The Infernal City (The Elder Scrolls, #1)

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The Infernal City (The Elder Scrolls #1)

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 767 ratings · 81 reviews

Four decades after the Oblivion Crisis, Tamriel is threatened anew by an ancient and all-consuming evil. It is Umbriel, a floating city that casts a terrifying shadow–for wherever it falls, people die and rise again.

And it is in Umbriel’s shadow that a great adventure begins, and a group of unlikely heroes meet. A legendary prince with a secret. A spy on the trail of a vas...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published November 24th 2009 by Del Rey

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Jan 25, 2011 K. rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this up because I adore The Elder Scrolls, particularly Morrowind and Oblivion. It's a fantastic read, though even as a fan I found the prologue a little confusing. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys The Elder Scrolls games, and at least has some understanding of the plot, though it would be best to play III and IV through most of the way before reading. It is definitely not a book I would recommend to a generic fantasy fan, as there are many references to races and lore, story...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Anton Himmelstrand rated it 3 of 5 stars

Rarely has a book with so many flaws carried itself so well, engaging my interest despite not presenting something particularly unique. I would hazard to describe THE INFERNAL CITY as an entertaining book, though not a particularly memorable one.

Greg Keyes draws on the rich mythos of the Elder Scrolls game franchise with its history, magical rules and varied vistas. It would be easy to pander to the well-initiated fans, but the author manages to successfully tread the line between old and new by...more Rarely has a book with so many flaws carried itself so well, engaging my interest despite not presenting something particularly unique. I would hazard to describe THE INFERNAL CITY as an entertaining book, though not a particularly memorable one.

Greg Keyes draws on the rich mythos of the Elder Scrolls game franchise with its history, magical rules and varied vistas. It would be easy to pander to the well-initiated fans, but the author manages to successfully tread the line between old and new by setting much of the story on the flying island of Umbriel, a place detached from both Tamriel and the established canon.

From the southern sea comes the Infernal City, Umbriel, bringing with it turmoil and death in the shadow of its floating form. A prince, a sorcerer, a woman longing for adventure and her loyal companion seek to stop its slow but deadly progress across the east, while an agent of the rebuilding Empire pursue his own parallel investigation.

The premise itself, the world portrayed and Umbriel especially are fascinating and hold my interest. Still, it is difficult to write the list of character troupes above without recognizing the somewhat formulaic basis. A haunting past is good for building suspense, but in the case of many characters it simultaneously becomes a wall between the reader and their inner thoughts. There is a nagging feeling that their actions only make sense in light of the character sheet they've been given. Nonetheless, there are exceptions. The change of personality the Prince (Attrebus) goes through – though somewhat abrupt – allow the quest for the destruction of Umbriel to be both grand and personal. He sets out to preform an heroic deed and in so doing, become the one he want to be; a hero. It may be a very simple detail, but in other cases, the interplays of “whys” are either too obvious or too vague.

The novel is competently written, but the flow of the text is often interrupted by grandiose though scarcely helpful adjectives – sometimes when an adverb would have seemed more appropriate. Who does and says what is poorly telegraphed and worse, it doesn't always seem to matter. It takes awhile to adapt to Keyes' literary style.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the read, though there are better books to occupy oneself with.(less)

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Jul 28, 2012 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adaptions-novelizations, fantasy, high-fantasy

It took me a while to get into this book, mainly because most of my knowledge of the Elder Scrolls comes from playing Skyrim (and reading plot summaries for Morrowind and Oblivion). Still, it was nice to see an author making use of the rich setting which the Elder Scrolls provides. I'm surprised, and slightly disappointed, that only this author has written for the franchise.

Stylistically, the novel is a bit of a mess. The worst offense is how the author flips between point-of-view characters. T...more It took me a while to get into this book, mainly because most of my knowledge of the Elder Scrolls comes from playing Skyrim (and reading plot summaries for Morrowind and Oblivion). Still, it was nice to see an author making use of the rich setting which the Elder Scrolls provides. I'm surprised, and slightly disappointed, that only this author has written for the franchise.

