Eberron novels?

[MavrickWeirdo]

Adventure time! Gather the Cairdal Blades and the Draleus Tairn and wipe them all out, lest their tainted blood destroy us all!

My own suspicion/guess is that the "Elven Family" (In Crimson Talisman) with some dragon blood mixed in, might actually be of Drow decent. I don't think the author says it specifically, but with all the other things just thrown in it wouldn't suprise me.

On the other hand, I liked Marked for Death very much myself.

I liked that it didn't try to explain how the mark could suddenly crop up.

It kept the major players (Vol, LoB) behind the scenes.

It did a great job at showing locations, which could fit into a game.

although I will admit the characters are "archtypes" and so somewhat predictable.


And yes I did like City of Towers

 

[Duncan Haldane]

Obviously, I'm happy to hear the things people liked about City of Towers, but as a first (soon to be second) time novelist, I'm certainly interested in hearing things you feel could be improved, as well. Some people have complained that the characters aren't developed enough; certainly in The Shattered Land you'll get more insight into Lei and particularly Pierce, who was fairly quiet in book one. Obviously, some people on the thread haven't read the book, so if you do have questions or comments, be spoiler-sensitive.

Hi Keith,

I was surprised to enjoy City of Towers. I've read a lot of FR and DL novels over the years, but had stopped because they had just seemed to become SOOO BAAAAD.
So it was a pleasant surprise to really enjoy City of Towers.

One things I noticed when I read it which caught me out a few times. When I studied professional writing at University the lecturer pointed out a little trap that I hadn't thought about before, and one you fell into a few times...
When a new scene begins you need to list in passing all who are in the scene, otherwise the reader doesn't know they are there. I remember a couple of times in new chapters where Pierce would speak, and thinking "I didn't even know he was there!". In fact, on more than occasion I found myself going back through to the start of the scene, thinking "is .... actually there?".

The writer has a picture in their head of the scene when they write it. The reader can only base their picture on what the writer has written - if someone isn't mention, they aren't there. It can be as simple as "The four of them enter the room...", and can even be implied by the end of the previous scene - eg "the four of them grasped hands as she completed her teleport spell".

I hope I've explained my point,

Good work!

Duncan Haldane

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

On the other hand, that might be deliberately clever as regards Pierce, in that he's supposed to sort of fade into the background and be forgotten.

 

[Hellcow]

On the other hand, that might be deliberately clever as regards Pierce, in that he's supposed to sort of fade into the background and be forgotten.

Sure - for Pierce in particular that is potentially appropriate, since he's Quiet Backgound Boy. But it's an excellent point and something I'll bear in mind in the future! Thanks Duncan!

 

[Ottergame]

If I had to bring up some problems I had with City of Towers, one would have to be that the party stopped and reflected on their progress a little too often. I like that they did it some, it gives the reader a chance to make sure they're keeping up with the story, but it felt like it happened just one to many times.

Also, the book also gives the impression that "all changlings are evil". A little clarification on this point would help the non-Eberron-owning fan get a better sense of what the changling race really is.

One final thing, though this isn't really anything bad about your writting style. I was disapointed that the 4 new races in Eberron weren't really showcased much in a heroic role. Only the warforged was really shown off, but he's muted and sticks to the background to much. The different races are part of what makes Eberron compelling, I was sad I didn't get to see more of them.

 

[Hellcow]

Also, the book also gives the impression that "all changlings are evil".

What about Dek, the changeling from the King of Fire? He may be shady, but he doesn't do anything evil - if anything, Lei and Daine cheat him!

I was disapointed that the 4 new races in Eberron weren't really showcased much in a heroic role. Only the warforged was really shown off, but he's muted and sticks to the background to much. The different races are part of what makes Eberron compelling, I was sad I didn't get to see more of them.

This is a valid concern. The problem was that many of the characters have important ties to dragonmarked houses - which, in turn, defines race. And I didn't want to have more than four main characters, because already it's difficult to give them all screen time; as you observe, Pierce does stick to the background, though in part because that's his nature.

I will say that you'll get considerably more insight into Pierce in the Shattered Land. And in a trilogy called "The Dreaming Dark", it should come as no surprise that kalashtar have a significant role to play. There's no featured changelings or shifters (though no evil changelings, either) - but that's two of the four new races. And hey, Marked for Death has changelings and shifters in prominant roles. I can't do EVERYTHING myself.

 

[demiurge1138]

Really, the only problem I had with City of Towers was that the goblin girl was described as green in one scene and orangey in another. Beyond that, the book kept me well and sucked in. Good job, Keith, especially for a first novel. I look forward to the second one.

Demiurge out.

 

[Hellcow]

Really, the only problem I had with City of Towers was that the goblin girl was described as green in one scene and orangey in another.

She... uh... tripped in a bucket of green paint?

Jode's colorblind?

Yeah, that's the ticket...

 

[fuindordm]

I haven't seen any of those bad reviews, and I thought that City of Towers was an excellent read. I sure hope my first novel comes out as well!

I liked all the protagonists, but I enjoyed the minor characters in the book immensely.

Ben

 

[Deadguy]

Having read all three of the novels now out, I must say that City of Towers is by far the best read. I would like my players to all read it before playing Eberron! (Unless, that is, I want to steal parts of the plot! ) I congratulate Keith in managing to get over both the appearance and the feel of Eberron. It's clear that we aren't in the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance, despite also clearly being a D&D story. But equally importantly Keith ahs got the feel of an Eberron adventure deomonstrated. I would disagree with Ottergame that teh characters introspect too often - every time they settle down to think things over, something crops up that drags them off again! Exactly the frenetic pace that Eberron demands when actively adventuring. I could really imagine the story as an adventure (and kudos Keith for doing so without writing an 'adventure-as-a-story' which let's face it, doesn't often work!).

I'm afraid that neither of teh other two was up to scratch after Keith's opus. The measure of it is that the stories are already blurring in my head. And I feel that neither actually felt like an Eberron tale - rather fantasy stories repurposed to Eberron. Clearly authors need more time to get the feel of Eberron - and they desperately need time to put ideas past Keith to let him comment upon the appropriateness of the notions to the setting!