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59th out of 155 books
—
133 voters
Lord of Souls (The Elder Scrolls #2)
Forty years after the Oblivion crisis, the empire of Tamriel is threatened by a mysterious floating city, Umbriel, whose shadow spawns a terrifying undead army.
Reeling from a devastating discovery, Prince Attrebus continues on his seemingly doomed quest to obtain a magic sword that holds the key to destroying the deadly invaders. Meanwhile, in the Imperial City, the spy Co...more
Reeling from a devastating discovery, Prince Attrebus continues on his seemingly doomed quest to obtain a magic sword that holds the key to destroying the deadly invaders. Meanwhile, in the Imperial City, the spy Co...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
September 27th 2011
by Del Rey
(first published September 1st 2011)
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Lord of Souls: An Elder Scrolls Novel[return]Greg Keyes[return]Del Rey (2011), Paperback, 336 pages[return][return][return]I may have approached this book differently than some reviewers; while I know of the video game universe in which this is set, I have never played it and only barely seen it. Instead of reading it as a tie-in I took the book to see how it stands on it's own two feet, as it were.[return][return]Without knowing any of the backstory I found myself rather scattered early in the...more
Perhaps I have shocked people a little, being one of the very few who have given this book five stars. You would have thought reading English Literature at university had really refined my criticism skills when reading books but this is not so - case in point, Lord of Souls.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It gave me shivers of delight when I recognised mentions of things I recognise, whilst at the same time providing die-hard fans who think they know everything about this world they're immer...more
I really, really enjoyed this book. It gave me shivers of delight when I recognised mentions of things I recognise, whilst at the same time providing die-hard fans who think they know everything about this world they're immer...more
I read the first Elder Scrolls book, The Infernal City, and liked it, so I was excited to finish the adventure in the second book.
Incidentally, this is the first book I bought for my Kindle, and the first book I’ve read on it.
Summary
The floating city of Umbriel is advancing on the Imperial City of Tamriel. Prince Attrebus and his dark elf companion, Sul, are sent back to Tamriel by the daedric prince Malacath to fulfill Sul’s vow of vengeance against the master of Umbriel, Vuhon (Malacath being...more
Incidentally, this is the first book I bought for my Kindle, and the first book I’ve read on it.
Summary
The floating city of Umbriel is advancing on the Imperial City of Tamriel. Prince Attrebus and his dark elf companion, Sul, are sent back to Tamriel by the daedric prince Malacath to fulfill Sul’s vow of vengeance against the master of Umbriel, Vuhon (Malacath being...more
As an experienced gamer who’s played the last two Elder Scrolls roleplaying games, Morrowind and Oblivion, I grabbed at the chance to learn even more about one of the most realistic and epic fantasy gaming worlds ever created.
Reading “Lord of Souls” seemed a sure-fire way to immerse myself once again in the sophisticated, detailed culture, history and politics of Tamriel, a continent on the planet of Nim filled with countries and kingdoms, cults and cabals, guilds and governments, wizards and w...more
Reading “Lord of Souls” seemed a sure-fire way to immerse myself once again in the sophisticated, detailed culture, history and politics of Tamriel, a continent on the planet of Nim filled with countries and kingdoms, cults and cabals, guilds and governments, wizards and w...more
"Stop right there, hack author scum! You've taken a rich fantasy world and boiled it down to tasteless mush! Now pay the court a fine or it's off to jail!"
I wanted to like these books and despite getting the feeling of the Elder Scrolls universe very wrong found the previous book in the series The Infernal City to be tolerable. Lord of Souls, along with each of it's characters story lines completely falls apart by the end.
If you want to read something amazing and Elder Scrolls related, an ingen...more
I wanted to like these books and despite getting the feeling of the Elder Scrolls universe very wrong found the previous book in the series The Infernal City to be tolerable. Lord of Souls, along with each of it's characters story lines completely falls apart by the end.
If you want to read something amazing and Elder Scrolls related, an ingen...more
1 like · like · see review
I have been a fan of The Elder Scrolls for a number of years now, and when I heard the news of two novelizations that would "bridge the gap between Oblivion and TES V," I was apprehensive. Game-to-book adaptations rarely seem to turn out well, and I doubted these would be much of an exception. The Infernal City fit this description perfectly, but Lord of Souls took a much different approach. While its predecessor focused primarily on the inner workings of Umbriel and only had significant plot in...more
This is the latter part of two novels, which reads very much like one continuous novel (I don't at all understand why it was published as two books), so it was only natural that I had to know what was going to happen.
Overall, this is quality writing. Even though I'm not wetting myself over it, the novels are a testament to the author's solid abilities and talent. He shows that, *and* experience.
It's not an absolutely amazing novel, but all-round well executed, both in terms of characters, plot a...more
Overall, this is quality writing. Even though I'm not wetting myself over it, the novels are a testament to the author's solid abilities and talent. He shows that, *and* experience.
