A Dance of Death

Shadowdance #3

by David Dalglish

One has conquered a city. The other covets an entire nation.

Haern is the King's Watcher, protector against thieves and nobles who would fill the night with blood. Yet hundreds of miles away, an assassin known as the Wraith has begun slaughtering those in power, leaving the symbol of the Watcher in mockery. When Haern travels south to confront this copycat, he finds a city ruled by the corrupt, the greedy and the dangerous. Rioters fill the streets, and the threat of war hangs over everything. To forge peace, Haern must confront the deadly Wraith, a killer who would shape the kingdom's future with the blade of his sword.

Man or God; what happens when the lines are blurred?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Magic, Dark Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[John McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like David Dalglish. Straight forward ,no nonsense Fantasy fun. No messing about, just lots of assassins and various bad guys stabbing each other as many times as they can. Marvellously entertaining and great fun !

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

A Dance of Mirrors, book three and the conclusion to the Shadowdance trilogy is the best of the bunch. It is a fantastic conclusion and one hell of a ride…David Dalglish has created a series that can stand up with the greats. The Shadowdance Trilogy reminded me a great deal of Brent Weeks Night Angel series, one that I really loved, and all things considered this series is every bit as good as that one, maybe even better.


"Along the rooftops ran the Watcher, cloaks trailing, sabers in hand.”


The Shadowdance Trilogy is a political game of power and Kings a la The Game of Thrones. It takes a look into the gutters and sewers of two great cities where Thieves, mercenaries, and royalty (the Trifect) struggle for power, for riches, and of course for survival. The first two books took place in the home of the Watcher, the city Valdaren. This book our heroes go to the city of Angelport, a place that made Valdaren seem to be civilized and calm by comparison. The change in location and lack of home turf made the Watcher feel more real and more down to earth.

The theme of this book is...there is always more. There is more to Haern than him simply being a legendary assassin. There is more to Wraith than a maniac killer. There are deeper plans in motion by Alyssa than what she is telling. The theme also means that there is always someone else that is more. A better fighter. A more giving person. A better cook. A more evil character. A person with even more selfish motives. Always someone else that is potentially better. This theme is the driving force behind this whole book. Our characters undergo many trials and tribulations that explore the theme.

The Watcher is one fantastic main character. Haern will be tough to forget and is truly an awesome lead. We get to see how much more of a man he has become by the end of this book and series. He is a complex, deeply motivated, loyal, and focused swordsman and killer. I loved him.

The Shadowdance series is more than just a game of power plays with assassins. The dark magic that is prevalent throughout the series is done with a subtle hand. The spell casting is rare but made all the more magical. It is one of the main reasons that makes this series better than the rest.

I loved the action within. David Dalglish purposefully has created a character in the Watcher that is an homage to the dark Elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Funny thing is the writing of David Dalglish also seems to be a direct homage and similarity to the amazing R.A. Salvatore. Both of these men choreograph their actions scenes through their writing. It is incredible how detailed they get. Every swing of the sword, step, twist, turn, bend, and jump is spelled out in such a way that the reader gets to go along for the ride...It is freaking awesome. In case I didn't make myself clear Dalglish, like Salvatore, spell out their action in such a way that you feel like you are there. It is remarkable and not very common in the genre.

Well, I loved this series. It is action at its finest. I cannot wait to read more about Haern and to explore the other works by David Dalglish. My highest recommendations!

[Aleksiel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Congratulations, Dalglish, on creating the most ridiculously stupid protagonist I've ever had the misfortune to read about.

Haern again, for like the millionth time, is surprised to find out that war and chaos might not be the best ways of protecting innocent people.

B-b-but what do you mean those he wanted to protect actually suffered from all his murderers, it's not possible! C'mon, when he assassinated basically all leaders in the previous book and wars of successions started inside guilds, it was totally an honest mistake. He couldn't have possible foreseen the consequences of a civil war! How was he to know people will suffer from it and innocent ones would die? It was so shocking and unexpected!

And what, was he supposed to learn from his mistakes? Pff, where's the fun in that!

