The City of Towers

Eberron: Dreaming Dark, Book 1

By: Keith Baker

Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White

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.

©2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great Campaign Setting Reference

While working perfectly well as a primer for understanding the D&D campaign setting of the world of Eberron with some compelling characters, the story reads like a transcript of a table game, and the narrator slips frequently trying to maintain his cast of voices. Still, if you want to know about Eberron, the exposition, even when handled in as clunky a manner as written here, provides no better understanding of the unique, compelling, and magical world of Eberron. definitely a series worth spending the time on despite its many shortcomings as a literary work.

Great introduction to an amazing setting and worl

I've been playing D&D for over 20 years. I really enjoyed this story and the performance!

Great introduction to the world of Eberron

Baker’s description of the city of Sharn and the appendix may be worth the price alone. But I found the characters interesting and unique to Eberron. Worth a listen.

A good intro to Eberron

Let me start by saying the narration is excellent. Now, I am not new to D&D but am completely new to Eberron. Before delving into rule books I might never use I wanted to get a sense of what made this setting different from Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk. It does a good job of highlighting at least a part of the setting that isn't traditional high fantasy. My only complaint about the audiobook is that the appendix is at the end (duh!) but really should be heard first (or at least early on after starting the story) to get a stronger idea of the setting. It didn't really hurt the story but it would have made some of details easier to contextualize. I plan on continuing the trilogy.

Thin story stretched too far, narration issues

Interesting world. But the story feels stretched very thin. That and the narrator pausing, I'm assuming because he either lost his place or had to turn a page, and his inconsistent pronunciation of names and places....it was kind of a slog to get through unfortunately.

A New World, a Pleasant Surprise!

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.

A Wonderful Introduction To Eberron

As a first time aspiring DM to the world of Eberron this book definitely helps pull back the veil to the rather unconventional world of Eberron opposed to regular d&d settings. The narrator stands out brightly though, his skill is AAA hollywood quality voice acting.

Amazing resource for ANYONE planning to use Sharn.

Gives an example of many different scenarios most games Eberron campaigns may call upon at least once.

A great look into the complex world of Eberron

An incredible asset for anyone thinking about running an Eberron campaign.
I am currently running an Eberron campaign from my group, and this book has allowed me an in-depth look into the city of towers, and a new way to flavor my story .

Interesting beginning

What did you love best about The City of Towers?

This is an introductory novel to the then new campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons. Every now and then, mixed with and in explanation of some parts of the plot, there are excursions on the races, societies, and magical aspects of the world. The way the story and the explanations mingle together is well crafted (a long way since the Forgotten Realms and better than Dragonlance).

Who was your favorite character and why?

The heroes of the story are all interesting. Maybe my favourite is Daine, probably the main male protagonist. I like that way the character has religious doubts and doubts altogether on what to do next, after the Last War. That's the kind of character I like best.

What three words best describe Alex Hyde-White’s voice?

Certainly a professional, maybe his voice sounds too "old" for these characters (all young or young-ish). Nice rhythm.

Any additional comments?

I'd suggest this book to any D&D geek, like myself, or to anyone who wants a good introduction to fantasy fiction. The narrator has certainly done his job, but I would have preferred a younger voice. He tries to give each character their own unique voice, but sometimes the effect is slightly comical (the warforged and occasionally Lei). Still, the narration is smooth and the audiobook is certainly worth its credit!