third.

While I'm hate-mongering, the first and fourth books of the War-Torn series were also lackluster and boring as hell. I couldn't tell you what the Crimson Talisman was about, and the only event I remember was like the first chapter, of the keep getting wreaked. Oh, and there was a pissy priest. Blood and Honor, it was something about Vedakyr Lancers, or some lancer regiment out of a V town. It was in Karrnath, which is also partly my interest. The Orb of Xoriat was readable, but it's very much a decent book, and overshadowed by Claws of the Tiger, which rawks. I'd love to hear more about Janik's doings in the War.

Heirs of Ash, again, I'm all for.

The Inquisitives is also a hella strong series; I wish they kept it going. The weakest one of the quartet was the third, The Night of Long Shadows, and even that was good. The Darkwood Mask is just win, as is Bound by Iron.

I am also partial to the Binding Stone trilogy, and looking forward to the Heirs of Dhakaan trilogy.

Lastly, the books by His Infernal Bovinity. When I first read the Dreaming Dark trilogy, I was like eh, but the more I read it, the more I like. It's just so wonderfully complex. I'm very much looking forward to the Thorn.
#8
oid
Nov 06, 2008 18:03:28 i have a fairly large liberary of eberron and star wars books,(mostly eberron) and i think the blade of flame series was entertainin',i havethe second lanternlight book ( i hate to say it) i'm kinda bored with it. i haven't read any of the others and don't plan to. but, the dreaming dark series is really good(more of Daine, Lia, Pierce please:D ). but i have to say the best series i've read was the marked for death series... that was well put together if you as me. i have read the heirs of ash yet and am regrettin' it. that's one to look out for.
#9
eviloneinabox
Nov 07, 2008 0:27:17 I have the blade of the flame, Heirs of Ash, War torn, and the inquisitives. My suggestion would be heirs of ash or the darkwood mask. However my personal favorite is the blade of the flame series since I usually play the kinds of characters in it (not sure i can give it away). I also think it hits eberrons shades of greys quite well.
#10
whitebaron
Nov 07, 2008 9:38:49 my takes on those:

a) dragon below trilogy + heirs of dhakaan, whatever comes out from don b. currently seems totally worth it.
b) blade of the flame trilogy - though not really all that eberronic, these are excellent books. deep character, action, combat, suspense. if you like salvatore's later drizzt-works you might like those books as well.
c) the heirs of ash - really good, especially the background ideas, but only second to the books above due to some lengthy parts in between and some rather confusing parts.
d) inquisitives i did not like the darkwood mask, but i seem to be the only one. what i dislike about that book is not how it is written or how the characters are portrayed, but that you are left in the dark - like the main actor, who is really adorable.
e) lost mark trilogy - pretty good books, solid but not that impressive. especially some parts are like "how can they do that, they have to know better!"
f) dreaming dark trilogy - much information can be gathered here. it was one of my entries to eberron, probably this is a mistake. the amount of information included in this book is just too much to take if you are new to the setting.
g) "last war" - i can only recommend this book to people who want to read many eberron books. you can read the stories either before or after you read some other books about those characters, but it got definitely some
h) storm dragon - without other books out hard to tell, but this might prove another good trilogy
i) lanternlight files - about the worst fantasy book i ever read is part 1 of that trilogy. the names of the characters haunt my nightmares... i only got to like page 20, started it over for like 10 times, and i finally decided, i won't torture myself any longer.
#11
fabius_maximus
Nov 07, 2008 17:09:58 I consider The Left Hand of Death one of the best Eberron books so far. It does not follow in the steps of the other novels insofar that the main character is definetly not a nice person. That makes the book very dark and ambivalent. Parker DeWolf shows us the very dirty side of Sharn and brings out the worst in his characters, coupled with quite a bit of black humor. If that's your cup of tea, go ahead and buy it.

