City of the Dead

Forgotten Realms: Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep #4

by Rosemary Jones

A haunting adventure hand-picked by Ed Greenwood...

Something is causing trouble in the City of the Dead, and Sophraea Carver, born and bred next to the historic graveyard, is determined to solve the mystery before it places all of Waterdeep in peril.

Set in the classic City of Splendors and presented by Forgotten Realms® campaign setting creator and celebrated author Ed Greenwood, you don't want to miss out on this exciting glimpse into what the latest edition of the Realms has to offer.

From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Forgotten Realms, Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Ebooks, High Fantasy

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2009

About the author

Plunged into the Roaring Twenties for the Arkham Horror titles Mask of Silver and its sequels The Deadly Grimoire and The Bootlegger's Dance. A new sequence begins with The Nightmare Quest of April May and The Arcane Gamble of Harvey Waltersin 2025. I've written novels set in the Forgotten Realms, City of the Dead and Crypt of the Moaning Diamond, as well as several short stories and novella Cold Steel and Secrets set in this Dungeons & Dragons world. When not battling cosmic horrors, animated skeletons, and other supernatural foes, I'm authoring tales of Cobalt City, a place of superheroes, super villains, and regular joes just trying to get by. A new expanded edition of Wrecker of Engines and related short stories was issued in 2024.

My other science fiction and fantasy short stories appear in various anthologies. The complete list on my website at rosemaryjones.com.

As the co-author of the Encyclopedia of Collectible Childrens Books, I spent many years collecting and often dip back into these treasures for my own pleasure and entertainment. I currently share my home with 2,000+ volumes, not all cataloged here.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Milou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a fun read. It really isn't anything special, but still very entertaining.

I know this is book four in a series, and it is part of something massive. But this can easily be read as a standalone, seeing as I could easily understand it without any prior knowledge.

We follow Sopraea, only daughter in the Carver family. This family lives next to the cemetry and makes sure everything in it is as it should be (they carve monuments, repair broken tombstones... and protect the secret gate). When the dead start to walk around town it is then of course up to our flawed but feisty heroine to save the day, together with her wizard side-kick.

I really don't have all that much to say. It is just a really fun and quick read... with Fish and Feelers the gravediggers, homocidal shrubbery, Guardgoyles, zombies, grandmothers as last line of defense, a pirate captain in the attic and a main character who fills her basket with bricks for some extra punch. I would say, a perfect holiday read.

[Brandon Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second favorite of the Waterdeep series so far. Well written for the genre. Fun with interesting characters I would bring to my game as NPCs. It felt like Dnd without beating you over the head. Clever use of spells and magic items. Recommend.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones- This is the fourth book released in the Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series of stand-alone novels. The series is set in the Forgotten Realms setting of the pen and paper role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. The other novels in this series are Blackstaff Tower by Steven E. Schend, Mistshore by Jaleigh Johnson, Downshadow by Erik Scott de Bie, The God Catcher by Erin M. Evans, and Circle of Skulls by James P. Davis. Since these books are stand-alone, you can read them out-of-order. This is Rosemary Jones' second full-length novel set in the Forgotten Realms, her first was Crypt of the Moaning Diamond (part of The Dungeons). She has written a few short stories for various anthologies as well as co-authoring Encyclopedia of Collectible Children's Books. City of the Dead was released in 2009 and published by Wizards of the Coast.

The Carvers have been taking care of Waterdeep's cemetery, called the City of the Dead, since it was created. The family knows the graveyard inside and out. The families only daughter in a few generations, Sophraea, plans on leaving the family to pursue a career in dressmaking instead of caretakers. All she needs is a noble's signature to be accepted in an esteemed program. Good thing she knows an older nobleman! The problem is, somehow the dead keep rising and she decides to investigate. With the help of a wizard named Gustin, Sophraea tracks down the problem. But is it too late?

