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Pathfinder Tales #16
King of Chaos
Demon Apocalypse
After a century of imprisonment, demons have broken free of the wardstones surrounding the Worldwound. As fiends flood south into civilized lands, Count Varian Jeggare and his hellspawn bodyguard Radovan must search through the ruins of a fallen nation for the blasphemous text that opened the gate to the Abyss in the first place—and which might hold the key to closing it. In order to succeed, however, the heroes will need to join forces with pious crusaders, barbaric local warriors, and even one of the legendary god callers. It’s a race against time as the companions fight their way across a broken land, facing off against fiends, monsters, and a vampire intent on becoming the god of blood—but will unearthing the dangerous book save the world, or destroy it completely?
From best-selling author Dave Gross comes a new adventure set against the backdrop of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
After a century of imprisonment, demons have broken free of the wardstones surrounding the Worldwound. As fiends flood south into civilized lands, Count Varian Jeggare and his hellspawn bodyguard Radovan must search through the ruins of a fallen nation for the blasphemous text that opened the gate to the Abyss in the first place—and which might hold the key to closing it. In order to succeed, however, the heroes will need to join forces with pious crusaders, barbaric local warriors, and even one of the legendary god callers. It’s a race against time as the companions fight their way across a broken land, facing off against fiends, monsters, and a vampire intent on becoming the god of blood—but will unearthing the dangerous book save the world, or destroy it completely?
From best-selling author Dave Gross comes a new adventure set against the backdrop of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
16 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
About the author
Dave Gross
199 books138 followersDave Gross is the author of ten novels, notably the adventures of Radovan and the Count, including Prince of Wolves, Master of Devils, Queen of Thorns, and King of Chaos. Formerly the editor of such magazines as Dragon, Star Wars Insider, and Amazing Stories, Dave has also written novels for the Forgotten Realms and Iron Kingdoms settings. For more tales of Radovan and the Count, including free short stories, check out http://paizo.com/pathfinder/tales.
For more on Dave's current and upcoming projects and events, go to .
For more on Dave's current and upcoming projects and events, go to .
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 1, 2013
I think it's about time I start at least one of my reviews of the Radovan & the Count series with what is, perhaps, what most drew me to these books: the characters. I've often ranted about flawless characters and how I can't stand them. To all writers out there, please do a favour to yourselves and stop creating perfect heroes. No matter what you may believe, it's not cool, it's boring. I'd take an uptight wizard who can't cast spell from memory without becoming nauseous over a flawless character any day. I'd take a rude, reckless hellspawn who fights with both nature and nurture as he tries to overcome his heritage and be good over a flawless character any day. I can't help it, I just love how imperfect, flawed and damaged the boys are. It makes them realistic and interesting and the fact that, despite their shortcomings, they manage to persevere, is what turns them to true heroes.
That said and out of the way, lets talk some more about the book itself. Oparal's POV was an interesting addition and worked well with the narratives of Varian and Radovan. There's a peculiar relationship forming between her and Radovan which, I thought, was very sweet and I appreciated how she seemed to grow as a character after her ordeal with Kasiya and how much more considerate she was toward Radovan near the end. There was a lot of information concerning the previous novels in the beginning of "King of Chaos"; I imagine that was done to make the book more new-reader friendly. In the tradition of classic sword and sorcery stories, you could literally pick up this novel and read it and understand every bit of it even if you hadn't read any of the previous three. However, for me who had only now read all of the Radovan & the Count novels, this bit was a little tiring - fortunately, it was short. I do suppose, however, that had I read the novels when they came out, this information heavy part would serve to remind my a couple of things, so it doesn't affect my overall opinion of the book. As I was reading about the Anaphexis, I had an epiphany. Now, I'm fairly certain no one did this on purpose because the word doesn't actually exist but here's a thought: if it did exist in Greek, "anaphexis" would mean somethig along the lines of "dim illumination". I thought that was very poetic since they actually aim to dim the light of knowledge and, even if it wasn't done on purpose, it was a really cool coinsidence.
