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Pathfinder Tales #32
Hellknight
Devils in Her Blood
The Hellknights are a brutal organization of warriors and spellcasters dedicated to maintaining law and order at any cost. For devil-blooded Jheraal, a veteran Hellknight investigator, even the harshest methods are justified if it means building a better world for her daughter. Yet things get personal when a serial killer starts targeting hellspawn like Jheraal and her child, somehow magically removing their hearts and trapping the victims in a state halfway between life and death. With other Hellknights implicated in the crime, Jheraal has no choice but to join forces with a noble paladin and a dangerously cunning diabolist to defeat an ancient enemy for whom even death is no deterrent.
From celebrated dark fantasy author Liane Merciel comes an adventure of love, murder, and grudges from beyond the grave, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
The Hellknights are a brutal organization of warriors and spellcasters dedicated to maintaining law and order at any cost. For devil-blooded Jheraal, a veteran Hellknight investigator, even the harshest methods are justified if it means building a better world for her daughter. Yet things get personal when a serial killer starts targeting hellspawn like Jheraal and her child, somehow magically removing their hearts and trapping the victims in a state halfway between life and death. With other Hellknights implicated in the crime, Jheraal has no choice but to join forces with a noble paladin and a dangerously cunning diabolist to defeat an ancient enemy for whom even death is no deterrent.
From celebrated dark fantasy author Liane Merciel comes an adventure of love, murder, and grudges from beyond the grave, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
432 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
9 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Liane Merciel
40 books113 followersLiane Merciel's novels include Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight and Nightglass, Dragon Age: Last Flight, and The River Kings' Road. She has written for game companies including Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer's Black Library. She lives and works in Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 6, 2017
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/04/14/...
I’ve dabbled in the Pathfinder roleplaying game for a few years now, but this is actually the first time I’ve actually tried one of the books in the Pathfinder Tales series. To be honest, I don’t know what took me so long, since seeking out tie-in novels or any kind of related literature spawned by the movies, games, etc. that I enjoy is something I do quite frequently. Part of it might have to do with the fact that it’s such a HUGE world, and when it comes to what I know of Golarion (the main world of Pathfinder where most of its campaign and events take place) I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. It’s all just a bit intimidating, especially when you consider how often new volumes are being released (about every few months or so), and currently the series is sitting at more than thirty novels and that’s not even counting all the novellas and short stories. Though I was assured that the majority of the books are standalone adventures, I still felt uncertain.
Finally, I decided to simply take a chance and go for it. It helped that the book I was interested in, Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight, had an interesting premise and was written by Liane Merciel, an author whose work I’ve been wanting to check out for a while now due to the fantastic things I’ve heard about her Dragon Age novel. More importantly, I was happy to find that Hellknight is indeed a book anyone can jump into and enjoy, no matter what your familiarity is with the Pathfinder franchise. The story is really easy to pick up, and you don’t need to have any prior knowledge at all.
At its heart, this book is about a murder investigation. There’s an organization of warriors called the Hellknights who are charged with maintaining the law and order of the land, and one of them, a hellspawn woman named Jheraal, is dispatched to a nobleman’s estate to investigate the brutal murder of its heir. Meanwhile, the victim’s brother is being called back from the front lines, now that his presence is required at home. Ederras, disgraced and exiled for his part in a rebellion when he was younger, is now an experienced and battle-hardened paladin. For his part, he’s actually quite reluctant to leave his post, but what choice does he have? Now that his brother is dead, someone needs to inherit his family’s title and take care of their lands and holdings.
As Jheraal and Ederras team up to find the murderer, they uncover a deeper conspiracy leading to more death and destruction. A trail involving some missing servants leads to a gruesome find, as it appears that their serial killer has been targeting hellspawn, cutting out their hearts in a magical ritual thus leaving them in a state of lifelessness-but-not-quite-dead. The two of them end up recruiting the services of Velenne, a crafty diabolist who has a history with Ederras, and it seems she is not quite done with the paladin yet.
For a book based on an RPG, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Hellknight. Based on my experience with tie-in novels, I’ve found that the quality of them can vary greatly, and I admit I wasn’t expecting much from this one, but I ended being quite impressed by the high standard of storytelling. The writing is also superb. Liane Merciel does a fantastic job setting up the stage for a mystery, creating a very immersive environment at the same time. It’s the little details that make a difference, masterfully showing without telling us right out what kind of society our characters live in. It is not a very pleasant place, especially not for hellspawn, who live as second class citizens in this world, mistrusted and abused.