Criticisms:
1) Choppy. The main problem with novel is how choppy and cluttered actions and some sections are. The scenes felt like something was missing. Maybe a word, an action, or a sentence. The transitions between some paragraphs were poor and jumpy. For example, there was a scene with Sophraea and Gustin talking with something about these certain graves being opened. They are just talking, not much else is happening. Then suddenly, they appear next to the graves. No transitions, no sense or word of movement, nothing. It felt clunky and sudden. This just didn't happen once. Once would have been okay, but it happens every other chapter. This problem just really threw me out of the story.
2) Danger. This isn't a major problem, but it still is bothersome. No one really felt like they were in any actually harm. Even when you would think that a main character may be in harm's way, something happens and all anyone gets is a bump in the head or a little cut. It was more bothersome than anything.

Praises:
1) Characters. The two main characters, Sophraea and Gustin where wonderful. Sophraea did feel like a competent and different kind of heroine. She isn't all that powerful or amazing, but her mundane nature and innocence really sold me on her. She felt like a real person and not some all-powerful, all-knowing heroine. Gustin is pretty much the same way, except that he seemed a little more like an adventurer. Plus he has a wonderful sense of humor and an interesting outlook on life. With the other minor characters, they all played their parts pretty well. The best minor character, Lord Adarbrent, had more of a lonely old man presence that was unique. His character really showed a lot of depth that I wouldn't have thought he would have given the story. Another character, the antagonist, Rampage Stunk was a pretty good villain, albeit a little stock. The only problems with the characters are the silly names.
2) Premise. It was nice to see a story about the 'regular folk' in a fantasy setting. Just having the story revolve around the cemetery caretakers was interesting. It's the type of thing you would hardly see in a full-length novel, and I have to say that it really worked using 'normal' people. Then having the consequences of what is happening not be world shattering was interesting. Sure having the dead rise may not be a good thing, but it never had this epic feel to it and it really worked out for the best. It just was nice to see a story that wasn't overly serious and had characters that you would normally only see in passing as the main focus.

Side Notes:

1) Names. Oh dear god where these names just silly. Let's look at Rampage Stunk. Really? Rampage? Why not just call him Evil McBaddie? Then you have some of the Carvers family members names. They were just as bad, but I could let them slide because they weren't as silly as Rampage.
2) City of the Dead. I really liked how the cemetery was described. It never felt creepy or foreboding. It felt like a real life cemetery, only more magical.
3) Cover Art. It's interesting. I do like the blue 'ghosts' because they do catch your eye with the back ground being this brown-gray color. The only major issue is the size. I really do not like how small the actual picture is, and that border is why to distracting. I would rather have a full-length picture.

Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
City of the Dead was a pretty good read. When I first picked the book up I thought it would have been a horror story, but I was surprised that it's more of a comedy than anything else. However, the story did have some problems. For one thing, there were parts that didn't fit together well at all. They felt clunky and just a bit sudden. The other problem was that I never felt the characters were ever in mortal danger. Also, some of the characters names got under my skin after a while. However, the story does recover from these problems. The two main characters were great. Sophraea felt like someone you would meet anywhere. Gustin had this funny outlook on life that worked really well. Then you have the premise. Having a story about regular people and not some all-powerful adventurer was great. You got to see another side of Waterdeep. Would I recommend this? Yes. Anyone could pick this up and have a great time. City of the Dead was a good, fun, and lighthearted read.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones has a pretty linear plot line. It is a tale of revenge involving the graveyard that unwittingly puts a family and all of Waterdeep at risk of the walking dead. The main character, Sophraea Carver with the help of an out-of-towner “Better than some, worse than others” wizard Gustin Bone investigates to get to the bottom of the strange occurrences happening in the graveyard. A couple of subplots flavor up the story with the alternate agenda of Gustin’s visit to Waterdeep, a merchant man’s overreaching hand, an old lord’s ambition to keep Waterdeep from changing too much, a family’s day to day activities, and of course a love interest.

