A Dance of Chaos

Shadowdance #6

by David Dalglish

FEAR COMES IN THE HANDS OF PROPHETS...

The final installment of the Shadowdance series finds Haern the Watcher returning to his beloved city of Veldaren, only to find it has collapsed into chaos. The Sun Guild has conquered the former thief guilds, destroying the peace Haern fought so hard to obtain. The Trifect is their next target, and Alyssa Gemcroft must reach out to whatever allies she can obtain, even if it means casting aside longtime friends. As the chaos grows, so does the power of the dark god Karak who lays siege to Veldaren. If the city falls, the world will suffer greatly.

The legendary Thren Felhorn, broken, guileless, and rejected by his own son, holds the fate of the entire city in his hands. Unless Haern can stop his father, Thren will at last have the legacy of fire and destruction he has always desired.

Father or son; some choices must be made in blood.
Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power.
Chronological Order

A Dance of Cloaks
A Dance of Blades
A Dance of Mirrors
A Dance of Shadows
A Dance of Ghosts
A Dance of Chaos

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

424 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2015

Reviews

[John McDermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 🌟
A satisfying and entertaining conclusion to what's been a fine series. Fast paced and full of action, David Dalglish always manages to give his readers what they want.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sad this series is over. I loved loved Haern and Thren as well as Tar and Brug, all of them really. I finished the book a few days ago but couldn't think of how to review. David is an incredible author and that's really an understatement. But to have the talent and creativity to connect his books the way he does is amazing. You read the Orcs or Gods War and you know the surnames of some characters, the Gods and cities in the Shadowdance series.

And he has you turning the pages as fast as you can to see what will happen next. Never are you bored or confused it all comes together perfectly. I admit, being as big of a fantasy fan as I am some fight scenes overwhelm me and I tend to skim them more than read every word of the battles. Not with Dalglish's books though. He doesn't make them overwhelming he captures you in the moment and I find myself holding my breath and reading if he will parry in time. That says a lot for me.

I have been with Haern and Thren since Haern was a quiet little boy who read in his room. Watched him grow into a man and consistently struggle with his identity and the person his father wished him to be and the man he grows into against those wishes. To see father and son come together in the previous book and this one made me happy and broke my heart as well. I smiled and I most definitely cried. It was a hell of a ride reading this series. I wish it would never end honestly. But it did so in the best way possible. And still he managed to shock me in the final few pages. (Clever very very clever there David)

This series is the reason why David Dalglish will always be one of my favorite authors. Without a doubt he proved again he stands in a league all his own.

[Byron · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent finale. Bringing loose ends to a climatic ending. I think I've left the series having more questions than answers. Yet, I feel that the book has completed Haern's saga. There could be room for a new direction if the author decides to revisit this world. All in all, I would strongly recommend this series and author.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A damn fine story. David Dalglish ends an incredible ride in Shadowdance series, although their is a small, very small opportunity to continue or create another series in the Shadowdance world. I hope he does. Thsi series is well written, evenly paced, in an ever expanding magical universe, where one's power is always able to be counter acted by some very fast thinking, meticulous planning or by the grace of the gods created. Overall, I am a fan, David Dalglish, work well done! I thoroughly enjoy your work and look forward to reading much more in the future. Thank you.

[Bruna Bellini · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's one of my favorite series!
Besides the all violence, it's really a worthy reading.
I didn't give it five stars to this book, because some things couldn't make sense to me.
Nathaniel, I know he is a kid but, honestly, how could he open ways to Karak's prophet, after all the horrible things he saw and the fear he felt with him?! Nathaniel knew he was pure evil, but he would side with him to "protect" his mother and he even couldn't feel that with him?! Well... that totally didn't make sense for me!
Alyssa in this book, it was kind she totally lost her power and confidence in herself. I understand that, after all she fought against guilds of assassins, was betrayed by men, she thought they loved her and was also betrayed by her mother. But even so, I didn't see a good reason for her to kill the only man that she could've really trusted.
And I also don't think Zuza would expose her secrets so easily to Muzien, since he was someone she wanted to crush.
Well, besides all that, the book has lots of action. And finally, we got the epic clash of titans between Haern and his father, Thren! I really enjoyed and I think it was a fair ending to their relationship. Some people can't never change, no matter what.
And with so many awful things that happened to all the characters, it was good to see them having a happy ending.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sad to be finishing this series of books. I feel like I have been right there with each of the characters throughout their journeys.
This last book didn’t disappoint it was jam packed full of action especially the epic battle towards the end. Each character shone especially Deathmask who I feel didn’t get to show off his full capabilities in previous books. The ending had a really good twist should this be taken up in a future book series.
The only reason I knocked a star off was because of the randomness of the Orcs and the Army of the Dead. They didn’t fit with the other books, maybe they weren’t supposed to..!!
A must read for all Dalglish fans and those who like fast paced action, adventure and fantasy books. Yeah I’m a big fan..!! :-)

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would've enjoyed the series so much more if I had read it when I added it to my TBR, some 10 years ago, while still getting the hang of epic fantasy. This felt like The Night Angel Trilogy, just more stretched out and with even less answers. I'm not going to continue reading the other books set in the same universe.

