Eberron novels?

[scadgrad]

All I'll say is that if I ever end up on a list like this, I'll consider myself a lucky lucky guy. I'm glad that many people are enjoying City of Towers (well, except for the guy on Amazon who said "Wizards of the Coast opened a fresh page, squatted over it, and squeezed out the first book set in the gameworld called Eberron"), but it was my first novel... I've certainly got a long way to go.

I loved the first book of the Black Company, but found myself growing less interested as the series continued. What did people think of the most recent stories? (I think I'm at least two novels behind)

That's very humble of you there Keith, but I wouldn't be too concerned. I doubt that most objective readers would put GC in that list either, not at least in terms of his ability as a writer. Still, his Black Company series is a great idea and as is so often the case in the arts, a great idea can take you far.

I don't believe I got beyond the first 3 books before I became disenchanted with his series, but let's face it, a lot of writers are guilty of that crime though. I've thought about picking up one of your novels at some point just to check out your writing chops. I'm not a fan of Eberron (at all really), but I do like to check out new authors when I get the chance. I'm currently reading 2 books at the moment (when I can manage time-The Darkness That Comes Before and Jack Whyte's The Skystone which was recommended by a friend) and I plan to jump on Paladin of Souls by LM Bujols in the next week or so.

While your wathcing this thread, would you care to field any fantasy literature-related questions as they relate to your own work?

 

[Stormborn]

Hellcow,
I am actually a bit suprised to hear that it was your first novel. I enjoyed it, and think it is certianlly on par with most other licenced property books (DnD, Star Trek, Vampire, Magic, etc) that I have read. I think that if, in the end, if you can get people to read your work that neither have to nor are related to you and that those people are entertained by what they read then you have writen a successful novel. And thats about all one can hope for.

 

[BadMojo]

I really enjoyed City of Towers but I've heard enough bad reviews of Marked for Death that I probably won't get around to it. City of Towers had a good story, interesting characters AND, most importantly, it gave me a crystal clear picture of how the setting works and feels.

For the record, I enjoy stuff by Steven Brust, George R R Martin, Neil Gaiman, etc. I also enjoyed the first two books of the Erevis Cale trilogy by Paul Kemp. Those books and City of Towers are the only "game fiction" that I've read in the last few years.

 

[Hellcow]

While your wathcing this thread, would you care to field any fantasy literature-related questions as they relate to your own work?

As they relate to my work, sure! Given the "no-novels" policy on the WotC board - which sucks up most of my internet time - it's nice to be able to discuss literature.

For the record, I enjoy stuff by Steven Brust, George R R Martin, Neil Gaiman, etc.

All on my list as well. American Gods is a great book, and I love the Ice & Fire series (though I hope it doesn't become a ten-book endless monster). The Taltos books by Brust actually have a certain similarity to Eberron, being a sort of fantasy noir, but Taltos-era Dragaera is considerable more advanced than Eberron, given that teleportation is commonplace and everyone essentially has telepathic "phones". I like the style of Brust's Khaavren books, but I do recommend that anyone who likes those go to the source and read Dumas. I was just skimming over The Three Musketeers again the other day and it simply is better fantasy than a lot of "true" fantasy!

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.

 

[romp]

I am about halfway through City of Towers, really like it. I was surprised that KB was able to get that narrative flow going that is missing in many first novels. Early Ed Greenwood had some clunky phrasing that would make the novel's immersion fall apart. CoT was very well done. My only minor quibble was that a few of the descriptive sections felt like KB had his "campaign setting book" voice on. Some of that was to be expected since this novel was to introduce Sharn to novel readers who do not read the supplements for games. But sometimes it felt almost like it was cut and pasted from the setting book.

I did like the balance in terms of action vs. thought. not too much of either, i am not fond of the trend in books to write like it is an action movie script.

Without spoilers, The Goblin girl's return was very obvious, after she got saved on the lift by the group you knew she would show up later to save their hides in return. Try being a little more subtle with the NPCs ...

But I am not slamming it, so far I really like it and hope to catch KB at Gencon to autograph it.

 

[Stormborn]

Hellcow, I got the short story that was packaged, I think , with one of the Eberron Adventures. What is its relation to your Eberron novels? Will it be a chapter in an upcoming novel, or does it fit in some other way?

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Hellcow, I got the short story that was packaged, I think , with one of the Eberron Adventures. What is its relation to your Eberron novels? Will it be a chapter in an upcoming novel, or does it fit in some other way?

It's a prequel. It's not vital to read for the novel, obviously, but City of Towers does use an element from the story. (Besides the characters, I mean.)

 

[Stormborn]

It's a prequel. It's not vital to read for the novel, obviously, but City of Towers does use an element from the story. (Besides the characters, I mean.)

Yes, I realize that. But I was wondering if we were going to get more of it, have it as a flash back, or whatever in a later book.

 

[Hellcow]

Yes, I realize that. But I was wondering if we were going to get more of it, have it as a flash back, or whatever in a later book.

It was the first thing I wrote about the characters (and as such, there are one or two slightly changed premises with some of the characters). It is a bookend to City of Towers, with most of the story set before, but a few critical points set after. And hey, it offers a few little things like "Where'd Daine get his dagger?"

I have no particular plans to directly expand on Death at Whitehearth. You won't see it incorproated into one of the later books, although now it's no longer ibeing included with the module you might see it in a short story collection. I would like to explore the history of the characters and their actions both in and before the war at some point. In particular, Jode and Daine knew each other before they joined the army, and I think that there are a number of interesting stories that could be told there.

So, no definite plans, but it's always been something that's been on my mind.

 

[Ottergame]

I enjoyed City of Towers a great deal. When I found out about it, I decided to buy it thinking that it was going to be a dry read from a first time author, but I wanted to read all the Eberron books as they came out. But it was a really fun read, one of the better books I've read in a good long time. Interesting characters, things moved nicely, and a good small look at Sharn.

Marked for Death, however, isn't really doing it for me. The characters are just dull and cliched, though the story does move along at a good pace. 188 pages in, and I'm having a real hard time druming up the intrest to finish.

I bought Crimson Tailisman, but I'm not going to start it until I manage to finish Marked for Death.

EDIT: Something else that bothers me about Marked for Death is the characters ignorance over things they should damn well know. Major characters who fought in the Last War but mistake warforged for undead, or the old paladin who'd never seen a shifter...