Now, the big reveal was so dull it just absolutely had to be done in a ridiculous in-fight conversation between the protagonist and antagonist, because that's how you hide your lack of writing skills! Totally not a dull cliche, no. Well, Dalglish only writes dialogues and fighting scenes, so I guess he pushed himself to his very limits of creativity.

Note to self: Never read anything by this author. Never-ever again. Unless paid handsomely.

[Mihir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted at Fantasy Book Critic.

Overall Rating = 4 & 1/2 Stars

ANALYSIS: As with the last couple of books in the Shadowdance series, this is a re-review and will highlight the things that have been changed or added to the book. The author mentioned that this volume underwent a lot of changes including the title (which wasn't the case with its predecessors) and also that he made it a little less depressing. Read on to see how strong this book still is.

A Dance of Mirrors (previously titled A Dance Of Death) begins two years after the events where the Watcher ascended to his position and brokered a peace between the thief guilds and the Trifect. It’s a fragile peace however things are still kept in control by Haern and his ruthless vigilantism. This time around though things start to take a unholy turn in the coastal city of Angelport, wherein Laurie Keenan, the third lord of the Trifect resides. Someone called the Wraith is going around killing people and this time Laurie Keenan feels the Wraith's wrath and while the Wraith completes the kill and leaves the Watcher’s mark. Things take an uneven turn as Alyssa Gemcroft decides to investigate the matter and help her fellow Trifect member who’s been besieged in the city by the Merchants brethren and Lord Ingram who is the so-called ruler of the city. To add to this mix is the city’s continual fight with the Elves over the allocation of nearby forest land and all of it just becomes a powder keg ready to ignite with the arrival of the Watcher.

In one of the teasers for last year’s film The Dark Knight Rises, there are a couple of scenes shown from the previous film and there’s a voice over by Liam Neeson repeating his words from the first film:
“If you make yourself, more than just a man”
“If you devote yourself to an ideal”
“Then you become something else entirely … a legend, Mr. Wayne, a legend!”

I think these lines are very crucial to the Batman persona and conveniently fit Haern’s psyche almost as well. Haern’s actions over the previous books have made him seem more than just a human being. The Thief guilds as well as the Trifect fear and respect him, his actions though scary, have established a peace of sorts in the city of Veldaren. However in Angelport someone has decided to ape him and take his methods a step further. That’s the question raised in this story. How do you stop someone who claims to be following your ideals and makes you out to be everything that you fought against? This question haunts Haern throughout the plot and makes for a great read as the author doesn't’t provide any clear cut answer but gives pointers for the readers to form their own opinions. I very much enjoyed this introspective look into Haern’s actions.

Following the past two books, the author has increased the intrigue and machinations in this one, with there being at least four different parties who are involved and each scheming to get their own demands and objectives. Each faction is vicious and with way more means than Haern, Alyssa and Zusa who find themselves in a new city and without their regular means. This book takes a step in a new direction as it visibly shifts the locale to the city of Angelport, this was a very surprising move on the author’s part as with the last two books being set in Veldaren, it seemed sure that this tale would be set there as well however this is the first of the many surprises laced in the story along with the new cast of characters who are more treacherous, shady and powerful.

The action sequences are a particular highlight of David’s writing and he doesn't disappoint in this one, choc-a-bloc with violence and action that is fast, brutal and has far reaching consequences. The best part of the story is that its pace never slackens and all the twists keep the reader guessing as to who and what is behind all the chaos. The book begins with a murder and from thereon it’s much more mayhem which claims further victims both intended and accidental. Zusa, Haern along with Alyssa go through a physical and emotional wringing of sorts and in this the author has to be lauded for never refusing to make his characters jump through hoops or even killing them off in quite drastic manners.

This book’s theme could be that no matter how good you are, there’s always someone better and sometimes no matter what one does, shit happens! The world of Neldar is pretty dark to begin with but the city of Angelport stoops to a further low with its morass of misery, avarice and treachery. No one can be fully trusted and this is a lesson which the main characters learn a bit too late for their comfort. The story twists all the way to the climax and the reader will be strung along trying to figure who is the mastermind behind it all. I enjoyed how the author further streamlined the story and removed some of the bleakness as well.