The pacing of CotD moves along nicely and doesn’t get too fast or bogged much down at all. The novel flows quite well, however, there are a couple of bumps in the road that, to me, interrupt it and that was due to the choice of names for some of the characters, names such as Fidelity, Judicious, Vigilant, and the antagonist Rampage Stunk. I found that I had to re-read sections to make sure that those were indeed the character names and not random words put in the sentence.

Ms. Jones was able to take the CotD and bring it to a much greater life than I have seen before. I have read in other realms novels where characters entered the graveyard but the vision that I got was nowhere near as vibrant as it was with reading this one. I also was given enough details to get the author’s vision without overbearing details.

I was able to connect well with all the characters. I even wanted to reach into the book and throttle the antagonist and his henchmen. The character development was also done very well, even the old Lord’s character developed some at the end. Other readers may find something different from me, but I was just having so much fun reading CotD that I may have missed a few things.

A couple minor criticisms:

1. Like I mentioned before, the names of the characters were a bit silly to me. I will say that at least they were not long jumbles of consonants crammed together, but using everyday words for names made it a bit confusing. I did like Sophraea’s father’s name and the way that it fit with the family’s profession.

2. Though there are some nice battle scenes throughout CotD, I just never really felt that the characters were in any mortal danger. I could easily predict a few times of how they could escape from the predicaments that they were in. I did enjoy some of the escapes though.

Some positives:

1. Aside from the title, this is definitely not a dark fantasy novel. It is very lighthearted and a joy to read. I do like dark fantasy as well, but this was nice as it was a break from the norm. It was just a fun, fun read

2. The characters were fun to read. The humor was not too silly or over the top. Each one seemed to have their own voice and make decisions logically based on the situations and their knowledge.

3. The writing was awesome. I had a hard time putting this one down. I looked forward to every moment I could get to jump back in. Ms. Jones knows how to keep things interesting and always leaves something to look forward to.

4. The vision added to the CotD made the graveyard as welcoming in the daytime as it was foreboding at night. I was very easy to envision the graves and mausoleums as well as a few added bonuses that truly enhance Waterdeep as the City of Splendors.

Overall, I enjoyed myself very much. I enjoyed Crypt of the Moaning Diamond also, but this was even better. If you only like reading dark fantasy or serious fantasy epics, then you may want to skip this one. Now if you re looking to get started into the Forgotten Realms, I can recommend this as a place to test the waters. There is no previous realms lore needed to understand how things are in Waterdeep. There is a small amount about the spell plague, but it is used differently in a way that enhanced the story. I am not a gamer, I have only read FR novels, but to me there was little to do with the 4E rules and this book did not seem much different from previous realms books. For those who are adamant about reading realms books because of the 4E, I would recommend trying this one out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

-Dimndbangr

[Pierre van Rooden · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Originally posted in a book discussion at Candlekeep)

I liked this book a lot. The characters were not overpowering, though I am unsure how powerful you need to be to animate stone... Gustin didn't seem very powerful, but letting a statue walks doesn't sound trivial. I liked Sophrea. I think she should have gone and become a seamstress at the end of the book though. It would have been a bit more unexpected (and there is nothing wrong with being a seamstress).

One thing bothered me in this book though, and that is the way the Blackstaff (and in fact, every person in Waterdeep with any interest in preventing undead armies marching the street, like the guards, or the bad guy's cronies) was presented.
I mean, nobody thought about following the hordes of undead when they walked about for most of a tenday? There are 100+ wizards and no-one bothered to get down to where these undead came from by following them? It is not like they are easy to miss. Even if all divination spells fail, you have mundane ways to track. And the Blackstaff not knowing about the Dead End gate sounds rather far fetched.
My theory would be that the Blackstaff knew what was going on and simply deemed it not worth the trouble to interfere. (As the author commented on my original post at Candlekeep, she is likely a bit preoccupied to worry about a few undead). Still, one would think someone of power would have been interested.And the Carvers dutifully fixing the gate every day and not bothering to put someone on guard at night, even after the gate is torn down several nights in a row, seems rather gullible. I would have put someone on watch after the first time someone opened the gate, just in case.

