The Legend of Nightfall

Nightfall #1

by Mickey Zucker Reichert

Legendary thief, lethal assassin, powerful sorcerer…. The elusive man known as Nightfall struggles between his criminal past and his present obligation to protect the King in this epic fantasy duology.

He has been known by countless names and terrifying deeds throughout the lands of mankind—thief, magic wielder, swordsman, assassin, adventurer. But chief among those names and perhaps the most dangerous of his personae is that of Nightfall, a man—or perhaps the legendary demon himself—gifted with unique powers which any sorcerer would kill to possess.

Yet though Nightfall has always escaped his pursuers by moving on to new realms, new identities, and new enterprises, even the cleverest of beings must occasionally slip. And when this master of the night finally falls prey to a royal trap, he finds the consequences beyond even his ability to evade. Bound by sorcery and oath to guard and guide a young prince on his quest, Nightfall will need every trick and talent at his command to keep both himself and his idealistic young charge from death at the hands of unknown betrayers.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic, Adventure

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Mickey Zucker Reichert (pseudonym for Miriam Susan Zucker Reichert) is an American fantasy fiction author of several best selling novels. Perhaps her most famous work is the epic Renshai series, which offers an intriguing perspective on traditional Norse mythology. She is also a parent and paediatrician with a soft spot for critters great and small. She has been known care for a veritable zoo of creatures, at times including mice, horses, snakes, llamas, parrots, squirrels, possums, and foxes.

Alongside her twenty-two novels, Reichert has also published one illustrated novella and fifty-plus short stories.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let them sweat in their beds every night wondering when the knife will come.

In a nutshell: an assassin (Nightfall) of legendary notoriety gets trapped and oathbound (by sorcery) to a young prince as his servant and protector. In addition to serving the prince in whichever way the oath-spell dictates, the assassin also has to try and determine (1) who betrayed him into capture, (2) the real reason for the binding, and (3) how to get free from the spell.

It’s a character driven fantasy that deals with the relationship between the two men as they set out to get the prince landed (acquire land), which is a condition for the spell to be lifted. The prince is not to know about the spell either, which means he is blissfully unaware of the true nature of his servant. The story is told in a somewhat episodic format, as the pair travel from place to place, getting involved in adventures ranging from gambling, horseracing and jousting to deadly confrontations with evil sorcerers. The focus is obviously on character development, as the two men start building a grudging friendship, and the question is really whether this friendship, in the end, will transcend the oath-bond.

The magic system is rather unique and the innate (natal) abilities that people have can be harvested (for lack of a better world) by sorcerers to obtain these abilities for themselves. This amounts to soul-stealing and as such, sorcerers are the villains of the piece. The book has some strong political and socio-economic undercurrents and pertinently addresses topics like class structures, differing cultures, violence against women and free will.

The story of Nightfall is positively Freudian. His actions, and particularly his interaction with women, are heavily informed by the way he was treated by his mother as a child. I don’t want to go into too much detail here, because some might consider it spoiler territory. I will just say this: Nightfall’s emotional baggage (dare I say “mommy issues”?) is a major deconstruction of the traditional cold-hearted assassin trope, and it makes for some uneasy reading at times. I’m mentioning this because in other reviews here, there have been some mention of the book’s portrayal, and treatment, of women.

In the end it’s a novel that is good by definition. It ticks a good number of the right boxes. Whether it will be to your own personal taste is something else. It took me way too long to finish for a book that is 500-odd pages; it gets remarkably long winded at times and the story only really started pulling me in when the pace picked up around the halfway mark. Admittedly, the novel doesn’t really set itself up as an action story, but there are some very good action sequences, and it’s a shame this isn’t exploited more often. There are some twists and some reveals, but nothing earth shattering.

Obviously tricky to rate. Not a bad book, but a bit too slow and sugary for me to give it more than 2.5 - 3 stars.

[TheCosyDragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

Nightfall is a legend with multiple disguises, but he has finally made a mistake. Executed, stripped of disguises and charged with a seemingly impossible task, he needs to land Ned before he can escape the oath bond. Nightfall no longer has his true self to return to, but he mustn't remain Nightfall either.

Nightfall or Sudian, whatever you want to call him, is a nice character. I wouldn't say he was great, but he's not bad. You do see some significant character development, but it is mainly in terms of the way Nightfall begins to interact with the other characters, particularly he idealistic Ned.

