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The Dreaming Dark #1
The City of Towers
The City of Towers launches a brand new novel line set in the world of Eberron, Wizards of the Coast’s newest D&D campaign setting.
Author Keith Baker’s proposal for the exciting world of Eberron was chosen from 11,000 submissions, and he is the co-author of the Eberron Campaign Setting, the RPG product that launched the setting. The Eberron world will continue to grow through new roleplaying game products, novels, miniatures, and electronic games.
Keith Baker is a freelance writer and game designer. In 2003 his proposal for the world of Eberron was selected as the winner in the Wizards of the Coast fantasy setting search.
Author Keith Baker’s proposal for the exciting world of Eberron was chosen from 11,000 submissions, and he is the co-author of the Eberron Campaign Setting, the RPG product that launched the setting. The Eberron world will continue to grow through new roleplaying game products, novels, miniatures, and electronic games.
Keith Baker is a freelance writer and game designer. In 2003 his proposal for the world of Eberron was selected as the winner in the Wizards of the Coast fantasy setting search.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
220 people are currently reading
999 people want to read
About the author
Keith Baker
73 books190 followersI'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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
September 20, 2008
Keith Baker is really amazing at building worlds - the Eberron cosmology has rare depth and complexity. I greatly enjoyed the exposition - clunky or not - and the glimpses of a wide and living world behind the story.
Sadly, these shine through like a diamond in the rough. The actual story is a mess of wandering sub-plots, afflicted by the the telltale maladies of a "D&D campaign as book."
Each of the four protagonists (which I found myself referring to as the "player characters") is saddled with a special destiny and hidden past, and by the end of the book these have weighed the characters down beyond the lifting capacity of the muddled plot.
Still, it is worth reading to acquaint oneself with the world and the characters.. but don't expect much of it. A very mediocre example of the D&D Fantasy genre, relieved only by excellent world-building.
Sadly, these shine through like a diamond in the rough. The actual story is a mess of wandering sub-plots, afflicted by the the telltale maladies of a "D&D campaign as book."
Each of the four protagonists (which I found myself referring to as the "player characters") is saddled with a special destiny and hidden past, and by the end of the book these have weighed the characters down beyond the lifting capacity of the muddled plot.
Still, it is worth reading to acquaint oneself with the world and the characters.. but don't expect much of it. A very mediocre example of the D&D Fantasy genre, relieved only by excellent world-building.
December 30, 2016
Ebberon is a new world to me, and I bought this book just to test the waters (I'll be buying more in the future). I was surprised at how quickly and completely I became absorbed in this book. The world of Ebberon is a masterfull blend of pure fantasy (with gnomes, goblins, elves, and ogres) and science fiction (from flying ships and buildings to teleportation and sentient robots). As Daine, Jode, Lei, and Pierce explore the great city of Sharn, the wolrd of Ebberon is introduced in a manner which allows for no prior knowledge of the settings to fully appreciate the story. The characters are complex and each have somewhat mysterious pasts that will be explained in following books. The storyline is intriguing and I can't wait to read the next two books.
I was very impressed with the world of Ebberon, a world in a dark age in which powerful forces combat with magic and technology. This first book gives a glimpse into a world which promises to hold plently of mysteries and wonders. Can't wait for more.
I was very impressed with the world of Ebberon, a world in a dark age in which powerful forces combat with magic and technology. This first book gives a glimpse into a world which promises to hold plently of mysteries and wonders. Can't wait for more.
January 18, 2015
This book definitely came as a pleasant surprise. Being new to the world of Eberron, I was delighted to discover a world setting for which I had been searching for a long time, one that combines fantasy and sci fi in such a way that opens up huge possibilities for storytelling and worldbuilding. And the setting for this particular tale is even more enthralling - a massive vertical city built upon impossibly tall towers, each housing its own kind of culture from the tops to the depths.
But all that aside, I was surprised at the quality of the writing from Keith Baker. He definitely brings the world and the character to life in just the right way. That, and the performance of the narrator, made the dialogue sound witty and natural, and the characters burst with life. Also the nature of the story as kind of a detective-type story and not an epic world-shattering event felt very refreshing.
Another thing that I like about Eberron is the integration of the races. In this world, the traditional evil races such as goblins, orcs, and even medusa are not simply enemies that pop out to try and kill the characters. These races exist in their own pocket of Sharn, with their own societies, and their own rules. Traveling there does not necessarily battle has to occur - although racial tensions still make such an encounter likely. But when battle does occur, it's just as likely to be between a human and dwarf, or some other race. That kind of leveling of the playing field also makes Eberron feel refreshing and interesting.
I enjoyed this one a lot, and hope to check out the other two books in the series and maybe other books by Keith Baker.
But all that aside, I was surprised at the quality of the writing from Keith Baker. He definitely brings the world and the character to life in just the right way. That, and the performance of the narrator, made the dialogue sound witty and natural, and the characters burst with life. Also the nature of the story as kind of a detective-type story and not an epic world-shattering event felt very refreshing.
Another thing that I like about Eberron is the integration of the races. In this world, the traditional evil races such as goblins, orcs, and even medusa are not simply enemies that pop out to try and kill the characters. These races exist in their own pocket of Sharn, with their own societies, and their own rules. Traveling there does not necessarily battle has to occur - although racial tensions still make such an encounter likely. But when battle does occur, it's just as likely to be between a human and dwarf, or some other race. That kind of leveling of the playing field also makes Eberron feel refreshing and interesting.
I enjoyed this one a lot, and hope to check out the other two books in the series and maybe other books by Keith Baker.
August 11, 2020
I am bummed to say I could not finish this.
The setting is phenomenal, the world building for Eberron is so cool, but the story itself was moving at a snail's pace.
I read between a third and half of the book and set it down because for in all that reading, it felt the story was going absolutely nowhere and I wasn't sure I was all that interested in what happened.
If you're a fan of the D&D setting, you get a pretty great look at Sharn and some of the after effects of the Mourning, but beyond that, it's a story that is not interested in getting around to being told.
The setting is phenomenal, the world building for Eberron is so cool, but the story itself was moving at a snail's pace.
I read between a third and half of the book and set it down because for in all that reading, it felt the story was going absolutely nowhere and I wasn't sure I was all that interested in what happened.
If you're a fan of the D&D setting, you get a pretty great look at Sharn and some of the after effects of the Mourning, but beyond that, it's a story that is not interested in getting around to being told.
November 23, 2020
tl:dr As a story, it moves between boring and unpleasant. As a primer on life in Sharn, it's solid and I learned some things that will help me run a 5e Eberron campaign.
In more details: the prose is boring, the banter is boring and not clever or funny, the story wanders and diverges like an RPG session. Yeah, I know but this a book and not an RPG session - I'm not playing here, I'm passively reading and a captive audience to the writer.
In more details: the prose is boring, the banter is boring and not clever or funny, the story wanders and diverges like an RPG session. Yeah, I know but this a book and not an RPG session - I'm not playing here, I'm passively reading and a captive audience to the writer.
July 1, 2017
De volta para a literatura de fantasia, começo a leitura da trilogia Eberron: The Dreaming Dark, de Keith Baker, que já estava fazendo poeira na minha pilha de "para ler algum dia!"
The City of Towers (Eberron: The Dreaming Dark #01) - Keith Baker | NITROLEITURAS #fantasia #dungeonsanddragons #eberron | 390 pgs, Wizards 2005 | Lido de 28.06.17 a 01.07.17
SINOPSE
Endurecidos pela última guerra, quatro soldados chegam a Sharn, lendária cidade das torres, capital da aventura, que abriga o melhor e o pior que a Eberron tem para oferecer. Depois de uma vida de luta, a guerra é tudo o que eles sabem.
Agora, em um momento de paz incômoda, eles devem se esforçar para sobreviver. Entretanto, pessoas importantes começam a morrer. Os heróis logo se acham presos em uma trama que os levará dos mais altos níveis de poder para as profundidades mais sórdidas da cidade de maravilhas, sombras e aventura.
RESENHA
Um livro muito divertido, que passa bem o clima aventuresco e pulp de Eberron, um cenário de RPG para Dungeons and Dragons. Como o primeiro livro lançado pelo cenário e escrito pelo criador do cenário Keith Baker, grande parte da narrativa se preocupa em mostrar o que torna o cenário diferente.
Os personagens são bem legais, principalmente o Pierce, um Warforged guerreiro. Os Warforged são, uma espécie de robô ou andróide feito de madeira, aço e magia, autoconsciente, um dos elementos mais legais do cenário Eberron!
Para quem não conhece, Eberron é um cenário de campanha para o jogo de role-playing Dungeons & Dragons (D & D), ambientado num período após uma vasta guerra destrutiva no continente de Khorvaire. Eberron foi projetado para acomodar os elementos tradicionais de D & D com narrativas pulp (estilo Indiana Jones), horror lovecraftiano (esquema cósmico com tentáculos), e algumas tecnologias de fantasia não-tradicionais, como trens, skyships e seres mecânicos energizados por magia.
Eles mal sobreviveram a uma guerra devastadora, e as cicatrizes mentais que deixou foram apresentadas de forma realista, assim como a falta de direção agora que a guerra acabou.
