Customer Reviews

The City of Towers (Eberron: The Dreaming Dark, Book 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Overall I enjoyed the story and hope that not only does he continue his series, but others write in the world he developed. He created a rich new world with some very interesting ideas. Now to the actual plot. The plot itself was interesting, but he likes to be mysterious about every single character. After finishing the book, I did not know much more about each character then when I started. The devolopment of the characters was pretty much nonexistent, but the interesting plot made up for it. I hope in the future that he remedies this and feels that he can tell us more.

There was one minor irritant. I assume the book was edited, but if it was, there were a great deal of spelling and grammar errors. Whoever did edit it did not do a thorough job. I found them every five or six pages. It was not a huge deal, but it disrupted my reading.

For those that don't play D&D (or don't anymore), it's an interesting (and maybe a little frustrating to start) introduction to the new world of Eberron. The book moves fairly well, but for those who don't know anything about this new world, it can be a bit hard to figure it all out at first.
The author seems to assume that readers wll have a passing familiarity before they pick up the book.
There is a glossary and some history of the world, however it is in the back of the book, and I didn't even notice it until I had already finished reading it.

Characters in this novel are a bit, shall we say, flat. They aren't unlikable, they aren't likable, they are just there. Not a whole lot to them at this point.
The story itself is good and once you have a grasp on the world and the rules of Eberron, it flows well.

It's worth reading and for myself, I will be really looking forward to Baker's second effort.

For number of ideas and richness of the world, there are not many openings to a trilogy that beat out this one from Baker. The setting is obviously developed in his mind in great detail, so that it all holds together as the characters move through the story, and the ideas and mysteries within were intriguing enough to keep me reading the book straight through. If you ever played role playing games, you'll also recognize those late nights with the dice which is kind of fun. Looks like a great start, I'm waiting for book two.

I have to say I am very surprised any other reviewers had much to say against Mr. Baker's writing skill. Other than feeling a little like the multi-layers of mystery were leaving me feel a little misused (as in "I just don't know what to believe") rather than piqued, I loved the book. Character development may have been a little slow at the beginning, but isn't it always so at the start of a series? The depictions of supporting characters was true and rich, and the detail used to color the city of Sharn and all its corners was immense (well, not quite Tolkien, but...).

I truly had a hard time putting this book down, and immediately knew I was going to HAVE to finish the series once I got about 1/2 through it. I genuinely recommend it to any readers, especially to those who may not like the idea of mixing fantasy and pseudo-science (artifice, as it may be more appropriately called in Ebberon). I am a bit a purist, and really prefer fantasy without tech, and though I was wary of the setting, I really had fun, wanted to learn more about the realm AND even the artifice & magics... Four and a half stars!

Baker gets the honors of launching the first book in a world that he created, and won a contest through Wizards of the Coast for that world.

There are a number of things that distinguish this world from others of the fantasy genre. A number of things that could be positive in books to come. Things such as; warforged, dragon marks, air ships, etc. I won't go into detail here, but they are rather intesting. I think there may be some good things to come for Ebberon.

Now, on to the novel. The City of Towers is basically an introduction tot h world for readers, and as such it needs to give the reader a great deal of background information. This detracts (at times) from the flow of the novel as the author is forced to explain things to us instead of assuming we already have been exposed to it.

The overall plot and story is so-so. Now I say that with some hesitation as it's the first book of a trilogy so the story may progress more in the next book. There are some interesting characters that could make the next two books in the trilogy enjoyable to read, but at times they seem like card-board cut out and just go through the motions. I wasn't impressed with Baker's descriptions of action scenes at all.

While this book won't rank as one of my favorites it's a good introduction to the world of Ebberon and this trilogy should be watched for future novels and see if Baker can get any better.