I also enjoyed the characters, who come into their own and set themselves apart even when they’re being obviously written to conform to RPG/fantasy archetypes. Again, I was surprised at the depth of their personalities and the complex ways they are impacted by the events of this novel. Both protagonists have interesting backstories and are haunted by their pasts, with Jheraal hiding a secret daughter and Ederras struggling to come to terms with the mistakes he made in his youth. The themes of this book are made fuller by their two tales of sacrifice.
My only criticism is that the story’s pacing is very uneven. Hellknight started off strong, but the momentum tapered off as we entered the middle section, and then plateaued until we reached the last hundred pages or so of the novel, where things fortunately started picking up again as we moved into its climactic ending and resolution. For this reason, I can’t quite justify giving this book more than a solid three stars, though overall it was very enjoyable. Its quality is easily heads and shoulders above a lot of media tie-ins out there, and despite its pacing issues I thought this was a really good story and well worth the read.
So don’t let the Pathfinder name scare you off, which is probably the key point I wanted to emphasize, because tie-in fiction can be great fun and I think most will have no trouble diving into this world and appreciating it like any other fantasy novel. I look forward to reading more by Liane Merciel, and I definitely see more Pathfinder Tales in my future.
I’ve dabbled in the Pathfinder roleplaying game for a few years now, but this is actually the first time I’ve actually tried one of the books in the Pathfinder Tales series. To be honest, I don’t know what took me so long, since seeking out tie-in novels or any kind of related literature spawned by the movies, games, etc. that I enjoy is something I do quite frequently. Part of it might have to do with the fact that it’s such a HUGE world, and when it comes to what I know of Golarion (the main world of Pathfinder where most of its campaign and events take place) I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. It’s all just a bit intimidating, especially when you consider how often new volumes are being released (about every few months or so), and currently the series is sitting at more than thirty novels and that’s not even counting all the novellas and short stories. Though I was assured that the majority of the books are standalone adventures, I still felt uncertain.
Finally, I decided to simply take a chance and go for it. It helped that the book I was interested in, Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight, had an interesting premise and was written by Liane Merciel, an author whose work I’ve been wanting to check out for a while now due to the fantastic things I’ve heard about her Dragon Age novel. More importantly, I was happy to find that Hellknight is indeed a book anyone can jump into and enjoy, no matter what your familiarity is with the Pathfinder franchise. The story is really easy to pick up, and you don’t need to have any prior knowledge at all.
At its heart, this book is about a murder investigation. There’s an organization of warriors called the Hellknights who are charged with maintaining the law and order of the land, and one of them, a hellspawn woman named Jheraal, is dispatched to a nobleman’s estate to investigate the brutal murder of its heir. Meanwhile, the victim’s brother is being called back from the front lines, now that his presence is required at home. Ederras, disgraced and exiled for his part in a rebellion when he was younger, is now an experienced and battle-hardened paladin. For his part, he’s actually quite reluctant to leave his post, but what choice does he have? Now that his brother is dead, someone needs to inherit his family’s title and take care of their lands and holdings.
As Jheraal and Ederras team up to find the murderer, they uncover a deeper conspiracy leading to more death and destruction. A trail involving some missing servants leads to a gruesome find, as it appears that their serial killer has been targeting hellspawn, cutting out their hearts in a magical ritual thus leaving them in a state of lifelessness-but-not-quite-dead. The two of them end up recruiting the services of Velenne, a crafty diabolist who has a history with Ederras, and it seems she is not quite done with the paladin yet.
For a book based on an RPG, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Hellknight. Based on my experience with tie-in novels, I’ve found that the quality of them can vary greatly, and I admit I wasn’t expecting much from this one, but I ended being quite impressed by the high standard of storytelling. The writing is also superb. Liane Merciel does a fantastic job setting up the stage for a mystery, creating a very immersive environment at the same time. It’s the little details that make a difference, masterfully showing without telling us right out what kind of society our characters live in. It is not a very pleasant place, especially not for hellspawn, who live as second class citizens in this world, mistrusted and abused.
I also enjoyed the characters, who come into their own and set themselves apart even when they’re being obviously written to conform to RPG/fantasy archetypes. Again, I was surprised at the depth of their personalities and the complex ways they are impacted by the events of this novel. Both protagonists have interesting backstories and are haunted by their pasts, with Jheraal hiding a secret daughter and Ederras struggling to come to terms with the mistakes he made in his youth. The themes of this book are made fuller by their two tales of sacrifice.
My only criticism is that the story’s pacing is very uneven. Hellknight started off strong, but the momentum tapered off as we entered the middle section, and then plateaued until we reached the last hundred pages or so of the novel, where things fortunately started picking up again as we moved into its climactic ending and resolution. For this reason, I can’t quite justify giving this book more than a solid three stars, though overall it was very enjoyable. Its quality is easily heads and shoulders above a lot of media tie-ins out there, and despite its pacing issues I thought this was a really good story and well worth the read.
So don’t let the Pathfinder name scare you off, which is probably the key point I wanted to emphasize, because tie-in fiction can be great fun and I think most will have no trouble diving into this world and appreciating it like any other fantasy novel. I look forward to reading more by Liane Merciel, and I definitely see more Pathfinder Tales in my future.
February 25, 2018
3.5/5 Rating Review first posted at MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape
Do I want to read more Pathfinder Tales? HELL YES.
*Discalimer: I received an review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Do I play the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? No. Do I know what Pathfinder is? I'd heard of it. Do I play any RPG's? No. Did I enjoy this book? YES. Do I want to read more Pathfinder Tales? HELL YES.
Jheraal is a Hellknight who given the case to investigate the "murder" of three youth hellspawn. Actually, it's note a true murder. While their hears have been removed, they are still alive; breathing air and pumping blood. Jheraal must find out who committed this heinous crime, why they are doing, and how it is possible.
Edderas is the oldest son of House Celverian, and has received a letter from his father that he must return home at once - his younger brother, Othando, has been murdered. Why anyone would want to murder Othando, a scholar and non-confrontational man who was liked by all, and heir to a House that was barely even mentionable, is beyond Othando, but someone must have a had a reason to do it.
As Jheraal searches for the hellspawn murderer, and Edderas for his brother's, their path will collide and soon they will find themselves in the company of a diabolist, Velenne, who has a history with Edderas, who will help them their on their search for the killers, and all three will end up in a location that none of them expected...
Outside of Pathfinder being a role-playing game, I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about Pathfinder. But after reading novel, I want to read all of the books just so I can see more of this world! In my opinion, as someone who is not familiar with the already established Pathfinder game, everything was new to me, and this world-building was by-far its greatest strength.
I want to learn more about the Hellsknight, all the different Orders that they have; all the different religions, and Gods, and how they bless their power to certain people; tell me more about the monsters, and demons, and hellspawn; I want to see the different locations that are on the map and that were mention on the side during conversation. The Pathfinder world is something that I would love to get lost in!
If you are already playing the Pathfinder games, I am afraid that I cannot comment on how Hellknight compares to the RPG; I can only assume that you would like it. I mean, who like to read stories (that are officially sanctioned) that are set in the same world that of a game that they play?
As for the story itself. I thought it was pretty good. This is a fantasy story (obviously) but Liane's writing also brings has a great touch of horror to it too, that I was not expecting. That horror style of writing for the demons and creatures and events in the world made a huge difference for me. Because without it, I don't see this being as a good a story.
What I was most surprised about was how much of a murder-mystery this story was. From the back cover it is very evident that they will be searching for a murderer (duh), but I didn't think the main genre would be murder-mystery. To me, that what type of story I was reading. The only difference was, that it was taking place in a fascinating world that was completely new to me.
I don't know what other types of stories the rest of the Pathfinder Tale contain, but even if they were all murder-mystery I would still keep reading solely off of the fact that I want to learn as much as possible about the Pathfinder World.
3.5/5 Rating
-DJ
Do I want to read more Pathfinder Tales? HELL YES.
*Discalimer: I received an review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Do I play the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? No. Do I know what Pathfinder is? I'd heard of it. Do I play any RPG's? No. Did I enjoy this book? YES. Do I want to read more Pathfinder Tales? HELL YES.
Jheraal is a Hellknight who given the case to investigate the "murder" of three youth hellspawn. Actually, it's note a true murder. While their hears have been removed, they are still alive; breathing air and pumping blood. Jheraal must find out who committed this heinous crime, why they are doing, and how it is possible.
