The Kingless Land [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Ed Greenwood (Author), Nadia May (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2001

Aglirta is known as the Kingless Land--once prosperous and peaceful, it has now fallen into lawlessness, studded with feuding baronies engaged in a constant state of war. The only hope for peace lies in the legend of the Sleeping King: destined to rise and restore peace when the Dwaerindim stones are recovered.

Lady Embra Silvertree is the sorceress daughter of a bellicose baron with an eye towards world domination. She has been imprisoned by her father who hopes to use her as a magical battery to fortify his castle. When a pair of good natured rogues attempt to steal one of her jewel encrusted gowns, they are quickly enlisted as allies to help her escape and, with the aid of a shape-shifting cleric, to seek out the Dwaerindim.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the glittering Advanced Dungeons & Dragons firmament, the star power of Ed Greenwood twinkles somewhere between the bright glow of E. Gary Gygax and the somewhat dimmer shine of Zeb Cook. As creator and Dungeon Master-in-chief of the enormously popular Forgotten Realms setting, Greenwood has secured his status as a legend of gaming--doubly so by inventing the Realms' most illustrious citizen (well, except for Drizzt Do'Urden, of course), Elminster of Shadowdale.

With Kingless Land, Greenwood breaks free of the Realms with a mainstream fantasy novel, the first title in his Band of Four series. But faster than you can say "melee round," you'll suss out that Greenwood's Band looks a heck of a lot like your classic dungeon-faring party: a thief (Craer, the "procurer"), a fighter (Hawkril, a "thick-headed sword-swinger" by Craer's estimation), a wizard (a hot babe whose baron-dad wants to turn her into a castle--neat!), and a cleric (the healer Sarasper, who also gets to be a shapeshifter, presumably to make up for the fact that clerics suck). So, predictably, Kingless Land doesn't cover much more ground than Greenwood's AD&D novels, which were always hit (Cormyr, with Jeff Grubb) or miss (Spellfire--ouch!) at best. But if you can get past the indulgently italicized fantasy bluster ("Sargh and bebolt it!"), Kingless Land certainly proves equal to the best of Greenwood's previous genre work, not unlike a night spent listening to the effortless spin of an expert DM. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The prolific Greenwood, known to fantasy readers for his Elminster books, here provides the first in the "Band of Four" series. Four archetypal characters a wily thief, a lumbering warrior, a wizened cleric, and a beautiful sorceress form an unlikely alliance. They campaign to find and use the lost Dwaerindim stones to restore the long-enchanted King of their realm, Aglirta. Greenwood's middling fantasy writing doesn't translate well to audio; narrator Nadia May reads with verve, but murky subplots, repetitive dialog, and rather hackneyed action scenes combine to derail any momentum. The body count is so ridiculously high as to be grotesque, and attempts at wry humor become predictable, as does the story's outcome. Although Blackstone offers this title in a less expensive MP3 format, there is ample other audio fantasy available. Libraries that have fairly general needs may consider the immensely popular Tolkien works. For enthusiasts and libraries with high demand for sword and sorcery. Douglas C. Lord, Hartford P.L., CT
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786197072
• ISBN-13: 978-0786197071
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,635,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms setting, is the best-selling author of hundreds of novels, game products, and articles. His most recent novel for Wizards of the Coast is The City of Splendors, a collaboration with Elaine Cunningham. He is also the author of the Band of Four novels published by Tor Books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner, March 23, 2000

By 

david mason (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kingless Land (Hardcover)

Over forty years of reading fantasy novels, I find they are either: brilliant (very rare), good but flawed (lots of those), and drek. This new Greenwood book is good but flawed. It doesn't try to be anything more than popcorn-and-beer reading, and gives the reader a whumping good ride. Lots of cinematic scenes and blasting action but little touches of characterization here and there that tell us these people are real and we should care about them. I really liked it, and will buy any sequels that appear. Expect the Lord of the Rings, and you'll be disappointed. Expect a really fun read, and this is it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a video game, July 9, 2004

By 

Christopher R. Magee "fenryswulf" (Naperville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kingless Land (Band of Four, Vol. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

After about 50 pages, I thought this book was pretty entertaining, but that notion didn't last. While I was reading this I kept getting the urge to go off and play an RPG (role playing game) because that's basically what this book is. A group of four adventurers goes on a few quests and leaves a heap of bodies in their wake. There was way too much carnage per page - the problem isn't that it's violent, but that people are just dying left and right and it doesn't mean anything. There is almost an irreverent attitude towards death. This entire land must get depopulated in a month at the rate things are going in this book. The other main fault I found is that the characters are way too stereotypical - the warrior is dumber than a rock and basically wants to kill everything he doesn't understand. The author also jumps around a lot, often awkwardly. A whole bunch of wizards will get vaporized two pages after being introduced for the first time, and you don't know who they are anyway so you don't care if they died.

On the plus side, the action sequences are entertaining, but you just have to ask yourself why you should care about anyone. I didn't find myself forming any attachments to the characters or hatred for any particular enemies. It's just not a good story, and I don't plan to read the other books in the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where's the story ?, July 18, 2006

By 

Willy Boy "Willy Boy" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kingless Land (Band of Four, Vol. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a big fan of the fantasy genre and have read many authors of many different styles. Mr. Greenwood is barely an author. To say there is little plot to his book is an understatement. I used to game with a number of players where one of them kept notes of our gaming session. The next time we came together to game, he would recap what occurred the last time we played. Mr. Greenwood apparently has this down to an art form. His book reads exactly like a D&D gaming session. I can't think of anything more boring than reading about someone else's D&D adventures. This is what it feels like to wade through The Kingless Land. I can summarize the book in one sentence. Action, action, action, minor annoying plot point, action, action, action minor annoying plot point. If you are, say, under the age of 13 and you can suspend your disbelief enough to enjoy a story where the main characters are beaten, brutalized, fried, beaten and brutalized again over a month period, in which they do not sleep or rest, then this book is for you. But for those fans of fantasy that are more discerning, by all means stay away.