Moving on to secondary characters, I'd read a bit about god callers in the supplement and they didn't seem as interesting to me but Alase changed my mind. I hope we get to see more of her in the future. I'd read there were some characters created by other writers (Aprian, Jelani and Ederras), but I thought Mr. Gross did a good job writing them and not for a moment did they seem to me out of place or awkward. I like both Aprian and Jelani and I'll probably be reading their stories after I'm finished with all there is to read about the boys. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between Ederras and Oparal, though - maybe in a future novel, there's always hope. Dragomir stood out, partly because of the name which I've loved ever since creating a VtM character thus called. Urno and Gemma were also nice characters, though we didn't see much of them.
The revelation concerning Jeggare's handicap had been hinted at "Queen of Thorns" as well so it wasn't all that surprising. Still, it was well-executed and it'd be interesting to see how it will affect the Count in the following novels. I'm wondering if maybe this will somehow fit with the new, Arcanist class that's being beta-tested now. I enjoyed the connection to "Prince of Wolves" with the Harrowing deck and Luminita's story - that got me thinking if there was any connection to the story and Azra or if Luminita is a common name in Ustalav. I did notice that Radovan was funnier than usual in this novel and I liked how Dave Gross acknowledged that by telling us how the Worldwound affected everyone - in Radovan's case, he made more jokes.
I initially thought that "King of Chaos" lacked a strong villain but when I shiftef my perception and cosnidered the possibility of the Lexicon being the actual villain of the story, I changed my mind. This was like the Necronomicon and the One Ring at once! Everyone wanted it for their own purposes but it was corruptive and turned people mad! So it was definitely a great villain and it was interesting to see how it consumed the Count.
Another great Radovan & the Count novel overall, which I enjoyed immensely. My only complain is that there's no release date for the fifth novel at the moment so I don't know when to expect the next book. Meanwhile, I'll read the short stories to satisfy my hunger for more of the boys' adventures.
That said and out of the way, lets talk some more about the book itself. Oparal's POV was an interesting addition and worked well with the narratives of Varian and Radovan. There's a peculiar relationship forming between her and Radovan which, I thought, was very sweet and I appreciated how she seemed to grow as a character after her ordeal with Kasiya and how much more considerate she was toward Radovan near the end. There was a lot of information concerning the previous novels in the beginning of "King of Chaos"; I imagine that was done to make the book more new-reader friendly. In the tradition of classic sword and sorcery stories, you could literally pick up this novel and read it and understand every bit of it even if you hadn't read any of the previous three. However, for me who had only now read all of the Radovan & the Count novels, this bit was a little tiring - fortunately, it was short. I do suppose, however, that had I read the novels when they came out, this information heavy part would serve to remind my a couple of things, so it doesn't affect my overall opinion of the book. As I was reading about the Anaphexis, I had an epiphany. Now, I'm fairly certain no one did this on purpose because the word doesn't actually exist but here's a thought: if it did exist in Greek, "anaphexis" would mean somethig along the lines of "dim illumination". I thought that was very poetic since they actually aim to dim the light of knowledge and, even if it wasn't done on purpose, it was a really cool coinsidence.
Moving on to secondary characters, I'd read a bit about god callers in the supplement and they didn't seem as interesting to me but Alase changed my mind. I hope we get to see more of her in the future. I'd read there were some characters created by other writers (Aprian, Jelani and Ederras), but I thought Mr. Gross did a good job writing them and not for a moment did they seem to me out of place or awkward. I like both Aprian and Jelani and I'll probably be reading their stories after I'm finished with all there is to read about the boys. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between Ederras and Oparal, though - maybe in a future novel, there's always hope. Dragomir stood out, partly because of the name which I've loved ever since creating a VtM character thus called. Urno and Gemma were also nice characters, though we didn't see much of them.