It's hard to discuss this book without giving away key spoiler points. Must of the book is built on suspense, which is appropriate as the third person narrative. The majority of the time it is focalised through Nightfall, which works very well for building his character.

Something I didn't understand was why Nightfall didn't just create another persona like the assassin Nightfall. That sentence is confusing until you have read the book I guess. Nightfall doesn't fall into his other personas, he only remains Sudian, but surely he could have come up with another assassin similar to intimidate people! That would totally destroy everything that his childhood friend has tried to do for him though, which would undermine other parts of the book.

Something that bugs me about this book are the constant reminders about being undernourished at birth and this making Nightfall look so much smaller and uglier than Ned. If I imagine Nightfall like the way he is portrayed on the cover, I find him very attractive for a man! It's probably the beard. Another issue I have with that is that at some stage, his locks of hair are described as being clipped shorter, but the book cover doesn't reflect that.

This is my second time reading the book, and in my opinion it lacks something. I remembered the storyline quite well, and so all the suspense that drives the plot was lost for me. I knew that whatever Nightfall tried, he would wiggle his way around it!

The book ends on a cliffhanger to an extent, and so it is fortunate there is a second book! I believe it took a long time for Reichert to produce the sequel, but it was very eagerly anticipated. It is also on my bookshelf and I'm aiming to read it some time soon. I enjoyed this book first time around, and it wasn't a bad read as a repeat either. I'd advise savouring the read slowly the first time (if you can, it's pretty a pretty driving narrative) so that you get the most of this book before moving on to the second.

I'd recommend this book for adults and mature teenagers. The issues of sex, diseases and prostitutes, and also violence against children are all present, but I think they are dealt with quite well, and certainly not in a positive light.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nightfall is an assassin who hides his true nature behind many names and identities. But even legends can occasionally slip, and his is caught and his only change to escape execution is to be bound by oath to guard and guide a young prince on a quest.

The prince wants to end poverty and hunger and basically save everyone, yet he has no sense of the value of money or how to practically manage this.
Nightfall, on the other hand, has been brought up to be cynical, suspicious, and prefers to strike first and ask questions later.
The two characters - optimism vs pessimism - shows how there isn’t one simple answer, there is no such thing as black and white.

However, this felt more like a series of events rather than a story building to something. The climax didn’t feel satisfying, and nothing seemed much connected.
Overall, I did like the Prince’s and Nightfall’s relationship as they learn of the world through each other’s eyes.

Bookstagram

[Eric Franks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is by far one of my all time favorite fantasy novels. What did it teach me? It taught me how a halfway decent fantasy novel should read. What subjects it could cover. How character development should proceed.It had an interesting kind of antihero protagonist, the first I had ever seen at this point; it explored his love for a woman of ill repute, his own feelings of inadequacy and guilt despite being a very successful assassin. It showed the process of him softening with exposure to the naive idealism of a young prince. Everything in this story just worked to add up to one of the most memorable reads for me ever. Maybe it just came along at the right time in my life but this is one of those stories i know will influence in all the writing I do.

[Shaitarn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightfall is the name of a mythical demon, immortalised in a child's rhyme. It's also the nickname of a thief and assassin, and this is the Nightfall we're concerned about.

The story starts with Nightfall being captured by the soldiers of King Rikard Nargol of Alyndar. Bound by a sorcerous oath, Nightfall is forced to accompany the king's youngest son, the idealistic Prince Edward, on a quest. He must see the prince landed - granted his own territory - within five months or he will die and his soul will be forfeited to the sorcerer, bound in eternal torment. The sorcerer is quite keen for this to happen, because he knows Nightfall has a 'natal gift' - a superpower, if you will - and the only way for a sorcerer to gain that magic for himself is to steal his soul, so obviously, he's going to be no help whatsoever.

I'm familiar with this author's work from her Renshai novels (which I also recommend, by the way) so I knew enough to be cautiously optimistic, and I wasn't disappointed. I like stories about rogues, and Nightfall is a classic rogue - agile, fast, with a mean line in thrown daggers and a convincing lie for any occasion. He differs from the others in the fantasy field owing to his magical gift and his varied personas - as well as the demon-named Nightfall he has worked on a farm and as a sailor in the past, under different names.

Prince Edward starts off as the worst kind of idealist, the sort of naïve crusader who'll fight the injustices of the world (slavery for example) and thinks other people will agree with him and see the evil of their ways as soon as he explains it to them; he has a lot of growing up to do.

There’s nothing earth-shattering in this novel, and it has its faults (notably when a character clings to their beliefs long after they should have been disproved), but it is an enjoyable, quick read, particularly when Nightfall gets to cut loose and go all-out assassin.

I’m not sure if this book is still in print – it isn’t available in any other format – but if you have a fondness for the occasional roguish stand alone adventure (the author wrote a sequel 12 years later, but it isn’t necessary to appreciate this book) between multi-volume world-spanning quests or the grimmest of grimdark fantasy, you may find Nightfall your cup of tea.

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pretty bad, but at least it's not as depressing as all the serious lit I've chosen recently. Not super enthused about the telliness, the huge gaps in the plot, or the total dominance of male characters. You'd think women might be depicted in some way other than as 1. dangerously naive to the point of polluting others' minds or 2. ZOMG BETRAYING WHORE YOU MUST DIEEE. Let's see whether the subsequent character development changes that at all.

Master criminal with a heart of gold buried so deep even he can't find it + ultra-naive Anduin Wrynn clone + former stripper only in the book as a love interest/character developer for master criminal = no thanks.

[Crouton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book as it was picked for a book club I am in and honestly this was a struggle for me to finish. I thought I would enjoy this as I usually enjoy the fantasy genre but this turned out to be the worst fantasy book I've ever read.

From the very outset of this book I surmised it was written by a man, one who seems to be a misogynist and have an issue with women. You can imagine my surprise when I found out this was actually written by a women. I don't remember ever reading a worse portrayal of women in a novel than this. I kept reading thinking maybe it would get better but it only got worse.

Each female character in this story is degraded, used, abused. Described only in terms of their body, beauty and sexuality, has very little to no personality and never really contributes anything. It almost felt like Reichert added women as an afterthought because she felt she had to but forgot to give them any character.

As for the story itself outside of the abysmal treatment of women, it was one of the most overly long-winded things I have ever read. This whole novel could have been told in half as many words and still had the story get across exactly the same. So much of the book dragged on, and entire sections were dull and repetitive. The dialogue was also cheesy to the point of almost getting second hand embarrassment reading it.

There were minor bits of action and some interesting aspects of lore from this world but not enough to save this one for me. I will not be reading anything else by this author.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fantasy adventure novel as Nightfall, a noted criminal, master of many disguises, thief, warrior and cunning knife fighter is trapped by a King and his pet sorcerer and forced to swear an oath bond to take care of Prince Edward, the King's youngest son, and get him landed within a short time. Under the Oath Bond, Nightfall is forced to swear that he will not harm the Prince, protect him at all costs and cannot use his name of Nightfall at all. Any attempt to get out of the oath bond causes intense pain.

The Prince, a rash immature noble, is sent out with his new servant Sudian a/k/a Nightfall. At first Sudian tries to gain land by gambling using all of his cunning and his magical ability -- Sudian is able to shift his weight making himself light or heavy at will. Later Sudian attempts to get Edward to marry a noble lady and then enter a tourney. Meanwhile, Sudian and the Prince are hunted by a sorcerer, who knows that Sudian has a talent and wants to acquire it by foul means, and also by the King's own sorcerer who has his own nasty plans for Sudian and the prince.

The tale of the experienced older man who steps into help the younger noble hero is a time honored technique in writing. Reichert novel, with the interesting magical abilities, and cunning Nightfall driving the plot, is able to make this old story ring with new passion and energy.

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at just over 60%. This is a fairly spoiler-heavy review, so I marked it accordingly.

It somewhat bugged me that, from the beginning, Nightfall is portrayed as this Gary Stu archetype capable of doing anything and everything with style and finesse. I kept reading, though, to see where the Ned storyline went, and whether (or in what circumstance) the bond compelling Nightfall to help Ned was removed. I found the Nightfall/Kelryn plot uninteresting, and was disappointed though when the story started shifting to make that the focus rather than the landing of the prince.

Where I finally put the book down was after Nightfall struck Kelryn, seemingly for no reason except because he was angry and incapable of having adult conversations even at 40. I even kept going for another 20 pages or so to see if things would somehow progress from that plot point into something more understanding for both of them (giving Nightfall the benefit of the doubt), but instead Nightfall turns into this sulking rage monster where every interaction with, well, just about everyone, involves the author talking about how infuriated Nightfall becomes internally.

I realize it's an older fantasy book and has all of the literary baggage that period in the genre implies, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of redemption or character progression that would make Nightfall a better lead character in my mind. Rather than having this book continually annoy me with poor character motivations and a lead character who mopes like a high schooler, I decided to put it down without finishing.

I did give it two stars, because the magic system(? not sure if it's the right word) seems unique with how traits are taken by sorcerers, and some of the dialogue between Ned and Nightfall is legitimately amusing.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Character-driven fantasy, not too shabby. There are some interesting bits, like the concept of sorcery and the actions of the characters themselves. I like the fact that the prince(s) are portrayed as decent people who are at least fairly competent, if naive (this after reading Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, where pretty much every royal person is a cretin).

What I didn't like was the contrived plot; the whole geas/oath-bond just sucked, and its constant presence only reminded me of its suckiness over and over again. Couldn't Reichert have come up with a better idea? I also wondered how Nightfall, for all his legendary prowess, was caught so easily. I also wondered why he got beat up so much, too, but I suppose that can be explained by the nature of his assignment and his oft-mentioned lack of fighting skill.

Overall, not too bad: it could have been better, and it could have been much worse. The character of Nightfall is likeable and interesting, and I might actually read the sequel.

[Merewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

☺Swashbuckling fun! 🤓and don't forget your spade!😊lol
Fun, snarky, sneaky, and heartwarming🙂
The first 70 pages or so were a bit slow, but overall a terrific character growth story.😉I'd recommend giving this book a go just for you to see all the clever ways Nightfall gets outta tight spaces and close calls

[Penny Geard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nostalgic re-read... but I lost my nostalgia halfway through 😅
The plot involves a lot of conveniences and requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief.
I was interested in the contrast between Nightfall's jaded cynicism and the naive idealism of the Prince he's babysitting... but the book doesn't do much with that. Instead, there's just a lot of cheating in competitions. Kind of fun but lacking in depth. I was most frustrated with the way the book used slavery as a token moral issue for them to debate, but then neglects to address the issue seriously.

[DarkHeraldMage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the fantasy elements to be simple and likable, but not quite as prevalent or useful as I'd normally hope for in good fantasy. I also saw too many holes in the logic of an underlying concept that was pervasive through the whole book. In the end, the story was enjoyable enough to be worth reading, but not so much as to land on any future re-read list.

Best part of the book? The snippets of the larger nursery rhyme about Nightfall that started each chapter. I want more of those please.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Legend of Nightfall is a truly fun fantasy story with some new ideas that really shines in the time you get to spend with the characters.

I really enjoyed the different settings and events that happened, and how it moved at a pretty good pace. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, but once I was in, I was in. Between horse racing, playing cards, wagering, tourneys, courting, wild chases, magical warfare, and more, there was always a new episode for the characters to go through.

The characters also shine, and grow at a believable pace. Not just stereotypes, each has nuance that keep you reading and wondering what will happen.

Overall, I loved this book! It's definitely worth a read if you want a fun fantasy read.

[AilsaOD · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very frustrating - the author can write well and can construct a story fairly well but oh boy did I not enjoy what they wrote about. If you are a fan of more old school fantasy then you'll probably have a good time - for example the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist gives me similar vibes - but I have spent too much time reading more recently published books and it appears my tastes have changed. On a slightly unrelated note, I got my copy of this book from a charity shop and it is in impressively bad condition! Did a dog try to eat this or something?