I also was a bit disappointed that the ugly, oily, fat guy was the bad guy. It would be nice to have an adventure where it is the other way around. I want an ugly, oily, fat guy to be the hero in a future book, please.

These nitpicks mean I have to tone down my rating to 4 stars. That still makes it a very enjoyable book.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are certain things I expected from a Rosemary Jones fantasy novel. A resourceful heroine, an affinity for the working class, some misfit characters, a great sense of humor, and thrilling action more akin to The Princess Bride than Conan the Barbarian. But City of the Dead tromps through George Romero's sandbox. How was she going to balance her playful romp style with the threat of an undead apocalypse?

When, about 4 pages in, I burst out laughing at a brief, non-verbal exchange between a protective statuary and ghostly essence of Waterdeep's famed necropolis, I knew I was in good hands. Somewhere between the topiary dragon, the "dark dearlings," and the mounting horror of what is about to be unleashed, I was completely won over. I ended up reading the book straight through, pausing only briefly for brief family activities, and couldn't go to bed until I finished it. That's the kind of book City of the Dead is: a spookhouse thrill-ride that grabs you by the hand and won't let go until you get to the other side. If you're a fan of fantasy fiction and have, know, are, or have ever been a teen girl, this should be on your shelf. If you like a fun story masterfully told, that goes double.

I eagerly anticipate her next book. And until then, I won't be able to "visit" Waterdeep without thinking fondly of the Carver family and the vital service they provide to the city.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. The only downside was the ending felt a little rushed, as if she couldn't quite get the idea there.

However - dancing with the dead has interesting connotations. I really have never liked the thought of zombies but this was well done. It had a reason and a well rehearsed plot.

The who and the why were obvious, but the reasoing and handling were well done.

There is even a foreword by acclaimed author Ed Greenwood.

Worth reading if you like magic and heroes and want the white knight to be female. And believable.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

It certainly wasn't what I expected of a Forgotten Realms novel set in a graveyard (It felt more like something set in Ankh-Morpork than Waterdeep) but I loved the characters, as well as the generally humorous tone of the book. I sincerely hope we'll see more of Sophraea and Gustin in the future.

[audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere in Waterdeep, Sophraea mused as the morning wore on, there were battles being fought across rooftops, intrigues being plotted in shadowy taverns, and clandestine assignations being made in perfumed bedrooms. But here, in her courtyard, there was laundry. Basket after basket of laundry filled with the enormous shirts and pants needed to cover a Carver male.

Synopsis: The Carver family has kept watch over Waterdeep's most important graveyard, the City of the Dead, for countless generations. But Sophraea, the Carver's sole daughter, finds herself in the middle of a complicated revenge plot with a cute green-eyed wizard at her side. Cameos by her great-grandmother the pirate captain, an enchanted ball of yarn (YES), guardgoyles, zombies, two severed hands (two!) and a homicidal shrubbery.

Oh so good. So good, y'all. I kept thinking of everyone on my flist I'd rec this to, and lost count. It's just fun.

Sophraea Carver comes from a long line of very large males, the Carver clan, who carve the monuments and guard the secret gate between the cemetary and Dead End House, their ancestral home.

As the only girl, she's longed for adventure! And excitement! What she gets are zombies. She should have been more specific.

The zombies attack by night, and by day, her family's beset by nouveau riche merchant Rampage Stunk (oh yes) and his army of really weird henchmen, bent on buying up tomb space in the coveted City. Things are very busy. And they get busier.

Basically, although this book is part of the Forgotten Realms series, but the label on the spine's really the only connection to the series. This is a gorgeous little standalone girls' own picaresque, equal parts Gormenghast, Discworld and the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. It's a delicious romp with a refreshingly flawed but gutsy heroine.

How awesome is this book? Allow me to demonstrate.