Edderas is the oldest son of House Celverian, and has received a letter from his father that he must return home at once - his younger brother, Othando, has been murdered. Why anyone would want to murder Othando, a scholar and non-confrontational man who was liked by all, and heir to a House that was barely even mentionable, is beyond Othando, but someone must have a had a reason to do it.
As Jheraal searches for the hellspawn murderer, and Edderas for his brother's, their path will collide and soon they will find themselves in the company of a diabolist, Velenne, who has a history with Edderas, who will help them their on their search for the killers, and all three will end up in a location that none of them expected...
Outside of Pathfinder being a role-playing game, I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about Pathfinder. But after reading novel, I want to read all of the books just so I can see more of this world! In my opinion, as someone who is not familiar with the already established Pathfinder game, everything was new to me, and this world-building was by-far its greatest strength.
I want to learn more about the Hellsknight, all the different Orders that they have; all the different religions, and Gods, and how they bless their power to certain people; tell me more about the monsters, and demons, and hellspawn; I want to see the different locations that are on the map and that were mention on the side during conversation. The Pathfinder world is something that I would love to get lost in!
If you are already playing the Pathfinder games, I am afraid that I cannot comment on how Hellknight compares to the RPG; I can only assume that you would like it. I mean, who like to read stories (that are officially sanctioned) that are set in the same world that of a game that they play?
As for the story itself. I thought it was pretty good. This is a fantasy story (obviously) but Liane's writing also brings has a great touch of horror to it too, that I was not expecting. That horror style of writing for the demons and creatures and events in the world made a huge difference for me. Because without it, I don't see this being as a good a story.
What I was most surprised about was how much of a murder-mystery this story was. From the back cover it is very evident that they will be searching for a murderer (duh), but I didn't think the main genre would be murder-mystery. To me, that what type of story I was reading. The only difference was, that it was taking place in a fascinating world that was completely new to me.
I don't know what other types of stories the rest of the Pathfinder Tale contain, but even if they were all murder-mystery I would still keep reading solely off of the fact that I want to learn as much as possible about the Pathfinder World.
3.5/5 Rating
-DJ
June 7, 2016
Yes, I went and bought some more Pathfinder tales, Hellknight is pretty cool, the various kingdoms and organization of the hellknights is very interesting to me. Ms. Merciel's story is a bit brutal and the three main characters are very cool, they are essentially three sides of the same coin, all serving the concept of order, but in different ways.
I dig the series, and so far haven't read one I didn't like..so you might as well get ready for me to review more.
If you like your fantasy characters on the chaotic evil side..check this out.
I dig the series, and so far haven't read one I didn't like..so you might as well get ready for me to review more.
If you like your fantasy characters on the chaotic evil side..check this out.
November 25, 2018
A little slow at times, but who am I to complain about pacing? I was intrigued by Jheraal and Velene, and even though it took me a while to warm up to Ederras, I really liked him by the end. I also really liked how Merciel used the three to explore morality vs. lawfulness. A solid fantasy that's just up my alley, and I'm looking forward to reading more in the Pathfinder universe.
June 23, 2016
I don’t read a lot of the Pathfinder Tales. Dave Gross’ novels are outstanding, but sadly, they stand head and shoulders above the rest. In Hellknight, though, I discovered an author who, while not on Dave’s plane, is capable of telling a compelling story—even if the pace drags at times in trying to create a suspense that is already plentiful enough when she tries to spread the “dough” a little more evenly.
Hellknight is the story of a hellspawn “inquisitor” (though the story’s culture doesn’t use that word, that’s what she is) from the Order of the Scourge who has been sent to investigate a murder of a prominent noble and finds herself dealing with murders which are not exactly murders. The victims are neither alive nor undead, but they “live” in what is essentially a magically-induced coma. And, adding insult to injury, there seems to be a racial agenda to these killings which are not quite killings.
Hellknight is also a love story. It offers fraternal love, interracial (and interfaith?) romance, and maternal love. As one would expect, each form of love requires some kind of sacrifice and we see this worked out in several ways—abandoning one’s own agenda, risking trust with one who has betrayed you in the past, undergoing torture of a sort to protect a child, and more. Two of the protagonists (I don’t know which one was more endearing to me as a character!) had an interesting dynamic like Tracy and Hepburn in Adam’s Rib. The film pits a prosecutor and defense attorney against each other in spite of their love for each other and this one pits a paladin and a diabolist in the same kind of dance.