Plus with a slambang ending, the tale ends on a bittersweet note however it still has some faults. Readers will have to let go of their sensibilities when it comes to the main character’s physical institution as Haern does things which defy explanation but in the context of the story and the world, can certainly be overlooked. Lastly there are a couple of plot-threads which are left hanging in regards to Thren Felhorn and the guilds in Veldaren, but I’m hoping that those conflicts will be resolved in the remaining three books of this series.

CONCLUSION: A Dance of Mirrors is a fascinating look at what happens when a harsh light is shined on vigilante actions. Overall this book is almost as good as the second and definitely better than the first. I heartily recommend the entire Shadowdance series to all lovers of dark, action packed fantasy stories. Just be warned that the author is a fan of George R.R. Martin and he follows his hero’s path of scalding the main characters like no other. A Dance of Mirrors is another fascinating look at the perilous life of the Watcher.

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

TLDR: Shadowdance is a series you can read if you have nothing else on your plate but don't expect depth or consistency.

The series is worth a read but honestly isn't very memorable. The author kills characters off on a whim but they rarely get enough screen time to get us emotionally invested so we really don't care. Characters die a lot, which I guess makes sense for the violent world the stories are set in but do little service to the plot which is kinda weak to begin with.

We follow Aaron Felhorn on three books of emotional roulette, which version will we get this time? The no-nonsense watcher or the overly emotional hearn.

Also, that last book felt really weak, more of a stand-alone novel that had characters from the previous books than a continuation of the series. There are no main characters from the last books save Zusa, Aaron, and Alyssa. Everyone else is either mentioned briefly or killed to feed this series' insatiable bloodlust.

With Shadowdance I think the author tried and failed to do what George R. R. Martin does, kill off important characters and have people care. However when a character's entire existence within the series is lived out from start to end in the same chapter I find myself not the least bit attached.

[Robert Duperre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 out of 5

I love David Dalglish’s books. There, I said it. Everything he’s put out I’ve devoured and raved about. From Weight of Blood, the introduction to his Half-Orcs series, to his new Paladins adventures, each story builds upon the next, further enhancing and enriching the world he’s created and presenting new conspiracies, enemies, and themes.

Now we come to A Dance of Death, the climactic work of the Shadowdance series – which, strangely enough, are really stand-alone novels masquerading as a series. And I will now say, as I seem to after virtually every Dalglish book, that he’s once more raised the bar, making this reviewer swoon, sway, and cheer with each swing of the sword (or thrust of the dagger).

This time around, we find Haern, fully entrenched in his role as King’s Watcher, being led out of Velderan by a copycat killer in the town of Angelport, miles away from home. This mimic kills seemingly indiscriminately, leaving behind Haern’s old calling card, the bloody, traced eye, one he hasn’t used in years.

Haern, along with Alyssa and Zusa, head south. There are other bad things going on in Angelport – a fight with the elves over the woodlands, the proliferation of a new, powerful drug that is spreading through the streets, and the infighting between the merchant lords, who own the boats, and the lord of the land, who is slowly losing control of everything. Into this mix is thrown the Wraith, Haern’s much-too-talented, unwanted protégé, which pitches everything into a great big smorgasbord of murder, conspiracy, deceit, and political intrigue that brings the city to the brink of war – both with the elves and amongst themselves.

For the first time, Dalglish introduces a plot that is truly mysterious and isn’t concluded until the very end. While all of his books possess tremendous character development – and are usually carried by it – this one actually uses the plot itself, the mystery, to drive the story forward, using the previously stated character development to enhance the story, making the characters come to even more life than they already are. We understand Alyssa’s doubt, Zusa’s anger, Haern’s guilt, because each step of the way we’re shown why they feel what they’re feeling.

And they aren’t the only characters spotlighted here. We’re also reintroduced to Torgar, from way back in book one, who serves as the master of the guard for the Keenans, the Trifect members who reside in Angelport. We also get further insight into Madelyn Keenan’s character, who, let’s just say, is one of my favorites in the whole book, maybe the whole series. We also get inside the head of the Wraith, this mirror of a creation whose goals and actions don’t quite match up.

