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| The Lost Keep of Kaywall | 
 enlarge | List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $13.20
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1397150
Category: Book
Author: Charles Embrey Jr.
Publisher: American Book Publishing
Studio: American Book Publishing
Manufacturer: American Book Publishing
Label: American Book Publishing
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Perfect Paperback
Pages: 284
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1589823699
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781589823693
ASIN: 1589823699
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
one of those books I stayed up late reading September 19, 2008
I read this book about three years ago after meeting the author at Gen Con. Great read, a real page turner that kept me wanting to know what happened next. Anyone who is regular reader of fantasy and sci-fi will gain enjoyment from this one.
 Short review, but a good book December 10, 2007
As both an author and reader of fiction, I was impressed with "the Lost Keep of Kaywall". Maybe it is because I have always enjoyed a book that could hold my attention and make me think at the same time. In a nutshell, the characters are believable and yet a little out of the ordinary and the story line unique. Give this book a try.
The Christian fiction book that I have written main story theme is about ten years in the life of a little girl who was "chosen by God" to be the next Madonna in the second coming of Christ.
Tommy Taylor
Author - The Second Virgin Birth
 Avoid this book October 17, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm almost sorry to write this review as this book was recommended by my significant other. I feel I must though, so as to warn those who may be on the fence as to this title.
The first unsettling sign of trouble was that the author begins the book with a quote. Not in itself unusual, but in this case, the quote is by the author himself. No, not one of the characters, the author. I saw this and wondered and flipped to the About the Author section in the back. Wow. Not even J.K.Rowling has received such praise. I began to wonder just how much ego this author had wrapped in this book. Turns out, a lot.
It is too bad as the premise of the story is good, but it would seem that whatever constructive criticism the author may have recieved was either argued away or ignored.
What made this book unworthy from my reading?
1. The first 80% of the book is written in an impersonal third person voice with splashes of character dialog for relief. In many ways it reads like a technical manual.
2. The book is based on some game play the author took part in back in the days of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. This alone is not a problem. The problem lies in the fact that the author goes into sometimes lengthy asides that are thinly veiled descriptions of game mechanics and serve no purpose in advancing the story.
3. The author not only refers to the characters in terms of the D&D character class, he capitalizes all usage of the class name. Clovis is not a paladin, but a Paladin. The king, well, he's only a king. It pulled me out of the story throughout and I can see no purpose in that usage.
4. The writing is somewhat male chauvenistic. Not directly, but there are enough asides and 'quips' that the point is made. I was reminded of the challenges that Sarah in the 'Knights of the Round Table' comic faces and not in a humorous way.
The only way I can recommend any one buy this book is if they want a historical perspective on how the game of D&D was played in the early '80s.
Otherwise, spend your money elsewhere.
A classic RPG romp October 12, 2007
I picked this up from the author at GenCon Indy from the Author's Alley. Once I started reading it, I found that it flowed very quickly. It is a fun adventure and reads just like a D&D adventure. This is both a good thing and a limiting (note - not bad) thing. It is classic escapist literature, and a fun journey. Both of these things are very important to me. However, since it does read like a D&D adventure, it doesn't have the depth of something like the Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. But, at the same time, it doesn't try to be that. It attempts to be a simple, short, fun tale; and at that it succeeds.
The only criticism I would have is that there are several spots where the action slows to a crawl as the author explains a fantasy convention that I was already familiar with. True, to people new to the fantasy genre, these snippets are useful. However, to most people familiar with RPGs, they will already know about werewolves and paladins. The bad part is that there are a couple of times where this exposition is put in the middle of an tense action sequence.
However, that is a minor criticism. I would highly recommend this to someone looking for a quick adventure in a fantasy world. It definitely brought back memories of late-night gaming sessions.
Great story! September 27, 2007
When we met Charles at GenCon '07, he set up the story for my boys (ages 12 and 14) and had them hooked from the start. After getting our autographed copy, my 12 year old started reading. He couldn't put it down. He gives the book raving reviews to say the least!
The story is fun, easily readible, and full of interesting characters. It follows D&D, so anyone who has ever played will feel right at home; however, even people who aren't gamers will still enjoy the story because the characters are so well introduced and the story itself is interesting.
We are anxiously awaiting book number 2!
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