Stylistically, the novel is a bit of a mess. The worst offense is how the author flips between point-of-view characters. There are roughly five main characters, in three different groups, carrying four different plot-lines. Each time, the shift between characters was jarring, ruining any immersion. On a nit-picky point, there was even a typo, which should have been fixed in the editing process, rather than appearing in the finished product.

As well, the ending felt rushed and flimsy. It was as if the author decided it would be better to end on a dramatic cliffhanger, and was too eager to get there. The book has a sequel, but honestly, I think it would have been better if it was just one continuous story. Since this book spends so much time setting up the characters and the plot, the sudden ending cheapens the story on a whole. It's hard to say that the political intrigue is interesting when it was barely focused on, and leads. Looking back on the book, it is hard to say there was much substance, when most of it was merely a sequel hook. This shouldn't be the case, the book should be able to stand on it's own merits, with the it's own, satisfying, self-contained story.

The most interesting and original parts were the scenes set within in the floating city itself. It's explored and established nicely by the two characters who arrive there, and spend time living in it. From moving through the bottom of the island (the sump, a birthing pool/dump/waterway), to the kitchens, and the places they serve, we learn about the ecosystem, and the morals (or lack thereof) which the inhabitants hold. The scenes in the big, chaotic, alchemical kitchens full of completely alien foods reminded me of the first time I watched Spirited Away -- both have a fascinating otherworldliness to them.

Probably the biggest flaw in the novel is the morality surrounding the use of souls. In the floating city, the upper classes enjoy consuming vapours and other dishes, made by diluting the souls gathered by the island's insects. The island itself is only able to float through the use of these gathered souls.

For some of our main characters, this is considered unethical and highly disturbing. Yet the one who works in the kitchen soon comes to think of it as similar to working with meat, and another character only protests against it when the souls used belongs to people he knows.

Within the universe, the capturing of souls within the aptly named soul gems, is considered common place. These are then used to power enchanted items, such as weapons or dwarven golems.

My point is, I feel like the author missed the chance to do anything interesting with this issue. It'd be refreshing to see at least one character go "hey, this is kind of fucked up." Or to realize the floating city isn't that monstrous, considering much of Tamriel does the same thing with soul gems.

But it does show compliance with the established canon, with regards to soul-powered enchantments, so I guess at least the author is showing his work somewhat.

Finally, it bothers me that of the five main characters, only one of them is female. It makes her feel like "the token chick", and it's annoying how much time is spent from the male povs.

Though this is, again, an unfortunate tendency of the Elder Scrolls. See: Azura, who is a Daedric Prince. Apparently, the Daedra are genderless beings, yet they hold male titles (Princes and/or Lords), and Azura herself is referred to by female pronouns. I mean, what. That makes no sense. I bring this up because Azura is one of the key Daedra in the book, and so it is guilty to buying into that clusterfuck.

I will read the next book, to see what happens, but I am disappointed with this book for falling so short of it's potential.(less)

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Feb 14, 2012 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This novel describes events that occur between the Elder Scrolls games Oblivion and Skyrim. I came to TES with Oblivion, so I'm probably the best demographic to appreciate the story- familiar with the world but not too emotionally invested. I enjoyed the book. It is an easy read, the language is clear and straightforward as I like it, and towards the middle the action picks up to a tight pace. There are satisfying lore bits such as glimpses of the Khajiit and Argonian homelands. I liked many of...more This novel describes events that occur between the Elder Scrolls games Oblivion and Skyrim. I came to TES with Oblivion, so I'm probably the best demographic to appreciate the story- familiar with the world but not too emotionally invested. I enjoyed the book. It is an easy read, the language is clear and straightforward as I like it, and towards the middle the action picks up to a tight pace. There are satisfying lore bits such as glimpses of the Khajiit and Argonian homelands. I liked many of the characters and began to care about what happens to them.

My main criticism is that it's not a complete story. At a quick 228 Nook pages, there was no reason to split this story into two separate novels. The end is abrupt and cryptic. Nevertheless I enjoyed it enough that I am definitely going to read the sequel, Lord of Souls.

Some spoilers follow:
(view spoiler)[
The story begins in Black Marsh, where a menacing floating city is seen approaching the town of Lilmoth. Two young people, a Breton alchemist named Annaig and her Argonian friend Mere-Glim, decide to investigate. Annaig has created a potion that allows them to fly. As they ascend to Umbriel, bug-like creatures descend and begin an invasion.