Gostei da interação entre o grupo de aventureiros, ressaltando os laços de amizade e com todo aquele clima de "veteranos de guerra". Os personagens são bem construídos, com personalidades distintas, histórias pessoais interessantes, e cativam, principalmente, repito, o DOIDIMAIS DO PIERCE, o warforged!
O legal de Eberron, e que me impressionou em 2005 quando o cenário foi lançado, é a maneira madura com que lida com elementos tradicionais do D&D. A subclasse empobrecida é verdadeiramente oprimida e vive na imundície e na miséria. O racismo, o conflito de classe e a tensão pós-guerra abundam, ao lado de vícios e corrupção. O forte contraste da opulência dos ricos e sua indiferença cega com aqueles (literalmente) embaixo deles, junto com as Casas das Dragonmakrs, que são como corporações proto-capitalistas, serve para reforçar o estilo quase "steampunk" ou "magipunk" do mundo de Keith Baker.
A trama de THE CITY OF TOWERS também merece destaque, envolvendo seus protagonistas em uma história de mistério e investigação urbana, que mistura aventura, pancadaria e horror lovecraftiano-tentacular doidimais!
Recomendado para quem curte aventuras de fantasia focadas em ação e investigação urbana, com um estilão meio noir, e para quem curte os doidimais dos Warforged, uma espécie de construtos mágicos ou robôs autoconscientes em um cenário de fantasia!
Um abraço do Newton Nitro!
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The City of Towers (Eberron: The Dreaming Dark #01) - Keith Baker | NITROLEITURAS #fantasia #dungeonsanddragons #eberron | 390 pgs, Wizards 2005 | Lido de 28.06.17 a 01.07.17
SINOPSE
Endurecidos pela última guerra, quatro soldados chegam a Sharn, lendária cidade das torres, capital da aventura, que abriga o melhor e o pior que a Eberron tem para oferecer. Depois de uma vida de luta, a guerra é tudo o que eles sabem.
Agora, em um momento de paz incômoda, eles devem se esforçar para sobreviver. Entretanto, pessoas importantes começam a morrer. Os heróis logo se acham presos em uma trama que os levará dos mais altos níveis de poder para as profundidades mais sórdidas da cidade de maravilhas, sombras e aventura.
RESENHA
Um livro muito divertido, que passa bem o clima aventuresco e pulp de Eberron, um cenário de RPG para Dungeons and Dragons. Como o primeiro livro lançado pelo cenário e escrito pelo criador do cenário Keith Baker, grande parte da narrativa se preocupa em mostrar o que torna o cenário diferente.
Os personagens são bem legais, principalmente o Pierce, um Warforged guerreiro. Os Warforged são, uma espécie de robô ou andróide feito de madeira, aço e magia, autoconsciente, um dos elementos mais legais do cenário Eberron!
Para quem não conhece, Eberron é um cenário de campanha para o jogo de role-playing Dungeons & Dragons (D & D), ambientado num período após uma vasta guerra destrutiva no continente de Khorvaire. Eberron foi projetado para acomodar os elementos tradicionais de D & D com narrativas pulp (estilo Indiana Jones), horror lovecraftiano (esquema cósmico com tentáculos), e algumas tecnologias de fantasia não-tradicionais, como trens, skyships e seres mecânicos energizados por magia.
Eles mal sobreviveram a uma guerra devastadora, e as cicatrizes mentais que deixou foram apresentadas de forma realista, assim como a falta de direção agora que a guerra acabou.
Gostei da interação entre o grupo de aventureiros, ressaltando os laços de amizade e com todo aquele clima de "veteranos de guerra". Os personagens são bem construídos, com personalidades distintas, histórias pessoais interessantes, e cativam, principalmente, repito, o DOIDIMAIS DO PIERCE, o warforged!
O legal de Eberron, e que me impressionou em 2005 quando o cenário foi lançado, é a maneira madura com que lida com elementos tradicionais do D&D. A subclasse empobrecida é verdadeiramente oprimida e vive na imundície e na miséria. O racismo, o conflito de classe e a tensão pós-guerra abundam, ao lado de vícios e corrupção. O forte contraste da opulência dos ricos e sua indiferença cega com aqueles (literalmente) embaixo deles, junto com as Casas das Dragonmakrs, que são como corporações proto-capitalistas, serve para reforçar o estilo quase "steampunk" ou "magipunk" do mundo de Keith Baker.
A trama de THE CITY OF TOWERS também merece destaque, envolvendo seus protagonistas em uma história de mistério e investigação urbana, que mistura aventura, pancadaria e horror lovecraftiano-tentacular doidimais!
Recomendado para quem curte aventuras de fantasia focadas em ação e investigação urbana, com um estilão meio noir, e para quem curte os doidimais dos Warforged, uma espécie de construtos mágicos ou robôs autoconscientes em um cenário de fantasia!
Um abraço do Newton Nitro!
___________________________________________
Se você gostou, se inscreva no CANAL NITROBLOG!
https://goo.gl/3ZNWbM
E conheça o meu CANAL de DICAS DIÁRIAS DE INGLÊS, o ÉRIKA E NEWTON - INGLÊS POR SKYPE!
https://goo.gl/ATUJc3
CONTOS E LIVROS DE NEWTON NITRO
Conheça meus Contos e Livros (Download Gratuito!)
https://goo.gl/AXJIl4
ROMANCE MARCA DA CAVEIRA
https://goo.gl/24sOu1
SERVIÇOS DE LEITURA CRÍTICA
https://goo.gl/VDx6nh
Newton Nitro
https://goo.gl/2RCewf
___________________________________
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Melhore Seu Inglês PODCAST no ITUNES
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January 1, 2022
Too many subplots that don't feel totally cohesive. Characters dont really become interestin fb until the last 3rd of the book. That said, it is a pretty good introduction to the lore of the Eberron world, and the city of Sharn. Not going to prioritize reading the remainder of the series, but I might pick up the sequel if I saw it in a store.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2010
http://archive.boulderweekly.com/0310...
This review originally appeared in the BOULDER WEEKLY
Mr. Baker's neighborhood
He is the mastermind behind the new world of Dungeons and Dragons and author of a new fantasy novel. Keith Baker gives the B-dub's resident geeks an insider's tour of Eberron.
by Vince Darcangelo
- - - - - - - - - - - -
It is said that anything is possible in post-war Sharn, the City of Towers. The survivors of both the Mourning and the fall of the Cyran army are a weary lot—desperate, on edge—so the hooded figure on the bridge could be a harmless beggar or something more sinister. It's hard to discern through a heavy rain that batters the ghettos of Sharn like a post-apocalyptic tsunami. Only blue, rippling shadows are distinguishable through the downpour. I step forward, but Rael, the wise Valenar elf, places a cautious hand on my shoulder.
"Hold up, Dymus," she says. "Something's not right."
I look to Kesht. The young priest shares my puzzled gaze.
"There are two people up ahead," says Rael. "I think one is in trouble."
We advance carefully, taking short, quiet steps until we catch sight of a body lying motionless at the feet of the hooded figure. A pool of water drifts away from the body. It flows red with blood.
The hooded figure turns and approaches our party.
I draw my sword, as does Kesht. Rael raises her longbow and locks the dark character in her sights. In the once-proud city of Sharn you learn to act quickly if you wish to survive. Details come later.
We don't wait to learn the approaching figure's intent.
Rael pulls the taut string of her bow, steadies her aim and fires. The missile slices through the pouring rain. I can't see if it hits its mark, but through the downpour comes a sharp, metallic pang.
The hooded figure drops to one knee.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Keith Baker's Boulder home is a fantasy geek's paradise. An oversized bookshelf serves as an archive of role-playing game (RPG) modules, player's handbooks and monster manuals. Posters of fantasy artwork grace the walls. Intricately designed miniatures of majestic dragons, mythical creatures and timeless warriors stand guard over counter space. Two broadswords hang over a mantle, and if you ask nicely Baker will give you a lesson in swordplay. After all, prior to becoming a novelist and game designer, he studied fencing and worked at Renaissance fairs.
If you knew Baker as a child, you probably wouldn't be surprised.
"Instead of playing Cowboys and Indians, I ran around with friends playing Egyptian and Norse gods," he says.
After showing an early interest in mythology, fantasy, the horror/sci-fi fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and the eerie artwork of Edward Gorey, it was no surprise that in 4th grade Baker became interested in a game called Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
For those who missed the fundamentalist crusades and the music videos of Ronnie James Dio in the '80s, D&D is an RPG dating back to the early '70s in which players role-play as characters in a medieval fantasy world where dragons and magic are real. Players team up in campaigns that involve fighting enemies, collecting treasure and completing tasks (featuring a life currency of "hit points" that is used in most modern video games). As players' characters progress, they advance in level, and with each level comes new and unique challenges. There is no board—the campaign takes place in the players' imagination, where the victors of battle are determined by a roll of the dice. And unlike a video game, D&D encourages intellectual interaction among players, and the possibilities of game direction are boundless.
In 2000, Wizards of the Coast, publishers of D&D, released a third edition of the game, which hadn't been revised since 1989. And in 2004, Wizards of the Coast introduced a new campaign setting, a full-scale world in which new D&D adventures would be based: Eberron—a world created by grown up and still fantasy-obsessed Keith Baker.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The hooded figure turns out to be a warforged soldier—a creature that had been created to fight in the Last War, but now finds itself without a purpose. It holds a book in one hand, a bloody axe in the other.
