World Famous Comics: The Grieving Tree: The Dragon Below, Book 2 (The Dragon Below)
The Grieving Tree: The Dragon Below, Book 2 (The Dragon Below)
By: Don Bassingthwaite Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Wizards of the Coast Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: March 07, 2006 Release Date: March 07, 2006
Product Description: For three heroes, the past is about to come back to hunt them.
A renegade warrior, a mystic exile, and a magic-wielding soldier are on the run. Their enemies are closing in. Some want to control them, some want to rob them, and others just want them dead.
In a land of monsters and renegades, their one hope for survival may be an ancient device of evil, the long-lost Grieving Tree. . . .
The Best Eberron Series ...by far. This book continues the goodness. Best treatment of a dragon being smarter than everyone else I've ever seen.
Just as good as the first book !! I loved the first book in this series, 'The Binding Stone', and this one is just as good. The plot is fast paced, the characters work really well - with a few new ones entering the scene - and I felt their relationships and characteristics developed interestingly during the course of the story. The end leaves you wishing the third book was already out ready to go ! I love how the plot goes to a new level by the end, and I thought the secret of the villian was well revealed and only intensified the plot ready for the next book.
A Little better than Book 1 The Grieving Tree by Don Bassingthwaite is the second book in the Dragon Below trilogy set in the Eberron world. The first book is titled The Binding Stone and was released in August, 2005. If you are interested in this book, you really need to read the first book so as not to get lost in the over-arching plot lines between the two books and most likely the third book as well.
When I reviewed the Binding Stone I gave it fairly average marks. T said there was a good story, and that the characters were mere 2-D cut-outs of countless fantasy novels before them. The same formula holds true in this book as well, although, I did enjoy this one more than I did the first. It's not to say that Bassingthwaite is a bad author, in fact I think he is a good author, but these two books seem to be lacking something that makes a decent book a good book.
While the characters are pretty much the same as in the first book, they are fleshed out a little more, but not enough for me to really care about them. In fact I found myself more interested in the villains and was actually hoping the `heroes' would lose. The heroes show brief flashes of being very interesting and worthwhile reading, but they rarely help my interest for more than 5-10 pages at a time. I wish I could pin point it for everyone, but they just weren't that interesting to me. I often felt like several names could be attached to the characters that I had read them several times before, there was little `new' feeling to them. Where as the villains had some semblance of uniqueness that made them interesting and worthwhile to read.
The plot carries over from the first book right where it left off. This lends itself to being easier to understand and keep on going. However, I was a little disappointed that more sub-plots were not developed. There seemed to be a great deal of room for sub-plots there were ignored. Also, from the first book there is a deep seeded secret between two of the heroes that is hinted at several times through both books. Then, finally, when it is revealed it leaves the reader feeling hallow because it is rushed through like it mattered very little. After all the hinting it seems like there should have been a much bigger reaction and consequences. The main plot of the book is well written and does a decent job at explaining some key elements of the story, but there again at times it feels like the author is just telling us things to `make sure' we get what is going on.
Overall, this is an okay read if you are interested in the Eberron world. I have read every Eberron novel so far and this is a little below average for me. It's not the worst Eberron book out there, but certainly not the best either. I would hesitate to recommend this book to people not really interested in the Eberron. I am holding out hope that the third book will be better than the first two. Again, not a bad book by any means, but I definitely think there are better books out there right now.
A great story with great characters "The Grieving Tree" is the second book in the "Dragon Below" trilogy, set in the world of Eberron. Like the first book in the trilogy ("The Binding Stone"), this book is a fast-paced, exciting adventure book. The plot revolves around a mixed bag of heroes who are caught up in a life or death struggle with Dah'mir, a charismatic priest of the dragon below who turns out to be more than he appears.
"The Grieving Tree" picks up where "The Binding Stone" left off with the heroes learning of a riddle which could lead them to an important clue about Dah'mir's origins. The riddle is obscure and the path they must follow is filled with danger. As mentioned above the book is fast-paced and full of action. The plot is well thought-out and well written.
The strength of this series is in its characters all of whom have interesting back-stories which are slowly revealed over the course of the story. The good guys, are not your typical hero-types. Each has his or her own flaws and their shared past often creates tension between some of the members of the party. This adds a sense of urgency and excitement to the story. Throughout the book, the reader is left guessing about what will happen next and how this sometimes fragile alliance will hold together. If you are a fan of characters who are "shades of grey" and of character development, then you will enjoy this book.
And the villains are equally interesting. My favourite was the very unique Hruucan, who is an undead creature who feeds off on fire and peoples life-forces. A very interesting villain indeed. One thing I enjoyed is that, while Dah'mir was not above using and discarding his followers, the bad guys are not the typical bad guys whose in-fighting leads to their downfall.
In my humble opinion, this book has something for everyone. There is action, adventure, magic, and even a little mystery. The story is interesting and the characters are well-written.
I would recommend this book to all fans of epic fantasy, but especially to fans of Eberron.
One word of warning, this is the second book of the series, and while there is a very nice summary of book 1 at the beginning, I would recommend first reading "The Binding Stone," which is also an excellent book.
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