Let me preface this by saying that I love the world Baker has created. It is excellent. There is a great deal of detail in the world, a good deal of mystery, and to me the more important thing is a move away from the more traditional worlds, while still feeling familiar and not entirely alien. My only real complaint about the world was that it seemed very much like a comic book to me. It felt like everyone and their monkey had some sort of super power to me, and by the end of the book I wondered why the main character didn't have some superhuman ability (though I'm making a guess that he will in a future book). This to me was distracting, I don't want my fantasy book to feel like a superhero book, and it did to me a little. I like the ideas that Baker had, but think he may have gone a bit overboard with how many ways there are to become a super hero.

For the book, I didn't really feel it was that great, though considering it was Baker's first book I think he did a pretty good job. Many authors struggle in their first foray into the field of fantasy and I don't think Baker is an exception to this. This doesn't mean he won't do good in the future, it just means he isn't there yet.

The plot was good, but I think the interludes spread throughout the book took away from it for me. I think it would have been a lot better going through it from the point of view of the main characters and not knowing what was going on with the characters, and discovering it for myself. I think it would have made the mystery portion of the book that much greater. I realize that empowering the reader with information the characters don't know is a popular writing technique, it just didn't work well here. I almost felt like Baker himself didn't want the interludes but his editor forced him into it. They just didn't feel natural.

The characters were good. I liked them all fairly well, though the halfling felt a tad forced. It seemed that Baker may have been trying to get the reader to like him a little too hard, but he was still a decent character (although maybe overly mysterious as the previous reviewer has mentioned).

I agree with a previous reviewer... the editing of this book was atrocious. There were issues all over this book with grammar and spelling. I don't blame Baker particularly that much, though he should have looked over the book himself more, but he obviously did not have a very good editor going over the book.

This is an adventure novel that pulls you in to the fantasy world of eberron. The book is highly readible and is great for those who are interested in the eberron campaign setting.

Altough the author of this book clearly didn't intend to write literature it's detective style makes it an interesting read. You can finish it within a day and that plus the extremely good appendix makes it perfect for RPG players wanting inspiration for a true in-depth adventure game.

Within this genre is clearly deserves a good rating:4 stars!

now i'm looking for book II, ;-)

Despite all the abuse its getting, this is a pretty good book. It really gives a view into Eberron, and is a much-needed book for those who play in it. For people who don't play Dungeons and Dragons, its okay, the book gives enough backstory. The problem is that the chracters are undeveloped and stereotypical, the plot falls flat, and their are huge stretches where nothing of interest happens. It isn't Keith Bakers falt though. He IS a first time author. My final verdict: If you play Eberron this book is a must buy for the detail. If you don't, then skip to another book.

Keith Baker gives us a mediocre story but a fabulous "open house" for the city of Sharn. I was not intrigued by the intended-to-be-tantalizing peeks into the characters backgrounds. However, I was extremely happy with the first-class tour of the city at the hands of the person most qualified to lead it.

If you'd like to know more about the Eberron setting and what makes it different, but you can't make it through a campaign setting reference book without dozing off, this is the book for you. The loving hand of the creator shows and tells much of what Sharn and Eberron have to offer, and you don't have to wade through a single stat block!

If you're interested in Eberron fiction, Matt Forbeck's "Marked For Death" is probably the better read. But if you're at all interested in Eberron as a setting for your game play, pick up this book.

I'm usually quite tolerant when it comes to fantasy literature, I know the characters might be unusually shallow, the story predictable, one-dimensional and full of discrepancies, however the fantasy setting appeal to me. It's like Prince in the late nineties; I know it's bad, but I like it. That might make it good. I don't know.

In this case however, lowered expectations were uncalled for. Great storyline, a sustained sense of mystery, somewhat convincing characters (!) and as mentioned in most of these reviews: a great introduction to the world of Eberron. I really admire all the work Keith Baker & Co has put into this setting.

Off-topic: Some of these reviews brand Keith Baker as an awful fantasy writer. The options: 1) Read more fantasy, it'll make this book comparatively better. 2) Stop reading fantasy and start reading sci-fi instead. Just keep away from all that american conspiracy mumbo, it's bad for your psyche.