It was still entertaining, though. Enough to keep me going for all 6 books.

[Christopher Gosvener · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reluctant to read this series, but the wife insisted. SHE WAS NOT WRONG. I loved every minute, and it had a great ending to this fun ride.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Watcher, alone you conquered this city. Thren, alone you built the Spider Guild into an empire. Alone, I will outshine you all. This will be the crown upon my legacy, forged with your bones and painted with your blood." - Muzien

This is it the 6th and final book in David Dalglish's Shadowdance Series. Muzien have controlled all of Veldaren, most of the thief guilds have pledged their allegiance to the Sun Guild. Unfortunately for Muzien, there are those who still deny the Guild and will stop at nothing to see it crumble.

Well what can one expect when reading the end of a series? high octane action, gripping drama, explosions, wars, epic battles? Fortunately for A Dance of Chaos it has everything to create a fitting finale. It is as the title says it is, it's chaotic but in a good way. The action never stops and the story keeps developing.

You get what you have been getting the past few books which are imaginatively written fight sequences. From duels of swords to magical RPGesque battle sequences. All of it were great and it is really one of the strongest selling point of this whole series.

All of major characters from the past books have a part to play, specially one that was sorely missed from A Dance of Ghost, Deathmask and The Ash Guild. Ever since his début in A Dance of Blades, Deathmask has been one of if not the coolest character in the series. This time he's got a lot to do and when he fights, he does not disappoint. Major character development were also done with Thren and Hearn. As both are fighting very similar inner battles as Muzien wants Thren to cement his legacy and Thren wanting Hearn to cement his.

More characters such as Alyssa, Zusa and our favourite a-hole Victor were also given a substantial amount of work as some of them have their own plot though not as engaging as Hearn's it was still intriguing to say the least. Nathaniel has been developed substantially as Karak continues to work his way into his mind having a huge impact in the story but the most impressively written character is Muzien. Muzien showed how great of a leader he is in A Dance of Ghost, here he shows how great of a fighter he is. You can tell that Dalglish invested a lot of time with this guy to make him the ultimate bad guy and to Dalglish's credit it paid of. Muzien was believable in every aspect that he possess. You believed that this elf, conquered the city, that he might be a god amongst men.

As much as this is a great finale, there are some elements here that felt random. Such as a zombie army as well as an Orc army that came literally out of nowhere. Though little details as those did not take me out as they still produced a page turner of a book.

All in all, A Dance of Chaos is a satisfying finale for the series and it's highly recommended to those who are familiar with the series. If you're not then start from the very start as it's an epic and rewarding journey.

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous ending to the series! Book 4 was my favorite, but this book neatly tied up everything. It was full of action, and symbolism, and everything I love about fantasy novels.

Still with the unnecessary addition of elves and orcs. Sigh. I just don't think this world needed them. But oh well. The characters, plot, setting, the exciting fight sequences mirrored by excellent characterization made for a nearly-perfect reading experience!

I especially love the development of Haern throughout the series. It all comes together in this final volume. The foreshadowing and symbolism make everything come together. Gorgeous! Delysia, to Haern, pg 230: "Stop being paralyzed by the sheer size of the task at hand. Be motivated by it I know you, Haern. Deep down, I know what you are capable of, and the great things you'd aspire to if given the chance. Would you give that all up due to the faults and failures of other men? If you do, then you've already let them win." And then finally Haern pg 419: "Whatever drives me, it's more than just peace for this city... Who I am, who I choose to be... it has to mean something. It has to make all these sacrifices worthwhile. And I do know who it is I wish to be. I finally do." YES!

Probably what I love most about this series (and why I loathed book 3 so much) is the sense of humor prevalent throughout. The author has woven in so many light moments in a series that could have been so dreary and dark otherwise. Like this throw-away line from early in the novel: Tarlak pg 53: "Thank you, Mr. Stabby Sword Man, for telling me how to do my job." The sarcasm is real!

[Avery (ThePagemaster) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this book is a strong 4 stars and a solid conclusion to the series. Though I do have some minor problems throughout this book, it can be overlooked.