Umbriel as a setting reminded me of the fantasmagorical world of Gormenghast. It is a world half formed from the real lives and races of Tamriel, half from the stuff of dreams and nightmares in Oblivion. The mystery of where it came from and what designs it has on Tamriel unfolds as Annaig and Mere-Glim are forced to blend into Umbriel's strange society.

Annaig has a small Dwemer device that allows her to establish communication to the young imperial crown prince, Attrebus Mede. She calls him to come aid Black Marsh, and the story follows the prince's mishaps across Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, and into the planes of Oblivion and the ruined Morrowind (Umbriel's next destination after Lilmoth). Attrebus is dogged by enemies, whose trail is being followed by a Penitus Oculatus agent, Colin.

It's a bit of a growing up story for Attrebus, and there are hints of love interest between him and Annaig, which wandered into soap opera territory. Fortunately these were brief. Colin's characterization suffered from its brevity, however. I never got a sense of who he was, though through him you visit the market district of the Imperial City which gave nostalgia points for TES IV Oblivion. More interesting is the Dunmer wizard-assassin Sul, who comes to Attrebus' aid. His story gives contextual information and emotional backdrop to the Morrowind disaster.

We learn that Umbriel is held aloft and powered by the recycled souls of living beings, so its objective in Black Marsh was simply to feed itself. The real goal of its creator is to find the ill-fated sword Umbra. The sword had been the focus of a power struggle inside Oblivion and was cast through a portal back into the mortal realm. As The Infernal City comes to an abrupt close, we learn that the sword is believed to have ended up on the island of Solstheim off Skyrim. I assume that that is where the story is headed next, as a tie-in to TES V. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Oct 06, 2011 Paul Harrison rated it 5 of 5 stars

I came into this novel not necessarily knowing what to expect. I'm a huge Elder Scrolls fan, but the series left me wanting with Oblivion. In no small part, this is due to that game abandoning what I feel is the strength of the universe: The bizarre. Daggerfall and Morrowind were spectacularly weird, involving transhumanist demi-gods, giant robots powered by souls, and you get the idea. I've always been a sci-fi reader, and there aren't any other fantasy universes that have grabbed me as hard as...more

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Apr 11, 2010 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Elder Scrolls fans; fantasy readers

I am an Elder Scrolls addict. I was introduced to the video game series with Daggerfall in my late teens, and own every game and expansion pack that has been released for DOS or Windows.
When I heard they were releasing a novel based on the world of Tamriel, I was both excited and terrified. Most of the books that are based on video game, movie, or other “popular” franchises aren’t very good. But I had to give it a shot.

Summary
Forty years after the events of Oblivion, a mysterious floating city a...more

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Apr 08, 2010 April Irick rated it 3 of 5 stars

The lore of the Elder Scrolls games is very rich and detailed. I really enjoyed spending time exploring the bookshelves in Morrowind & Oblivion. So, I had high hopes for this novel, even though it's just a media tie-in. It was not great, but it wasn't bad. The author did a great job of capturing the feel of the games. It reads like good fan fiction, and not at all like an attempt by the company to cash in on a popular franchise. Aspects of it were original, or at least unusual to me, such as...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished, owned-and-still-own

Greg Keyes, The Infernal City (Del Rey, 2009)

How on Earth did it not occur to me when I first read the description for this a couple of months ago that “the first of two exhilarating novels” meant this was the first in a series? I try to wait until most, if not all, of a series is out before reading it these days (George R. R. Martin has taught me well). Not that I would probably have listened to my own advice in this case had I read that correctly. Elder Scrolls novels? I'm going to hop on that...more Greg Keyes, The Infernal City (Del Rey, 2009)

