David Lim
The plot continues immediately after the somewhat-cliffhanger ending in book 1, where we find out how they managed to survive.
Book 2 continues along the lines of delving into Cale's and Riven's transformation into Mask's Chosen. I cannot help but wonder what exactly is Mask's interest in the main plot. Thievery I suppose? There's some character development for each of the four protagonists, but their motivation for the main plot feels somewhat weak. Being anti-heroes (except for Jak I suppose), they really needed a stronger motivation - this was present in book 1 - to explain why they're so doggedly going after villains. I really enjoyed the lore and flavour in this book, this time the Plane of Shadow, and later Skullport.
The main plot moves along pretty quickly so the pace never gets slow. I kind of like the flow. Also, being able to read from the villain's POVs is nice, seeing things from their side and presenting their motivations. Too bad that I found the revealed plot to be a bit unbelievable though, unbelievable in the sense that it's being done in so much secrecy so successfully. It's really unbelievable that Mystra would be ignoring all the power spikes in the Weave. Shar for her Shadow Weave, I can understand, since she wants annihilation anyway, but Msytra and her Chosen? It doesn't really make sense. And with Skullport being watched by the Lords of Waterdeep as well, it's just highly unlikely, to me, that Khelben and Laeral would fail to get involved.The finale was a mixed bag - the good is that there was a totally unexpected twist for me, that and the fact of where it's taking place is really juicy, spicing things up for the next book. The bad was yet another cliffhanger, another very-similar-to-book-one-ending cliffhanger. I found that a bit... lame, maybe? Well, here's to book 3 ramping and wrapping things up, it's a bit of a downer since I found book 1 rather exciting.
The plot continues immediately after the somewhat-cliffhanger ending in book 1, where we find out how they managed to survive.
Book 2 continues along the lines of delving into Cale's and Riven's transformation into Mask's Chosen. I cannot help but wonder what exactly is Mask's interest in the main plot. Thievery I suppose? There's some character development for each of the four protagonists, but their motivation for the main plot feels somewhat weak. Being anti-heroes (except for Jak I suppose), they really needed a stronger motivation - this was present in book 1 - to explain why they're so doggedly going after villains. I really enjoyed the lore and flavour in this book, this time the Plane of Shadow, and later Skullport.
The main plot moves along pretty quickly so the pace never gets slow. I kind of like the flow. Also, being able to read from the villain's POVs is nice, seeing things from their side and presenting their motivations. Too bad that I found the revealed plot to be a bit unbelievable though, unbelievable in the sense that it's being done in so much secrecy so successfully. It's really unbelievable that Mystra would be ignoring all the power spikes in the Weave. Shar for her Shadow Weave, I can understand, since she wants annihilation anyway, but Msytra and her Chosen? It doesn't really make sense. And with Skullport being watched by the Lords of Waterdeep as well, it's just highly unlikely, to me, that Khelben and Laeral would fail to get involved.The finale was a mixed bag - the good is that there was a totally unexpected twist for me, that and the fact of where it's taking place is really juicy, spicing things up for the next book. The bad was yet another cliffhanger, another very-similar-to-book-one-ending cliffhanger. I found that a bit... lame, maybe? Well, here's to book 3 ramping and wrapping things up, it's a bit of a downer since I found book 1 rather exciting.
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.
Faces of Deception
This book is set in the Utter East region of Faerun. It stars “Quasimodo” and his bodyguard, and along the way picks up a greedy rogue and a pacifist healer. It has all the ingredients for a great adventure - a goddess-given quest, a legendary location, and odd companions. Too bad it seems to fall short.
The plot and the writing isn't bad at all; it's just not very exciting for me. The protagonist is hard to relate to; he's torn between being selfish and being noble. But kiddos to Troy Denning to actually being able to work in combat scenes with a pacifist along.
This book is set in the Utter East region of Faerun. It stars “Quasimodo” and his bodyguard, and along the way picks up a greedy rogue and a pacifist healer. It has all the ingredients for a great adventure - a goddess-given quest, a legendary location, and odd companions. Too bad it seems to fall short.
The plot and the writing isn't bad at all; it's just not very exciting for me. The protagonist is hard to relate to; he's torn between being selfish and being noble. But kiddos to Troy Denning to actually being able to work in combat scenes with a pacifist along.
I never expected to enjoy this book this much - to think I've been putting off reading this trilogy! I'll get started on the next one pretty soon.Erevis Cale, the subject of this trilogy, is a butler/assassin. I didn't realise that it actually follows one of the books in the 7-book Sembia trilogy and I almost wanted to stop reading. Glad I didn't. I would say there's little lost from not reading the [b:Shadow's Witness 62471 Shadow's Witness (Forgotten Realms Sembia, #2) Paul S. Kemp https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389312963s/62471.jpg 19289028] even though it makes numerous references to it. It never does it in a puzzling, exclusive manner, so that's all good.This novel is a great example of dark fantasy, rich in character and tone, along with an interesting plot and pace that picks up in middle and never lets off. Throughout the novel, the protagonist Cale is put through numerous self-realisation moments, pitting his goodness with his darker side. It portrays a man at conflict with himself, even as he embraces his worship of Mask, the Lord of Shadows and God of Thieves.And Cale is not alone in this. Along the way, he teams with his conscience, the halfling Jak, and a one-time antagonist, Riven Drasek, in his bid for payback. Both of them provides nice contrasts to Cale; different shades of grey. I'm particularly riveted by Riven, an ex-Zhentarim agent and assassin, who grew into a very complex character. I'm much more partial to assassins than clerics, so Riven is much more interesting to me. It's truly a shame that there's only a short sequence of Riven POV.The antagonists deserve a strong mention too. While not as developed as the protagonists, their motivations and their natures were slowly unveiled from their initial appearance as “the bad guys”. Their encounters with the protagonists serve to define them as well as to establish their evil natures.The tone of the book is brooding, peppered with violence and a dark undertone that I honestly didn't expect from a D&D book. But it is overwhelmingly so, giving the action scenes and the appropriate uses of both arcane and divine magic feel very realistic and never out of place. The grey is streaked with themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust lining them silver, crafting a great story from start to finish.And one last bit of love is how Mask is central to the plot. Mask has always sort of been in the background for me, and this book certainly brings Mask up my list of notable Faerunian deities!
I never expected to enjoy this book this much - to think I've been putting off reading this trilogy! I'll get started on the next one pretty soon.Erevis Cale, the subject of this trilogy, is a butler/assassin. I didn't realise that it actually follows one of the books in the 7-book Sembia trilogy and I almost wanted to stop reading. Glad I didn't. I would say there's little lost from not reading the [b:Shadow's Witness 62471 Shadow's Witness (Forgotten Realms Sembia, #2) Paul S. Kemp https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389312963s/62471.jpg 19289028] even though it makes numerous references to it. It never does it in a puzzling, exclusive manner, so that's all good.This novel is a great example of dark fantasy, rich in character and tone, along with an interesting plot and pace that picks up in middle and never lets off. Throughout the novel, the protagonist Cale is put through numerous self-realisation moments, pitting his goodness with his darker side. It portrays a man at conflict with himself, even as he embraces his worship of Mask, the Lord of Shadows and God of Thieves.And Cale is not alone in this. Along the way, he teams with his conscience, the halfling Jak, and a one-time antagonist, Riven Drasek, in his bid for payback. Both of them provides nice contrasts to Cale; different shades of grey. I'm particularly riveted by Riven, an ex-Zhentarim agent and assassin, who grew into a very complex character. I'm much more partial to assassins than clerics, so Riven is much more interesting to me. It's truly a shame that there's only a short sequence of Riven POV.The antagonists deserve a strong mention too. While not as developed as the protagonists, their motivations and their natures were slowly unveiled from their initial appearance as “the bad guys”. Their encounters with the protagonists serve to define them as well as to establish their evil natures.The tone of the book is brooding, peppered with violence and a dark undertone that I honestly didn't expect from a D&D book. But it is overwhelmingly so, giving the action scenes and the appropriate uses of both arcane and divine magic feel very realistic and never out of place. The grey is streaked with themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust lining them silver, crafting a great story from start to finish.And one last bit of love is how Mask is central to the plot. Mask has always sort of been in the background for me, and this book certainly brings Mask up my list of notable Faerunian deities!
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.
The final book of this trilogy proves to be a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I rather enjoyed it, especially as it builds up towards a finale. The loose ends are all nicely wrapped up, except for the bits that foreshadowed even more to come.
The story has an overall “dark” tone to it, even more so than the first two. I guess this ties in really well with Cale and Riven entering more and more fully into the Mask's service. You follow each of the two character's growth and self-realisation of their own part in a really big tapestry.
The downside I take from this are each of their relationships with Mask. They have become Chosen, but there's little insight in this third book as to how they view this relationship. There's little to show that Cale and Riven share the motivations and ideals of Mask, so it's a little off-putting because Mask just appeared to have chosen these two rather randomly, based on that they were just in the right place at the right time. But other than that, I really like how each character has been developed.
Villain-wise, it was very different. Vhosytm is not your typical power-hungry super-villain so the finale is very atypical. The two remaining slaadi were also used very effectively, each possessing a very distinct personality.
Overall, it's a great read at a smooth pace that slowly builds up towards the finale.