Marked for Death

The Lost Mark #1

by Matt Forbeck

Marked for Death begins a new epic trilogy set in the world of Eberron, Wizards of the Coast’s newest D&D® campaign setting.

The Eberron world will continue to grow through new roleplaying game products, novels, miniatures, and electronic games.

AUTHOR Matt Forbeck has written and designed games for more than 14 years, for which he has garnered several awards. His most recent title for Wizards of the Coast was Secret of the Spiritkeeper, the kickoff novel for the Knights of the Silver Dragon™ young reader series for Mirrorstone™ Books.

Genres: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Audiobook, Collections, Novels, High Fantasy, Role Playing Games

377 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I'm an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and game designer and happily married father of five, including a set of quadruplets. For more on my work, see Forbeck.com.

Reviews

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off as a great book, but eventually became a repetitive loop of find the girl, lose the girl, find the girl, lose the girl. It is not so much a book unto itself, but rather the first chapter in an trilogy designed to draw in more money for WotC. I'm glad I only borrowed it from the library and didn't actually pay for it.

On the upside, it does give some great background for the Mournland of Eberron.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marked for Death is the first book in The Lost Mark trilogy. The second book in the trilogy is The Road to Death and the final book is The Queen of Death. The Lost Mark trilogy is set in the Eberron universe based on the Dungeons and Dragons setting of the same name. Matt Forbeck has written a number of novels, short stories, role-playing game rule/guide books, comic books, and video games. He has written a number of series including; the Blood Bowl series (Blood Bowl, Dead Ball, Death Match, and Rumble in the Jungle), a novel based off the video game Guild Wars titled Ghost of Ascalon co-written with Jeff Grubb, and Knights of the Silver Dragon series (Secret of the Spiritkeeper, Prophecy of the Dragons, and The Dragons Revealed). He has also written Mutant Chronicles, Amortals, Vegas Knights, and Carpathia. Marked for Death was released in March 2005 and published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

On the outskirts of the desolated Mournland, a small settlement is having a problem with townsfolk disappearing. Mardakine's Justicar, Kandler, has been investigating the disappearances and makes a grizzly discovery of a body. However before too much is learned, a group of Knights arrive in town looking for a certain dragonmark, a marking that grants powers to whomever has one. Before anything can be learned, zombies and vampires attack the small settlement. Those controlling the creatures are also on the look out for this dragonmark. Unfortunately for Kandler, his adopted daughter, Esprë, bears the mark and is kidnapped by those responsible for the attack. It's up Kandler, his friend Burch, and the Knights of the Silver Flame to rescue is adoptive daughter. Then he can worry about what the Knights want with her.

Criticisms:
1) Characters. There are two issues that really hold Marked for Death back, the most prominent one being how shallow and underdeveloped the characters are. It's hard to identify or even grasp who most of these people are aside from their obvious defining features. When you look at these characters, they seem to blend together. Some of the characters have specific drives but sadly that doesn't make a good character. There's hardly any development and when there is, it's mostly short bursts of random, out of place development, making it even harder to get behind them. Because of this, the story feels 'off' and almost incomplete in a way. It is almost as though the characters make the story felt lifeless and bland. Then again, it is hard to have an exciting story with characters that do not feel realistic or are one note.
2) Story. Marked for Death started out great, but fizzled as the story went on. Having Kandler's adoptive daughter kidnapped by the villains allowed for an interesting premise of him and his friends/allies getting her back. However, it fizzled because of one reason. After retrieving the girl, she always somehow, someway was continually kidnapped. The first time when this happened, it didn't really seem to matter but when she is constantly re-kidnapped, it feels like the story doesn't really know where else to go. It's almost as though it's a tool just to pad out the story, and was only there to forcibly move the story along. There could have been so much done with the story, just take the Knights of the Silver Flame for example. There could have been more conflict with them instead of the constant trying to recover Esprë. Story-wise it was a decent enough read, but felt recycled, especially when there could have been more done.