We approach it carefully, weapons drawn.
Suddenly, a child appears on the other side of the bridge and screams. The warforged rises to its feet. It pulls a second axe from its waist and towers over me, weapons raised high.
"This does not concern you," it says with a booming, metallic voice. "One chance to leave."
Instead, I raise my sword and swing at the bastard with all I've got. The hilt is slick with rain, and it nearly slips from my fingers. But my blade finds its mark with a strong, swift rattle. Stunned and battered, the warforged stumbles backward, dropping both axes along with the mysterious book. Rael fires another arrow. The warforged falls to the ground. I move in to finish it off, but before I can a mechanical nodule on its chest sprouts wings and flies away from the broken frame. It glides over the railing of the bridge and down, flying deeper into the grisly slums of the City of Towers.
We look back across the bridge, but the screaming child has gone. Was he ever there? Two bodies lie at our feet. A relentless, freezing rain is soaking through our armor, chilling us and drenching our belongings. Everything around us is coated with wet, sticky blood. I retrieve the stolen book from the fallen warforged. I'm startled to find that it's bone dry.
Even more surprising, its pages are blank.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Baker seems an unassuming man at first, friendly, perhaps a bit hyperactive. He is thin, wears glasses and sports a tight beard and brown, somewhat-ruffled hair combed smoothly to the right. Sara, Joel and I join him and his wife, Ellen, in the living room of their Boulder home, where said stacks of game modules and implements of impalement elicit high praise. We are experienced in the ways of dragon-slaying—all of us were "gamers" (the term by which D&D players affectionately refer to themselves) in our younger days. It's been more than a decade since I've played regularly—the same for Joel. But Sara is a current gamer, with a future campaign partner growing inside her belly. (I'm referring to the fact that she's pregnant, not to some magical, game-related spawn spell, for all you wizards out there.)
With our Ph.Ds in dungeon ass-kicking, Baker is introducing us to his world the best possible way—through an old-fashioned, take-no-prisoners D&D campaign. Sara is Rael, a ranger of the Valenar elves. Her people betrayed Cyre near the end of the Last War, but she has turned her back on them and continues to serve Cyre. Joel is Kesht, a warrior-priest of the Sovereign Host, once part of the Southern Command of Cyre. I am Dymus Deneith, a monk-fighter. I bear the Dragonmark of Sentinel.
Easily taking on the role of "dungeon master," or DM—the "referee" who serves as arbitrator, antagonist and storyteller during a campaign—Baker guides us through a quest of his own design, into the world of Eberron. Through his ability to control game-play, talent at adopting voices and his wild enthusiasm, we quickly realize that Baker is neither unassuming nor hyperactive. He is intense, theatrical and passionate about his pursuits, be that playing D&D; creating a card game, Gloom (released last fall); writing his first novel, The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark Book I; or creating an entire freaking universe in which gamers can play.
Baker leads us to a dark corner of that universe known as Sharn, the City of Towers, the setting of his debut book.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
It could be a knock at the door of our room. Just as easily, it could be another crack of thunder (the storm had lasted well into the night). It also could be the lingering lucidity of a dream, for the deadly battle with the warforged had cycled through my mind all night, disrupting my sleep.
I hear the thud again and sit up and reach for my sword. Kesht already has his drawn. Rael, the cool-headed Valenar elf, motions us at ease. It could be anything, but it is only a knock at the door.
"You have a visitor," says the innkeeper. "A woman from the House Cannith."
The mysterious woman is elegantly dressed in an ornate blue cloak too stylish for this part of the city. She has dark hair with red highlights, royal, if tragic, blue eyes, a regal manner. She introduces herself as Lady Elaydren. She wears a ring bearing the signet of Cannith.
"I am looking for an artifact," she says. "I was expecting to receive it from Gelder—the scholar that was murdered on the bridge last night. I understand you were there?"
Rael cautiously nods her head.
"I'm looking for a book," Lady Elaydren continues. "Did you happen to find one?"
Kesht rolls his eyes. I kick at the dirt with my boot. Rael begins to speak, but stops.
After scanning our expressions, Lady Elaydren lets out a soft, proud sigh.
"Well then, I have gold," she says. "But without the journal, I have no expedition to fund. Please do think back to last night. If you recall anything, I frequent the Grey Dragon Tavern. If I only had that journal, well..."
She turns and exits the courtyard.
Some hours later, we meet Lady Elaydren at the Grey Dragon with journal in hand. The signet on the book matches that on her ring. When put together, they both glow with a royal magic.
Lady Elaydren offers us a deal that will send us in search of a seven-pointed star 57 levels below the sewer in an old foundry. We came to Sharn in search of adventure and treasure, so we accept.
"Keep an eye out," she says as we are leaving the tavern. "It is always possible there will be more agents of the Lord of Blades, if that is, indeed, who you are dealing with."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
As he guides us through a world of his making, Baker fills us in on how the campaign we're undertaking came into existence. Prior to creating Eberron, Baker had done freelance writing, often for less traditional pulp adventure RPGs. Then in 2002, Wizards of the Coast issued an open call for a new world in which to base campaigns. Baker came up with Eberron, incorporating many pulp devices into the traditional D&D schema.
"I thought, 'What if you took that pulp tone and applied it to the fantasy setting instead of the '30s,'" says Baker.
The result is a world that Baker describes as "Lord of the Rings meets Indiana Jones and The Maltese Falcon." In essence, a film noir in a fantasy RPG setting.
Wizards of the Coast liked the idea, and chose Baker, and Eberron, out of 11,000 entrants—awarding Baker $100,000.
The creation of particular worlds for gaming has always been an important component of D&D culture. Since the game's inception, writers have developed unique and original settings in which players base their campaigns. The first was Greyhawk, a world concocted by D&D creator Gary Gygax. The second edition of D&D featured such popular settings as Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
For Eberron, Baker wanted to increase the level of sophistication of game-play without losing the adventurous appeal that gamers love.
"Let's take what is in D&D—magic, fantasy, etc.—and apply it to a world as we've applied science and technology to ours," says Baker. "D&D has all these monsters... We needed to create a world where they were there, but we wanted to create a world where we explain why they're there."
To do this, Baker took the notion of magic, an essential ingredient of D&D game-play, and incorporated it into the society of Eberron in such a way that it is not an anomaly or mysterious power so much as it is a physical reality that Eberron's inhabitants have attempted to harness to improve their lives.
"It's trying to take what does exist in D&D and say, 'Instead of technology we use magic,'" says Baker. "People are comfortable with magic. People apply it as they would technology."
But despite better living through hocus-pocus, there is still plenty of fresh meat for the hack-and-slash style of gamer, like myself. Baker just wants there to be an explanation from whence the meat came. Gone are the days of a random castle in the middle of a forest with neither rhyme nor reason to explain its presence. Gone are the oversized monsters in desolate settings that couldn't possibly sate their hefty appetites. Oh, the castles and dragons are still there. Don't worry. It's just that in Eberron, everything has a backstory.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
On the surface, the war ended two years ago. But when you go underground, into these dark, subterranean depths, you see a war is still being fought. There are no armies, no sides, no objective more noble than self-preservation. But in these impoverished sewers, battle is waged constantly. To the victor, survival—the right to live, and fight, another day.
The lighting is as dim as the hope down here; sputtering torches offer spare illumination. It's difficult to see far ahead or behind. The sound of rushing water surrounds us, flowing through the walls, above us, below. The carrion smell is intolerable. I focus my thoughts on the promise of treasure to keep from turning around and heading back to the surface.
For a small fee we acquire the services of a guide. He's underage, but cheap. The goblin child leads us through a twisting maze of granite and filth, in search of our destination. The rolling gush of water grows louder the deeper we tread into the tunnels. Finally, the child leads us to a flat stone wall. The only way forward is to the right—into a river of fetid, brown waste.
Kesht takes the lead, inching knee-deep into the sewer water. He steps into a shadow. I follow, but no sooner have I entered the murky stream than I notice a warforged soldier lurking in the darkness.
"Kesht!" I yell, but a moment too late.
The warforged drives its axe between his ribs. Kesht howls in pain and drops into the water.
"Give me the book," the warforged bellows.
Kesht is slumped and retching into the sewer. I dive through the space between him and the creature, deftly avoiding a quick attack. I raise my sword and swing wildly at the enemy... but miss.
There is the sound of footsteps crashing through water at the far end of the tunnel. I turn to find two large, hairy beasts charging toward us. Feral shifters. Two dry platforms flank the sewer between the shifters and us. In the other direction is a grate. Our only shot at surviving this ambush is to get to the platforms and fight on dry ground.
But first we have to deal with the warforged, which has raised its axe for another strike.
"Give me the book," it hollers again.
Rael attacks with her scimitar, but loses her footing in the water. She misses her mark. Kesht struggles to his knees and swipes at the warforged with his longsword. He does minimal damage but at least disrupts the enemy's attack. I charge the beast, striking with a two-handed deathblow. The shot lands clean. The warforged falls backward against the grate, then slides motionless into the murky water.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Baker is as savvy as he is talented. When he developed Eberron, he wasn't just creating a campaign setting. He was creating a franchise, something he could develop and expand. Last month Baker released his first novel, The City of Towers, which is set in Eberron and details many of the events and creatures that gamers will encounter in their campaigns. It is the first part of a trilogy, and the first book in the career of a budding novelist who, at the age of 35, has already garnered much success. Baker has published numerous RPG modules, a novel, a card game and did some of the scriptwriting for the much-anticipated online RPG Everquest II.