The second book in the series, When Night Falls, came out not that well, though. It seems rushed, is full of errors and misses balance.
#12
skrap-san
Nov 08, 2008 0:35:21 Thanks for all the feedback everyone. It has really given me a lot more books on my "want to read" list. Now what I will end up reading I don't really know yet, but one thing is for sure, one of these days the queen of stone lands in my mailbox, and that is a warm and happy thought for me :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 skrap-san Nov 04, 2008 13:48:33	I'm just to lacy to dig up the old "what books do you recomend" threads. And besides all I wanted was to know if this book was worth buying.
#2 Ogiwan Nov 04, 2008 14:48:51	The Left Hand of Death was, IMO, ok. If you want a single book of awesome, any of the books of the Inquisitives series or Claws of the Tiger are prolly a good bet. For series, well, my fav series is the Heirs of Ash trilogy.
#3 Iskandr Nov 04, 2008 15:06:20	Having read both of "The Lanternlight Files" novels I can honestly say they aren't the most amazing novels, I enjoyed them but I don't think I would pick them back up. I'd have to agree with Ogiwan, the Heirs of Ash trilogy was amazing. And out of all the Eberron novels out so far(minus Queen of Stone, just got it today), The Darkwood Mask and Claws of the Tiger are my favs on any given day. The Darkwood Mask probably has one of the best endings ever!
#4 grug_the_just Nov 04, 2008 15:32:28	Darkwood Mask, and Doom of Kings. Both hands down must reads. As for the book you are interested in, it's on my shelf. I have yet to finish the Blade of Flame trilogy, not too thrilled with it to finish it quickly.
#5 skrap-san Nov 05, 2008 0:28:12	Thanks for all the great feedback. So far I have only read "the Dreaming dark trilogy", (since its sort of mandatory in my head) and "the tales of the last war" "Queen of stone" is running around in the Norwegian mail system so all i can do is wait for now. But I'm quite keen on getting some new things to read, helps me "get" the feeling of the world.
#6 Hideous_Phidias Nov 05, 2008 1:31:04	I have read just about everything printed about Eberron and have to say besides the novels wrote by the creator Keith Baker, the Binding Stone Books followed by the Doom of King are my favorite. But, the Heirs of Ash Books are a close second. I am sorry to say I would not bother with The Blade of the Flame books. It may just be me but the book just were not there for me.
#7 Ogiwan Nov 05, 2008 13:38:56	No, I'd have to agree with you about the Blade of the Flame books. I mean, I hate being critical of an author, but it's kind of a generic fantasy everything that's kinda dumped in Eberron (and in a gods-forsaken corner at that) and with some Eberron elements cut-and-pasted. I got the first two books, not going to bother with the third. While I'm hate-mongering, the first and fourth books of the War-Torn series were also lackluster and boring as hell. I couldn't tell you what the Crimson Talisman was about, and the only event I remember was like the first chapter, of the keep getting wreaked. Oh, and there was a pissy priest. Blood and Honor, it was something about Vedakyr Lancers, or some lancer regiment out of a V town. It was in Karrnath, which is also partly my interest. The Orb of Xoriat was readable, but it's very much a decent book, and overshadowed by Claws of the Tiger, which rawks. I'd love to hear more about Janik's doings in the War. Heirs of Ash, again, I'm all for. The Inquisitives is also a hella strong series; I wish they kept it going. The weakest one of the quartet was the third, The Night of Long Shadows, and even that was good. The Darkwood Mask is just win, as is Bound by Iron. I am also partial to the Binding Stone trilogy, and looking forward to the Heirs of Dhakaan trilogy. Lastly, the books by His Infernal Bovinity. When I first read the Dreaming Dark trilogy, I was like eh, but the more I read it, the more I like. It's just so wonderfully complex. I'm very much looking forward to the Thorn.
#8 oid Nov 06, 2008 18:03:28	i have a fairly large liberary of eberron and star wars books,(mostly eberron) and i think the blade of flame series was entertainin',i havethe second lanternlight book ( i hate to say it) i'm kinda bored with it. i haven't read any of the others and don't plan to. but, the dreaming dark series is really good(more of Daine, Lia, Pierce please:D ). but i have to say the best series i've read was the marked for death series... that was well put together if you as me. i have read the heirs of ash yet and am regrettin' it. that's one to look out for.
#9 eviloneinabox Nov 07, 2008 0:27:17	I have the blade of the flame, Heirs of Ash, War torn, and the inquisitives. My suggestion would be heirs of ash or the darkwood mask. However my personal favorite is the blade of the flame series since I usually play the kinds of characters in it (not sure i can give it away). I also think it hits eberrons shades of greys quite well.
#10 whitebaron Nov 07, 2008 9:38:49	my takes on those: a) dragon below trilogy + heirs of dhakaan, whatever comes out from don b. currently seems totally worth it. b) blade of the flame trilogy - though not really all that eberronic, these are excellent books. deep character, action, combat, suspense. if you like salvatore's later drizzt-works you might like those books as well. c) the heirs of ash - really good, especially the background ideas, but only second to the books above due to some lengthy parts in between and some rather confusing parts. d) inquisitives i did not like the darkwood mask, but i seem to be the only one. what i dislike about that book is not how it is written or how the characters are portrayed, but that you are left in the dark - like the main actor, who is really adorable. e) lost mark trilogy - pretty good books, solid but not that impressive. especially some parts are like "how can they do that, they have to know better!" f) dreaming dark trilogy - much information can be gathered here. it was one of my entries to eberron, probably this is a mistake. the amount of information included in this book is just too much to take if you are new to the setting. g) "last war" - i can only recommend this book to people who want to read many eberron books. you can read the stories either before or after you read some other books about those characters, but it got definitely some h) storm dragon - without other books out hard to tell, but this might prove another good trilogy i) lanternlight files - about the worst fantasy book i ever read is part 1 of that trilogy. the names of the characters haunt my nightmares... i only got to like page 20, started it over for like 10 times, and i finally decided, i won't torture myself any longer.
#11 fabius_maximus Nov 07, 2008 17:09:58	I consider The Left Hand of Death one of the best Eberron books so far. It does not follow in the steps of the other novels insofar that the main character is definetly not a nice person. That makes the book very dark and ambivalent. Parker DeWolf shows us the very dirty side of Sharn and brings out the worst in his characters, coupled with quite a bit of black humor. If that's your cup of tea, go ahead and buy it. The second book in the series, When Night Falls, came out not that well, though. It seems rushed, is full of errors and misses balance.
#12 skrap-san Nov 08, 2008 0:35:21	Thanks for all the feedback everyone. It has really given me a lot more books on my "want to read" list. Now what I will end up reading I don't really know yet, but one thing is for sure, one of these days the queen of stone lands in my mailbox, and that is a warm and happy thought for me :D