Our main character is the criminal Nightfall who has a laughable number of personas he uses to disguise himself and is bigged up as highly notorious and uncatchable. Apparently he has been doing this for over twenty years but then the book begins and immediately he is arrested and spends the rest of the book flailing about in an awful case of tell not show with regards to his supposed reputation. Unfortunately the one aspect of his character that the show and tell can agree on that he is an AWFUL person. I almost dnf-ed in the first chapter because Nightfall makes mention of how he spread rumors about his love interest having 'the clap' (an STI) so that she had to quit being a prostitute (and it is implied that he did so without her prior knowledge or consent, although events later in the book would suggest that maybe this wasn't the case so I'm a little unsure) which is very yikes? After getting arrested Nightfall is forced to agree to be bound by an Oathbond to serve the naïve Prince Edward on his quest to 'get landed' and while listening to Nightfall think nasty things about his master was wearing I also found it satisfying that he was essentially getting his comeuppance!

Anyway, one thing I will say was done well was that both Nightfall and Ned undergo an impressive amount of character development as they are both utterly unbearable at the beginning, albeit for very different reasons (if the spade subplot had continued another page I might have spontaneously combusted!) and by the end they've become halfway decent humans and in the high-speed climax of the book I actually wanted Nightfall to succeed.

Other areas that were good was the world building with regards to the magic system with a minority of people being born with a special ability and another with the ability to keep people's souls and use the associated powers of their victims. It's a pretty dark concept but also very unique and the parts of the plot that tied into this were probably the strongest. Also some of the plot twists in the second half of the book were pretty good - there was one that definitely made me pause and think 'oh NO'.

Now on to the thing that personally ruined this book for me: it's treatment of female characters. I was surprised to discover that the author is a woman as I initially thought this book would be at home on r/menwritewomen. I am perfectly aware that in the past women were not treated particularly well and as fantasy tends to borrow heavily from history this can bleed over but I did not come here for that and it just made me sad. Such a large proportion of women in this story are prostitutes to varying degrees that the remainder can probably be dismissed as statistical outliers!! Like is this the ONLY way unmarried woman can get employment in this world? Kelryn, Nightfall's love interest, was actually one of the best characters (admittedly she didn't have much competition) but the way Nightfall treats her for perceived wrongs is unpleasant and she deserves better. There is a section concerning a noblewoman's 'besmirched honour' and the importance placed upon virginity that was not fun to read at all. Oh and the worst section is definitely when Nightfall (himself a victim of sexual assault) decides he is going to murder a female character I won't name because spoilers and seriously contemplates if she 'deserves' to be raped first. AAAAAAAAAAh!?? On the bright side at least Nightfall's rumor spreading comes back to bite him twice. You reap what you sow, mate!

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been on my too-read shelf for awhile. How long? you ask...oh, since 1993. Yes, it has patiently sat within the pile (well, four piles, really) of books in my nightstand through 5 moves and many sortings/re-orderings and was always passed up in favor of a different book (but never discarded). Why did I never read it? I have no idea ...it was written by a well-known and respected author and has the sort of description that normally guarantees an insta-read. The only thing I can think of is the horrible cover...really.

The book's big fault is that the plot is slow getting started. We meet the world's greatest rogue, Nightfall, only to have him immediately oath-bound to a idealistic prince. This bond is magical and cannot be broken. To break the bond or fail in his charge will result in Nightfall losing his power and soul to the Sorcerer who has bound him. This is one thing I really liked about Reichert's magic system: you are born with a talent, or you are sorcerer who steals talents from others by enslaving the souls of the talented. (Rogue good, Sorcerers bad...I've been saying that for years in every D&D game I ever played...lol.)

I could have done with seeing more of Nightfall's incredible talents instead of just having him gelded by his oath-bond before the end of the second chapter. We just barely get to know him before he is forced to become a pale shadow of his former self as Sudian, squire and adviser to Prince Edward. The king has forced the bond on him in order to have Sudian teach his impulsive, naive, idealistic son; to provide him a "real-world" education while sending the two of them on a quest to get the younger prince "landed" (married or titled in his own right). While this is a good set-up for the Sudian / Edward dichotomy that follows for the next twelve chapters, I wasn't fully invested in either Nightfall or Edward as a character to appreciate the growth both had to experience in these "life on the road" episodes. These chapter all seemed to be a preface to the actual center of the story which takes place in the last five chapters. Other books have been able to "show" me the motivations and measure of a character in far fewer words than Reichert spent "telling" me.

This last third of the book is really worth getting to however - you finally know both these men well enough to care what happens, the author finally has all the pieces in place to launch the plot arc, and the action finally has an antagonist to spur it along and give it a sense of urgency. Reichert deftly weaves the threads of the plot into a unified whole and the resolution is not a disappointment - especially when Nightfall is finally let off his leash.