The revelation concerning Jeggare's handicap had been hinted at "Queen of Thorns" as well so it wasn't all that surprising. Still, it was well-executed and it'd be interesting to see how it will affect the Count in the following novels. I'm wondering if maybe this will somehow fit with the new, Arcanist class that's being beta-tested now. I enjoyed the connection to "Prince of Wolves" with the Harrowing deck and Luminita's story - that got me thinking if there was any connection to the story and Azra or if Luminita is a common name in Ustalav. I did notice that Radovan was funnier than usual in this novel and I liked how Dave Gross acknowledged that by telling us how the Worldwound affected everyone - in Radovan's case, he made more jokes.
I initially thought that "King of Chaos" lacked a strong villain but when I shiftef my perception and cosnidered the possibility of the Lexicon being the actual villain of the story, I changed my mind. This was like the Necronomicon and the One Ring at once! Everyone wanted it for their own purposes but it was corruptive and turned people mad! So it was definitely a great villain and it was interesting to see how it consumed the Count.
Another great Radovan & the Count novel overall, which I enjoyed immensely. My only complain is that there's no release date for the fifth novel at the moment so I don't know when to expect the next book. Meanwhile, I'll read the short stories to satisfy my hunger for more of the boys' adventures.
September 22, 2015
In a way it feels like all the past adventures of Radovan and Jeggare have been leading up to this book. We have Count Varian Jeggare, the aloof, perceptive, genius wizard from Prince of Wolves who has come to understand his heritage, his allegiances, and his heart over the course of his journeys. We have Radovan Virholt, the bruiser with a literal touch of Hell about him, who has unraveled his fiendish family line, awakened fell powers within himself, transformed his body and reverted to his wisecracking, lady-killing original form.
We have their allies: Arnisant the faithful hound, Oparal the remote paladin, and the Red Carriage.
We have their enemies: the vampire prince Kasiya, the demons threatening the world of Golarion, and the foul geography of the Worldwound itself.
King of Chaos starts with a blood-pumping chapter where the paladin Oparal charges, atop her unicorn mount, into a horde of fiends. The action rarely lets up. Varian and Radovan know who they are in this novel (mostly--there are still some surprise revelations to be had). They're confident in their abilities and their relationship. Their banter has that easy, familiar feel you get around lifelong friends. Even without the headers at each chapter I could easily tell whose "voice" I was hearing.
The solidity of the characters is necessary in this book, a book that holds up a heavy plot. A rare book, the Lexicon of Paradox, could turn the tide of the endless battle against the demons of the Worldwound. Varian's ultimate mistress, Her Infernal Magistrix Queen Abrogail the II, wants it. So does Queen Telandia Edasseril of Kyonin, whom our heroes met in Queen of Thorns. So does Queen Galfrey of Mendev, heart of the crusade against the Worldwound. Oh, and so do the Pathfinders, the group of explorers and historians to which Varian might still belong.
Together with their allies, Varian and Radovan must track down the tome and decide what to do with it. Without their history and experience, this sort of quest could be doomed from the start. But Varian and Radovan are both older and wiser since their adventures first began, and with their talents (casting spells and busting heads, respectively) and allies in place, they might just stand a chance.
This is a great book full of vivid characters, action, horror and pain, redemption, and a truly magnificent ending.
We have their allies: Arnisant the faithful hound, Oparal the remote paladin, and the Red Carriage.
We have their enemies: the vampire prince Kasiya, the demons threatening the world of Golarion, and the foul geography of the Worldwound itself.
King of Chaos starts with a blood-pumping chapter where the paladin Oparal charges, atop her unicorn mount, into a horde of fiends. The action rarely lets up. Varian and Radovan know who they are in this novel (mostly--there are still some surprise revelations to be had). They're confident in their abilities and their relationship. Their banter has that easy, familiar feel you get around lifelong friends. Even without the headers at each chapter I could easily tell whose "voice" I was hearing.
The solidity of the characters is necessary in this book, a book that holds up a heavy plot. A rare book, the Lexicon of Paradox, could turn the tide of the endless battle against the demons of the Worldwound. Varian's ultimate mistress, Her Infernal Magistrix Queen Abrogail the II, wants it. So does Queen Telandia Edasseril of Kyonin, whom our heroes met in Queen of Thorns. So does Queen Galfrey of Mendev, heart of the crusade against the Worldwound. Oh, and so do the Pathfinders, the group of explorers and historians to which Varian might still belong.