Awesome Thing the First!

In the middle of a stormy night, Sophraea wakes to the sound of Stunk's henchmen breaking into her family's workshop, to steal an old and very rare book. Now, your run-of-the-mill plucky heroine might creep down, nightgown clutched about her, to see if she could divine their evil plan. But no! Sophraea, possessed of a large family of men for whom melee combat is an avocation, instead dashes from the window and runs through the house banging on doors, shrieking "UP THE HOUSE! THIEVES! THIEVES!"

Awesome Thing the Second!

The men in her family do not get up right away. No no, they lie in their beds and grumble as their wives pummel them with cold feet and recriminations. Because hello, that's how this sort of thing would really unfold. Points for veracity.

Awesome Thing the Third!

Eventually the men come pouring out of the house in their nightgowns, awhooping and ahollering at the miscreants, shortly followed by all their wives, bearing brooms and pots and pans. Sophraea has led the charge with a mallet, and is gaily bopping miscreants. This does not sit well with her uncle, who carries her bodily out of the fray and sets her on the doorstep next to her grandmother, so that he and his wife can go back to whopping. Poor Sophraea.

But as her grandmother points out, "...why bother when you've got so many tall relatives who are having so much fun." Who can argue with that?

Awesome Thing the Fourth!

Her grandmother keeps the enchanted ball of yarn, the family's last line of defense. Which I am not going to spoil for all of you.

And basically the whole book's like that. Guardgoyles. Severed hands. Zombies. Gravediggers named Fish and Feelers. Banter. Homicidal shrubbery. A heroine who honest to goodness stomps her foot. A bedridden pirate captain who upsets people. The cousin who's never spoken of. Tiny little ghostly shoes.

"You have been hunting for days," said Stunk's wife, "and if you do not do something soon about this haunting, I will have to abandon my air of noble calm and succumb to strong hysterics. And then who will host your endless dinners?"

Do I even need to mention the bit where two of the gravediggers rip a zombie apart and beat other zombies to death with the remains?

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cosy D&D tie-in novel. No high fantasy magical duels or dungeon delving, merely the story of a girl who lives as part of a very large family of tomb-carvers who live next to a bustling, magical cemetary.

Naturally, there are undead creatures that break loose, but the true malevolence is restricted to the comically named businessman 'Rampage Stunk'. That alone should tell you the tone this book is aiming for, and it hits it very well, for while there's never any real sense of threat, there is much whimsy and a well-realised extended family with a whole book-load of quirks and characters.

Very non-traditional for a D&D story, with only one character who might have a recognisable 'class'. It's more of an urban investigation, making up for what it lacks in action with loveable characters.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating between 3.5 & 4

I found this a really enjoyable read
Nothing earth shattering or genre defining but simply a nice fun read.
The main characters were well defined if a bit predictable but nothing wrong with that. The various names of the Carver family did get a bit muddled up in my head at times but again didn’t spoil the read at all.
The actual plot is straightforward and easy to follow. This might be a good read for someone new to fantasy perhaps or just a good entry point into the forgotten realms world.
Overall a definite recommendation

[Kagan Oztarakci · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I swear the city has more strangers in it than native-born."..."It's why I never felt the need to travel. Everyone always comes here. If I want to see all the world's folks, I just stroll don to the harbor."

"Deciding one's whole life in a moment was not necessary..."

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better DND books I've read so far. The main character was interesting and a strong heroine. The book was a tad creepy because of the undead walking around, but I guess that's DND. Good storyline and read like a book rather than a campaign of many adventures.

[Rhonda Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

This book flowed easily. It made me want to read more of books like it. If you enjoy Dungeon & Dragon books, this one is a good one to read. Its one I think most woman will enjoy.

[Kenn Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the series so far.

[Nick Fanelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Well written and compelling.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this would have worked better as a short story rather than being drawn out as a novel. Plot and characters were only OK.