Now, the overall plot is that this skilled elf named Muzien has basically taken over Haren's city of Valderen and it's up to him, Thren and their assassin equivalent of Dumbledore's Army (Including a Zachariah) to stop him. With that said, this was Haren's book; his culminating moment that has been building up for five books, previously, to shine and he does so to Muzien, as well as Thren. Not only that, but how the other characters, Alyssa, Zusa, Nathaniel, etc. are affected by this.

The last 50-100 pages of this book were the most important and action-packed of the entire book. The rest were just "the preparations for the final battle" as it is in many final books in a series. What I had a problem with, in the first part of the book was Alyssa and her decisions, especially when it came to Victor. I understand that in the previous books, men have not been so kind to her and seems to justify her actions for what she did o Victor because of it. I also don't hve a problem with Alyssa and Zusa's relationship; Go diversity, but I kinda liked Victor.

And let me just say, as a side note, that Epilogue had one of the biggest twist endings I have ever read. If you read it and want my opinion on what Zusa should do: I think she will. I really liked Haren and Zusa's friendship, almost shipped them after near the end of the 5th book (Wink Wink).

Anyway, this book had the reoccurring action and assassins and politics that it had throughout the series, which never got old for me. It had twists and turns, betrayals and surprising alliances. Again, not for comparing books to other existing franchises with their own original merits, but it's like Batman(slightly) meets Assassin's Creed(mostly). An overall enjoyable series, though nothing mind-blowing. Entertaining writing, though I would have to put A Dance of Shadows(Book 4) as probably my favorite out of them all.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, right from the start.

It was really fast-paced with a lot of things going on, I did not want to put it down. I just wanted to know what would happen next. Since it was the last book in the series it also had the feeling of nearing the end of the story, which created a problem for me. Because I wanted to know how it would all end but at the same time I did not want the story to end, so I nearing the end I became a slow reader.

The story took some turns I had not expected to happen, but it worked for the story. There were some passages in this book which I found really interesting and perhaps also fascinating.

Haern: Fascinating development and thoughts from Haern.

Thren: Gets more and more interesting and fascinating to read about.

Muzien: Very interesting past, would have liked to see a little bit more.

Alyssa: I thought she was very swinging, but still seemed like herself.

Zusa: Still the ass-kicking woman, she's so awesome.

Dierdon: Yay, i really like that guy.

"You and I, we're walking relics of a dying past."

[Silas Adamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaos is a fitting way to end the series. The fastest paced, most exciting book in the series is also the most emotional. Time and time again I found myself cheering, hurting, fist pumping, wanting to cry(?), and smiling. Haern finally ascends to the level we always knew he’d get to and Thren descends to the monster we always knew he was. Both are fantastic characters and are the main reason I love this series so much. All of the storylines converge at the end and I believe this is a fitting and to The Watchers story. Thank you David for creating such a wonderful work of literature.

[Kyle E. Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

David Dalgish has been writing great fantasy for some time now! I want to thank him for letting us share his amazing imagination with all of his readers! Keep it up, David!

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, an amazing series specifically for its action sequences and excellent pacing. I was very impressed with the final two books and Mr. Dalgish hit all the right notes to settle things in an excellent way.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I hope we continue with stories of The Watcher.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not QUITE as good as book 5, but still a worthwhile read. The biggest issue is that everything is moving along nicely, with the big fight against Muzien taking shape and - some Prophet guy shows up and starts attacking the city? Okay, I guess... He's been mentioned a couple of times before as a vision of future destruction, but the way otherwise just shows up out of nowhere is just weird. Then everyone murders some orcs, and the Prophet apparently dies off-screen or something.

It's apparently related to something in the author's Half-Orc series, which I haven't read, but the way it's included in this series is just weird and disconnected. It's like a badly done comic book crossover event, where you pick up your favorite Superman comic only to find out him in the middle of a fight against some new bad guy because apparently you should have bought last month's Batman comic to know what's going on, and the only way to find out what happens is to buy next month's Flash because these events will never be mentioned in Superman comics again.

It's ALMOST easy to ignore and overlook the crossover, other than it takes several major character's out of the ultimate battle, leaving it just Haern and Thren against Muzien, but there would be other ways to do that.. Zusa, for example, is removed from the fight without having to bring in an unrelated Orc army, and the story is more successful because of that because it actually relates to the Muzien story.

Still, other than that, the story is largely successful in tying up the character's storylines and giving them a decent closure (until there's another book in the series, at least.)