Not bad for someone who worked in coffeeshops, bookstores and the video-game industry while trying to break into the RPG business.
"I've always known what I wanted to do," says Baker. "I just didn't know how I was going to do it."
Ultimately, it was part talent, part creativity and part passion.
"I just wrote [Eberron] because I thought it was a fun idea," says Baker. "I think that's why they liked it, because of the passion and energy."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Before we can tend to Kesht's wounds, we must deal with the feral shifters—who've grown mighty claws and are closing in fast. Rael raises her bow and fires, striking one. Kesht raises his sword and swings at the other. He makes contact, but opens himself to a counterattack. The shifter slashes him with its claw. As Kesht struggles for balance, the shifter raises its claw to strike again. I rush to Kesht's aid, but can't reach him in time.
Then suddenly a valve opens, allowing a thick wave of sewage into the tunnel that levels everything in its path—including Kesht and the shifter. For the moment Kesht is spared, but critically wounded. Rael pierces the other shifter with repeated trajectories from her longbow, taking its life.
I close in on the remaining shifter. It raises its arms in surrender, but seeing I intend no mercy, the hairy beast attempts to flee down the tunnel.
Not so fast, Chewbacca.
I fire my crossbow, nailing the shifter in the back of the leg and dropping it into the brown goop. It cries into the water as Rael and I approach. I press my longsword to its neck, then raise it high above my head. The shifter pleads for its life.
It is not spared.
We gather ourselves on a dry platform, away from the sewage and the carnage of battle. We are battered, but not defeated. The ancient and mysterious book is still in our possession, but our quest is not complete. More adversaries await—more treasure, more adventure. We tend to each other's wounds, catch our breath and plot our next course.
We steel our resolve, and press on through the ruins.
For more information on Keith Baker, Eberron and The City of Towers, visit www.bossythecow.com or www.wizards.com.
This review originally appeared in the BOULDER WEEKLY
Mr. Baker's neighborhood
He is the mastermind behind the new world of Dungeons and Dragons and author of a new fantasy novel. Keith Baker gives the B-dub's resident geeks an insider's tour of Eberron.
by Vince Darcangelo
- - - - - - - - - - - -
It is said that anything is possible in post-war Sharn, the City of Towers. The survivors of both the Mourning and the fall of the Cyran army are a weary lot—desperate, on edge—so the hooded figure on the bridge could be a harmless beggar or something more sinister. It's hard to discern through a heavy rain that batters the ghettos of Sharn like a post-apocalyptic tsunami. Only blue, rippling shadows are distinguishable through the downpour. I step forward, but Rael, the wise Valenar elf, places a cautious hand on my shoulder.
"Hold up, Dymus," she says. "Something's not right."
I look to Kesht. The young priest shares my puzzled gaze.
"There are two people up ahead," says Rael. "I think one is in trouble."
We advance carefully, taking short, quiet steps until we catch sight of a body lying motionless at the feet of the hooded figure. A pool of water drifts away from the body. It flows red with blood.
The hooded figure turns and approaches our party.
I draw my sword, as does Kesht. Rael raises her longbow and locks the dark character in her sights. In the once-proud city of Sharn you learn to act quickly if you wish to survive. Details come later.
We don't wait to learn the approaching figure's intent.
Rael pulls the taut string of her bow, steadies her aim and fires. The missile slices through the pouring rain. I can't see if it hits its mark, but through the downpour comes a sharp, metallic pang.
The hooded figure drops to one knee.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Keith Baker's Boulder home is a fantasy geek's paradise. An oversized bookshelf serves as an archive of role-playing game (RPG) modules, player's handbooks and monster manuals. Posters of fantasy artwork grace the walls. Intricately designed miniatures of majestic dragons, mythical creatures and timeless warriors stand guard over counter space. Two broadswords hang over a mantle, and if you ask nicely Baker will give you a lesson in swordplay. After all, prior to becoming a novelist and game designer, he studied fencing and worked at Renaissance fairs.
If you knew Baker as a child, you probably wouldn't be surprised.
"Instead of playing Cowboys and Indians, I ran around with friends playing Egyptian and Norse gods," he says.
After showing an early interest in mythology, fantasy, the horror/sci-fi fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and the eerie artwork of Edward Gorey, it was no surprise that in 4th grade Baker became interested in a game called Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
For those who missed the fundamentalist crusades and the music videos of Ronnie James Dio in the '80s, D&D is an RPG dating back to the early '70s in which players role-play as characters in a medieval fantasy world where dragons and magic are real. Players team up in campaigns that involve fighting enemies, collecting treasure and completing tasks (featuring a life currency of "hit points" that is used in most modern video games). As players' characters progress, they advance in level, and with each level comes new and unique challenges. There is no board—the campaign takes place in the players' imagination, where the victors of battle are determined by a roll of the dice. And unlike a video game, D&D encourages intellectual interaction among players, and the possibilities of game direction are boundless.
In 2000, Wizards of the Coast, publishers of D&D, released a third edition of the game, which hadn't been revised since 1989. And in 2004, Wizards of the Coast introduced a new campaign setting, a full-scale world in which new D&D adventures would be based: Eberron—a world created by grown up and still fantasy-obsessed Keith Baker.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The hooded figure turns out to be a warforged soldier—a creature that had been created to fight in the Last War, but now finds itself without a purpose. It holds a book in one hand, a bloody axe in the other.
We approach it carefully, weapons drawn.
Suddenly, a child appears on the other side of the bridge and screams. The warforged rises to its feet. It pulls a second axe from its waist and towers over me, weapons raised high.
"This does not concern you," it says with a booming, metallic voice. "One chance to leave."
Instead, I raise my sword and swing at the bastard with all I've got. The hilt is slick with rain, and it nearly slips from my fingers. But my blade finds its mark with a strong, swift rattle. Stunned and battered, the warforged stumbles backward, dropping both axes along with the mysterious book. Rael fires another arrow. The warforged falls to the ground. I move in to finish it off, but before I can a mechanical nodule on its chest sprouts wings and flies away from the broken frame. It glides over the railing of the bridge and down, flying deeper into the grisly slums of the City of Towers.
We look back across the bridge, but the screaming child has gone. Was he ever there? Two bodies lie at our feet. A relentless, freezing rain is soaking through our armor, chilling us and drenching our belongings. Everything around us is coated with wet, sticky blood. I retrieve the stolen book from the fallen warforged. I'm startled to find that it's bone dry.
Even more surprising, its pages are blank.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Baker seems an unassuming man at first, friendly, perhaps a bit hyperactive. He is thin, wears glasses and sports a tight beard and brown, somewhat-ruffled hair combed smoothly to the right. Sara, Joel and I join him and his wife, Ellen, in the living room of their Boulder home, where said stacks of game modules and implements of impalement elicit high praise. We are experienced in the ways of dragon-slaying—all of us were "gamers" (the term by which D&D players affectionately refer to themselves) in our younger days. It's been more than a decade since I've played regularly—the same for Joel. But Sara is a current gamer, with a future campaign partner growing inside her belly. (I'm referring to the fact that she's pregnant, not to some magical, game-related spawn spell, for all you wizards out there.)
With our Ph.Ds in dungeon ass-kicking, Baker is introducing us to his world the best possible way—through an old-fashioned, take-no-prisoners D&D campaign. Sara is Rael, a ranger of the Valenar elves. Her people betrayed Cyre near the end of the Last War, but she has turned her back on them and continues to serve Cyre. Joel is Kesht, a warrior-priest of the Sovereign Host, once part of the Southern Command of Cyre. I am Dymus Deneith, a monk-fighter. I bear the Dragonmark of Sentinel.
Easily taking on the role of "dungeon master," or DM—the "referee" who serves as arbitrator, antagonist and storyteller during a campaign—Baker guides us through a quest of his own design, into the world of Eberron. Through his ability to control game-play, talent at adopting voices and his wild enthusiasm, we quickly realize that Baker is neither unassuming nor hyperactive. He is intense, theatrical and passionate about his pursuits, be that playing D&D; creating a card game, Gloom (released last fall); writing his first novel, The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark Book I; or creating an entire freaking universe in which gamers can play.
Baker leads us to a dark corner of that universe known as Sharn, the City of Towers, the setting of his debut book.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
It could be a knock at the door of our room. Just as easily, it could be another crack of thunder (the storm had lasted well into the night). It also could be the lingering lucidity of a dream, for the deadly battle with the warforged had cycled through my mind all night, disrupting my sleep.
I hear the thud again and sit up and reach for my sword. Kesht already has his drawn. Rael, the cool-headed Valenar elf, motions us at ease. It could be anything, but it is only a knock at the door.
"You have a visitor," says the innkeeper. "A woman from the House Cannith."
The mysterious woman is elegantly dressed in an ornate blue cloak too stylish for this part of the city. She has dark hair with red highlights, royal, if tragic, blue eyes, a regal manner. She introduces herself as Lady Elaydren. She wears a ring bearing the signet of Cannith.
"I am looking for an artifact," she says. "I was expecting to receive it from Gelder—the scholar that was murdered on the bridge last night. I understand you were there?"
Rael cautiously nods her head.
"I'm looking for a book," Lady Elaydren continues. "Did you happen to find one?"
Kesht rolls his eyes. I kick at the dirt with my boot. Rael begins to speak, but stops.
After scanning our expressions, Lady Elaydren lets out a soft, proud sigh.
"Well then, I have gold," she says. "But without the journal, I have no expedition to fund. Please do think back to last night. If you recall anything, I frequent the Grey Dragon Tavern. If I only had that journal, well..."
She turns and exits the courtyard.
Some hours later, we meet Lady Elaydren at the Grey Dragon with journal in hand. The signet on the book matches that on her ring. When put together, they both glow with a royal magic.
Lady Elaydren offers us a deal that will send us in search of a seven-pointed star 57 levels below the sewer in an old foundry. We came to Sharn in search of adventure and treasure, so we accept.
"Keep an eye out," she says as we are leaving the tavern. "It is always possible there will be more agents of the Lord of Blades, if that is, indeed, who you are dealing with."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
As he guides us through a world of his making, Baker fills us in on how the campaign we're undertaking came into existence. Prior to creating Eberron, Baker had done freelance writing, often for less traditional pulp adventure RPGs. Then in 2002, Wizards of the Coast issued an open call for a new world in which to base campaigns. Baker came up with Eberron, incorporating many pulp devices into the traditional D&D schema.
"I thought, 'What if you took that pulp tone and applied it to the fantasy setting instead of the '30s,'" says Baker.
The result is a world that Baker describes as "Lord of the Rings meets Indiana Jones and The Maltese Falcon." In essence, a film noir in a fantasy RPG setting.
Wizards of the Coast liked the idea, and chose Baker, and Eberron, out of 11,000 entrants—awarding Baker $100,000.
The creation of particular worlds for gaming has always been an important component of D&D culture. Since the game's inception, writers have developed unique and original settings in which players base their campaigns. The first was Greyhawk, a world concocted by D&D creator Gary Gygax. The second edition of D&D featured such popular settings as Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
For Eberron, Baker wanted to increase the level of sophistication of game-play without losing the adventurous appeal that gamers love.
"Let's take what is in D&D—magic, fantasy, etc.—and apply it to a world as we've applied science and technology to ours," says Baker. "D&D has all these monsters... We needed to create a world where they were there, but we wanted to create a world where we explain why they're there."
To do this, Baker took the notion of magic, an essential ingredient of D&D game-play, and incorporated it into the society of Eberron in such a way that it is not an anomaly or mysterious power so much as it is a physical reality that Eberron's inhabitants have attempted to harness to improve their lives.
"It's trying to take what does exist in D&D and say, 'Instead of technology we use magic,'" says Baker. "People are comfortable with magic. People apply it as they would technology."
But despite better living through hocus-pocus, there is still plenty of fresh meat for the hack-and-slash style of gamer, like myself. Baker just wants there to be an explanation from whence the meat came. Gone are the days of a random castle in the middle of a forest with neither rhyme nor reason to explain its presence. Gone are the oversized monsters in desolate settings that couldn't possibly sate their hefty appetites. Oh, the castles and dragons are still there. Don't worry. It's just that in Eberron, everything has a backstory.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
On the surface, the war ended two years ago. But when you go underground, into these dark, subterranean depths, you see a war is still being fought. There are no armies, no sides, no objective more noble than self-preservation. But in these impoverished sewers, battle is waged constantly. To the victor, survival—the right to live, and fight, another day.
The lighting is as dim as the hope down here; sputtering torches offer spare illumination. It's difficult to see far ahead or behind. The sound of rushing water surrounds us, flowing through the walls, above us, below. The carrion smell is intolerable. I focus my thoughts on the promise of treasure to keep from turning around and heading back to the surface.
For a small fee we acquire the services of a guide. He's underage, but cheap. The goblin child leads us through a twisting maze of granite and filth, in search of our destination. The rolling gush of water grows louder the deeper we tread into the tunnels. Finally, the child leads us to a flat stone wall. The only way forward is to the right—into a river of fetid, brown waste.
Kesht takes the lead, inching knee-deep into the sewer water. He steps into a shadow. I follow, but no sooner have I entered the murky stream than I notice a warforged soldier lurking in the darkness.
"Kesht!" I yell, but a moment too late.
The warforged drives its axe between his ribs. Kesht howls in pain and drops into the water.
"Give me the book," the warforged bellows.
Kesht is slumped and retching into the sewer. I dive through the space between him and the creature, deftly avoiding a quick attack. I raise my sword and swing wildly at the enemy... but miss.
There is the sound of footsteps crashing through water at the far end of the tunnel. I turn to find two large, hairy beasts charging toward us. Feral shifters. Two dry platforms flank the sewer between the shifters and us. In the other direction is a grate. Our only shot at surviving this ambush is to get to the platforms and fight on dry ground.
But first we have to deal with the warforged, which has raised its axe for another strike.
"Give me the book," it hollers again.
Rael attacks with her scimitar, but loses her footing in the water. She misses her mark. Kesht struggles to his knees and swipes at the warforged with his longsword. He does minimal damage but at least disrupts the enemy's attack. I charge the beast, striking with a two-handed deathblow. The shot lands clean. The warforged falls backward against the grate, then slides motionless into the murky water.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Baker is as savvy as he is talented. When he developed Eberron, he wasn't just creating a campaign setting. He was creating a franchise, something he could develop and expand. Last month Baker released his first novel, The City of Towers, which is set in Eberron and details many of the events and creatures that gamers will encounter in their campaigns. It is the first part of a trilogy, and the first book in the career of a budding novelist who, at the age of 35, has already garnered much success. Baker has published numerous RPG modules, a novel, a card game and did some of the scriptwriting for the much-anticipated online RPG Everquest II.
Not bad for someone who worked in coffeeshops, bookstores and the video-game industry while trying to break into the RPG business.
"I've always known what I wanted to do," says Baker. "I just didn't know how I was going to do it."
Ultimately, it was part talent, part creativity and part passion.
"I just wrote [Eberron] because I thought it was a fun idea," says Baker. "I think that's why they liked it, because of the passion and energy."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Before we can tend to Kesht's wounds, we must deal with the feral shifters—who've grown mighty claws and are closing in fast. Rael raises her bow and fires, striking one. Kesht raises his sword and swings at the other. He makes contact, but opens himself to a counterattack. The shifter slashes him with its claw. As Kesht struggles for balance, the shifter raises its claw to strike again. I rush to Kesht's aid, but can't reach him in time.
Then suddenly a valve opens, allowing a thick wave of sewage into the tunnel that levels everything in its path—including Kesht and the shifter. For the moment Kesht is spared, but critically wounded. Rael pierces the other shifter with repeated trajectories from her longbow, taking its life.
I close in on the remaining shifter. It raises its arms in surrender, but seeing I intend no mercy, the hairy beast attempts to flee down the tunnel.
Not so fast, Chewbacca.
I fire my crossbow, nailing the shifter in the back of the leg and dropping it into the brown goop. It cries into the water as Rael and I approach. I press my longsword to its neck, then raise it high above my head. The shifter pleads for its life.
It is not spared.
We gather ourselves on a dry platform, away from the sewage and the carnage of battle. We are battered, but not defeated. The ancient and mysterious book is still in our possession, but our quest is not complete. More adversaries await—more treasure, more adventure. We tend to each other's wounds, catch our breath and plot our next course.
We steel our resolve, and press on through the ruins.
For more information on Keith Baker, Eberron and The City of Towers, visit www.bossythecow.com or www.wizards.com.
September 12, 2018
It was ok.
Liked the whole building of the world and its characters and differences between races and whatnot. The thing I'm not a fun of, in this one, lots of greek mythical creatures taking place here, which are a bit different and whatnot but, yeah, it's all taken from Greek mythology and it's kinda... like.. try harder please.
Before this one I read the Eberron: Eye of the Wolf (?) I think that's the title. A 50 page comic book that takes place in the City of Towers, after "the war". Which had a lot of Greek mythological creatures straight taken from their myths and yeah. Not a fan of this kinda approach.
Which it wouldn't be much of a problem after the 3rd one I spotted and if it weren't taking me out of the whole D&D fantasy world every time I'd see one... I'd just roll with it. But I couldn't. Although that (the comic) made me read it. (Also amazing artwork on the comic), and I had no problem with the characters or the plot. So that's always good!
Overall, I'd say give it a chance if you're a fan of fantasy and some real nice world-building.
Liked the whole building of the world and its characters and differences between races and whatnot. The thing I'm not a fun of, in this one, lots of greek mythical creatures taking place here, which are a bit different and whatnot but, yeah, it's all taken from Greek mythology and it's kinda... like.. try harder please.
Before this one I read the Eberron: Eye of the Wolf (?) I think that's the title. A 50 page comic book that takes place in the City of Towers, after "the war". Which had a lot of Greek mythological creatures straight taken from their myths and yeah. Not a fan of this kinda approach.
Which it wouldn't be much of a problem after the 3rd one I spotted and if it weren't taking me out of the whole D&D fantasy world every time I'd see one... I'd just roll with it. But I couldn't. Although that (the comic) made me read it. (Also amazing artwork on the comic), and I had no problem with the characters or the plot. So that's always good!
Overall, I'd say give it a chance if you're a fan of fantasy and some real nice world-building.
August 1, 2023
Wow, this has to be one of the worst books I've ever read. While I've certainly read books I've hated more, rarely have I read a book that was so objectively bad, that I felt it never should have been published to begin with. The writing was awful: the characters were flat, the prose was bad, and the plot was a mess. It reads like a d&d campaign, in the worst way possible, with random plotlines that don't amount to anything and don't set up any future events just happening. For instance, There are also a shocking number of typos and editing errors, at least in the printed book. Whilst Keith Baker creates a unique and interesting world, I can't recommend reading this, even if you could find it free.
May 23, 2025
Pretty good book, that does not feel too much like a D&D party adventure written down. A bit too heavy on exposition, but definitely a worthy read if you’re interested in Eberron.
August 29, 2013
I wish I would have read these books earlier. Eberron is a great world to read about. It is another fantasy, but with its own twist. Love the Warforged. Thought that the idea of these works a lot better in this setting than any others. The dragonmarks are awesome. Be interresting what else I find out while I read this trilogy.
June 3, 2014
A spellbinding adventure, filled with plenty of lore from "Dungeons and Dragons" and their Eberron campaigns. The book about mid-way through picks up steam, filling the reader with intrigue and wanting to know what will happen next. The climax is bittersweet and its Epilogue leaving the reader wondering why they never suspected anything. Wonderful read!
July 10, 2016
Keith Baker's new world Eberron is introduced to me in this book. I found the world very closely matches Forgotten Realms series which is under the same publisher. The book which is the first in a trilogy is very action packed, full of mystery and flows very well. In a land of lost a group of four tries to find a new meaning in which they feel a part of the world of Eberron. 5 out of 5 stars.
August 11, 2011
Awesome book, great series. I fond this book really gave me a new and more broader/in-depth view of Eberron. The story itself was very engaging and I really liked the writing style/pace. Can't wait to see more from Keith Baker.
October 13, 2010
A good introduction to Eberron. It really put you in the D&D campaign setting and was a good book to read. I'm looking forward to further books by Keith Baker.
August 6, 2011
GREAT
December 31, 2020
Great depiction of Eberron with a good plot and fun characters.
February 23, 2021
Maravillosa novela ambientada en el mundo de eberron y con gran influencia de D&D.
Me ha encantado.
Me ha encantado.
November 16, 2024
Recommendation: A pretty good blend of fantasy and postwar mystery novel, set in the Eberron D&D setting.
Critique: Not only is this the first Eberron novel, it's Keith Baker's first novel, so there's a fair amount of work presenting the setting, with characters that are present during The Last War. That said, I'm impressed with how much better-written this is than the other first novels by other authors who got their start in D&D novels ("Dragons of Autumn Twilight," "The Crystal Shard"). This is actually good, not just as a D&D novel, but as a fantasy novel, period.
I really like the balance that Baker makes between "this is a fantasy mystery story" and "this is a D&D campaign." On reflection, I'm a little surprised at that attitude, as I generally really like it when a fantasy (or SF) novel clearly shows its RPG roots. But here I enjoyed that it isn't as obvious.
I also really like that Baker does NOT really dump a lot of setting information on us readers. Information about the world is revealed slowly, gracefully, without the sorts of "this character muses on his entire life story" scene that allows us to learn about the world and the character all in one fell swoop. There are only a few places where a character has provided a clarifying statement that is unnecessary for any of the people in the scene, just so we the reader can know what they mean. I really appreciate that sparing use of exposition to lore dump.
There's an almost-shocking lack of character description that I find really refreshing. Fantasy authors tend to spend a lot of words describing their characters, so that we readers have an exhaustively-detailed picture of how they look. But we've had almost no description of the four main characters. All we know is that Daine is wearing mail, Lei has red hair, Jode is bald with a tattoo on his head, and Pierce is a warforged. The villains get a lot more description, but we're given a lot of freedom to imagine the main protagonists however we like.
For a long time as I was reading the book, I couldn't decide whether Baker was a better first-time author than other D&D authors Weis/Hickman and Salvatore, or just that the editors at Wizards of the Coast were better than the TSR editors that those other authors worked with back in the 80s. But in the end I'm convinced that Baker is just a better first-time author. I say this because the story is good - a noir mystery set in a sword & sorcery D&D world - and the writing is solid, but the book is full of errors that would have been caught by better editors/proofreaders. So the credit goes to Baker and not the editing team at Wizards.
An example is the use of "then" (meaning a time relationship) instead of "than" (meaning a comparison). They look and sound almost the same, and it's a distressingly common error that writers make, confusing one for the other. But that should make it all the more obvious for proofreaders to catch. They didn't. Mostly the errors in this book are little things like that, or using the wrong preposition. There was one instance where the syntax was wrong, something like "of front" rather than "front of." I take it as a sign of this being Baker's first novel; I'm reasonably sure that every author gets better with these things over time (and may get better proofreaders once their books sell).
Reading science-fiction and fantasy novels, there's sometimes the question of whether the plot was based on a TTRPG campaign. Many times it's obviously the case, as with the Expanse series. Most of the time it doesn't even occur to ask, because it doesn't read like a campaign at all. But with books that are licensed and/or published by game manufacturers, the question is inevitable. Weirdly for a D&D book, I don't think this story is based on actual game sessions; it follows way too closely to the tropes of postwar mystery novels from Dashiell Hammett and others. To me it really feels like Baker was trying to write a hard-bitten detective novel set in his postwar game world of Eberron. The detectives in these sort of mystery novels are usually veterans who are struggling to make ends meet, and money is the big motivation for them to do what they do. That fits the party described in this book exactly. I think Baker pulls this blend of genres off pretty well.
Critique: Not only is this the first Eberron novel, it's Keith Baker's first novel, so there's a fair amount of work presenting the setting, with characters that are present during The Last War. That said, I'm impressed with how much better-written this is than the other first novels by other authors who got their start in D&D novels ("Dragons of Autumn Twilight," "The Crystal Shard"). This is actually good, not just as a D&D novel, but as a fantasy novel, period.
I really like the balance that Baker makes between "this is a fantasy mystery story" and "this is a D&D campaign." On reflection, I'm a little surprised at that attitude, as I generally really like it when a fantasy (or SF) novel clearly shows its RPG roots. But here I enjoyed that it isn't as obvious.
I also really like that Baker does NOT really dump a lot of setting information on us readers. Information about the world is revealed slowly, gracefully, without the sorts of "this character muses on his entire life story" scene that allows us to learn about the world and the character all in one fell swoop. There are only a few places where a character has provided a clarifying statement that is unnecessary for any of the people in the scene, just so we the reader can know what they mean. I really appreciate that sparing use of exposition to lore dump.
There's an almost-shocking lack of character description that I find really refreshing. Fantasy authors tend to spend a lot of words describing their characters, so that we readers have an exhaustively-detailed picture of how they look. But we've had almost no description of the four main characters. All we know is that Daine is wearing mail, Lei has red hair, Jode is bald with a tattoo on his head, and Pierce is a warforged. The villains get a lot more description, but we're given a lot of freedom to imagine the main protagonists however we like.
For a long time as I was reading the book, I couldn't decide whether Baker was a better first-time author than other D&D authors Weis/Hickman and Salvatore, or just that the editors at Wizards of the Coast were better than the TSR editors that those other authors worked with back in the 80s. But in the end I'm convinced that Baker is just a better first-time author. I say this because the story is good - a noir mystery set in a sword & sorcery D&D world - and the writing is solid, but the book is full of errors that would have been caught by better editors/proofreaders. So the credit goes to Baker and not the editing team at Wizards.
An example is the use of "then" (meaning a time relationship) instead of "than" (meaning a comparison). They look and sound almost the same, and it's a distressingly common error that writers make, confusing one for the other. But that should make it all the more obvious for proofreaders to catch. They didn't. Mostly the errors in this book are little things like that, or using the wrong preposition. There was one instance where the syntax was wrong, something like "of front" rather than "front of." I take it as a sign of this being Baker's first novel; I'm reasonably sure that every author gets better with these things over time (and may get better proofreaders once their books sell).
Reading science-fiction and fantasy novels, there's sometimes the question of whether the plot was based on a TTRPG campaign. Many times it's obviously the case, as with the Expanse series. Most of the time it doesn't even occur to ask, because it doesn't read like a campaign at all. But with books that are licensed and/or published by game manufacturers, the question is inevitable. Weirdly for a D&D book, I don't think this story is based on actual game sessions; it follows way too closely to the tropes of postwar mystery novels from Dashiell Hammett and others. To me it really feels like Baker was trying to write a hard-bitten detective novel set in his postwar game world of Eberron. The detectives in these sort of mystery novels are usually veterans who are struggling to make ends meet, and money is the big motivation for them to do what they do. That fits the party described in this book exactly. I think Baker pulls this blend of genres off pretty well.
November 2, 2025
I wanted to like City of Towers. I really did.
It’s the first novel set in Eberron—a Dungeons & Dragons setting with magical post–WWI intrigue, noir grit, and arcane technology—and it should have been an instant classic.