Together with their allies, Varian and Radovan must track down the tome and decide what to do with it. Without their history and experience, this sort of quest could be doomed from the start. But Varian and Radovan are both older and wiser since their adventures first began, and with their talents (casting spells and busting heads, respectively) and allies in place, they might just stand a chance.
This is a great book full of vivid characters, action, horror and pain, redemption, and a truly magnificent ending.
April 25, 2014
Mr. Gross took a risk with King of Chaos, the latest Varian and Radovan novel in the Pathfinder Tales line, in adding a third first-person point of view to this story. Oparal, the unicorn riding paladin depicted on the cover, emerges as a main character -- perhaps the main character -- after being introduced in the previous installment, Queen of Thorns.
Oparal is a fantastic character, one whose journey is heartfelt, and certainly worthy of seeing in print again. However, for most of the novel her point-of-view chapters seemingly intrude upon the jaunty rhythm that makes a Varian and Radovan novel work. We are accustomed to seeing things through the eyes of the snooty Varian, then through his earthy bodyguard, and back again. Previously, reading a V & R novel has been like watching a good tennis match between players who are evenly matched but have disparate styles, an ebb and flow that aids in pacing and plot. Oparal, now a leader of men and burdened by the responsibilities of leadership that V&R would blithely shrug off, crashes the party every time we see a portion of the story through her eyes.
Despite my affection for the character, her point-of-view chapters threatened to derail this novel. Thankfully, we are in deft hands.
As I said, it was a creative risk, Mr. Gross took, a device that was not working for me as a reader until Chapter 19. As the story approaches its climax, however, seeing the story through Oparal's eyes finally pays off -- and in a big way. It's what makes the ending work, what gives this novel four stars, and makes her the chief protagonist. And it's done so that Varian and Radovan's own contributions are also heroic. Mr. Gross is honing his craft as a storyteller.
The fact is, this novel is packed with strong character arcs, and for a stand-alone tale, it's near to bursting. Mr. Gross peels away another layer of Varian, a character who, despite being immensely old, is still finding out the truth of his identity. I have never found Varian sympathetic -- his nose being perpetually upturned -- but I have found him intriguing. Moreover, Mr. Gross' exploration of Varian has been natural, never forced, a contrast to Varian himself, whose whole identity seems to be an artificial veneer. Radovan has a devils of a problem, an ancestral tick that is ever amusing and entertaining. To borrow a phrase, men want to run away from him, women want to give him the runaround, and devils want to just run him down. In addition to Oparal, there are two other strong female supporting characters, Alsase, the god-caller, and Jelani, the stalwart trooper. A vampire prince serves as one antagonist, who while not being the sharpest pencil in the box, is one of the most persistent adversaries we've seen in this novel line. And he isn't even the big bad. Suffice it to say that the principal power in a city so close to the Worldwound, the heart of all demonkind in the realm, would be expected to be a really bad actor, and she is.
The novel, an action tale told as a part of a product line for an adventure game, always delivers on this score. Mr. Gross, a former editor of Dragon magazine, is well-informed in setting up good action scenes. In game terms, it means "encounter building," and anyone playing the Pathfinder adventure game would have great fun in playing characters in the encounters that are presented here. The fight on the river early on is stupendous in how the action is conveyed. But that isn't the only well-told sequence. There is some secreting around, many a smartly-directed magic spell and a well-timed rescue that lacks only for a bugle call.
I heartily recommend King of Chaos.
Oparal is a fantastic character, one whose journey is heartfelt, and certainly worthy of seeing in print again. However, for most of the novel her point-of-view chapters seemingly intrude upon the jaunty rhythm that makes a Varian and Radovan novel work. We are accustomed to seeing things through the eyes of the snooty Varian, then through his earthy bodyguard, and back again. Previously, reading a V & R novel has been like watching a good tennis match between players who are evenly matched but have disparate styles, an ebb and flow that aids in pacing and plot. Oparal, now a leader of men and burdened by the responsibilities of leadership that V&R would blithely shrug off, crashes the party every time we see a portion of the story through her eyes.