I wish I had not let this book languish unread for 20 years...

[Tawni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book quite a lot but was rather disappointed on a few things. As the summary states, the story centers on a famous theif called Nightfall and a young prince. The author does a fantastic job building their relationship for most of the book. But its a pretty thick book and the pace is a bit slow because of the abundant relationship building. You have action parts sprinkled in here and there but most of it is slow paced. But all of the sudden I felt like he rushed the ending. The author worked so hard on building the relationship between the two characters that I felt like the rest was half finished in a sense. It comes to end in the last 80 pages or so that should have been more. Reactions were rushed and I questioned quite a few reactions and actions because it seemed a bit forced and hurried. If the book had been rewritten with the focus of making it flow more towards the end I think it would have become one of my favorites. Overall, its a decent book to read and I would recommend it for people who like books that focus on character development.

[Rodolfo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something about Mickey Zucker Reichert that makes me want to finish her books. I don't feel like they are the kind of adventure books that really draw me in, but they do have a quality that keeps my interests....They are very linier. They seem like they can go on forever and would still be interesting. Her characters grow, and not always in ways that you would think. Some characters make appearances and seem like main characters, and then they die. A lot like life I guess. they aren't as rich in dialogue or personality as say, Joe Abercrombie, but still a good read. Sometimes the story will take a huge leap in relations or time but it will quickly bring you back with the next point of interest or goal the heroes need to achieve. just like the last series I read by this author,Renshai Trilogy, there aren't many highs or lows, but lots of medium level action. I like her style, its different.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts off with an experienced assassin without morals or care of almost anyone. He is stuck on a ship in a cold sea, unable to escape the sailors who turned against him. He was then given to a king who magically bound him to protect his younger son, a very idealistic man.

And that's when the adventure begins, and the author shows (and does a good job at not telling) how the assassin's ruthlessness gets tempered with loyalty, and the prince gets some worldly wisdom as well.

I thought this was a great book because the main character wasn't stupid. He was always paranoid and on the alert, and he didn't miss much. Sometimes he was at a disadvantage to sorcerers, but was able to get out of the trouble.

And there was a bit of romance, but it played a very minor role and seemed much more realistic than I often find in urban fantasy or books with love triangles.

And I love the poem.

[Redletalis · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a book of almost 500 pages, 350 of said pages are spent on nothings. Amusing as they are there are only so many times one can read a funny anecdote or Nightfall’s sarcastic thoughts without starting to wonder when we will get back to the plot. And as for the plot, well, 150 pages are hardly enough to deal properly with the problems and enemies built up throughout the rest of the story. And these aren't the only problems either.

Full review on my blog:

https://redletalis.wordpress.com/2016...

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good beginning and ending but slow to get moving, and a main character who is by turns interesting and infuriating. I didn't like the descriptive passages; they seemed too choose-your-own-adventure or D&D-y for me. Frex, things like "he burst through the door and had three passages to choose from."

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I read this from start to finish without stopping -- it was that good. Nightfall is a fascinating character, and the plotting was fantastic. This is fantasy at its best.

[Moonburst · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me a ridiculous amount to time to read because it really wasn't very good. I've read worse though.

[Ollie Grant · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man that story fell off a cliff. So well written in the first half, then it relies on some really bad writing techniques like purposeful miscommunication or no-communication. I like the first half of the book quite a lot, the second half (of which I did not finish) was quite dull.

*Spoilers Below*

The story went from swindling strangers in dynamic ways to make money, bar room brawls, and interesting fights against spell slinging sorcerers to a 'will they/won't they' love triangle between our two protagonists and one of their wives. It's a strange forceful cuckhold triangle which is somehow both difficult to read and extremely boring.

I am not a fast reader, so having this being the main plot point for 25%, with the miscommunication only being rectified right at the end of the novel turned me off finishing this book completely.

The protagonist is a charismatic asshole, however his stolen agency goes from being a fun gimmick to being equally frustrating for the reader as it hamstrings him from doing anything that interesting after a while. His dynamic with the prince in conversation never developing any further past the first few chapters, and only really evolving in his own mind. Makes for an interesting internal dialogue but quite boring conversation between the two.