How on Earth did it not occur to me when I first read the description for this a couple of months ago that “the first of two exhilarating novels” meant this was the first in a series? I try to wait until most, if not all, of a series is out before reading it these days (George R. R. Martin has taught me well). Not that I would probably have listened to my own advice in this case had I read that correctly. Elder Scrolls novels? I'm going to hop on that train from day one. Which I did, actually; I almost never pre-order novels, but the second I had book money, I tossed an order in for this (about a month before its release). So, yeah, there's been “waiting” all around where this sucker is concerned. Including the month between my finishing the book and my typing this. (I lost the first draft of my review for this book in a power outage and have been truculent about recreating the review ever since.) None of this, of course, has anything whatsoever to do with The Infernal City. I'm not usually big on novels adapted from games, but the Elder Scrolls world is something well beyond most game worlds, and I figured if any game world was detailed enough to make its novels worth reading, Tamriel would be it. While Keyes doesn't often stray outside the conventions that annoy me about most game-world books, he's still a good enough writer to make this worth reading, and the second book (whenever it appears) worth waiting for.

The book centers mostly on Annaig and Mere-Glim, a human and Argonian, respectively, from the Black Marsh. (If you don't know what an Argonian is, I cannot encourage you enough to run out and get yourself a copy of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as fast as you can. Most computers produced in the last ten years should be able to handle Morrowind, but you'll need a much beefier box for Oblivion.) Annaig is something of a mage-in-training, though with the destruction of the Mages Guild (and when did THAT happen? Note that the book takes place forty years after the end of TES: Oblivion) she's got little to go and and is mostly teaching herself. Mere-Glim, who's something of a rogue, is a friend of Annaig's (and sometime unwilling guinea pig). The two of them, after hearing rumors of a huge floating city heading for the Black Marsh, decide to investigate, but events on the ground push them into it a lot faster than they would have moved otherwise. In any case, when they get there, they find that even the oddest things they know about their own world are nothing in comparison to this. Meanwhile, an Imperial City prince, also heading off to investigate the floating city, goes missing, and one of the last remaining Imperial mages is on his trail.

While the jacket copy makes it seem as if these four characters will eventually meet up and form a typical adventuring party, if that's going to happen, it'll happen in Book Two; by the end of The Infernal City, they're still separate. Juxtaposing the actual book text with the jacket copy reveals this to be a book of pure setup. That's not necessarily a bad thing; Steven Erikson, for example, is capable of writing exquisite books of setup (Midnight Tides is one of the best of the Malazan novels, for example). Keyes is not quite as accomplished a writer as Erikson, but this is still a fun book. Many other reviewers have complained that it's far too short, and I'm inclined to agree; if your entire party isn't even together by the end of book one, there's no way you're going to reach a satisfying conclusion by the end of book two. But there's more than enough going on here to keep the Elder Scrolls fans happy. And if you're not already an Elder Scrolls fan, why in the world not? *** ½
(less)

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Apr 25, 2010 Moontyger rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I liked this book, but I have two big caveats about it:

1) It assumes that the reader knows the world of Tamriel and, further, has played or at least knows the plots of both Morrowind and Oblivion. The references to events and characters in those games, not to mention to places, races, and general terms unique to the setting go completely unexplained. This is fine for a fan like me, but I suspect anyone new to Elder Scrolls fandom would be lost. Personally, I think it's a mistake; this was a cha...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Kathleen rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: TES fans only, and possibly only the lore-inclined among them

Shelves: fantasy

There was a lengthy and involved review here, but Goodreads decided to eat it. In short: I can really only recommend this book to people who've played some of the TES games and come pre-armed with prior knowledge. It really isn't interested in catering to people who've never delved into the TES universe before.

Even then, you're likely to find the actual meat of this book pretty unsatisfying. It's too short to develop any of the characters properly--on a second reading, I realized I'd forgotten a...more There was a lengthy and involved review here, but Goodreads decided to eat it. In short: I can really only recommend this book to people who've played some of the TES games and come pre-armed with prior knowledge. It really isn't interested in catering to people who've never delved into the TES universe before.

Even then, you're likely to find the actual meat of this book pretty unsatisfying. It's too short to develop any of the characters properly--on a second reading, I realized I'd forgotten about the Colin subplot entirely, which shows you how memorable he was--especially since it focuses on such a large cast.

It would have been far better to trim the character list down a bit and just focus on developing those few. Toss out Colin and even Annaig (I know she's vital to the plot, but ye gods, is she dull), focus on Sul and Attrebus instead. Get more interesting and engaging characters in the process. Profit.