This is a book filled – and I mean filled – with meaning and thematic exploration. Everything from drug trafficking to environmental preservation to the question of how far is too far when it comes to the use of violence in making the world a better place are explored. Haern, for his part, is left to question his own motivations, to doubt his every action. He’s presented with a man much like himself, one that kills ostensibly at random, with no thought given to whether his victims deserve their fate or not. All of which leads Haern to wonder, what makes me so much better than him?

Because of this fact, there are no true heroes in A Dance of Death. What we cheer for when we read are incomplete people – in other words, fantasy representations of actual, real people experiencing the type of trauma – gang violence, drug dealers, vigilantism – that are found in any city across the world. All of which makes me repeat something I’ve said many times before: David Dalglish is not a fantasy author. He’s an author, period; one whose words would mean just as much if they were set in Chicago or Paris or Los Angeles as they do in Velderan…or Angelport.

The bottom line is this: A Dance of Death is a great, great read, a much more than worthy offering to close out a fantastic series. The characters are great, the story even better, and it has enough twists to make your head spin. We even get to see elves portrayed being not-so-elflike – you know wise and mystical and peaceful and all that – which I absolutely loved. There is heartbreak and anger, betrayal and gut-wrenching decisions, as well as some rather inspired deaths. I heartily recommend it, as I would all of the author’s books, and can honestly say I hope he gives us more of Haern’s story in the future, because there has to be more to tell.

Yeah, this is pretty much the perfect novel. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are, that’s on you, not the work.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the Third book in the ShadowDance series, and for me it was not bad...just not as good as the earlier two volumes. The fact that there is no overarching meta-story to these volumes is a big disappointment and has weakened my enjoyment; I began reading these thinking they were a trilogy and I was mistaken. The dangling plot threads from the prior books remain untethered and new ones are introduced. These books now remind me of the "installment" books of other fantasy/science fiction series (Dragonlance, Star Trek, Star Wars, et al) and, like those, there just isn't depth. Each book is not building on the previous one and, other then using some of the same characters, each book is a separate story.

This book was originally released as A Dance of Death and I think that is a much better title for this story because there is so very much of it. Like the proverbial "red shirts" of Star Trek, almost every character introduced is going to die. Yes, these are wonderfully crafted deaths, each fight scene is very well written, but, I stopped becoming invested in the characters when I realized that everyone but the main ones were disposable. The Dance of Mirrors is supposed to refer to Haern meeting his "reflection" in the city of Angelport. Haern must deal with the Wraith, a vigilante who claims to be following Haern's own ideals but instead twists them into seemingly unfocused vengeance rather than vigilant justice. But, because this reflection is so brief and so shallow, it becomes disingenuous. The Wraith is NOT set upon the same purpose or course as Haern. It would have been a much stronger and more resonating examination of the motivations and psyche of Haern were he to meet a true vigilante trying to replicate "The Watcher" in another city plagued by violence, organized crime, corrupt officials, and incompetent government. *That* would be a mirror dance worth reading...

The plot centers on Alyssa Gemcroft (Head of House Gemcroft), Zusa (the former "Faceless One" holy assassin and now Alyssa's protector), and Haern (the King's Watcher) travelling to a new city to help another Trifect House deal with a growing crisis of merchant princes and antagonized elves. Once again the political intrigue between desperate factions takes center stage. Dalglish is very good at creating a Machiavellian society ripe with betrayals, double-crosses, and misplaced loyalties. Unfortunately, this new city isn't Veldaren (the city of the previous two books and home to our "heroes"). As a reader, I really did not care about any of these people and I kept wanting Alyssa, Zusa, and Haern to just go home. This was not their city or their fight and it felt like Dalglish had to resort to cliche contrivances to get his characters to stay. For example: How do you get Haern, Velderan's vigilante legend to your city? Have a copy-cat leave Haern's mark at the scene of his crimes. How do you keep people from just leaving? Throw in a kidnapping.

While I absolutely love the characters that Dalglish creates, the lack of cohesion in the plot (as it relates to what has gone before) and clarity in the theme (as it relates to the growth of these characters in light of the events that they experience) make these good - just not great. Knowing that there are now at least three more books planned in this series makes these even more like an episodic TV series (and even less like a cohesive multi-volume narrative).

As I said at the start, these are good books - it's just that they are like popcorn and I was really hoping for steak...