Praises:
1) Te'oma. Te'oma was the only legitimately interesting character. She wasn't "well-developed" but she had enough to have a presence and not come off as some cardboard cut-out. Her glances at her past really just make her feel unique and helped in having her stand out. It also helps that she herself is interesting, with being a changeling (akin to a doppelgänger, with the ability to change their appearance) and a psion (having the ability to look into someone's mind). The changeling aspect opened a lot of visually interesting ideas and problems, because Te'oma could have been anyone at any time. The psion/psychic aspect makes her a dangerous foe, easily able to manipulate her enemies into doing or seeing what she wants. It's an interesting choice to have a villain with those kind of abilities. It's a shame that they never really seemed utilized past the beginning. Te'oma is the one bright spot in the otherwise dull and boring characters in Marked for Death.
2) Action. The other major positive that Marked for Death has is action. Almost all the action scenes were superb and exciting. They were intense and they do make you wonder if the characters will make it out okay, and surprisingly some don't. From little skirmishes to grandiose large-scale battles, the action always felt fresh and interesting. There was never a dull moment when swords were being crossed and blood being spilled.

Side Notes:
1) Dragonmarks. Marked for Death is a good introduction to what dragonmarks are and how they play an important role in Eberron. Not a lot of information is revealed but it does pique your interest in finding out more.
2) Warforged. I honestly didn't know warforged were so warlike. I thought that they would act more individually and have their own minds. Aside from Xalt, the other warforged we meet are mostly battle crazed automatons.
3) Who Should Get This. Marked for Death doesn't really feel like a book you should read if you have no prior knowledge of the world. There are things that are nicely explained, but it never felt like a 'starter' book if you are unfamiliar with Eberron. Those with knowledge of the world would find it interesting, with a lot of back story given to the Mournland. That said, there is a wonderful glossary of terms and characters found in the back of the novel which does help.
4) Cover Art. Marked for Death has a very bland, washed out look in the cover art. It doesn't look bad, it just looks muddy and unappealing. Basically the cover art is just brown, and more brown. There isn't anything visually striking about it. Also, it looks a little too busy; with Kandler protecting Esprë from some unseen danger, Burch smelling some head in the ground (at least I think he's smelling), and Xalt (at least I believe who it is) firing a insanely large bow at something or someone in the distance. It's also inconstant with some of the details we learn in the novel, like the placement of Esprë's mark and Xalt never using any weapons. Quite frankly, nothing stands out and it just feels like your run-of-the-mill fantasy/adventure novel cover.

Overall: 2/5
Final Thoughts:
Marked for Death started wonderfully but as it went on, it fell apart. The characters and story felt weak after a while. Nothing interesting really developed with them. The characters were run-of-the-mill fantasy characters that never seemed to grow or feel real. From when you first meet these characters is almost exactly how you will end with them. They just didn't stand out or make any impact. The story felt like it was recycled, helped in part by having Esprë kidnapped again and again. It almost felt like the story was being forced to proceed and didn't seem to want to move on naturally. It just felt like the same things over and over. Thankfully, Te'oma is the only interesting and complex character in the story. She does save Marked for Death from being boring and monotonous. She brought life to the story, but unfortunately, she couldn't carry the story alone. Action scenes also saved this novel from being overly dull. All in all, Marked for Death isn't how you want to start a trilogy. With weak characters and an uninteresting plot, Marked for Death leaves the reader feeling bored and not into it.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matt Forbeck is not a terrible writer, and I didn't hate what I read here, but here's the problem: I got nearly 100 pages in, and while a couple of the characters were starting to come into their own, for the most part there were just too many, and the fairly obvious main plot which was building in the background just got NO screentime ... it didn't feel like a natural, organic build, it felt like ... let's throw filler out to make this into a trilogy. It just got to be a slog after awhile. Frustrating.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action packed and intriguing start to a subject that Eberron fans want to hear about.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's really about 2.5 stars for me. Interesting world development and a peak into a section of a cool realm.