Despite my affection for the character, her point-of-view chapters threatened to derail this novel. Thankfully, we are in deft hands.
As I said, it was a creative risk, Mr. Gross took, a device that was not working for me as a reader until Chapter 19. As the story approaches its climax, however, seeing the story through Oparal's eyes finally pays off -- and in a big way. It's what makes the ending work, what gives this novel four stars, and makes her the chief protagonist. And it's done so that Varian and Radovan's own contributions are also heroic. Mr. Gross is honing his craft as a storyteller.
The fact is, this novel is packed with strong character arcs, and for a stand-alone tale, it's near to bursting. Mr. Gross peels away another layer of Varian, a character who, despite being immensely old, is still finding out the truth of his identity. I have never found Varian sympathetic -- his nose being perpetually upturned -- but I have found him intriguing. Moreover, Mr. Gross' exploration of Varian has been natural, never forced, a contrast to Varian himself, whose whole identity seems to be an artificial veneer. Radovan has a devils of a problem, an ancestral tick that is ever amusing and entertaining. To borrow a phrase, men want to run away from him, women want to give him the runaround, and devils want to just run him down. In addition to Oparal, there are two other strong female supporting characters, Alsase, the god-caller, and Jelani, the stalwart trooper. A vampire prince serves as one antagonist, who while not being the sharpest pencil in the box, is one of the most persistent adversaries we've seen in this novel line. And he isn't even the big bad. Suffice it to say that the principal power in a city so close to the Worldwound, the heart of all demonkind in the realm, would be expected to be a really bad actor, and she is.
The novel, an action tale told as a part of a product line for an adventure game, always delivers on this score. Mr. Gross, a former editor of Dragon magazine, is well-informed in setting up good action scenes. In game terms, it means "encounter building," and anyone playing the Pathfinder adventure game would have great fun in playing characters in the encounters that are presented here. The fight on the river early on is stupendous in how the action is conveyed. But that isn't the only well-told sequence. There is some secreting around, many a smartly-directed magic spell and a well-timed rescue that lacks only for a bugle call.
I heartily recommend King of Chaos.
August 28, 2013
I enjoyed it but it might not be for readers who aren't versed in the Pathfinder RPG or Golarion (the fantasy world where the Pathfinder Tales take place). I've read a short story with the main two characters before and found it enjoyable but I haven't read any of the previous novels; that being said I still was able to keep up with what was going on.
The book does a good job at showcasing the horrors of the Worldwound, a geographical area in Golarion where massive rifts open directly to the Abyss allowing Demons to spill out into the area and corrupting the local flora and fauna.
An interesting side note is that the areas the book covers have all been conveniently covered in Pathfinder's RPG books. I was flipping from the novel to the RPG books for background information on each area as they passed through it. The areas the characters never got to will be detailed and used in upcoming adventure path books. I'm assuming the author left those alone for that reason.
The book does a good job at showcasing the horrors of the Worldwound, a geographical area in Golarion where massive rifts open directly to the Abyss allowing Demons to spill out into the area and corrupting the local flora and fauna.
An interesting side note is that the areas the book covers have all been conveniently covered in Pathfinder's RPG books. I was flipping from the novel to the RPG books for background information on each area as they passed through it. The areas the characters never got to will be detailed and used in upcoming adventure path books. I'm assuming the author left those alone for that reason.
September 12, 2013
Dave Gross does it again! Another excellent entry in the adventures of Radovan and Varian, and the Pathfinder Tales series as a whole. This time picks up about a year after the previous book, Queen of Thorns, and has R&V heading to the Worldwound, a land plagued by demons. Along the way, the re-unite with their companion Oparal, the elf paladin, who gets promoted this time around to a main POV character. It was especially amusing reading her views on both R&V. Not as amusing as the third POV character from Master of Devils, but still a good addition. In addition, Gross weaves in an interesting cast of supporting characters, while combining elements from past books and stories in a way still very accessible to a new reader.
