The Kingless Land (Band of Four)

By Ed Greenwood

Book Overview

Aglirta is known as the Kingless Land--once prosperous and peaceful, it has now fallen into lawlessness, studded with feuding baronies engaged in a constant state of war. The only hope for peace lies in the legend of the Sleeping King: destined to rise and restore peace when the Dwaerindim stones are recovered. Lady Embra Silvertree is the sorceress daughter of a bellicose baron with an eye towards world domination. She has been imprisoned by her father who hopes to use her as a magical battery to fortify his castle. When a pair of good natured rogues attempt to steal one of her jewel encrusted gowns, they are quickly enlisted as allies to help her escape and, with the aid of a shape-shifting cleric, to seek out the Dwaerindim.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312867212
• ISBN13: 9780312867218
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.1" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

Superior lowbrow fantasy

I buy about twenty fantasy and sf titles a month, and best like books that I can relax in, enjoy again and again, and that don't try to impress me with "the greatest since Tolkien" stuff. This was one of the best of those I've read in the last four or five years...just good fun. The bad guys are bad, everybody in the story is well-rounded, I can see sequels ahead...and I'll line up to buy them, you can be sure. Aside to "James" from France, who posted a review here: Richard Knaack wrote the Huma Dragonlance book, not Greenwood.

A fast pace read

The action is wonderfully written. The magic is mesmorizing. While the plot is nothing new, the way it is woven through the action is spectacular. If you want deep woven mysteries and twisting plots, try this book with caution. However, if you want action and magic and a book you can never put down, this is your ticket.

Another Fun Read

Not since Roger Zelazny has a fantasy writer that I've discovered had so much FUN with his stories (except for out-and-out comics like Terry P, Holt, and Gaiman, of course). I like this guy's gentle sense of humor behind everything. This is popcorn reading, not great fantasy...but then, anyone trying to write great fantasy usually comes crashing down, and some of the reviews that sneer at "fanfiction" and suchlike tell me the reviewers are reading the wrong genre in the first place! This is good ol' hero storytelling, done with flair and gusto. Give me sequels!

Good book!

I'm getting used to yawning my way through lots of the new fantasy books. Same old, same old. This one is same old only told great! Slowish start, and then--zap! zap! zap! Characters you can believe in for once, too. Gets my top vote.