[Robinson Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

None of the stock descriptions I'd read about Rosemary Jones' book City of the Dead really did it justice or prepared me for the story within. While some, like what's on the back of the book cover, are technically correct, they just don't impart the lighthearted yet multi-layered feel of the book.

It was a pleasant surprise and and a joy to read. As an instant fan of Rosemary Jones' from Crypt of the Moaning Diamond, it was not a question of if I would buy City of the Dead, but when. So without reading much about the concept (or really even paying attention to the fact that Ed Greenwood was endorsing it), I was on the hook for Rosemary's next book.

The book is not a traditional D&D epic-type fantasy with overpowered heroes and endless trudging over picturesque landscapes to some predictable goal that can be found in some Fantasy novels and trilogies. No flaming swords of fire here! Not that I don't enjoy some of that sort of story now and again -- I do. But this new book really got me thinking about the different ways that one might approach shared-world inspired fiction and Fantasy novels in general. Rosemary really took a risk with this out of the box story concept and it paid off, at least for me. If I had to draw a comparison with another writer or style, I'd choose Charles Dickens. It's been over ten years since I've read anything by Dickens, but that's what Rosemary reminded me of with her new book.

But here I am four paragraphs in and I haven't even told you what the book is about yet. Well, the heroine is, for lack of a better description, a very ordinary young woman. She's powerful in her own way, to be sure, but most of her might comes from her strength of character and determination. "Plucky" is what Ed Greenwood calls her. She's very much a product of her upbringing, and Rosemary again introduces the concepts of class and being born into one's station that she touched on in Moaning Diamond. That said, she has an independent streak and a lack of desire to fall into some traditional role planned out for her.

Do you want a nutshell description of the story? I'm sorry but there really isn't one to give. The fun in reading this story is getting to know all of the characters within. The plotline is secondary. But if you've read this far then you're unlikely to be satisfied with that evasive answer so I'll put it another way. This is the story of a girl from a family of Carvers. Gravestone-carvers, that is, who lives in a city of magic and legend and cannot help but be swept up in adventure despite her best attempts to avoid it. Her name is Sophraea.

And when you get Sophorea you get the whole Carver family in the bargain, an interesting an unique bunch to say the least.

(SPOILER ALERT) A slightly more fantastic character, suitable for the D&D genre who is introduced as her partner later in the story is Gustin, a wizard. He casts spells and works rituals and while far from being overpowered, he adds a sense of the game that might otherwise be missing. I say this because if not for the setting of Waterdeep, the story of Sophraea might have been told just as effectively in a more generic horror setting.

Sophorea and her partner find curiousity getting the better of them, as well as a baddie with a very....Dickens-like name who just begs to be disliked. I must say that I was not surprised at all with one of the "mystery" twists at the end and saw it coming, but again, getting to know the characters was such fun that this did not impact the story negatively for me.

I strongly recommend Rosemary's book and hope that Wizards of the Coast will ask her to write another full novel soon.

[Waltrius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une jolie petite histoire toute simple mais pleine de charme dans un quartier passionnant de Waterdeep : La Cité des Morts, le cimetière géant de la Cité des Splendeurs.

Cette histoire est pour l'instant la meilleure de cette série sur Waterdeep, en grande partie parce qu'elle est très efficace sans pour autant partir dans l'épique qu'on a l'habitude de lire. Ici pas de combats de grands magiciens ou de complots politiques, ni même d'invasion de la ville. Dans *City of the Dead*, on vous parle de la vie des Carvers, cette famille dédiée corps et âmes à l'entretien du cimetière, au respect des morts et à la sculpture de ses belles statues. Un mystère pèse sur la Cité des Morts, mais il reste à portée humaine, et l'héroïne, Sophraea, est à la mesure de ce récit bien construit : un petit bout de femme, au caractère bien trempé mais pas une aventurière chevronnée.

