New D&D novel: Mark of Nerath

[bennyhobo]

Anyone read it yet? I just picked it up the other day and hope to start it this weekend. It's the first book set in the Nentir Vale, and I guess the start of a new series.

I'll post with my thoughts when I get to it, if anyone is interested.

 

[brainstorm]

Anyone read it yet? I just picked it up the other day and hope to start it this weekend. It's the first book set in the Nentir Vale, and I guess the start of a new series.

I'll post with my thoughts when I get to it, if anyone is interested.

It's not bad. Too many characters, in my opinion. It was nice to read a story set in the Nentir Vale. I'm interested to see where this Abyssal Plague story goes.

 

[Plaguedguy]

I have it and I'm just over halfway through. I generally don't go in for genre fiction, but this one is pretty brutal. Bill designs great games but his writing leaves much to be desired.

The novel jumps around to various groups of characters while not doing much to establish or build any of them. Consequently the story feels seriously disjointed and it really struggles to hold interest. It's just a case of too many characters doing too many things.

There are also numerous instances of cringe dialogue, some of it is cheesy in the fantasy heroic sense, and other times is just jarring. 'Here comes a Infernal Armor Animus!' / 'I have great perception' / etc.

It's not completely awful, but it has plenty of flaws.

 

[Odhanan]

Nearly all D&D novels have left me cold. I would like to like them, but they basically suck, the lot of them.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

[Lostdwarf]

There was a free chapter on the WoTC website. Honestly, it kind of sucked. Bill runs a great R&D department, I love their games, but his prose is flat bad. After the free sample I had no desire to go back for more.

 

[AngryMojo]

As a piece of literature, it's a piece of crap. As game novel, it's alright. It kept me interested enough to finish it, and was exactly what I expected it to be.

If you're looking for Hemmingway in game fiction, you're going to be looking for a long time.

 

[fjw70]

Does the novel give more detail or flavor of the vale. What is the time period of the novel? Is Nerath still in charge of the valley (so 100+ years before KotS)?

 

[LuckyAdrastus]

Aw man, this thread makes me feel sad. Was kinda thinking of picking up the book, b/c I'm interested in the Nentir Vale fluff. I had an experience picking up an Eberron books for the same reason, and never finishing it b/c it just didn't seem to work for me.

I feel kinda bad for Bill S. or whomever reading this thread and getting into a bad mood. I'm a big fan of the D&D game design too, so it makes me sad to see someone behind it get a bad treatment. Even if it may be fair take on the book...

 

[Vanifae]

I might get it anyway, just to read something about the Nentir Vale.

 

[ppaladin123]

I have it and I'm just over halfway through. I generally don't go in for genre fiction, but this one is pretty brutal. Bill designs great games but his writing leaves much to be desired.

The novel jumps around to various groups of characters while not doing much to establish or build any of them. Consequently the story feels seriously disjointed and it really struggles to hold interest. It's just a case of too many characters doing too many things.

There are also numerous instances of cringe dialogue, some of it is cheesy in the fantasy heroic sense, and other times is just jarring. 'Here comes a Infernal Armor Animus!' / 'I have great perception' / etc.

It's not completely awful, but it has plenty of flaws.

"This conversation will be challenging as it will require expert use of my diplomacy and bluff skills...a skill challenge if you will!"