The only reason I kept reading this book was to find out what happened after the Oblivion Crisis, and even then, what information we do get is doled out in tiny breadcrumbs that raise far too many questions while giving little to no answers.

(view spoiler)

That's the real trouble with this book. The only people reading are likely those who care about the history/lore, and they aren't going to be satisfied by what they get out of The Infernal City. Sometimes I think some sort of faux history book, detailing the Empire's collapse and subsequent rebuild in the wake of Oblivion, would have made for much more enjoyable reading. At least for me.

(view spoiler)(less)

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Dec 19, 2011 Judith rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The story in this book is tolerable but only because the plots are largely supported by the fantastic game content of the Elder Scrolls series. The main characters are shallow and the side-characters are mostly mysterious types (read: also shallow, due to the fact that 'unknown past, unknown emotions, unknown motives' is a fantasy cliché since Aragorn). It's a shame, since I expected a lot of a novel that builds on the enormous collection of lore, lands, creatures and races that the Elder Scroll...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Kelley Ross rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-fantasy

I have played both Oblivion and Morrowind and I admit that is part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much. I could see how reading this novel would be painful if you didn't know what an Argonian was, or if you'd never heard of Skyrim or Morrowind. But, luckily I have! :)

This novel basically introduces a strange, mysterious island that mentally enslaves Argonians and destroys everything it passes over (that's right, this is a flying island). The island's inhabitants collect souls and recyc...more

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Jan 05, 2012 MrWalterN rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book because I wanted some mindless, relaxing reading for Christmas break, and I was looking forward to playing Skyrim.

My initial thoughts concerning this were were not in any way positive. I quite enjoy fantasy literature, but this book is severely limited by the conventions of the game universe in which it is set. The races and characters in an Elder Scrolls game are fairly engaging in a game setting. In a book setting, they are dull. The book feels much too constrained by th...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Hayley rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Wait a minute!", you might be saying. "You gave four stars to a video game novel?", could possibly be the follow up. And it's not a mistake. If you're into fantasy fiction - and especially if you like the lore in the Elder Scrolls game series - this one is worth checking out. Just keep in mind that there's a follow up novel, as this one doesn't conclude the tale.

Written by Greg Keyes, Infernal City carries his style and flair for interesting detail, setting it apart from what most would imagine...more

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May 31, 2011 Leilani rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

If I could give this a 1.5 star rating, I would. It's a one, its lone saving grace in my eyes being the fact that it's based on one of the greatest video game series of all time. I love The Elder Scrolls - love, love, love them - and have since I was a wee Leila and Arena first hit the shelves. That said, I couldn't get into this novelization of the events which occurred in Black Marsh following "Oblivion." Video games are a touchy thing to try and transfer to other media to begin with - the mov...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book. I am not an avid gamer myself, but I have watched my brother play the Elder Scrolls games a lot and the story behind them really is fascinating; when he recommended this book to me I was anxious to read it.

The only thing I can say I did not like about it is that the author assumes that the reader already knows A LOT of the history behind what happened in the Oblivion crisis as well as Morrowind and the other preceding Elder Scrolls games. I knew a good deal of...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Janne Varvára rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I started playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my boyfriend's xbox last summer. I wasn't really a gamer, but it was such an esthetically beautiful game, and also, BF set the difficulty on low. But I got good, and I love the game, as a fantasy world that forces me to focus, and therefore works as a form of escapism.
BF got me a controller for my laptop for my birthday, so now I use Steam to play it at home.

It's a wonderfully detailed fantasy world, and one that doesn't quite resemble any other,...more I started playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my boyfriend's xbox last summer. I wasn't really a gamer, but it was such an esthetically beautiful game, and also, BF set the difficulty on low. But I got good, and I love the game, as a fantasy world that forces me to focus, and therefore works as a form of escapism.
BF got me a controller for my laptop for my birthday, so now I use Steam to play it at home.

It's a wonderfully detailed fantasy world, and one that doesn't quite resemble any other, and so when I heard of the Elder Scrolls books, I naturally had to check them out.
I have a (bad) habit of frowning at the Dungeons and Dragons-novels at the local fantasy/sci-fi store, so before I started out, I had my doubts. People create bad fan fiction everywhere, and I feared that it would be somewhat like that, despite first assuring my prejudiced self that these were official Elder Scrolls products, and that they were written by a previously published fantasy writer.

I was happily surprised.
This novel reads sort of like a YA novel, and the concept is an original one: A flying island/rock upon which rests a city appears one day over a town in Tamriel's province of Black Marsh. What is it, how'd it get there, and why is it affecting life on the ground?

It has different characters tell the story, each from their own point of view: Annaïg is the reckless herione, who with her friend Mere-Glim finds herself in the unknown city, and uses her skills to try to undermine the invaders and find her way home. Attrebus is a prince who defies his father's orders and sets out to find out about the menacing city, and stop it if he can, learning a lot about himself and his life in the process (this being the most interesting inner journey in the book). It also has a young inspector, Colin, who finds himself in over his head, but who is still determined to do his duty, no matter the orders of his superiors.

It's really two books, however, and I sort of feel they could have been published as one. You can't just read the first, as it doesn't end there; the sequel, Lord of Souls, continues the story, which ends on a cliffhanger in this volume.

So, should you read this if you haven't played any of the Elder Scrolls games? Well, it's an entertaining story in itself, so I'll say yes, even though you're not smoothed into the world, and you might have to learn its ways pretty fast. (I've only played Skyrim, not any of the previous games, and this book was published before the game was, so I'll base my conclusion on that.)

To be a killjoy: A note on the epilogue.
The epilogue is only a page long, but it ruins things a little bit for me.
In it, our heroine seemingly (not literally, at least I think not) goes back in time and re-does one of her most important choices (no more spoilers than that). I can't quite figure out which is the actual story of the two, and which one in which she only imagines she's made a different decision.
Where the other plot lines ended in cliffhangers making me want to know what comes next, this epilogue doesn't so much create a cliffhanger as to just confuse me as to what's actually happening. I found it most unnecessary and unfitting, since the whole rest of the book is concrete, straightforward and believable.
I found myself thinking: “Nooo, you were *this* close to getting a simple, positive review from me, why ruin it now?!”
That's just the epilogue, though.

There you have it, The Infernal City.(less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up because I am completely in love with the Elder Scrolls universe and I was not disappointed in anything other than the fact it took me so long to find this book in the first place. While I would recommend you have at least a basic knowledge of the Elder Scrolls series before you read it, I think it could still be enjoyed even if you don't-however it would be harder to really get into the story.
I loved this book, and as I type this I am also searching for the sequel. While t...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Althea Ann rated it 2 of 5 stars

OK, I have to admit that I'm not a video game player, and I'm not at all familiar with the Elder Scrolls game, so I'm not the target audience for this book. It was actually better than I might have expected for a video game tie-in, however, I couldn't avoid having very high hopes due to the 4 Keyes books I previously read - the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone epic - which are all fully 5-star novels!
I just couldn't really get into this, though. Although it had some good writing (nice turns of phrase...more

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May 26, 2010 Ria rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is kind of a hard book to review, simply because I've been playing Elder Scrolls games since '97 or whatever (Daggerfall), so I know the world and how it works, and can't tell if things are described well or not. The whole thing seemed a bit rushed, really. Keyes didn't spend a lot of time crafting the setting or the characters.

I say rushed, but at the same time the first third was pretty slow. Lots of set-up, but very few reveals. And I didn't really like the main character (Annaig) that m...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasical

I'm sorry, I am waaay too lazy for a summary.

I didn't have high expectations for this because it is based on a video game series and I've never read anything by the author before. I gave it a shot because I love the Elder Scrolls games and crave more stories from that universe.
I liked it. It's well written and I enjoyed the plot. I even became generally attached to the two main characters.

Despite all of that, it only gets three stars from me because I can't deal with the change in narration (e...more

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Dec 26, 2009 Stephen Theaker rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Infernal City is a tie-in to the Elder Scrolls series of roleplaying games, of which I've played numbers three and four, Morrowind and Oblivion, very extensively. This takes place about fifty years (I think - I don't have the book to hand) after the latter, and the events of that game have already passed into legend.

