''Blood Hostages'' is a fantasy novel by J. Robert King, set in the

Planescape ''Planescape'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as dev ...

campaign setting, and based on the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' role-playing game. It is the first novel published in the "Blood Wars Trilogy". It was published in paperback, January 1996.

Plot summary

''Blood Hostages'' is a novel in which am uncle is kidnapped which reveals the dark past that he tried to hide, while his teenage rescuers discover that they have royal parentage.

Reception

Trenton Webb reviewed ''Blood Hostages'' for ''Arcane'' magazine, rating it a 5 out of 10 overall. He commented that "This book may be formulaic fantasy but it's fun. Perverse enjoyment comes from the ceaseless parade of fantasy fiction conventions, while genuine pleasure comes from the headlong charge through the bizarre

multiverse." Webb commented that the novel "shamelessly employs every fantasy cliché", but concluded his review by saying "Despite this, it's a tolerable read. The flat characters are rescued by the energy, variety and weirdness of the planes. No attempt is made to explain how each world works: the characters only see how that plane affects their skills, echoing the style of the Planescape manuals. Experienced Planescape players will warm to ''Blood Hostages'' as their game world is brought, somewhat functionally, to life. It's a useful source of planar descriptions, an example of how they can be played and an excellent introduction for those who wish to explore them. Just don't turn to it for plot inspiration."

References

{{Planescape 1996 American novels Novels based on Dungeons & Dragons Novels by J. Robert King Planescape