The problems: Super repetitive, after a mostly solid start it is "girls is taken, girl is recovered, girl is taken, girl is recovered, girl is taken" etc etc.

Idiotic characters: I'm not just talking about the lack of development of the characters (they're all SUPER flat) but they constantly make idiotic decisions that have no place in the world they're supposed to live in. Then add the repetition problem - "We're allies, no we're not! We're allies again! Oh wait, nope! JK lulz, we're totes allies! Wait, we're not." Most of the characters are supposed to be powerful veterans, or highly trained fighters (or both) but they act like they're 13 year olds who have a 5 minute memory.

The good: The writing is fast paced and easily read. I say this because if it was a slog to get through the book it would be a horrible read. It's also actually pretty decent writing in and of itself, I just wish the story didn't come across like a teenager was running a dnd game for some friends who elected to be as cliche as possible but still managed to get the mission done before the DM had planed so he just kidnapped the princess again, and again, and again...

I'm torn, I'm not mad that I read it, but I wouldn't want to read it again. I WOULD, however, read more from this author. I somewhat got the feeling that he might have been stuck with what he could and couldn't do with some characters and that may have impacted the ability to tell a compelling story.

[Conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is written primarily as a D&D player.

As a D&D player and fan of the Eberron setting, I appreciate the descriptions given regarding the Mournland. It even expands the sociology of the Eberron specific race, the warforged, introducing interesting inspiration for future campaigns.
I originally picked it up, as I currently play a character with the Mark of Death and hopes to gain some further insight into what this could mean for the narrative as a whole. As this book is the first one and primarily one chase-sequence after the other, I've had no luck thus far. Hoping for more in the next two.

As a story it has its down sides, as I felt it dragged on at times. Given it has a map in the front and a glossary in the back (two of three things I wholeheartedly enjoy in any fantasy book) I can imagine it being enjoyable for readers that aren't in the know of the setting.
A personal annoyance is the "primary" antagonist of the story, the changeling Te'oma as she just seemed to get away and reappear too often. Seemingly her skillset is above the rest and it became a tad jarring towards the last third, as she yet again not only manages to slip away, but also drag the Mcguffin (a small Elven girl Espre) with her.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in playing D&D in Eberron.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely solid start to this trilogy. The only real letdown is the latter sixty to seventy pages, where the relatively fantastic pacing suddenly slows to a crawl so the author can depict the same events from multiple different perspectives in a very repetitive manner. Other than that, the first three hundred pages of this book are extremely well-written for a pulp novel, with snappy writing, decent characterisation, fun action, and cool set pieces.

The story revolves around a justicar, Kandler, and his quest to find and save his step-daughter Espre, who is rumoured to have the Mark of Death, a tattoo-like designation called a 'dragonmark' that denotes magical power. Everybody is after Kandler's daughter, including the Knights of the Silver Flame, a vampire, and a changeling. Adventure ensues when Espre is taken by the aforementioned vampire and changeling, leading to some seriously exciting events like riding on a stolen airship away from a deathless elf's abode and battling warforged (androids with human souls built for combat) to save a couple young knights. As far as sword and sorcery action goes, this is on the high-end of brand-based fantasy.

[Aran · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a couple things about the Eberron setting that were left for individual DMs to define and use as they wished and the lost dragonmark was one... and the SECOND novel published seems to use it!? Now, there are two more novels in this series so I'll see how it goes, and the Eberron wiki says it isn't clear it's THE lost dragonmark or perhaps just an aberrant dragonmark (as seen in the first novel) but for the second novel published I would think they would have just steered clear of the subject, at least for a while.

Now as to the actual audiobook the reader, Claire Christie, was excellent. The plot jumped around locations but didn't really advance the plots or character much but it wasn't too annoying because it felt like an actual D&D module. I liked the characters but it was telegraphed who was going to die by who got little more development than a name.

It was a enjoyable book and I like the added worldbuilding details the novel provides to the Eberron setting but it's not great literature. If you don't come at it from a D&D gaming mindset and more a fantasy literature one then you will probably enjoy this less.

[Marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dragonmark thought long lost to Eberron may have suddenly reappeared, throwing a former elite soldier and his companions into turmoil and chase across a magically scarred wasteland.

This entire series might have the biggest "cool stuff about setting or I'd steal for a game" vs. "painful to read" split of all the D&D novels I've ever read.

The good: a neat look at the Mournland, a cool encounter with an undead elf, and airship, and some great warforged material.

The bad: repetitive and wheel-spinning plot, a lack of character development, and less than stellar prose.

Final word: Come for the food ideas; you might leave for the bland execution.

[OldBird]

I'm new to the Eberron setting, and this one didn't exactly ease me in to the world. I kept feeling like I should know something of what was going on elsewhere already. Thinking it might not be a good place to start for a n00b. Also the opening chapters are about a dismembered female, which is kinda upsetting. Just not my thing.

[Steven Wilber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I enjoyed this book but found it a little disappointing. This may be because the other two Eberron books I have read were so good. But, as I said, I did enjoy this book and there were a number of things I liked about it:

First, the premise on which it was based was both interesting an intriguing. Basically, in Eberron there are twelve Dragonmarked Houses. A select few of the members of these houses are born with (or develope) dragonmarks which are marks on the body that look like tattoos and grant spell-like abilities to those born with them. Each house exclusively has one type of dragonmark. In the distant past there used to be thirteen dragonmarks but only twelve remain, as one family (the House of Vol) was mostly eradicated. The premise of this book is that the lost thirteenth mark, The Mark of Death, has returned. The good guys seek to find and protect the bearer of the mark while the agents of a cult known as the Blood of Vol seek to find and use the bearer for their own purposes.

Second, the book gives a nice overview of Eberron by incorporating a lot of Eberron-specific content into the story. For the most part this is done without overwhelming the reader. It does not read like a bunch of gaming information thrown into the novel. Instead it works within the structure of the story.

Third, the story is quick-paced and action-packed. The actions scenes are for the most part well written and descriptive.

While I often found myself sympathizing with the plight of the main characters and wanting to know more about them I thought this is where the book could have been improved.

For one thing, while the characters were interesting their actions were often inexplicable. For example, in the beginning when a group of strangers are expected of a very gruesome murder, the mayor orders the justicar (sort of a town sheriff) to arrest them and perform a trial by fire. The justicar refuses and the mayor has him arrested and thrown in jail. Does he then have the strangers (who happen to be Knights) arrested and subjected to the trial by fire. No, instead he invites them over to dinner unguarded and with their weapons. This is just one of many examples throughout the book of scenes that left me scratching my head.

Furthermore, at times the characters seemed flat and uninspired showing little development as the story progressed. The dialogue could also have been better.

Finally, the story does get a bit repetitive after a while, although not so much that I found it annoying.

Overall, I feel that the story got better as it went along and having started the second book in the series I can tell you that it is better than the first, especially in terms of character development.

So if you are a fan of Eberron or RPG-related books I would recommend this book. If you are looking for an intro to Eberron, this book is a nice place to start as are Don Bassingthwaite's "The Binding Stone" and Edward Bolme's "The Orb of Xoriat".

[Chip Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forbek's first attempt at the Eberron campaign setting was pleasing. The plot line is great and should lead to highly pleasing follow-up novels. The characters are very entertaining, and while they are extremely stubborn (and frustrating), you'll find yourself really getting to know them and caring about what happens to them. The fight scenes are intense and well-done, with brutal injuries being handed out left and right in realistic and gory detail. While many of the previous reviewers have complained about the repetitious nature of the plot, with Espre being captured time and again, it actually worked rather well for this novel. Warforged followers of the Lord of Blades (who we met in the Dreaming Dark trilogy) play a large part in this novel. They take on a much more human aspect, with emotions and sensitivity to pain, that they lacked in Keith Baker's trilogy.