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, do I have some feelings about this. It's the sixth and final book in a series I've been reading for a while. Mostly, I've been enjoying it - especially the earlier books. However, this last one was certainly a disappointment. It was just so long and it felt very repetitive. However, my main issue is with something I mentioned in my review of the fifth book; suddenly, there's elves and orcs in this world of thieves which hasn't been here before. I understand that this series is part of larger world that the author writes in, but if elves, orcs, pegasis and such exist, it should be mentioned from the get-go. It kinda got even more annoying in A Dance of Chaos because suddenly, there's this new threat - while there's still a lot going on in the city. The author does not explain this threat - not in the plot. No, he mentions in the afterward 'oh, did you wonder where *that* came from? Read my other series!' That's just not good enough. I'm not going to pick up another series to get the explanation for a random plot line I didn't think belonged in the story anyway. However, it feels disloyal to the readers who has been enjoying this series not to explain why *this thing* happens out of the blue. You can't just use the ending of one book to promote another series.

[Darren Hagan-Loveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm actually a little underwhelmed with this as a series conclusion. The book itself is great. It's more of the same action-packed antics of the crew you come to know and love. The ending just left quite a lot to be desired for me. I have read that he left it a bit open ended so he could add more to this story in the future but there was too much left unmentioned in my opinion. The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm getting a bit annoyed haha.

*spoiler*

I'm also a little bothered that everyone survived. For a series with such a high mortality rate, the final book would've been the perfect time to kill off a major character, and really get me in the feels. There was nothing. I don't feel like there was a particularly impactful death since book 2.

I have fully enjoyed my time in Veldaren though and I will most likely read more books in this world.

[Amzon_Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What.A.Series!

Fantasy Fans are not restricted in scope of choice in the genre, sometimes this can make it extremely difficult to find a ‘next’ read in such a massively saturated market.

This series is the first foray I made into the work of the author; I’m happy to say it has been outstanding. It’s taken a week to read the books back to back & immerse myself in the story world; I’m very satisfied.

The only minor niggle that came to mind was when there were protracted periods in the city, the ‘world building’ & ‘descriptive prose’ could sometimes seem flat. It doesn’t harm the overall story, though.

[Jay Welch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the majority of this series, but there wasn't much I enjoyed about the 6th and final novel. There is too much going on, character behavior not making sense, and unfulfilled wrap ups to most of the plotlines. It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely not what I expected after the enjoyment in reading the start of the series. I would recommend the Assassin series by Brent Weeks and the Thorn series by Mark Lawrence if you liked this series. If you liked either of those other series, then I believe you will like this one.

[Reda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only when I thought some interesting character development was happening, every character manages to revert back into their usual psychopathic, murderous state. The dissonance between the actions of the homicidal cast of maniacs and the way the author is trying to make the readers feel about them is jarring. I'm glad I didn't stop reading this series because it has shown me everything that could go wrong with books like these and made me appreciate other, better books so much more.

[Nyssy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series ended predictable but then you were always rooting for the watcher now weren’t you? Just seemed ironic that the King 👑 would rely on him now.

I’m not sure I’d continue with anymore of this author’s series. This series seem to repeat itself and the same fighting, the same stance... I could bypass 2 chapters and the sword ⚔️ finally found its mark. 😄. That’s how the descriptions were, a little too detailed.

[Nate Petsche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was damn good. Listened to most of it in audio book form while riding my bike and this is a great way to pass the time. The sword fights and flashy combat that seemed to happen every chapter never seemed old or stale, and the characters my LORD they are juicy and dramatic af.

My one request is that David Dalglish makes a real housewives spinoff of these books with all the wives of the trifect before the thief war. I just think it would be a great idea.

[Sean Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was good enough, but it all got a bit tiresome by the end. The entertaining, if unrealistic fight scenes kept my interest, but the story became rather dull, and there was really only one character that I cared about at all. This series could have been shorter and had more impact. Not terrible, but a little tropey, derivative and by the numbers.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up. This was another solid book in the series. Again, good, but not great. Character development was still nonexistent and there was maybe a little too much going on with the plot. Felt like he could’ve just had the book focus on the showdown with the Sun guild without throwing in the Orc battle. I’m kind of neutral on how the story ended.

[James Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice copy

I enjoyed the book, however it was far too similar in structure and tone as the others. It was a nice distraction but I will forget it by tomorrow. All hat , no cowboy.

[Adrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series comes full circle by the end and it very fitting. Character development isn’t cliche, rather, it’s realistic and quite heart warming.

As all other novels in this series, the pace is fast and the right sequencing is well executed.

A very under rated series.

[Derek Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an END to this series. So many things are going through my head. I don’t know what to do now. What am I supposed to do now that it’s over? Read the half orcs series. That’s what I’m supposed to do. I need more Haern. I will have more Haern.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been trying to think of a review that does this book and series the justice it deserves. I'm not an author so I will use simple words. A non stop thrill ride of ass kicking! Everything I have read by Dalglish has left me wanting more.