It's not an absolutely amazing novel, but all-round well executed, both in terms of characters, plot a...more
It doesn't really assuage the anticipation for Skyrim, but for a quick delve into the Elder Scrolls universe, this duology works nicely. Individually, each book leaves something to be desired - the familiar Elder Scrolls elements are almost completely absent from the first book, while the second book jumps around too much to convey the impression of continuity that the games have - but collectively they are excellent representations of the universe.
The metaplot of the story is somewhat ridiculou...more
The metaplot of the story is somewhat ridiculou...more
Despite the fact that I haven't read the first book, nor have I played the game, I had no problem picking up on what was going on. It took a little bit, and I'm sure some of the finer details of the world were lost on me, but during no point in the book was I thinking, "What is going on?!" So I appreciate the fact that Greg Keyes did an awesome job in making this read like a stand-alone novel.
Besides that, it's a really interesting story. As is usual with fantasy, there are multiple viewpoints,...more
Besides that, it's a really interesting story. As is usual with fantasy, there are multiple viewpoints,...more
The two Lord of Souls books bridge the gap between the Oblivion and Skyrim video games- well, sort of. Set a generation after Oblivion, it transports you to a world where the floating, bizarre city of Umbriel is making its slow and steady way towards The Imperial City, a hideous undead army in its shadow. Its up to a haphazard yet courageous group made up of various Elder Scrolls species to save the day. Although it touches briefly on the events of Oblivion, and a small part of the book is set i...more
Normally when one picks up a licensed novel, particularly of the sci fi and fantasy genres, the reader has mediocre expectations. Let's face it, we read licensed fiction not because of the high levels of authorship, but because the fictional worlds are fun.
Just as in the first one, Keyes's tale is nuanced. Though some of the subplots are less than central (the orc female's and Colin's), one can see why Keyes felt the need to include them. The former was to round out what is happening to the peop...more
Just as in the first one, Keyes's tale is nuanced. Though some of the subplots are less than central (the orc female's and Colin's), one can see why Keyes felt the need to include them. The former was to round out what is happening to the peop...more
Greg Keyes, Lord of Souls (Del Rey, 2011)
When we last left the odd, but desperate, ensemble of characters attempting to stop Umbriel, the terrifying piece of Oblivion floating above Tamriel and turning every creature touched by its shadow into an undead thrall (viz. The Infernal City review, 16Jan10), things looked pretty hopeless. I haven't read Greg Keyes' work before, so I'm not sure if that kind of “staring into the yawning pit of despair and pondering how it's possible that your ragtag band...more
When we last left the odd, but desperate, ensemble of characters attempting to stop Umbriel, the terrifying piece of Oblivion floating above Tamriel and turning every creature touched by its shadow into an undead thrall (viz. The Infernal City review, 16Jan10), things looked pretty hopeless. I haven't read Greg Keyes' work before, so I'm not sure if that kind of “staring into the yawning pit of despair and pondering how it's possible that your ragtag band...more
Oct 11, 2012
Kristina Franken
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
first-reads-tops-shelf,
reading-challange
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Lord of Souls (the Elder Scrolls Novel) Book 2
Second book in a series based on a game. I have never played the game nor read the first book The Infernal City. The 2nd book I won thru Goodreads first reads program. Even through I know nothing about the game or the 1st book, the 2nd book was an enjoyable read for me. The characters did have mystery about them with only a little history in regards to who they were and where they came from but it did not hinder my reading of the Lord of Souls. You d...more
Second book in a series based on a game. I have never played the game nor read the first book The Infernal City. The 2nd book I won thru Goodreads first reads program. Even through I know nothing about the game or the 1st book, the 2nd book was an enjoyable read for me. The characters did have mystery about them with only a little history in regards to who they were and where they came from but it did not hinder my reading of the Lord of Souls. You d...more
Well this once again proves to me don't read others review prior to reading the book. Most of the reviews out there said that it was to in-depth, and if you didn't know the story of the Elder Scrolls you would be lost, also that it was helpful to have read the first book. Knowing this I started with trepidation, I was worried I would be able to understand that the fantasy would be above me and that I wouldn't enjoy this book. I dreaded starting it, and kept putting it on the back burner when oth...more
Many want to bring it down, some covet its power, and few love it.
If you are a fan of Oblivion, Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls you will enjoy this book. You get to continue on the journeys of Annaig, Mere-Glim, Attrebus and Sul, and Colin. A delicately twisted tale in which Everyone's fates are affected by the floating city of Umbriel. The power plays are well planned out, deception and back stabbing abound.
There is so much going on with multiple characters it is difficult to know where to be...more
If you are a fan of Oblivion, Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls you will enjoy this book. You get to continue on the journeys of Annaig, Mere-Glim, Attrebus and Sul, and Colin. A delicately twisted tale in which Everyone's fates are affected by the floating city of Umbriel. The power plays are well planned out, deception and back stabbing abound.