On termine *City of the Dead* avec cette satisfaction d'avoir lu une bonne aventure de quartier, certes moins épique, mais plus humaine, et qui laisse au final un meilleur souvenir que bien des romans dans les Forgotten Realms.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the D&D/Forgotten Realms series' main draws is its action - after all, the books are made to complement a game whose players spend half their time locked in combat. "City of the Dead," however, bucks this trend, and it is a refreshing change of pace.

The heroine, Sophraea, is not a wizard or swordfighter, but an average Waterdhavian, youngest member of the city's family of graveyard maintenance workers and artisans, a little woman in a family of big men. Her sidekick, Gustin, is a wizard, but a bit of a bumbling one at that - equipped with a paltry variety of spells and only truly skilled with a couple of them, and out to use his small skills to cheat Waterdhavians of gold. While I love these novels for their strong, heroic protagonists, I found this a much-needed break within the Waterdeep books and the larger universe as a whole. Not everyone needs to be of the same calibre as Drizzt or Elminster.

That being said, I did feel that the characters weren't very deep or complex (due in no part to their more "normal" status). Aside from Sophraea, Gustin, and Lord Adarbrent, the other characters were practically caricatures, many of which bore bizarre naming choices (particularly Sophraea's father's generation, and especially the antagonist, "Rampage Stunk"). Soph and Gustin were great, but I would have liked a slightly better supporting cast.

Other than that complaint, this was a great novel for the D&D series, proving its novels can have magic, mystery, and intrigue without plunging into epic, drawn-out battle scenes every other chapter. Salvatore should be taking notes.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have fond memories of reading City of the dead at home in my parents back garden, on an uncharacteristic hot sunny day, I had the house to myself and my 2 dogs. I read City of the dead in record time for me, as I found I didn't want to put it down. Sophraea Carver is a really strong character among many in this book I loved her interactions with her pirate captain grand mother and Briarsting and his co-hort the topiary dragon.

After finishing City of the dead I decided to look up other books by Rosemary Jones and am now enjoying Crypt of the moaning diamond.

I wrote to the author just to say thanks for the memories and my enjoyment, and surpeisingly got a quick response. Which she responded with the following

"There's one more Carver story, about Leaplow Carver, in the anthology Realms of the Dead. And one of the characters in that has a tie to Crypt. Because I love cross referencing :)

Unfortunately, that's it, unless Wizards invites me back to their sandbox to play.

Right now I'm working on a number of short stories for several anthologies coming out in 2010 and 2011. I post new work available as soon as possible at my website.

Thank you for the great e-mail. Made my morning! "

Will deffinately follow her work and wish her all success.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those frustrated by the tiny print of the paperbook edition (i.e. all my relatives over the age of 30), there comes this e-book edition which allows my nearsighted, bookish family to make the print as large as they want. I also got a "finally found your book" from a friend in Hong Kong, who was able to magically download it onto his Kindle despite being far, far away from our usual bookstore haunts. So, yay to the publisher for bringing this out as e-book. Enjoy!

[E J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a third into this book and all I can think is, "where is this going? why is nothing except for slight hints here and there happening?" Get a fucking move on, it's been more than a hundred pages already.

---

Edit: Ok, I'm in the middle of Crypt of the Moaning Diamond, another book by Ms. Jones. I'm enjoying the heck out of that book so much that I'm going to have to reassess and revisit this book sometime in the near future.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good tale set in the city of Waterdeep. While not as fast paced as others the tale was good and on the whole more like a mystery story rather than an adventuring type. The many characters were colorful and interesting although there were some that stood out more then others. Would recommend the book for those that enjoy the world of Faerun.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible flat characters, a nothing-plot, and character names that would jar me out of the narrative so fast that my head would swim.
Truth be told, I got 66% through this. I may go back and finish it, but its not likely.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had rather bad luck in my book choices lately and found this book to be a delightful surprise. The characters are likable, the plot exciting and the setting vivid. Simply put, it was a great time.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good and not what you'd expect

[Pie Pie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story with great new characters and a wholly unique plot. I loved it's view of the city too.