The Road to Death: The Lost Mark Book 2

This second novel in the Lost Mark trilogy is excellent, much better than the first. This book is much less repetitive and less predictable than the previous one, with the plot taking some rather surprising turns. As in the first book, Forbeck's great writing style helps bring this one to life. Exciting fight scenes and interesting looks into the psyches of the characters make for a great book. Additionally, we continue to explore this relatively new world through this book. This is my favorite book so far in the Eberron campaign setting. The new characters introduced in this book are less than thrilling, but each of the characters from the previous book are greatly improved on. Kandler, Sallah, Xalt, and Espre are made to be very much more lifelike, with often conflicting emotional battles going on within the heroes. A timid love begins to blossom between Kandler and Sallah, making their relationship a lot more interesting and meaningful. Espre is forced to come to grips with her birthright, finally using the power granted by the Mark of Death. The final sequence of events is incredibly well-done, with a horrid black dragon of incredible power done in amazing detail. You won't be able to put the book down for the forty or so final pages of this book, as the heroes are tried to their limits. Really one of the most exciting final scenes of any book I've read in quite a while. Leaves the story in an excellent place that makes me want to pick up the final book of the trilogy as soon as possible. Recommended.

I really enjoyed the first book of the trilogy, and this one didn't let me down. Building on the "chase" from the first book, Road to Death returns all the favorite characters and adds several more. It also continues to introduce readers to the peoples and places of Eberron and drops little tidbits of history that make me hope other countries and cultures are explored in future books. Forbeck's style of ending most chapters with a cliff-hanger situation keeps me from putting the book down. I recommend this very highly for anyone who enjoyed the first book in the trilogy and also for those who like Forgotten Realms or DragonLance novels.

The Road to Death is the second in the Lost Mark Trilogy written by Matt Forbeck, the first book is Marked for Death. It needs to be said that the reader needs to read Marked for Death before they attempt this book, or else several things will not mesh. People who regularly read my reviews (not sure how many there are) will remember that I gave the first book a less than stellar review. I still feel the review I gave the first book was well earned, however, this book I absolutely loved! I must say this is the first Eberron book that I have loved. I am eagerly looking forward to December of 2006 when The Queen of Death, the third book in this trilogy, will be released. This book is both character driven and plot driven. The mix is almost perfect between the two. There is a strong plot element to this novel and one that seems to carry the characters along for the ride. This book fixes the plot problems that I saw with the first book. Mainly the repetitive nature of the plot in Espre getting kidnapped and lost over and over again. This book reveals a much broader brush in which the story is taking place. The motivations of some of the characters are beginning to come through. There is also a twist or two to make sure the reader is paying attention.. As with most books, there is an `end battle' in this one. However, it's not the typical hack `n slash battle which is over and done with. It's a `real' battle that takes time and cunning to survive. Well written. The character development in this book explodes from the first one. In the first book the characters seemed one dimensional to me. In this book there was so much more about each of the main characters. In fact one of the main `bad guys' from the first book, Te'oma, Forbeck made me care about her, where as the firs book I could have cared less. My only thing about the characters is I would have liked to read a little more about Burch, but hopefully that comes to in the final book. The rest of the character development was stellar. As I said before, I feel this is the best Eberron book I have red to date. Thus far I have had mixed reviews about the Eberron world, but this book makes me want to keep reading to find the gems that will surface. I am not a role player in any sense of the imagination, and I think that may be one of the down sides to the Eberron novels. I don't care about gaming rules, stats, and all that. I care about being entertained when I read, that's exactly what this novel did. I would recommend this to people who are curious about the Eberron world and what the novels can bring to the table. Role players will certainly like this book. A definite must read for fantasy fans. Well done Mr. Forbeck!

This brief reveiw was initially posted at Essential-Ebberon.com ... I truly enjoyed the novel and believe that it demonstrates the evolution of Matt Forbeck's style and depth since the first in the series. Matt examines the internal conflicts that plague characters and this is particularly effective in his exploration of theology and the Machivellian issue that questions whether ends justifies the mean. There is a distinctly more sombre tone to The Road To Death, reflecting a shift in the writer's approach to the characters and to the pervasive, and often existential, themes in the campaign world. Matt Forbeck and Don Bassingthwaite are the forerunners in this campaign novel series!

I say in the title of this review that the novel was surprising satisfying, but I should say that I was hoping, nay expecting, this to be a good book, and Matt Forbeck did not dissapoint. I gave the first novel a 5 star rating, as one of the first Eberron books to come out it got me hooked on the setting. If I could I would give this novel 6 stars. This book picks up immediately where the last one left off, and is pretty much action all the way. There is a nice part in the middle where everyone gets to come up for a breather, and then we are back into the thick of it again. It is the last third of the book that did it for me though, with the introduction of an ancient Dwarven stronghold, being the lair of a rather nasty Dragon. Also the action really kicks into 6th gear, and gives you a powerful dramatic ending. I think that the characters certainly developed more in this book, and Matt Forbeck wasn't restrained as much as he was in the first one (when he had to introduce us to a rather large cast). The first book ended on quite a cliffhanger, whereas this one rounds off quite nicely, setting up the final novel in this series. The book does raise quite a few questions, which I will pondering over and will only be answered when the final novel, The Queen of Death, is released later this year! I certainly hope that Matt goes onto to provide us with more wonderful characters outside of this trilogy, in the Eberron setting, as he has a solid grasp of the world.