The Shattered Land

The Dreaming Dark #2

by Keith Baker

Xend’rik. The dark continent. A land of once-proud empires that now lie in ruin. A land shrouded in mystery where monsters and dark powers stalk the jungles, where only the bravest and most foolhardy will venture.
Now a band of war-weary soldiers must brave the depths of Xen’drik in search of an artifact that is the last hope to save one of their own.

Genres: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Fiction, High Fantasy, Role Playing Games, Audiobook, Romance

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 7, 2006

About the author

I've been interested in games since I first fell under the sinister influence of the Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, back in sixth grade. Over the last few decades I have managed to turn gaming from a hobby into a career. Here is a list of the highlights of my life as a game designer. If you have any questions, let me know!

From 1994-2002, I fell into the computer games industry. My first job was with Magnet Interactive Studios, in Washington DC. Sadly, Magnet never managed to hit the big time as a game developer. I worked on a number of projects during my stay at Magnet; for a time I was lead designer on a game called BLUESTAR, a position that was held at other times by such roleplaying luminaries as Ken Rolston and Zeb Cook. However, the only work that ever saw the light of day was some level design on the abstract arcade game Icebreaker.

Magnet began a slow implosion in 1996, and along with a number of other people I went to work for a Colorado company called VR1. I started as lead designer on VR-1 Crossroads, a text-based MUD centered on warring conspiracies – The X-Files meets Illuminati, with a world of dreams thrown in for good measure. When VR1 decided to move away from text games, I started work on a graphical MMORPG based on the pulp serials. After a few twists and turns, the project ended up being known as Lost Continents. But early in 2002 I decided that I'd had enough of the computer games industry and left VR1 to focus on writing. Then in June of 2002, Wizards of the Coast announced their Fantasy Setting Search, and I thought: What about pulp fantasy? And the rest is history. . .


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

Reviews

[Blake Billings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like "The Shattered Land." I've read through the "Eberron Campaign Setting," so I thought I was prepared for a world that is very morally gray, constantly being on my toes for deception or back stabbing. The turn of events in this story was something I wasn't expecting, and I loved it. I was also very intrigued by the differences of the Drow in this world versus the Forgotten Realms. Honestly, I found it very refreshing. Faerun always feels like there is such distinct boundaries between good and evil, light elves and dark elves. I really liked that light and dark really didn't have much to do with the other. Although there is in-fighting between the dark elves in both worlds, the chaotic evil aspect was not a factor in Eberron. Great story, great characters and character building. I look forward to the conclusion.

[Newton Nitro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma resenha rápida do segundo volume da trilogia Dreaming Dark, escrita por Keith Baker, dentro do fantástico munto "magipunk" de Eberron!

The Shattered Land (Eberron: The Dreaming Dark #02) - Keith Baker | NITROLEITURAS #fantasia #dungeonsanddragons #eberron | 374 páginas, Wizards (2006) | Lido de 01.07.17 a 4.07.17

SINOPSE

Xend'rik. O continente sombrio. Uma terra de antigos impérios orgulhosos que agora estão em ruína. Uma terra envolta em um mistério, onde monstros e poderes sinistros habitam suas selvas perigosas, onde somente os mais valentes se aventurarão.

Agora, um grupo de veteranos de uma grande guerra irá explorar as profundezas de Xen'drik em busca de um artefato que é a última esperança de salvar um dos seus.

Um ano depois dos eventos em CITY OF TOWERS, nossos aventureiros se estabeleceram em High Walls, mas Daine ficou atormentado com colapsos e sonhos perturbadores - sonhos contendo memórias do Dreaming Dark. Anteriormente, ele não se lembrava dos acontecimentos da noite anterior à destruição de sua pátria.

Este novo conhecimento é sinal de uma invasão mental. No entanto,para salvar sua própria vida e evitar uma maior destruição para Korvair, Daine precisa viajar para o continente destruído de Xen'drick. Pierce e Lei, é claro, não permitirão que ele vá sozinho

SHATTERED LAND é a continuação da saga iniciada em THE CITY OF TOWERS.

RESENHA

SHATTERED LAND segue a excelente narrativa de CITY OF TOWERS, usando o que já foi construído sobre o grupo de aventureiros, e aumentando o quesito aventura, com a exploração do continente sombrio e selvagem de Xend'rik.

A moralidade da narrativa continua bem cinzenta, com muitas reviravoltas e traições bem legais, e essenciais para esse gênero de literatura, ao meu ver.

Parte da minha diversão durante a leitura da saga THE DREAMING DARK é ver como Eberron se difere do padrão D&D, ou seja, recomendo para quem curte os romances de FORGOTTEN REALMS, para ver outras interpretações das raças tradicionais! Os elfos negros então, véio, é doidimais em Eberron!

Os mistérios dos personagens se aprofundam, e para mim, o grande destaque da narrativa até agora é o modo como Keith Baker tratou da psicologia do fantástico Pierce, o warforged. Dramas tradicionais de seres artificiais, sua visão dos humanos, o modo diferente com que lidam com emoções, etc, ficaram bem legais na narrativa. Para quem está interessado em jogar Eberron usando um Warforged, o personagem Pierce é um bom guia!

Um aviso, o livro termina em um gancho, ou melhor, no meio de um clímax que só se resolve no terceiro livro da trilogia. Meu conselho é ler os dois livros finais da trilogia como se fossem um só, para evitar o choque.

Me diverti demais com esse livro, os vilões foram sensacionais, e o bicho pega nas selvas de Xend'rik, em um climão meio Vietnã-inferno-verde doidimais!

Fica a recomendação para quem curte uma fantasia mais focada em ação, com personagens bem construídos, e para quem queira conhecer o cenário Eberron do Dungeons and Dragons RPG.

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[Iñigo H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso he disfrutado muchisimo con este libro

[JJacy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the Jungle (of Xen’drik)

Will will have wanted to have read the first book in the series as there are some key points of the main character’s exposition.

So, it is logical to compare to the first book. This one is better. The first made the city of Sharn the best character but in this one, while the jungle is generally interesting and the settlement of Storm Reach is interesting it is the characters’ time to be front and center.

The characters each got their own histories highlighted and a means to explain some of their motivations. The battles were interesting too.

The author did rely on the “no time to explain” cop out that was overly present in the first book, at one point a character did say what we (the readers) were thinking, to paraphrase “I am not doing anything more until I get some explanations”. Yeah!

Ends in an interesting fashion and since at time of my review the third story is published it’s okay to say the story ends on a cliff hanger in a good way.

Overall it’s getting better and I look forward to the next book.

[Zehavit · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is an argument raging between me and my son about how this book is written. I recon the author just rolled a d20 and randomly picked up the way the encounters evolve and he recons this is based on an actual gameplay. Either way it translates to an enormous amount of fun. Our band of misfits are making there way through the mysterious land of Zen’drik where a race of giants disappeared without a trace leaving behind sprawling ruins and bizarre artefacts which it’s current occupier scavenge and reverse their technology with dubious success. As is the case before, you can’t trust anyone, there is a lot of chaos and the main character loses his sword…. AGAIN! It ends up on a cliff hanger so I am already chomping my way through the next boom and living it just as much.

[Sam Sotrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably mostly nostalgia got this one 4 stars. I found an audiobook version and listened to it while I did chores as background noise.

I read it in high school and it gave me a bunch of warm feelings remembering DND and board game nights then and comparing it to current DND and board game nights.

Thorn of Breland is much better btw. I think that one is objectively good fantasy with heavy DND added in. This is HEAVY DND stuff with a plot thrown in. if you have no idea who Keith Baker is, or what Eberron/"The Dreaming Dark" is, you're gonna be bored to tears.

Starting book 3 when my next pile of endless laundry or dishes appears!

[Titan4Christ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t think it was possible to make Xen’drik - continent of lost civilizations, wild magic and mysterious species - dull, but this book somehow accomplished it. Outside of learning about a variation of belief in the Host that worshipped them as dragons and the main character’s relationship with Nei there was nothing in this book that excited me. I still highly recommend the first and third entries in an otherwise great series, however.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this second part of the Dreaming Dark series, but I found that the plot was a bit strained by characters not answering questions and keeping annoying secrets about what was going on and why - I feel like Daine (one of the POV characters) would have gone insane with all the half-answers, evasive hints and vagaries.

I also didn't really understand the final confrontation, which didn't feel properly explained, but maybe that's be being dumb!

[Katie Hargroves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minus a star for a freaking cliff hanger!! But I am falling more in love with Keith Baker's world. I loved the twist and the character development. Especially with my favorite Warforge, Pierce. Can't wait to read the conclusion.

[Tim Ludy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good continuation of this fantasy series. It felt like it had some issues of being the middle book of a trilogy where there was a lot of time getting the stage set for the final book. I liked all of the new characters and the direction the story is heading.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for Eberron lore - warforged, artificers, dragonmarks, kalashtar - without being excessively expository. And the story is good. But the ending was exceedingly abrupt and not satisfying. Readability 6. Rating 6.

[Sean Gaskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love keith baker

[DangerKitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Even as"

[John Bowie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book left a lot of questions unanswered, and didn't close the story. Disappointing ending to the trilogy

[José Vicente · Rating 4 out of 5]

No es alta literatura dé ficción, pero tampoco lo pretende. Una aventura en una extraña jungla con emoción, batallas y algún giro de los acontecimientos en la típica novela pulp.

[Aran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book ends on a cliffhanger in the middle of a fight so it should be taken in context with the next book. I'll revise this review after I finish that one to account for both books.
EDIT: I've finished the third novel in the trilogy and I was a little underwhelmed by these two books because they don't really have a story for what a typical player in Eberron could expect and that was kind of what I was anticipating for the first trilogy of a whole new campaign setting. The story isn't bad just not what I was looking for. My criticism of this book in particular is that it takes about 3/4 of the book to really get to the meat of the story. Once it gets going though it's more enjoyable. Listener beware: the narrator changes in book three. I generally don't care for when they do that.

[Steven Wilber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the second book in the Dreaming Dark trilogy, has a little bit of everything. There is plenty of action and adventure and all the magic one might expect in a D&D-related book. But at its most basic level this book is mystery set in the fantasy world of Eberron (and a very good mystery at that).

The Shattered Land is filled with plot twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Add to this an interesting set of characters all with their own mysterious background and what you get is an exceelent story that keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat, eagerly awaiting to see what comes next. While I was able to see some of the plot twists coming, many of them caught me by surprise.

One aspect of the book (and the series in general) that I really enjoyed is that the motivations of the characters are often unclear. The characters are well thought out and have interesting backstories. Many of them are wrestling with their mysterious pasts and trying to figure out how the past is related to the events and struggles they are currently facing.

The author does an excellent job of dropping clues without revealing everything. This keeps the reader guessing about how various events fit together with the main thread of the story. Some of these mysteries are solved (at least in part) in this book while others are left unanswered (presumably until the third novel is released).

As mentioned by some of the other reviews, the book does an excellent job of familiarizing the reader with the setting. The reader is brought along as the characters explore the mysterious continent of Xen'Drik, almost sharing in the discoveries.

One word of warning. This is the second book in the series and to fully enjoy it and follow the mysteries I recommend you first read The City of Towers, also written by Mr. Baker.

[Walter Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book our heroes plunge into Xen'drik, the "Dark Continent" of Eberron. This is the setting for the D&D source-book Secrets of Xen'drik as well as Dungeons and Dragons On-Line.

