David Lim
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!