While the plot involves seeking a rare tome of twisted magic that might be able to help close the portal to the abyss that the demons are invading through, the core of the story is really about pushing the main characters to their limits and having them discover hidden truths about their innate natures. At the end of the book, there are some major changes to the characters (while still keeping true to their personalities.) I eagerly look forward to the next book, to see how these changes are further developed. I'm predicting either "Emperor" or "Ace" as part of the title.
While the plot involves seeking a rare tome of twisted magic that might be able to help close the portal to the abyss that the demons are invading through, the core of the story is really about pushing the main characters to their limits and having them discover hidden truths about their innate natures. At the end of the book, there are some major changes to the characters (while still keeping true to their personalities.) I eagerly look forward to the next book, to see how these changes are further developed. I'm predicting either "Emperor" or "Ace" as part of the title.
December 5, 2013
Gotta say, the Radovan and Jaggare books are a blast to read. Yeah, they're a bit over the top, but it's setting fantasy, so that's mostly expected. They're not high literature, but they don't try to be. They're entertaining and easy to read, and that's all you can ask for.
If you're just looking for some light popcorn fantasy (though with all the devils and demons around, some of the events can be pretty dark), I recommend this series. Just look through my reading history over the last couple months and pick out anything written by Dave Gross. I read them in chronological order. (The novels are independent reads, but the characters DO grow and change throughout, so reading them in the proper order adds a little bit to the experience.)
I have no idea if any more Radovan and Jaggare books are coming down the pipe, but I'll certainly be reading them if they appear.
If you're just looking for some light popcorn fantasy (though with all the devils and demons around, some of the events can be pretty dark), I recommend this series. Just look through my reading history over the last couple months and pick out anything written by Dave Gross. I read them in chronological order. (The novels are independent reads, but the characters DO grow and change throughout, so reading them in the proper order adds a little bit to the experience.)
I have no idea if any more Radovan and Jaggare books are coming down the pipe, but I'll certainly be reading them if they appear.
May 3, 2014
The return of roguish bodyguard Radovan and Pathfinder Varian--and, uh, Oparal, an elven paladin who was apparently in Queen of Thorns. I confess I didn't remember her and thus was a tad disconcerted by her receiving POV every third chapter. Cool setting: the Worldwound, an opening to demon realms, and the tainted monster-filled lands surrounding it. Lots of action and some cool magic and character developments (Varian and Radovan both level up). Some nice humour, too, especially between Radovan and the unicorn.
Fave chapter: The Five Devils.
Fave chapter: The Five Devils.
September 10, 2013
A decent book dealing with the Worldwound.
September 5, 2016
This was a fun one. Oparal was a much more interesting character here than in Queen of Thorns (especially as a viewpoint character). The unicorn is a d***, though.
July 6, 2020
Dave Gross takes an engaging set of characters and a sound if straightforward "find the magic doodad" quest and nearly buries them in STUFF. There are a blizzard of locations, competing factions and incidental combats that frequently serve only to stall the novel's main plot, a plethora of potentially interesting secondary characters who deserve more than they are given (sign me up for Alase and Jelani anchoring a future story, or more about the now twice broken-hearted Dragomir), and a host of villains who never get a chance to be more than multi-syllabic names who all snarl at each other. Sometimes less is more: this would definitely have been one of those times.
November 13, 2020
Very on the nose for Pathfinder rules being depicted with great action scenes. There were some obviously jump aheads that felt lazy but it is a big book and it covers lore and the world of Golarion in great detail. Gross gets it when it comes to Pathfinder. A very enjoyable read.
September 24, 2017
An enjoyable read, and an excellent continuation of the series.
January 28, 2018
quite enjoyable.
May 14, 2025
Probably my least favorite out of the mini-series but still a 5-star overall. The story is less compelling than its counterparts, but still has some touching moments and a great cadence.
July 6, 2014
Desna weeps indeed. Sadly, this is the weakest of Gross's four-book Count Jeggare series. The plot plods and meanders with little of the sharp purpose, evocative setting and personal realizations found in Queen of Thorns.