Since this is the place most closely tied to the creation legends & cosmology Baker has invented for Eberron, there is much in the background of the plot to savor and enjoy. This is more marred by the fact that Baker never misses a chance to load more "destiny" on every protagonist.. secret origins, prophecies.. it gets tiring to keep track of a half-dozen Paul Atreideses in one book.

By virtue of being more linear, it is also much more readable than City of Towers, although it still splits up the "party" (if you will) and is frustratingly inept about moving from POV to POV. Also, the tendency to violence shown by our protagonists hits properly barbaric levels in this book - a jarring prospect to observe from inside Daine's perspective in particular.

I often found myself guessing which D&D spell or feat was being described, or amusing myself by imagining whether a character was incapacitated because their player missed that gaming session, and the like. Snobbish literary sneering aside, this book, for all its faults was a big improvement of City of Towers, and one I could see myself reading again.

[Hyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the first book, simple soldier trying to survive after the war. They make us discover the city of Sharn with a lot of background on Eberron univers. Nothing deep but enjoyable.

The second book took the heroes into another continent of Eberron. They all going there to save Daine because somebody ask him to trust her they will possibly find help there. What? She can't said.

So what happen next, full of chaos and betrayal. The author is trying to force more Eberron background into the story but failed to make it interesting. Xend’rik look to be a place of magic but very chaotic. But instead of developping like Sharn in the first book, its just a succession of new monsters and characters... so you don't really care.

The other aspect is from simple soldiers in the first book they are now part of prophecy, each characters discovered something about a mysterious past that make them with new purpose out of nowhere.
Interaction between characters are not well done, half the book they are angry about each others. The author repeats thing too much so you don't really have surprise or didn't care.

Not all bad, I could read without skipping any pages :) But Keith Baker finish the book with a good twist in the last line that surprise me that make me want to read the third book so I give it a third stars for that.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book was much better than the first, The City of Towers. It doesn't feel like watching a D&D play session anymore.

In terms of plot and continuity, well, the why of Daine and his group going to Xen'drik felt like a plot hook that you'd get from an off-the-shelf adventure module. The story pretty much stands on its own - like an episode of an ongoing TV series. There's good pacing of action in this book; makes you want to keep reading. Not to mention the juicy bits of lore of that continent.

Note that there's a cliffhanger at the end with a lot of unanswered questions. I prefer good closures, but since I bought book 3 already, I can just continue.

As for the protagonists, they're getting developed more - possibly a bit too much. Every single one of them seems to have a powerful destiny or hidden background just teasing to be revealed. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I hope they make sense in book 3. The new villains though, are very intriguing; I hope book 3 keeps that up.

On the whole, this adventure was an enjoyable read. Time to pull out book 3.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat disappointed with this book. At first, I found it quite enjoyable and I went through the first half of it even with some interest. Then, all of a sudden, the narrative became a session of D&D 3.5, and not really interesting for that matter. The party split in two and it seems Baker had some difficulty working with two different story arc. At the end of the book I was bored and felt no real interest for the characters's fate. I did enjoy the first book which, contrary to many reviewers, seemed to me a "real" novel, and not just a D&D narrative. I'll read the third book out of curiosity now, rather than anticipation.


First of all, I did enjoy it much more then the previous reading. Second, I was sort of missing the Eberron "flavor" and I was also convinced that a second reading would help me understand the setting better.

I paid closer attention to the background elements and I'm amazed at the variety and consistency displayed by K. Baker in his novel. What I probably still don't like is the portrayal of some of the characters: Lei first of all, but Daine too. They are just too simple, too predictable. Still, now contrary to what I previously wrote, I'd like to know the party's future, especially the role the Lakashtai will play in the end.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book in this series was captivating with its setting and plot in a word that felt fresh and new. The second book unfortunately loses that sense of grandeur in lieu of telling a simple quest story. Disappointingly the whole book is a quest to heal one of the main characters of a mental illness he received in the first book.