***spoilers***

Kandler's step daughter, an elf named Espre, turns out to be a very special (and highly sought-after) girl because of the appearance of the lost 'Mark of Death' on her back. The plot gets going when forces from Karrnath appear to capture her out from under the noses of Kandler and a group of knights of the silver flame (who were also out to find her). As Kandler, his shifter friend Burch, and the knights set out to rescue her, they end up trekking through the Mournland and encountering all kinds of foes. They are able to track down and overwhelm their enemies time and again only to have a sneaking shifter named Te'oma re-kidnap her every time. It is sort of funny how every time Kandler has Espre in his arms once again and you think he surely won't allow her to be captured again, something bizare happens and Te'oma is there to take advantage. Frustrating at times, but it keeps the story going at a very quick pace.

The cover art is somewhat confusing, displaying blatant inaccuracies about the characters and their roles, but that shouldn't really bother anyone.

Overall, I really liked this book and look forward to reading the next.

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very cyclical and cliche in format. Love the concepts and loved the way that the world was presented by the author. That being said, the character development was poor. I'm listing it, because there really isn't that much to say: veteran protagonist must save helpless daughter, she's kidnapped, trusty sidekick helps the vet from "The Last War" (which is a fantastic concept that we can only hint at because this is an absolute world-building book and series--bear in mind this book is a subseries in this world), the rescue mission becomes quite cyclical after they capture this "helpless" woman/daughter who is being kidnapped by various factions because of her powers... yes, a tad cliche.

Think Taken, with sidekicks and in a fantasy land with cool fighting and vampires and other things that go bump in the night.

Read this as a kid and really enjoyed it, but now I question whether the damsel in distress theme that drives the plot can be reconciled with 21st century egalitarian ideals.

[Troy Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt kicks off the Eberron campaign setting with an action-packed tale that blends some old west sensibilities re-skinnned for a fantasy tale (notably a sheriff and his posse), a quest for a kidnapped daughter and a lot of undead adversaries. Things around the Mournland are creepy, weird and dangerous -- a sense of danger that is maintained throughout the narrative. The hallmark of this story is the action scenes.

[Trey Moonwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly - this is a D&D novel. No quality expectations here - just unmitigated tripe. But for a D&D novel, I quite enjoyed it. Eberron is my favorite of the published campaign settings, and this book did well capturing the noir/pulp magitech combo that makes Eberron what it is. The writing was halfway decent, the characters were actually quite engaging, and the plot was only mildly nonsensical. As I said - few expectations, but a great trashy read for a rainy day.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this trilogy by recommendation of my friend Melissa. This is my first foray into reading anything rooted in the world of Eberron, but so far it's an entertaining adventure story. It badly needed more attention from the editor than it got, though, so be aware that there are quite a few typos, and at least one spot where I'm fairly sure the writer had referenced one character when he probably meant to reference another for the scene to have made sense. Otherwise fun though.

[Trevor · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG! This is one of the worst D&D Books I've ever read. And that's saying something. The book is the same thing over and over again. Find person, capture person, said person escapes. Ad Nausem. ARGH! I have a pretty low threshold for D&D books, but this one is well under even my poor threshold

[Mark Schebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent series set in the Eberron campaign setting for D & D.

[Julianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real light read, short and formulaic but diverting.

[Matthew Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intriguing beginning to a promising series, I can't wait to read the rest of it.

[Dag Syrdal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Forbeck does not disappoint, a pulp matinee serial slash Western slash Fantasy Epic, it is a very clever approach to eberronesque genre mashing.

[Elessar]

Amazing writing and plotline, a bit predictable though.

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[REVIEW TO COME LATER UPON RE-READ.]