The story concerns a flying island that approaches the coast, whipping the souls from the bodies of all it encounters, creating for itself an army of zombies that seems likely to...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Tommi rated it 2 of 5 stars

A really light and quick read even by my standards. This book was mainly my means of dealing with being unable to play Skyrim for a week due to a trip abroad, and it succeeded in fulfilling its purpose. The book itself is a hectic adventure after another with little focus on description of the environment and characters, which, in the end, turn out to be more personalistic than one might expect. In my opinion, you shouldn't try to read this if you are not at least somewhat familiar with the Elde...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Lea rated it 5 of 5 stars

To begin...well, I've never played a single Elder Scrolls game. However, my boyfriend has played them. In anticipation of Skyrim, he explained to me kind of a basic lore and gist of Oblivion. I liked it. A world with history and legends and myths and lore? I loved it. We are nerds, of course, and would roleplay, making up characters, giving them backstories, etc. And so it was that I happened upon this book in Hastings, with the second book right beside it.

I thought the book was excellent. With...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Chanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought the beginning started off horrifically slow, but after becoming acquainted with all of the characters & I knew what was what, it became very interesting. It's one of those books where you switch back & forth between characters (I believe there are four main ones? I could be mistaken, I finished it a couple of months ago) & half of the way through, each time he did that it'd be some sort of cliff hanger & I couldn't wait to get back to that particular character's story l...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Brett rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I picked up this book at the library -- it caught my eye on a display -- I had no idea it was the first of two books in a series. Which probably explains my disappointment when I got to the end and realized it really wasn't one. Things aren't resolved, and things are much worse than when they started. That said, Keyes has some pretty strong main characters. I had qualms, though. I recognized more typos in this book than any other in recent memory. Also, seemingly important characters came i...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Michael.e.philpott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

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.

However, Greg Keyes defied my expectations. His characters are nuanced, but not overly so (after all, it's licensed fiction, readers don't WANT a Pulitzer winner here). His descriptions are rich without being burdensome, but - more importantly...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Chris Sirois rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone, really. Elder Scrolls fans are a plus.

I have to say that I was massively surprised by this book. I've been shot down by video game related books before and although I love Elder Scrolls lore, I really didn't have high expectations.
I was proven completely wrong though. The book is a great read. The characters are very interesting to watch grow and learn more about their pasts and motivations. I find the city of Umbriel to be quite fascinating in a totally messed up sort of way. I really found myself hoping like hell everything would...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Perrin Cole rated it 1 of 5 stars

A Journey into Oblivion

“‘Let me get my things,’ Attrebus said. ‘Make it Quick.’” (151). That is what I said when I read this book, I just wanted to get it over with. This book has a great story, but it is slightly poorly written. I could tell what was happening, but it took some time to grasp the concept. The book also jumps around too much. I read a section and before I understand what’s happening, it jumps again. What I am saying is a lot like the movie ‘Vantage Point’, I’m jumping around thr...more A Journey into Oblivion