The love interest's entire existence is to make the protagonist a better person. Enough said there.

I don't really have a problem with the prince outside of the fact that he isn't given much room to grow for the majority of the book. All his faults are covered for by the main protag, so outside of the occasional pondering session, he isn't really given much pressure to grow.

The writing generally is solid, it's just the topics, character decisions, and structure of the book which I struggle with. Another good example is how all the women in this book seen through the male gaze are boiled down to how big their breasts are, and curvaceous their hips are in all situations. Even when our protagonist is burning with apoplectic rage, he can't help himself from getting turned on. As a dude, I'm a bit insulted that this is how men are perceived. The moment a good looking woman shows slightly more than a thigh, apparently we turn into Neanderthals no matter the situation.

From seeing other reviews, it seems the book picks up towards the very end, but I couldn't make it there. Stopped reading at about 70% through because how painfully dragged out one of my least favourite tropes was - lack of communication between characters leading to conflict. 1 ten sentence conversation between characters would remove 200 pages from the book, which is not ok.

Edit:
Just wanted to add on top that the story is extremely aimless. After the 50% mark, the focus on how to complete the requirements set-out by the magic system is really up in the air. The lack of direction kills the pacing.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

God I love dumb fantasy.

Legendary thief and cold blooded killer Nightfall gets captured and magically bonded to idealistic naive Prince Edward, and spends the whole book angrily wondering if he is developing true feelings of friendship and loyalty for the prince, who has no idea about the geas or the supervillain secret identity and treats Nightfall kindly, hugs him a lot, lets him sleep in his bed, and holds hands with him. Heterosexually. After all, Nightfall is completely and totally heterosexual, which he mentions while thinking about how extremely handsome Prince Edward is:

Edwards's expression lapsed into one of surprise, and a strand of yellow hair fell across his forehead. The careless beauty of Prince Edward of Alyndar struck Nightfall; he seemed exactly the man women conjured in their fantasies. Though Nightfall held no interest in the looks of other men, he knew a sense of pride he could not quite explain for serving the epitome of female dreams.

Totally straight, guys. Anyway, the book ends with Nightfall and the prince saying they love each other, Nightfall calling the prince by a special nickname for the first time, and saying that the name the prince calls him is the only one he will ever need. And also, Nightfall will be his advisor, happily ever after.

Yeah, I had a great time reading this book. Don't ruin things by talking about the love triangle, it was 1993.

If you need warnings for stuff, there is certainly stuff to be warned about in this book. I'm sure other reviews mention the sticking points. The one I'm going to mention is the sexual assault: Look, I get that evil wizards are evil, and this one magically forces someone to kiss him, because he is evil. What I don't get is why he chooses to do that thirty seconds after she barfed. I know he saw her barf. He was there. She barfs on him again afterwards. What the fuck, dude.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An infamous assassin and thief, who goes by the name Nightfall, is captured by a king and his trusted sorcerer. Instead of being executed, the king decides that Nightfall’s life experience is just what his idealistic younger son, Ned, will need as he is forced to leave home after causing a political embarrassment. The king and his sorcerer bind Nightfall to a magical oath not to use his Nightfall persona, to protect Ned with his life and help Ned get his own land, and not to harm any noble of the country. If Nightfall even considers ignoring the conditions of the oath, he feels intense pain, and if the time limit of the oath runs out before he helps Ned get land, Nightfall’s soul, along with his inborn magical ability to change his weight at will, will be taken by the king’s sorcerer. Nightfall, as Ned’s squire, tries several schemes to get Ned landed, while simultaneously seeking revenge against the one person he trusted enough to have the information necessary to betray him into his capture by the king, and avoiding another sorcerer who wants to steal his magic and soul. Ned, unaware of the oath, is more concerned with freeing every slave and feeding every beggar they meet, regardless of any practical considerations.

The premise of this book reminded me a lot of the Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell, and I can’t help but compare the two. It took much longer for me to get to like these characters, because, understandably, Nightfall starts out more ruthless and cynical than Fisk, and Ned starts out more foolish and arrogant than Michael.

I did appreciate the characters as they grew less extreme, and the plot was engaging, though it took a while to get started. It was a lot of fun to see Nightfall’s ingenuity in action, and the ending was suitably exciting and touching.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Legend of Nightfall by Mickey Zucker Reichert is one of her few stand alone books. Reichert mostly writes in series, but her single novel has no short comings.