Instead, it’s a mess. You got uneven tone, thin characterization, and painfully erratic plotting. I’m not even 100% sure the author knew what kind of story he wants to tell.
What makes it frustrating is that you can see the author’s love for the world bleeding through every page. Keith Baker knows Eberron inside and out. And he should, Eberron is his creation, after all. The city of Sharn is vividly drawn. Its spires, shadows, and social hierarchies feel unique in a way few fantasy settings ever do. But while the world hums with imagination, the story itself stumbles and gasps for air.
The plot drifts. The characters blur together. The pacing putters about. It’s the kind of book that makes you wish someone else—anyone else—had been hired to write it. Because Eberron is a fascinating concept: a world of shattered post-war empires, elemental airships, and magical industry and noble classes. But none of that potential translates into the narrative drive. We’re frustratingly stuck on such a micro-level we don’t get to see any of the interesting things, only the squalor with none of the spice that would make it alive.
And while this book wasn’t ever going to be high literature, the actual writing was worse than average. The prose is flat, the dialogue clunky, and the emotional core almost nonexistent. Every so often, there’ll be a spark—an idea, a bit of lore, a glimpse of what this world could be—but it never catches on. By the end, you’re left not frustrated, just disappointed.
Mind you, this book isn’t terrible. It’s just the worst kind of mediocre: a wasted opportunity. A stunning world, squandered by weak storytelling.
I will try other series in the same universe because it’s still such an interesting setting, but this book definitely took the proverbial wild out of my elemental airship’s propellers.
It’s the first novel set in Eberron—a Dungeons & Dragons setting with magical post–WWI intrigue, noir grit, and arcane technology—and it should have been an instant classic.
Instead, it’s a mess. You got uneven tone, thin characterization, and painfully erratic plotting. I’m not even 100% sure the author knew what kind of story he wants to tell.
What makes it frustrating is that you can see the author’s love for the world bleeding through every page. Keith Baker knows Eberron inside and out. And he should, Eberron is his creation, after all. The city of Sharn is vividly drawn. Its spires, shadows, and social hierarchies feel unique in a way few fantasy settings ever do. But while the world hums with imagination, the story itself stumbles and gasps for air.
The plot drifts. The characters blur together. The pacing putters about. It’s the kind of book that makes you wish someone else—anyone else—had been hired to write it. Because Eberron is a fascinating concept: a world of shattered post-war empires, elemental airships, and magical industry and noble classes. But none of that potential translates into the narrative drive. We’re frustratingly stuck on such a micro-level we don’t get to see any of the interesting things, only the squalor with none of the spice that would make it alive.
And while this book wasn’t ever going to be high literature, the actual writing was worse than average. The prose is flat, the dialogue clunky, and the emotional core almost nonexistent. Every so often, there’ll be a spark—an idea, a bit of lore, a glimpse of what this world could be—but it never catches on. By the end, you’re left not frustrated, just disappointed.
Mind you, this book isn’t terrible. It’s just the worst kind of mediocre: a wasted opportunity. A stunning world, squandered by weak storytelling.
I will try other series in the same universe because it’s still such an interesting setting, but this book definitely took the proverbial wild out of my elemental airship’s propellers.
May 12, 2020
This is the first Dungeons & Dragons novel that I have ready in quite some time - and I play D&D regularly (at least twice weekly, currently). I have always have a fascination with the Eberron setting, and having read novels penned by the person who created said setting feels like getting some special insight into the world that may not have been conveyed in the actual rule-books for the setting.
With that out of the way, this was a very entertaining read...and I don't believe that familiarity with Dungeons and Dragons is necessary to properly enjoy it. The novel doesn't seem to ever get too technical or too in-depth into the small minutia that only a die-hard fan would understand or enjoy...and, just in case it does, there is a hefty and significant glossary, cast of characters, and setting information in the back of the book that is quite comprehensive and even touches on aspects of the setting that are not mentioned specifically in the novel, but could help flesh it out for the layman.
Perhaps appropriately, the story reminded me of a well-crafted mini-campaign that could be played out over the table top with a group of players and their characters. There were level-appropriate encounters, puzzles to solve, a prophecy oracle to confuse the characters with hints and clues, a player-character death, meetings with the elite and powerful for questionable employment opportunities, infiltration missions, spell saves, etc., etc., etc. I'd definitely roll up a character and play in this campaign.
With that out of the way, this was a very entertaining read...and I don't believe that familiarity with Dungeons and Dragons is necessary to properly enjoy it. The novel doesn't seem to ever get too technical or too in-depth into the small minutia that only a die-hard fan would understand or enjoy...and, just in case it does, there is a hefty and significant glossary, cast of characters, and setting information in the back of the book that is quite comprehensive and even touches on aspects of the setting that are not mentioned specifically in the novel, but could help flesh it out for the layman.
Perhaps appropriately, the story reminded me of a well-crafted mini-campaign that could be played out over the table top with a group of players and their characters. There were level-appropriate encounters, puzzles to solve, a prophecy oracle to confuse the characters with hints and clues, a player-character death, meetings with the elite and powerful for questionable employment opportunities, infiltration missions, spell saves, etc., etc., etc. I'd definitely roll up a character and play in this campaign.
August 25, 2020
I'm going to attempt to read my way through the Eberron novels like I did with Forgotten Realms. We'll see how far I get!
Episode One!
I really enjoyed The City of Towers, far more than I expected to. I've never really been an Eberron fan, and I never really "got" what its focus is/was. I'm still not exactly sure if I do, but it seems to be ... SLIGHTLY steampunk (not enough to annoy me, at least in this book), but mostly it's like, 'what if there was a world that's set RIGHT AFTER a fairly big war?' This book follows one group of fighters, now adrift after the war because their side lost. In some ways, the setup reminded me of a fantasy version of Firefly, which was fine in my book.
Throughout the book, many secrets are revealed about the characters' pasts, but most of them confused me because I don't know the world well enough to understand why half of them are bad. But then it'd be explained and I was like, 'got it.'
I'm still not entirely sure I get the "mark" system in Eberron (it seems KIND OF like a more hierarchical version of the plaguemarked in 4E - did Wizards steal from one of their own properties??), and overall it seemed like MOST of this could easily be set in the Forgotten Realms (I'm thinking Halruaa in the late 14th century, eh? eh?), but I'm okay with that. I liked the characters, and Baker has a really smooth, quick-moving style of writing that I quite enjoyed.
I'll be curious to see where the story takes us next!
Episode One!
I really enjoyed The City of Towers, far more than I expected to. I've never really been an Eberron fan, and I never really "got" what its focus is/was. I'm still not exactly sure if I do, but it seems to be ... SLIGHTLY steampunk (not enough to annoy me, at least in this book), but mostly it's like, 'what if there was a world that's set RIGHT AFTER a fairly big war?' This book follows one group of fighters, now adrift after the war because their side lost. In some ways, the setup reminded me of a fantasy version of Firefly, which was fine in my book.
Throughout the book, many secrets are revealed about the characters' pasts, but most of them confused me because I don't know the world well enough to understand why half of them are bad. But then it'd be explained and I was like, 'got it.'
I'm still not entirely sure I get the "mark" system in Eberron (it seems KIND OF like a more hierarchical version of the plaguemarked in 4E - did Wizards steal from one of their own properties??), and overall it seemed like MOST of this could easily be set in the Forgotten Realms (I'm thinking Halruaa in the late 14th century, eh? eh?), but I'm okay with that. I liked the characters, and Baker has a really smooth, quick-moving style of writing that I quite enjoyed.
I'll be curious to see where the story takes us next!
March 12, 2021
Sharn Stuffed Story
This is a pretty basic fantasy story at the core. A group of adventurers with a range of skill sets (Wizard, check, fighter, healer) survive a terrible war and return “home.” They are all looking for a new path in life when they get pulled into a web of political and cultural intrigue based on motivations unknown to us or our heroes.
The characters have initial motivations, but while they start out mostly unknown they all get a few large steps forward throughout the book and by the end you feel like it all makes sense how they’ve grown/progressed but none of them are a totally out of the blue or wowing. The only “big reveal” is trying to figure “who is the bad guy” and given how many “main choices” it could be, it was hard to be shocked.
What really shines in this story is the world building and more specifically the city of Sharn. Sharn is the star of the book, yes this city that has everything, it has more than you could imagine. And the intrigues of the different factions via houses, nations, cults, clans etc. is what takes this from a middling story to above average.
If you “know Ebberon” via other means it may flesh out some more of you understanding but it won’t feel as grand. If you don’t know the setting then this is a good way to enter this vast/cool world.
This is a pretty basic fantasy story at the core. A group of adventurers with a range of skill sets (Wizard, check, fighter, healer) survive a terrible war and return “home.” They are all looking for a new path in life when they get pulled into a web of political and cultural intrigue based on motivations unknown to us or our heroes.
The characters have initial motivations, but while they start out mostly unknown they all get a few large steps forward throughout the book and by the end you feel like it all makes sense how they’ve grown/progressed but none of them are a totally out of the blue or wowing. The only “big reveal” is trying to figure “who is the bad guy” and given how many “main choices” it could be, it was hard to be shocked.