There is so much going on with multiple characters it is difficult to know where to be...more
It was alright, I guess. I was expecting more out of this series, though to be honest, I have not read any of Greg Keyes works before this. I felt like he did not develop the story at all from the games. It consisted of a lot of name and place dropping, and it seemed to matter who was exactly what race. There was very little character development in the way that I would have prefered. Having said that, there was nothing wrong with the book, but I think it would work better with a younger audienc...more
Being a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls universe, I was pretty excited about these books existing. The Infernal City was pretty enjoyable, easy to read, easy to follow. Lord of Souls was hard to finish. By the end, there are quite a few miscellaneous characters and storylines that really don't contribute anything to the main story, and it was getting hard to keep track of them all. I was disappointed with Lord of Souls, which is a shame, because I really wanted to like it.
A fantastic conclusion to this two part story. Keyes really hit his stride with the writing style, and I was enthralled by the numerous plots that were so skillfully intertwined at the denouement. Needless to say, I could hardly put the book down in the final 100 pages. What I was most pleased with was the development of Annaïg and Glim's relationship, how they both departed from their initial childish escapades and grew into the grim roles forced upon them.
I also appreciated Mazgar's perspecti...more
I also appreciated Mazgar's perspecti...more
This book was far better than the novel preceding it in the series, The Infernal City. In a way, taken as a set, the two books were pretty enjoyable. Fast, easy reading and while shallow, not unenjoyable. If you are an Elder Scrolls fan, it's not a hard sell, though the claim that it has much to do with the game series is somewhat untrue.
It's a simple, campy, fan set of novels set in the Elder Scrolls universe. If you are looking for something like that, it's an easy recommendation.
It's a simple, campy, fan set of novels set in the Elder Scrolls universe. If you are looking for something like that, it's an easy recommendation.
This wasn't as good as the first one. Some of the new characters introduced just weren't as interesting as the old ones and I found myself practically skipping entire segments with them.
The writing style was still good and I still found myself interested in the story. Unfortunately, I feel like it could have benefited from another 100 pages or another novel entirely. The ending felt very rushed and left me feeling rather unsatisfied.
I would have liked to have spent more time in the city of Umbr...more
The writing style was still good and I still found myself interested in the story. Unfortunately, I feel like it could have benefited from another 100 pages or another novel entirely. The ending felt very rushed and left me feeling rather unsatisfied.
I would have liked to have spent more time in the city of Umbr...more
I thought it was very interesting. The author has quite an imagination. I found it hard to keep up visually in my mind the details of different things to put everything together. It had a great story theme. I enjoyed it but it wouldn't be one of my favorites. I think it is good for a reader to go outside their normal reading realm. I did enjoy the characters in the book. They were likable. I still had to force myself to continue to read it.
Again, I've never played an Elder Scrolls game, but I'm fairly well versed in their lore. Roleplays with my boyfriend and such. I enjoyed the first book, and was glad I had the second to start on immediately after. Good book, twisty and winding, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
As with the first book in the pair, I really enjoyed this. While there were plenty of typographical errors and some moments of severe confusion, the story -- most important to me -- was enjoyable and gripping, and I was glad to follow it through to the end. Some of the characters felt a little shallow, but I really loved Mere-Glim, and getting a small insight into Argonian nature and history.
Wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't played the games, or isn't already invested in the lore, as it...more
Wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't played the games, or isn't already invested in the lore, as it...more
Not bad, all told - some interesting concepts in there and a nice little filler between Oblivion and Skyrim. Personally I would have preferred some fiction based around the Red Year, but that's just me.
Fairly well written, though in a few places it seems like a much less experienced author writing, but definitely not enough to be a deal-breaker. Very nice duology.
Fairly well written, though in a few places it seems like a much less experienced author writing, but definitely not enough to be a deal-breaker. Very nice duology.
Wonderful series. Well-written, with intriguing characters who end up doing despicable things but still redeem themselves. Immensely satisfying.
You don't have to know anything of the video game series (athough I feel I'd probably have had a better understanding of the mechanics of the world the characters inhabit had I played the games).
You don't have to know anything of the video game series (athough I feel I'd probably have had a better understanding of the mechanics of the world the characters inhabit had I played the games).
This was one of the best books I've ever read. I have no idea why everyone's rating it so low. The characters were great and the plot was ingenious. Read this book if you like the Elder Scrolls series and I know you'll enjoy it.
The direct sequel to Infernal City, with all the same high-quality storytelling. Like Infernal City, I'd recommend this to anyone into fantasy literature with fully-realized characters and nail-biting thrills.
Entertaining, and captures the Elder Scrolls feel well, may not hold as much interest for those not familiar with game series.
Being a huge fan of both Morrowind and Oblivion, I am probably not the most objective person to review this book. I really had fun reading about the races and places from the video games that I've so enjoyed, and I thought it was an excellent strategy to market this as a lead-in to the new game (Skyrim, releasing in November) -- I really got sucked into the world again and it definitely made me even more anxious for Skyrim. I'm not sure it would make sense enough to hold up as a stand-alone fant...more
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Gregory Keyes is a writer of science fiction and fantasy who has written both original and media-related novels under both the names J. Gregory Keyes and "Greg Keyes".
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of George before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
More about Greg Keyes...
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of George before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
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May 18, 2012 06:38pm