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent addition to a successful series, David Dalglish, goes against current trends and writes with passion, excitement and commitment to his storyline. My praise and admiration for this series and author continues to grow, as I complete another one of his books. His worldbuilding is imaginative, his portrayal of human emotion, stark and vivid, his magic system, thoughtful and creative. The action is intense, costly and passionate. Dalglish allows the story to flow smoothly, logically and with fatal consequences. After continual disappointment, I am exhausted, with recent and current, highly promoted authors, it is reaffirming to me to have discovered an author, David Dalglish, who writes with such force, while not allowing himself to be swayed to make a pc statement. Thank you David, I am a fan.

[Derrik Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series keeps getting better and better. I thought this was the end of the trilogy but apparantly there is a fourth book being released this year or something. I really liked how the author took a good look at Haern and forced him to look at himself from an outside perspective. The title is very fitting in this regard as the Watcher takes on the Wraith who calls Haern a hypocrite for trying to stop him. This book was all about character building, especially for Haern and for us to see him grow up a little bit. Im excited to see how the author will finish things out with Haern's father and how his "love triangle" (and I use that very loosely as there is very little romance at all in this series) will pan out.

[Maki ⌒☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*NOTE: This review is for the self-published version. I will get around to reading the re-releases at some point!*

If Dance of Cloaks was the story of Haern's creation, and Dance of Blades was the story of his triumph, then Dance of Death is the story of Haern coming to terms with his own limitations.

He's out of his natural element. He knows nothing about what drives the conflict. He doesn't even know who the enemy is. (Hint: it's everyone. Let's not kid ourselves - this IS a David Dalglish book.) And in the end, there's nothing he can do. It's a hard lesson to learn, but you can't be everybody's hero.

The setting change was a bit jarring, though I suppose it was partially to be expected, since Laurie's family wasn't a major part of the second book. It was also weird to suddenly have the Elven conflict show up, though since these books were always meant as a sort of prequel to the Watcher character in the Half-Orc books, it makes sense that the elves would be dragged in eventually.

Dance of Death felt much more balanced than the previous books. Not that any of them were bad writing! They were all really good books. But the first book was insanely character driven. The second one jumped from being serious to goofy at the drop of a hat. This one...it managed to maintain a more level tone throughout the entire story. Sure, it had its silly moments, but they were never strained, or seemed like they didn't belong in the plot.

My only real complaint about the story is the lack of Deathmask. What gives? Will Deathmask ever get HIS own spin-off series? Or does he already have a spin-off series that I just haven't noticed? Please, for the love of all that is pure and holy, if there IS a Deathmask spin-off, LET ME KNOW. O_O

[RuthAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't have as much fun with this as I did with the other two books in the series. As always, David Danlglish's writing was superb, but I didn't feel as connected to Haern as I did in Dance of Cloaks or to Alyssa as I did in Dance of Blades.

I think it may have been that Alyssa's motivation for going to Angelport wasn't very clear from the start. She went for Taras Keenan's funeral, but how did she have time to make contact with the elves before that? How was she involved with the negotiations? It just wasn't clear. So because of this, I felt like the characters were thrown headlong into the middle of a story that was happening before all this, and it left me confused as a reader. There was little build-up to this clash. I was two-steps behind the plot as it moved and was left disoriented.

It made me sad because I enjoyed the first two so immensely.

That being said, I am going to go back and read the Half-Orcs series because apparently it takes place after this, and I'm interested in seeing where Haern goes from here.

[Don Priest · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre entry into a fairly standard fantasy series. This time, Haern, Zusa, and Alyssa head to Angelport, another city important to members of the Trifect. The story suffers heavily from the change of location; the previous titles were deeply mired in Veldaren, and were strongly connected to each other. It was a tale of a city, and the man trying to save it, with unmatched skill and not a little hypocrisy. Moving to a completely new location, introducing a wide range of new characters, breaks away from that story. It's hard to care about much that happens this time around, without that background. Nothing that happens really seems to matter, certainly not to Haern. He's the same man at the end as he is at the beginning, wrestling with the same inner turmoil. It remains to be seen how the events of this title will play into the planned fourth, but it wouldn't surprise me to find that you could skip this entry entirely and not miss anything.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the third book of the series that I've listen to in audiobook format. Definitely the weakest of these books that I have read so far. The plot seemed odd and disjointed and, honestly, a little too fantasy to mesh with the rest of the books. There was a little magic and sorcery in the second book but it was mostly just passively of knowledge. The inclusion of elves into the story was a little too much.