What really shines in this story is the world building and more specifically the city of Sharn. Sharn is the star of the book, yes this city that has everything, it has more than you could imagine. And the intrigues of the different factions via houses, nations, cults, clans etc. is what takes this from a middling story to above average.
If you “know Ebberon” via other means it may flesh out some more of you understanding but it won’t feel as grand. If you don’t know the setting then this is a good way to enter this vast/cool world.
September 8, 2023
6.5/10
Somewhat biased in my deep love for the world of Eberron, but the world itself in the novel is intriguing if the plot is slightly boilerplate. You are introduced to all the proper nouns with relative ease, and the world feels far more like an actual civilization that developed with magic far more than the medievalism fantasy painting over with magic that so many D&D settings can be. The characters are all likable enough, if a bit archetypal. My only qualm is everyone’s super special-ness with a secret past. It’s where the classic heroic fantasy rubs against the noir elements that cause a bit of tonal tension. Overall, if you want to learn more about the world of Eberron, especially in a narrative format, then this is a good way to get the feeling of the world as it’s lived in. However, for a general recommendation for those not interested in D&D and/Eberron them it’s a bit more hesitant, but if you want ‘heroic fantasy noir set in a post-World War pseudo-steampunk high fantasy setting’ then yeah, go ahead and give it a try, but don’t expect anything too revolutionary narrative-wise.
Somewhat biased in my deep love for the world of Eberron, but the world itself in the novel is intriguing if the plot is slightly boilerplate. You are introduced to all the proper nouns with relative ease, and the world feels far more like an actual civilization that developed with magic far more than the medievalism fantasy painting over with magic that so many D&D settings can be. The characters are all likable enough, if a bit archetypal. My only qualm is everyone’s super special-ness with a secret past. It’s where the classic heroic fantasy rubs against the noir elements that cause a bit of tonal tension. Overall, if you want to learn more about the world of Eberron, especially in a narrative format, then this is a good way to get the feeling of the world as it’s lived in. However, for a general recommendation for those not interested in D&D and/Eberron them it’s a bit more hesitant, but if you want ‘heroic fantasy noir set in a post-World War pseudo-steampunk high fantasy setting’ then yeah, go ahead and give it a try, but don’t expect anything too revolutionary narrative-wise.
May 29, 2019
This is not so much of a book as it is a mix of an introduction to the world of Eberron, with a slight feeling you are watching a D&D session without participating.
Long introduction passages on every 'NPC' and their culture are frequent, so the reader who is not in the know can follow along (and the Appendix at the end is not quite enough).
It also suffers from a phenomenon called 'Starwars-Prequelsitis', which makes the "player-characters" spend WAY too much time in meeting rooms (masked as taverns and actual meeting rooms), talking to other NPCs while performing Interrogation checks for you, live.
Sharn is an amazing city, which I feel was a bit under-utilized, only shimmering through those introduction passages. What about a heist? A Gryffon chase between the towers? Breaking into any of the Dragonmarked houses enclaves?
Nope. More meetings...
Still, I quite enjoyed the ride and I intend to keep on reading the series. Lei is very similar to my own Cannith Artificer I currently play in an Eberron Campaign, and I might get some cool ideas :)
Long introduction passages on every 'NPC' and their culture are frequent, so the reader who is not in the know can follow along (and the Appendix at the end is not quite enough).
It also suffers from a phenomenon called 'Starwars-Prequelsitis', which makes the "player-characters" spend WAY too much time in meeting rooms (masked as taverns and actual meeting rooms), talking to other NPCs while performing Interrogation checks for you, live.
Sharn is an amazing city, which I feel was a bit under-utilized, only shimmering through those introduction passages. What about a heist? A Gryffon chase between the towers? Breaking into any of the Dragonmarked houses enclaves?
Nope. More meetings...
Still, I quite enjoyed the ride and I intend to keep on reading the series. Lei is very similar to my own Cannith Artificer I currently play in an Eberron Campaign, and I might get some cool ideas :)
August 2, 2022
I've really had to struggle through this book. The story itself would be great, but it feels a lot like the setting descriptions and history get in the way of what's actually going on. Reading it is equivalent of chewing through a tough dry cake, so I tried the narration...Stick with reading it.
I returned this audiobook twice, but because I'm a bit of obsessive when it comes to books, I got it one time and just pushed through at 1.5-2x speed narration. The narrator had those "s" sounds that pierce my ears, and it's inconsistent. If this was ready by someone dynamic like James Marsters, or MacLeod Andrews, it would be a much different experience. Even the inflection or didn't match what's written.
The reason I gave it 2 stars, instead of one, is because once you weed through all of the tough exposition, bad narration, etc, the characters are likeable. I enjoyed their arcs and I might read the other two books in the trilogy to know what ultimately happens to them, but no promises. We'll see how book two goes...
I returned this audiobook twice, but because I'm a bit of obsessive when it comes to books, I got it one time and just pushed through at 1.5-2x speed narration. The narrator had those "s" sounds that pierce my ears, and it's inconsistent. If this was ready by someone dynamic like James Marsters, or MacLeod Andrews, it would be a much different experience. Even the inflection or didn't match what's written.
The reason I gave it 2 stars, instead of one, is because once you weed through all of the tough exposition, bad narration, etc, the characters are likeable. I enjoyed their arcs and I might read the other two books in the trilogy to know what ultimately happens to them, but no promises. We'll see how book two goes...
September 20, 2020
If you were interested in this book because you wanted a better sense of the Eberron campaign setting, it's well worth a read. There are a number of set pieces and descriptions that will help you visualize the world, and give the source books context.
I enjoy Baker's writing, and am familiar with his style from other outlets. I don't think the franchise fiction format necessarily let's him shine. There are constraints and requirements in this kind of fiction that make it stronger as a game supplement than as a story on it's own.
A lot of the character development is very tied to the classes and origins of the characters in the system and setting, so some of them can be cliche. Others, like Pierce, who is really the star of this show, stand out.
If you were just looking for a different fantasy series, with no knowledge of the D&D connections, I would guess it's going to be neither painful or compelling.
If you enjoy Eberron, this will be a treat.
I enjoy Baker's writing, and am familiar with his style from other outlets. I don't think the franchise fiction format necessarily let's him shine. There are constraints and requirements in this kind of fiction that make it stronger as a game supplement than as a story on it's own.
A lot of the character development is very tied to the classes and origins of the characters in the system and setting, so some of them can be cliche. Others, like Pierce, who is really the star of this show, stand out.
If you were just looking for a different fantasy series, with no knowledge of the D&D connections, I would guess it's going to be neither painful or compelling.
If you enjoy Eberron, this will be a treat.
December 14, 2018
This book wasnt exceptionally good but wasnt bad either. i did like the main characters and Sharn is an amazing location. it`s like a mini Coruscant on a high fantasy world. There are certainly no other fantasy universe i know of that has a city like that.
But the story was a bit bland until it picked up in the last few chapters. There was also a bit too much exposition in the dialogue. Sometimes the dialogue would be similar to this:
Guy 1: Who is that Hitler fellow?
Guy 2: Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was known as a terrible tyrant and wanted to exterminate the race of Jews. He was the primary cause of World War 2, but he lost it and commited suicide. After that his Nazi empire fell.
People just dont talk like that. It would have been slightly better if the exposition was in the narration and not the dialogue.
But the story was a bit bland until it picked up in the last few chapters. There was also a bit too much exposition in the dialogue. Sometimes the dialogue would be similar to this:
Guy 1: Who is that Hitler fellow?
Guy 2: Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was known as a terrible tyrant and wanted to exterminate the race of Jews. He was the primary cause of World War 2, but he lost it and commited suicide. After that his Nazi empire fell.
People just dont talk like that. It would have been slightly better if the exposition was in the narration and not the dialogue.
August 31, 2022
Somehow, it does not seem possible to review a book like this without stating up front: This is not a fantasy novel, this is an RPG fantasy novel. As such, the book has to follow the conventions of the RPG it originates with - in this case, Dungeons & Dragons. Which in turn means that we often encounter logic errors that are "not the book's fault", but the RPG system's.
This being said, the book is a fairly decent representative of its genre. All main characters have back stories, motivations and secrets (although for one character, we never really learn the truth about them before they die). The story has enough complications and twists to be interesting. The writing is also fairly good (although there are a number of typos). And most importantly: The book gives a good introduction to Eberron, in particular to the city of Sharn. The author, Keith Baker, is at the same time the inventor of this roleplaying setting, so he is in a sense "the authority" on how Sharn and Eberron were meant to be. Even if this means that Sharn in the book is just as illogical as it looked in the setting books...
Anyway: I'm looking forward to the second part of the trilogy. Maybe, some of my open questions are answered there?
This being said, the book is a fairly decent representative of its genre. All main characters have back stories, motivations and secrets (although for one character, we never really learn the truth about them before they die). The story has enough complications and twists to be interesting. The writing is also fairly good (although there are a number of typos). And most importantly: The book gives a good introduction to Eberron, in particular to the city of Sharn. The author, Keith Baker, is at the same time the inventor of this roleplaying setting, so he is in a sense "the authority" on how Sharn and Eberron were meant to be. Even if this means that Sharn in the book is just as illogical as it looked in the setting books...
Anyway: I'm looking forward to the second part of the trilogy. Maybe, some of my open questions are answered there?
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