“‘Let me get my things,’ Attrebus said. ‘Make it Quick.’” (151). That is what I said when I read this book, I just wanted to get it over with. This book has a great story, but it is slightly poorly written. I could tell what was happening, but it took some time to grasp the concept. The book also jumps around too much. I read a section and before I understand what’s happening, it jumps again. What I am saying is a lot like the movie ‘Vantage Point’, I’m jumping around through all these different scenes and I have no idea what’s going on.
The story revolves around Annaïg Hoïnart, a young Breton girl from the Black Marsh, who is trying to save the continent of Tamriel from Umbriel, a mythical floating city, from killing everyone in Tamriel from becoming part of an undead, soulless army. With her friend Mere-Glim, an Argonian, they consume flying potions and travel to the city to find out whom or what is causing all these deaths. Within this city, Annaïg starts to work in the kitchens of Umbriel, only to find out what Umbriel really is. Now, the one question remains, how does she stop Umbriel from killing every last man, woman, and child in Tamriel.
Let me give you some evidence. “‘Evidence? I don’t need evidence.’ Evernal said.” (208). The evidence is that the story is not a very good one. The story can be hard to understand as well. Why would Annaïg and Mere-Glim be welcome as outsiders in Umbriel? Why would no one report to anyone in charge about the intruders? Those are just some of the questions I asked while reading this book.
“‘So this - city,’ Mere-Glim said. ‘It’s from Oblivion.’” (38). Not just from Oblivion, Umbriel can be described as something from any other fantasy story. To me, the idea of a floating, or even a moving city, does not seem that original. Moving cities are quite popular actually. From the movies Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky, to the cities from The Legend of Zelda series, “City in the Sky” and “Skyloft”, floating cities are definitely not something new to the fantasy genre.
When I started reading this book, I was excited. The opening was fairly exciting: a group of sailors on a voyage when suddenly a giant land mass rises from the sea and wrecks the boat. But when it got to the main story, it was then I became confused in my reading. But I feel I could get a feel of what was trying to be said. I don’t want ruin the ending but the book should have ended and not have set it up for a sequel. The first couple chapters I found myself wanting to read more, but I found myself wanting to put the book down after that. That was also a very disappointing aspect of this book.
In all honesty, I hated the book. I found myself in a ‘what is going on?’ moment when reading the whole book. I went into this book with high hopes and came out of it very disappointed. I give this a 1 of 5 and give caution to anybody to attempts to read this book.
(less)

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Feb 03, 2012 Tina (yAdultReview) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, fantasy

Okay, so this is a little esoteric, but I’ll explain. I am a big fan of role-playing games (RPGs) and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remains in my top five video games of all time. So when I got the opportunity to request the sequel to this one from NetGalley, I jumped at it. And, if I’m honest, the book turned out to be sillier than I expected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. I liked hearing about the familiar places from the game, like Leyawiin and the Imperial City, and the introdu...more Okay, so this is a little esoteric, but I’ll explain. I am a big fan of role-playing games (RPGs) and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remains in my top five video games of all time. So when I got the opportunity to request the sequel to this one from NetGalley, I jumped at it. And, if I’m honest, the book turned out to be sillier than I expected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. I liked hearing about the familiar places from the game, like Leyawiin and the Imperial City, and the introduction of Dark Marsh was interesting as well. The beginning was so slow as to be boring, though, and I had to slog my way through a lot of talk about things I didn’t understand. This book takes place forty years after the end of the game, and things have happened that you learn about slowly, which means you are in the dark for a lot of the beginning. That was frustrating.

I liked the main protagonists, Annaig and Mere-Glim, and I even liked Prince Attrebus, who is sympathetic even while being pathetically naive. The idea of a floating city, one whose population feeds on the souls of inhabitants on the ground, is an intriguing one, and I found myself wishing I could play it in the game. There is a bit of telling, not showing going on in this novel, but it’s not overdone nor was it distracting. There was no real twist, other than a minor one near the end that doesn’t mean much. The narrative goes between Annaig and Attrebus, and it flows quite nicely without any jarring transitions. I really enjoyed reading about the things that happened in Cyrodiil after the game was over.

And that’s it, really. This was a nice story, but nothing groundbreaking, nothing I couldn’t put down. I read the book in a day because it was just so…easy. It didn’t challenge me, but I enjoyed it well enough. I want to warn that those who haven’t played an Elder Scrolls game may not understand what’s going on, because Keyes absolutely does not summarize the gameplay from Oblivion, and names are thrown in there with the expectation that the reader will already know them (Martin Septim, for example). Still, if you like this sort of thing, like me, this one is a nice easy read that will keep you entertained until the end.(less)

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About Greg Keyes

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...

Books by Greg Keyes

The Briar King (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, #1)

Conquest (Edge of Victory, #1) (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #7)

Rebirth (Edge of Victory, #2) (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #8)

The Charnel Prince (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, #2)

The Final Prophecy (Star Wars: New Jedi Order, #18)

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“.. Look, I know you're probably mad at me-"
"'Probably' mad at you?" Annaïg exploded. "You tried to kill me!"
"Yes, I see now how that might upset you," Slyr said.” — 3 people liked it

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The Infernal City (The Elder Scrolls #1)

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