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Keep on the Borderlands (Greyhawk Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ru Emerson
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $2.92
You Save: $4.07 (58%)
New (4) Used (18) Collectible (2) from $2.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 322348
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0786918810
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780786918812
ASIN: 0786918810
Publication Date: November 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Keep on the Borderlands was one of the very first D&D adventures, so seasoned gamers remember this product from their early days, and newer gamers will recognize it from the 25th anniversary rerelease.
Greyhawk novels are based on the classic D&D modules from this world and provide readers with the same kind of feeling that they get playing classic D&D modules.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 She lost me at 'Blot' January 11, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Wow, how the devil did somebody let Ms. Emerson turn this in as a final draft, much less actually publish it this way? The fight scenes are terrible, characters are terrible for the most part, the descriptive text is non-existant. It does have some elements from the module tacked on, but for the most part, we get a generic 'hunt the bandits' storyline for half the novel, with the Caves of Chaos putting in a cameo toward the end. Monsters are strictly name-drops, calling them briefly described would be over-stating the matter. That ruins any sort of menace or atmosphere if you ask me. Don't just tell me it's an orc, describe the blasted thing! Have the characters react to it with more than a 'yeah, we ran over and killed some' attitude. What's with tacking on dozens of expedable red shirts? Oh, that's right, to try and create a sense of menace by killing some of them off. A more polished story would do the same by exploiting atmosphere and a dose of horror in evoking the monsters - both how they look and what they do. This is just terrible. 'Keep on the Borderlands' was one of my favorite modules, I get more kids played that one than anything else over the years. It deserved a decent novelization, not this feeble effort. It takes alot to be worse than a Roland Green 'Conan' novel, but this one manages it in spades.
 Review August 17, 2005
It's an interesting concept to write books about classic modules. I purchased "Keep" because I felt I would relive old memories from when I played it. However, the characters in the book did things a lot differently than we did so many years ago and the nostalgia just wasn't there. However, it's not a bad read, just not what I expected.
 Cookie Cutter Fantasy September 21, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Instead of breathing life into these old modules they make flesh them out with predictable plots and one-dimensional characters. So much more could have been done with this book that one small review cannot cover even a 10th.
Ungh July 11, 2003
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Flat characters. Horrible, plastic emotions at their best. Don't read this. It hurt me.
Better than Emerson's Other Grayhawk effort, but still weak May 27, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I found that this book was better than Ru Emerson's first Grayhawk book, Against the Giants, but had some of the same problems. While the characters are more fleshed out in this book, and the pace is a little more subdued (there are actually are some down times), I still found the overall plot to be thin and weak. Two groups of caravan guards meet up at an old Keep in the hinterlands and decide to team up and go after some bandits that are terrorizing the Keep. Why? Well, for treasure of course! For glory! Because they are bored with being caravan guards! Those are at least three of the reasons given. So off they go, bumbling around until they actually find and destroy the bandit camp.
Next the Castellan wants them to go off into the wilds and defeat a bunch of monsters living in some caves. So off they go! Why? See above. While the characters do have some depth and interact with each other in a believable manner, the plot tends to be thin because the reasons for these adventures are thin. The best parts of this book concern the swordswoman Eddis and the little girl first known to us as simply Blot. There are some truly touching moments when Eddis realizes what she gave up for the adventuring life (family, kids) and whether or not it was a good choice for her. She also realizes that she actually likes kids and maybe would like to raise this little girl. The worst parts of the book occur anytime Jers appears, which is unfortunately a lot, since he is a main character. Jers is a cardboard alpha male, consisting of so many testosterone-laden stereotypes that it is hard to imagine that he can walk around, much less fight. He is impulsive. He has little thought for his life or anyone else's. He seeks after glory and treasure. He has no social skills whatsoever. He is a 12-year old in a 25-year old's body. I found this character to be particularly unbelievable. He's like Howard Stern with a sword.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this book is the hastily contrived ending, which was a little too abrupt for my taste. This is a similar problem to Emerson's other book, Against the Giants. If you do read it, don't expect much out of the ending, 'cause it's not there.Anyway, if you are into the game and like to read, you will enjoy this book, particularly if you have gone through the module. If you are just a fantasy fan, move on- there are way better books for you to spend time over than this one.
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