All that being said, I will give the next book a shot. His first two books were actually quite fun reads in the narrator does a fantastic job.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book as enjoyable as the first two, I especially liked reading how much the Watcher has matured in himself and his relationships with those around him since the last book. I also loved Zusa’s character developing more. Great twist to find out who the Wraith is near the end, no clues given throughout the book at all.
On the whole a satisfying read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Mark Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very much the previous books but in a different city. Lots of gangs battling for supremacy, hundreds of brutal killings, no really new ideas....series is stalling.

[Llona ❤️ "Così tanti libri, così poco tempo." · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

[Wendy Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these Shadowdance series so much omg
But I’m still waiting for the moment Haern meets Thren again😔

[Carol Forrester]

I like books that manage to surprise me. Books that manage to throw me face first into a conclusion that I really did not see coming. I'm not sure how Dalglish managed it but he did and I ended up closing the cover on this book and thinking that the ending was not what I expected at all.

I really do love this series. There are moment when I wonder why Dalglish wrote something like he did, but I suppose that comes from critiquing my own fantasy writing so closely and trying not to make so called 'mistakes' when pulling together chapters. I wouldn't call Dalglish's writing flawless, but it is certainly face paced, gripping and very enjoyable. Lucky for me there is another book in the series yet to be released, so I don't have to give this up yet.

Dalglish is fast becoming one of my favourite fantasy writers. He's realistic which I find refreshing. Events do not miraculously take place so that the good guys win and all the bad guys die, Dalglish has instead created a wonderfully real world. Everyone is a little bit corrupt it seems, and everyone is working for their own agenda. Even seemingly small characters are plotting bits and bobs, even if the result doesn't bear that much on the actual plot.

Overall it is a wonderful book and an epic series. One I would certainly recommend, and as you see, take the time to write a review for.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the third installment of the Shadowdance Saga, we join Haern and company as they travel cross-country in the hopes of preventing a war that could mean the end of everything they hold dear. In distant Angelport, famed Jewel of the Coast, the threat of war hangs above it's inhabitants like a dark and angry cloud, ready to break open at any moment. Skirmishes with the Elves have increased, and the Merchant Lords only compound the issue with their greed. Above all is a mysterious figure, known only as the Wraith who, using the symbol of the Watcher, is killing off high-ranking delegates from both sides of the table. With loyalties becoming more and more complex, Haern, Alyssa, and Zusa will have their hands full just keeping their heads above water as they not only try to save the city and stop the war to end all wars.

[Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

German review on GosuReviews

An equally great Shadowdance novel as the two before. Finally we get to see another city besides Veldaren. The action is as always superb and the new characters are a lot of fun. I'm a little worried though, that the confrontation with Thren is delayed too much, but we will see.
Overall another excellent dark fantasy book to my taste!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot, it was a great capstone to the trilogy. A lot of good fight scenes that are very well written. A lot of intrigue and betrayal keep you guessing until the end. I'm a fan of David Dalglish's book for sure and look forward to reading more of his books!

[Ryan Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite Dalglish book so far. It's still not quite a five-star read, but I really enjoyed. There was a lot of action, as I've come to expect from Dalglish.

Rating: 8.5/10

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I have mixed feelings about this series: whereas Salvatore's famous Drizzt Do'Urden books feature a fascinating protagonist with an awful writing style (omg, so many 'violet orbs'), this Dalglish series feels more like an adequate writing style with promising but insufficiently-developed characters.
In this volume our familiar crew of protagonists--the vigilante Watcher, the young noblewoman, and the female assassin who is her devoted companion--are drawn from their familiar lords-and-criminals city to visit a shady merchant-city with three squabbling factions: the nobles that everybody hates, the merchants who want to take the place over from the nobles--both of these groups using a variety of mercenaries with their own ideas--and a delegation of elves who just want the damn humans to quit encroaching on their forest home, while everyone hates their guts for shooting loggers who keep encroaching. It continuously baffled me how NONE of the humans seemed to notice the extreme illogic of getting all outraged about people shooting strangers who basically keep coming into their house chopping stuff up (after repeatedly being told "please don't come into our house and chop stuff up; it's our house and our stuff, ffs").
The trio quickly realize they're in over their heads, while the local equivalent of the Watcher, called the Wraith, is playing his own gleefully bloody game for unknown reasons, often framing the Watcher for his crimes. There's also a sub-plot about one of the factions trying to launch a powerful new drug into the economy, though not enough attention is paid to the fact that the 'good guy' faction ALSO bases much of their wealth and power on trade of a slightly less powerful drug. While the Watcher agonizes about the similarities between himself and the Wraith, this parallel problem was a big missed opportunity to solidify this volume's theme of 'what's the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, life is complicated'. With all these factions and purposes and cross-purposes floating around, things get kind of muddled, but at least they do so in logical ways (aside from nobody noticing that it's understandable for elves to shoot homewrecking invaders, even if it's inconvenient).
It's been awhile since I read the first two volumes, but this is the first time in the series we've seen a non-human fantasy species (the elves) making a significant appearance. Having come basically out of nowhere, it was a little odd to see their presence being treated as nothing-special-ly as any other faction. They could have been replaced with just another group of humans and made very little difference to the story.
It was a little bit of work getting through this one, but the ending was adequate. I don't know if I'll pick up the next volume: the story and writing aren't quite powerful enough to get me excited, but at this point I feel a glimmer of obligation to the characters. Maybe the next one will be stronger...?

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing that popped into my mind was that I am really grateful for the author's decision to not kill off most of the key characters in the series, because it would be too reminiscent of the Game of Thrones series, and just too frustrating to continue reading (although parts of the book made me dread the ending so much). I have never found it pleasant to read about rotting kingdoms, but I think the author has managed to strike a balance between unfair and justified deaths without making miracles too absurd to believe (in a way that is very obviously pushing for a 'happy' ending). Because of this I really like the books (I personally prefer 'not-sad' endings), although the feeling of dread can get really overwhelming at times.

[Rachal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world expands! We follow some of our favorite characters to new places and get a glimpse at the rest of this fantastic world that the author has created. A change of scenery in the series was a perfect move and gave the reader a chance to really get to know a few characters a little bit better.

This book also did a great job of expanding the world in a way that allowed us to see that there is more evil in the world than just what we see in Velderan. It was exciting to get to know a little bit about the elves and to see how the Trifect functions in other areas.

I really thought the Watcher may have met his match this time - and that plot twist! You have to read this book.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d put this in the good, but not great category. The world and world building is pretty meh, and the characters are pretty straight forward. I could do with a bit less naivety on Haern’s part at this point. The plot was….fine. I figured out who the Wraith was fairly quickly. I’d have preferred the author disclose it up front me maybe give us a few chapters through his point of view. The action is good, and there’s plenty of it. Despite all the meh, the book is a fun, easy read. Right up my alley.

[David Cleary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Book 2 is my favourite so far but this was very good too.
Alot happening. Alot of action. Alot of back stabbling, planning, plotting and new species are introduced.
So many moving parts but it is fully enjoyable.
In a dark place but book 2 and this book are keeping me sane.
A pure joy to read. Highly recommend to all.
Great story telling.
I loved the extra part at the end when david explains his original ending.
This book keeps you on the edge as alot happening.
Thank you David

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read the first two books in the series quite some time ago so the details weren’t fresh on my mind. However the book stands well alone. It’s an easy read, a fantasy romp that toys with violence and sex while illustrating the hopeless morality of man. I’ve already ordered book four for a fun easy read on some future beach vacation.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why are there not half-stars??

I’d give this 4.5 or at least 4.25. This is my third time reading the series and it’s been a pleasure each time. Are they perfect or the very best books I’ve ever read?? No. But they entertain and don’t bog down. Read it...you’ll see :-)

[Iris Mens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio while reading along.

I very much enjoyed the sidestep to a different part of the world. Also the development of relationships between Alyssa, Zusa and Hearn were great.

Definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series.