A lot of this book is an endless series of the characters getting captured at various stages of their journey, then getting saved by some new character that pops up with some new agenda. The characters rarely think things through or prepare, rushing headlong into situations and trusting the wrong people. The main character wakes up over and over again in darkness, trapped in either some mental or physical prison, and trying to escape. It makes the novel very difficult to follow.

The other subplot of the book revolves around the question of whether the war forged are people or machines, similar to the plots of countless sci fi books about androids ever since Asimov. This book doesn't really add anything new.

Overall a frustrating book, as it falls far short of the standard set by the first volume.

[Chip Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith Baker's second insallment of the Dreaming Dark trilogy is even better than the first. The story takes on a much more mysterious and important feel. Plenty of dark secrets about the characters and their fates are hinted at. The adventurers from The City of Towers return in this one to travel to the land of Xen'Drik (or something like that), where they face all kinds of unique and unexpected challenges. Drow elves (with a very unique background) and rogue war-forged hold dark secrets and rule the isolated land with powerful magics. Fate plays a big part in this story, with the characters being drawn into events that seem way over their heads but are nonetheless theirs to experience and deal with. Lei and Pierce play larger roles in this second book, sharing more of the "main character" spotline with Daine.

The book has a pretty exciting climax, but just when you think you finally understand what is really going on, you're thrown for another loop. The book ends with a dramatic cliffhanger, begging you to run out and by the next book ASAP.

Read the Dreaming Dark trilogy, you won't be disappointed!

[Robert Carlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. The second in the trilogy. More adventures with Daine, Lei and Pierce. I really wished I would have read these books when they first came out. Eberron is a very fascinating world that was created. The flying ships with elementals bound to them. Ships sailing the ocean with air elementals bound to the sails. The warforged are just awesome to read about. Really great story that did have it's start in the first book. Listening to the explanation of how the Giants first ruled the world, and then the battle of the planes is great. No dragons so far, but there are rumors of them of course. Overall a great new world to read about.

[Razakius · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the Dreaming Dark Trilogy, I really enjoyed this book. Once I got midway in, it became really exciting and I found it hard to put the book down. I think this series is putting the word "Trilogy" to the test as this book doesn't really mesh in with the first book in the series outside of the fact that it shares the same characters. Still I really enjoyed this one, I Heard it was the best of the three but I am still looking forward to the last.

[Matthew Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great second book. It leaves you wanting to know more in the end only to lead you on to the dismal third book. This book takes you to Xen'drik and the vast unknown that is found there. It also introduces you to great new characters. There are still a few moments where confusion will easily consume you because the author likes to tell the same story from multiple points of view. Regardless, a good read.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid enough middle entry but frustrating in the most obvious of ways: The characters don't move the plot. The plot moves them. They follow along in the dark, making pretty bad decisions that seem avoidable. But the overarching plot of the trilogy opens up a bit, and it's generally pleasant reading. Pierce receives a bit more attention, which is nice. The bizarro drow are different, at least, if not particularly exciting. Sets up nicely for the third installment--I dug the cliffhanger.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. There's a cliffhanger and a twist in the last few pages, and I admit that I didn't really see it coming.
It follows the protagonists through a dangerous land in search of a powerful artifact. Pretty standard fantasy stuff, but it's written well and enjoyable. I would recommend it if you've read the first book in the series.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoa... really busy, harder to follow than City of Towers. The middle book of a trilogy, and nothing is resolved here. I think there's an overarching story, but it is buried under lots of fighting, magic weirdness and shifting alliances. I'll finish the set, but it's going to have to be really something to tie all this together.

[Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whole lot of running around and fighting, but not much else to really keep my interest, reading it almost became a chore. I'll finish the trilogy just to see if there's any kind of payoff, but it's not going to be a book I rush out to get.