King of Chaos is a demonic malaise filled with half-formed ideas and shallow characters reduced to sitcom-level tropes. While Radovan's randy nature seemed seemed woven into the plot structure of Prince of Wolves, Master of Devils and Queen of Thorns in key narrative ways, it feels like juvenile wish fulfillment in King of Chaos.
Gross introduces too many new characters in this book through the Crusader and the Kellid groups (Maybe a dozen or more characters get introduced in as many pages), and each one provides nothing more than a bit-part foil to the protagonists. The summoner character begins as an interesting character, but the author fails to exploit her story in any substantial way. Less, more interesting characters would have been better.
I think I'm especially critical of this book because of the brilliance with which James L. Sutter weaves moral and existential question into the genre fiction of The Redemption Engine, another Pathfinder Tales book.
I can usually knock out a Pathfinder Tales book in a week or two. It took me three times that to work my way through this book, sadly. And I like the characters. I want to know what happens to them. But the repetitive prose and gimmicky feel just left me flat.
King of Chaos is a demonic malaise filled with half-formed ideas and shallow characters reduced to sitcom-level tropes. While Radovan's randy nature seemed seemed woven into the plot structure of Prince of Wolves, Master of Devils and Queen of Thorns in key narrative ways, it feels like juvenile wish fulfillment in King of Chaos.
Gross introduces too many new characters in this book through the Crusader and the Kellid groups (Maybe a dozen or more characters get introduced in as many pages), and each one provides nothing more than a bit-part foil to the protagonists. The summoner character begins as an interesting character, but the author fails to exploit her story in any substantial way. Less, more interesting characters would have been better.
I think I'm especially critical of this book because of the brilliance with which James L. Sutter weaves moral and existential question into the genre fiction of The Redemption Engine, another Pathfinder Tales book.
I can usually knock out a Pathfinder Tales book in a week or two. It took me three times that to work my way through this book, sadly. And I like the characters. I want to know what happens to them. But the repetitive prose and gimmicky feel just left me flat.
June 30, 2014
This was a very enjoyable read and the first book I've read all the way to the end staring Count Varian Jaggare & Radovan. Easy to read and very entertaining. There was never a dull moment as the protaganists raced from challenge to challenge seeking their goal of discovering the lost tome of "Paradox" to help repel the expanding invasion of demons from the great abyss. I liked how the different forms of magic practitioners were developed and how Cout Jaggare and even Radovan learned more about their own magical abilities. I liked the way the book provided different first person percpectives from chapter to chapeter, very nice! This book may not be as enjoyable for those who aren't familiar with th Pathfinder world of Golarion. Will be seeking more of Dave Gross' titles for my summer reading list.
August 28, 2015
Another tale of Radovan and the count. This time set to the events of the wrath of the righteous adventure path.
The story takes a slow start and in the beginning I had a hard time getting into the book. But the second half of this book was a rollercoaster.
The count, Radovan are send into the worldwound (a country with a gate to the abyss, and thus infested with demons for the not pathfinders) to find a specific book. To do this they have to work together with Operal who was also present in the previous book. Along the way all three of them do undergo some character changes and learn a thing or two about themselves.
The story takes a slow start and in the beginning I had a hard time getting into the book. But the second half of this book was a rollercoaster.
The count, Radovan are send into the worldwound (a country with a gate to the abyss, and thus infested with demons for the not pathfinders) to find a specific book. To do this they have to work together with Operal who was also present in the previous book. Along the way all three of them do undergo some character changes and learn a thing or two about themselves.
November 19, 2015
The Varian/Radovan Pathfinder Tales seem to be getting better and better.
If you like stories with paladins, Devils, Demons and two truly evil books this is your kind of story.
If you like stories with paladins, Devils, Demons and two truly evil books this is your kind of story.
April 8, 2016
Another really good book from the Pathfinder Tales series. This one centered around the savage, demon savaged lands of the Worldwound. Great adventure, this series of books has not let me down yet.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews