EverQuest: Truth and Steel

EverQuest

by Thomas M. Reid

Khaniel Devlin, weapons master and mercenary, encounters a troupe of Paladins seeking the hidden refuge of a long-lost member of their order. Led by a devout and charismatic woman named Zethamy Demarro, the group is attacked by a horde of giant cyclopes and Khaniel accidentally cuts Zethamy down during the ferocious battle. Khaniel and his dwarven friend Bruigan are hauled back home to Freeport in irons where they are ultimately sold into slavery in the ogre city of Oggok.In captivity Khaniel discovers that Zethamy did not perish that fateful day in the mountains, but lost her sight and is now also a slave among the ogres. Khaniel, Bruigan and their new shaman friend, Bhaobuk mount a rescue mission and soon are running for their lives in the wilds, with the blind but determined Zethamy in tow. Still intent upon finding the elusive hermit who is in possession of invaluable religious treasures, she persuades Khaniel to help her track down the recluse's lair. But danger awaits the small band as they soon discover that powerful foes are on the same quest...

Genres: Fantasy

371 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 4, 2006

About the author

Thomas M. Reid grew up in Dallas, Texas as an enthusiastic Dungeons & Dragons player. He performed at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival with his high school jazz band. After obtaining a degree in history at the University of Texas in 1989, he moved to Wisconsin and began working for TSR, Inc., a Dungeons & Dragons publisher, then moved on to be an editor for Dragon, a Dungeons & Dragons magazine. Not long after, he moved back to Texas to be a freelance roleplaying game writer.

Reviews

[Dragondale Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was conflicted once I finished this book.
Twists, turns, betrayal, hatred, redemption all sprinkled with self deprecation would somewhat explain this book. I did not read the back cover (thankfully) before taking on this book. I simply grabbed it because it is within the Everquest world and was readily available on Kindle. There were many "spoilers" in the description and summary of the book. I'm very sensitive and quick to "put 2 and 2 together" when it comes to books so I really like a generic overview instead of lots of details. I am very happy that I took on this book even with very little information about it.

The main character is an amazing warrior (probably a berserker even though it was never stated) and I pictured him most of the book as a dwarf even though he is human. I felt the stubbornness and hardiness of him was very dwarf-like. However, he does have an understanding side that balanced the character. He also has a very unusual, but intriguing name - Khaniel. I really hope there are other books using him, but it seemed to really go through the bulk of the time-line of his life. Being a human, it isn't anything extraordinarily long, but this book was probably all for him.

I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys epic fantasy. You don't have to know anything about Everquest to enjoy the book. In fact, the only thing that would help you in knowing about Everquest is being a little more familiar with the geography and possibly knowing a bit more about the gods who are mentioned periodically.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Out of habit, I grabbed my Kindle to continue on with the story the other day and was sadly reminded that I had finished it already. It was a nice adventure.

[Lorewarden]

This was a great read and an excellent example of a perfect self-contained single volume fantasy novel. Our hero, who prides himself as a flawless warrior, makes one mistake, sending his life into a downward spiral where he loses all faith in himself. I've never played Everquest, but I found the author did a great job providing enough background information of the places/factions/etc. that it felt completely natural and not an info-dump for a giant MMORPG. The story is always engaging, with plenty of action, emotional development, and plot twists. A great read.

[E J · Rating 2 out of 5]

First 100 or so pages were fun and decent. Rest of the book, meh. Too many fight scenes, too many pages devoted to fight scenes. Some good introspective exploration, but also lots of silly, adolescent crap too. Not enough immersion in the Everquest world, i.e. not enough references. The ogre village and the trek through the forest valley sections felt like generic fantasy.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Predictable in all the right ways. Nothing new but nothing to complain about either.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You probably have to be an Everquest fan to truly appreciate this one. If you like fantasy and want something to kill time for a day or while riding the bus this is a decent one.

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Predictable but well written awesomeness!!!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Really enjoy books set in the Everquest universe! If you like EQ read it :)