The Legend of Nightfall is a poem from which a stanza begins each chapter. The poem is based on the assassin and thief, Nightfall. Nightfall has many aliases and only two people know all of Nightfall's identities, his true love, Kelryn, and his best friend, Dyfrin.

Caught by the king of Alyndar, King Rikard, Nightfall bargains for his life. He regains the name he was born with, Sudian, and he enters into an agreement that is sealed by magic. The agreement is that Nightfall will act as a squire and bodyguard to King Rikard's son, Prince Edward, also called Ned. Nightfall must also get Ned landed within 5 months. Finally, Nightfall must agree that all previous persona are dead, never to be resurrected, especially Nightfall. If he fails in any of these tasks, he will die and his soul will be bound to the sorceror, Gilleran.

Nightfall sets out on a duel quest of landing Ned and keeping him alive, and seeking out and destroying his betrayer. Along the way, Nightfall and Ned battle sorcerers and people with birth skills.

This 496 page book is a wonderful, a bit predictable, tale of an amazing man. Why did I like this novel? It had a unique premise and didn't read like many fantasy novels do. Basically, it was different than most fantasy. The book is quite suspenseful, keeping you wondering what will happen next.

Other novels by Reichert I suggest are her Renshai novels: The Last of the Renshai Trilogy and the Chronicles.

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The awesome illustrated cover of this boook (as well as the fact that it's 80's fantasy) initially lead me to believe this book would be a kitchy, lighthearted fantasy novel, with perhaps a side of romance featuring the twinkish looking guy in center frame-- and I was right. It is.

Following the premise, the book really delivers on the relationship between Edward, the young and inexperienced prince on his mission to get landed, and Nightfall, the asssassin-slash-bodyguard who is soul-bound to the prince at the beginning of the book, sworn against his will to protect him from any harm. It's cute. Watching their friendship slowly develop was a delight. That said, the book is not very good, but it's a refreshing read if you want to escape to a world where self-awareness and sarcasm appears to never have been invented. The sheer comedy of reading Nightfall's dramatic, over-the-top internal monologues almost made up for the fact that the book is a billion pages too long. The prose is alright, if a little stiff sometimes, but because the book is so long it's really hard to overlook its flaws--it got more than a little repetetive.

Still, it has a very special place in my heart, and I would definitely reccomend it to anyone who wants to read something easy-going.

[Munch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to give this 3-3.5 stars but after 170ish pages I started to get much more into the story and characters. The friendship between Nightfall and Ned is so precious, Nightfall starts out not really liking him that much but they grow closer as they travel. Ned starts off really annoying but he means well and is very sweet. I loved how Nightfall had to try and protect him and get him land without Ned knowing the underhanded ways he did it. I did find it a bit tell rather than show with Nightfall's skills sometimes, he's just a bit too good at everything. And somehow no matter where they go he had an alter ego based there at one time or other and knew nearly everyone. Also the female character was a bit under developed since we didn't meet her until quite a bit into the book, we just heard about her. I think she was also a little too perfect, even though she was "plain" men just fell for her. Near the end when I found out a bit more about her, I did start to like her a bit more. My favourite character didn't even appear in the story, just hearing about him through Nightfall's thoughts and memories was enough for me to love him :) I'm definitely going to read the next book.

[Victoria Pring · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was suprised at how much I honestly lived this book. It was one that I picked up compleatly at random so didn't expect too much. I underestimated it. I loved Nightfall, his dry humour and inner monologue made me laugh. There is so much character development in both of the main characters yet none of it feels forced, they both help each other to learn to be better versions of themselves (though Kelryn deserves some of the credit too).
I ended up really liking Edwards brother so when he was suddenly killed I was distressed, so then when five minutes later the king was dead it all came as a bit of a shock. Gilleran really messed up when he killed the king, don't think that was the way anyone hoped the terms would be met. I really enjoyed all of this book, the only bit I found a little dissapointing was that Gilleran escaped all the torture and suffering that was due to him, it was all very tidy, I would have leant more towards the eye for an eye approach especially after finding out about Dyfrin. I had never heard of this author before but now I shall be on the lookout for more of his books, especially this books sequel.