The Tales of the Last War

by Mark Sehestedt

Book Overview

Set against the backdrop of Eberron, a world of dark fantasy and swashbuckling heroes, a collection of short fiction features works set in the final days of the Last War, with contributions from Keith... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786939869
• ISBN13: 9780786939862
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 339 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Snapshots of the Last Days of the Last War

This is a really interesting piece, in which the authors of the various stories in this anthology share their depictions of the last days of the Last War in a number of different lands in Khorvaire. Though it lacks some continuity with other works in general because it is a single edition, it provides the reader with a diversity of perspectives on the most cataclysmic and important event to affect the Dragon Between--the Day of Mourning. A good, quick read for any fans of fantasy.

Tales of the Last War

Great read....brings together a compilation of many stories filling in gaps between the Last War and current time in Eberron. Each story left me wanting for more as most ended with more tale to be told!

Decent first anthology for Eberron

Tales of the Last War is the first anthology set in the new world of Eberron. There are a total of nine shorts stories within the pages. Some of the names have already had Eberron full length novels released, while others have not. This anthology is supposed to cover the time from the Day of Mourning to afterwards and the aftermath of that day. Instead of trying to write a full review for each story, I will try to give a small blurb for each and you can take it from there. 1. "Death at Whitehearth" by Keith Baker. This story was originally in a booklet that helped Wizards of the Coast promote the new Eberron world. Overall, the story is very average. I am not a fan of first person stories and that is just what this one is. Also, Baker seems like he wants to include everything Eberron has to offer into one short story and that makes it seem disjointed. The characters found in this story are the same ones found in Baker's Shattered Land trilogy, the first trilogy to be in Eberron. I give this story a 3 out of 5. 2. "Death before Dawn" by Paul Crilley. This is a fast paced story that has no qualms at flying through the storyline. For a short story, this one is very good. I found myself caring right away about Col and his situation. The ending was a little clichéd, but getting there was a lot of fun. I didn't think it possible to have that many twists in a short story. I rank this as the second best story in this anthology. 4 out of 5. 3. "The Blade of the Flame" by Tim Waggoner. In my opinion this is the best story of the anthology. I really enjoyed reading this one, good characters, solid plot line, and all weaved together to keep the reader interested. Also, the heroes found in this story will continue on in Waggoner's first full length Eberron novel Thieves of Blood being released in May 2006. I suggest reading this story before reading that novel. 5 out of 5. 4. "Distant Fires" by Aaron Rosenberg. A decent story, but once you finish reading it the plot seems rather contrived and the clichés that riddle this book take away some of the enjoyment factor. Eberron being a completely new world, should strive to be it's own entity not copy things that have done before. Sadly, that's what I feel this story did. 3 out of 5. 5. "The Veiled Charge" by David A. Page. This story is... odd, for lack of a better word. It's well written, but there are so many perception shifts at times it leaves the reader wondering just what is going on for a page or two, and with space at a premium in short stories that is not a good thing. There is nothing really special that sticks out with this story, but the author seems to have some promise. 3 out of 5. 6. "The Weight of Water" by Edward Blome. This was a fun story to read. Although, I must admit that while reading it I often felt like I was reading a Dragonlance story about gnomes. I don't mean that as a bad thing, rather that this story just didn't `feel' like Eberron to me. The characters were very good, and th

Samples and Preludes

This collection of short stories for the Eberron world fantasy setting is probably going to be a must-have for devotees of all things Eberron. The overall theme of this book includes stories that involve Eberron from a time-span of a few years before and after the end of the Last War. If you are a reader who has only read even a few good novels involving Eberron and are looking to find more, this would be a good start. Not only does this book contain some very good stories, many of the short stories are clearly designed to serve as jumping-off points or preludes to future novels, so that devoted readers may feel not quite so in-the-know if they have not read these stories. I have chosen to summerize my comments about each story in 1 or 2 sentences: *"Death at Whitehearth" by Keith Baker - An excellent quick adventure story prior to the Day of Mourning involving the characters from Baker's Dreaming Dark trilogy. This story was originally part of an Eberron setting campaign gaming supplement. *"Death Before Dawn" by Paul Crilley - A mystery take that is pretty straight forward and not too full of surprises, but decently written. *"The Blade of the Flame" by Tim Waggoner - An interesting story involving a former assassin-turned-exorcist of the Silver Flame. Clearly a jumping off point for future stories/novels. *"Distant Fires" by Aaron Rosenberg - Well-written, interesting short story that seemed rather out of place in the Eberron setting. *"The Veiled Charge" by David A. Page - A short adventure encounter story that involves a demi-demon and a small group of adventurers aboard a lightning rail. *"The Weight of Water" by Edward Bolme - Another nice adventure story involving the Aundarian monk Teron from Bolme's "The Orb of Xoriat" novel. Excellent dialogue and one of the best stories in this collection. *"War Machines -- 992 YK" by Ian Burton-Oakes - Interesting story involving the war forged. For those folks who like to speculate on what might have caused the Day of Mourning, this story would help to seed one strong possibility. *"Call of the Silver Flame" by James Wyatt - An excellent short story that clearly serves as a precursor or back story to an upcoming novel by Wyatt. *"Flight of the Righteous Indignation" by Ari Marmell - A suspenseful thriller that could be called a blending of H.P. Lovecraft and the movie Alien. Thus far I have not found many of the Eberron novels to really contain enough elements, let along the flavor of the Eberron world, aside from creator Keith Baker's books. This collection of stories somewhat mirrors that problem in that some stories really seem to capture the pulp/noir feel that Baker apparently intended for Eberron. These would include the best 2 stories in this book: "Death at Whitehearth" and "Call of the Silver Flame", as well as "War Machines - 992 YK" and "Flight of the Righteous Indignation". Other stories are quite excellent and contain elements of the Eberron world without having quite th

Fun collection of stories -- a little something for everyone

Tales of the Last War is a collection of nine short stories set in the world of Eberron. Each story takes place during or shortly after a world-spanning 100 year long war that changed the face of the world forever. The stories in this collection are well-written and provide a nice sample of what Eberron has to offer. Each tale focuses on a different set of characters and together they offer a little something for everyone. The stories range for a gruesome murder mystery, to a tale of possible demonic possession, to a search for meaning by a sentient living construct created for the sole purpose of making war. There is magic and mystery, there is adventure, betrayal and a lot more. The characters are well thought out and interesting. From a monk trained in the art of war, to an ex-assassin searching for peace, to a half-elven adventurer whose search for meaning leads her down the path to becoming a paladin these tales feature a number of interesting conflicts and situations. A number of the stories have a dark and gritty feeling and manage to convey a sense of tension to the reader. All of the tales in this volume are enjoyable, although (as with any anthology) some were better than others. My personal favourite was "Call of the Silver Flame" by James Wyatt. I would definately recommend this book to any fan of short fantasy fiction. And it is a must for fans of the world of Eberron.