The story is also so closely tied to the culture of and motivation for racism (with a fantasy race—not any real races) that every reader is likely to appreciate more what some oppressed races have gone through and how so many have…well…to use a familiar term, “overcome!” So, this novel presents an emotional story, a heroic story, and a story that is full of moral truth—even though it acknowledges the gray areas to accommodate human frailty.
The Pathfinder universe is well-served in this story and the narrative would make a great campaign for high level characters. In addition, there is a bubbling cauldron of political intrigue under the surface of the story. It seems appropriate for this world because the last Pathfinder rulebook I read is called Ultimate Intrigue--some of the freshest approaches to role-playing I’ve seen in a while. Imagine---“social” combat. Nice!
Of course, I couldn’t help but chuckle when reading one scene—even though the events it was describing were not funny. The beautiful diabolist Velenna roasts an entire rank of skeleton pikemen with one lightning bolt, saying, “I love it when the enemy is stupid enough to form up in a straight line.” [Not an exact quotation!] Regular players will instantly recognize the well-timed use of a Chained Lightning spell. Knowing how much writers of game fiction try to keep readers from “hearing the dice rolling in the background,” I couldn’t resist being amused because Liane Merciel had managed to sneak one past her editor. And she did it in such a way that it was appropriate to the character of this witty (and sometimes, snarky) character.
Hellknight has many, many good moments. However, it also had moments where things seemed delayed to “vamp” for time (ie. pad the page count). For example, we don’t really see the ultimate bad guys as the complete threats they are until late in the book. It would have been more interesting to me if they had harassed the protagonists with other agents than Sechel (a fascinating assassin character in her own right). After all, they are supposed to have awesome power, but without minions, they don’t seem to be able to move beyond their dark demesne.
Hellknight is the story of a hellspawn “inquisitor” (though the story’s culture doesn’t use that word, that’s what she is) from the Order of the Scourge who has been sent to investigate a murder of a prominent noble and finds herself dealing with murders which are not exactly murders. The victims are neither alive nor undead, but they “live” in what is essentially a magically-induced coma. And, adding insult to injury, there seems to be a racial agenda to these killings which are not quite killings.
Hellknight is also a love story. It offers fraternal love, interracial (and interfaith?) romance, and maternal love. As one would expect, each form of love requires some kind of sacrifice and we see this worked out in several ways—abandoning one’s own agenda, risking trust with one who has betrayed you in the past, undergoing torture of a sort to protect a child, and more. Two of the protagonists (I don’t know which one was more endearing to me as a character!) had an interesting dynamic like Tracy and Hepburn in Adam’s Rib. The film pits a prosecutor and defense attorney against each other in spite of their love for each other and this one pits a paladin and a diabolist in the same kind of dance.
The story is also so closely tied to the culture of and motivation for racism (with a fantasy race—not any real races) that every reader is likely to appreciate more what some oppressed races have gone through and how so many have…well…to use a familiar term, “overcome!” So, this novel presents an emotional story, a heroic story, and a story that is full of moral truth—even though it acknowledges the gray areas to accommodate human frailty.
The Pathfinder universe is well-served in this story and the narrative would make a great campaign for high level characters. In addition, there is a bubbling cauldron of political intrigue under the surface of the story. It seems appropriate for this world because the last Pathfinder rulebook I read is called Ultimate Intrigue--some of the freshest approaches to role-playing I’ve seen in a while. Imagine---“social” combat. Nice!
Of course, I couldn’t help but chuckle when reading one scene—even though the events it was describing were not funny. The beautiful diabolist Velenna roasts an entire rank of skeleton pikemen with one lightning bolt, saying, “I love it when the enemy is stupid enough to form up in a straight line.” [Not an exact quotation!] Regular players will instantly recognize the well-timed use of a Chained Lightning spell. Knowing how much writers of game fiction try to keep readers from “hearing the dice rolling in the background,” I couldn’t resist being amused because Liane Merciel had managed to sneak one past her editor. And she did it in such a way that it was appropriate to the character of this witty (and sometimes, snarky) character.
Hellknight has many, many good moments. However, it also had moments where things seemed delayed to “vamp” for time (ie. pad the page count). For example, we don’t really see the ultimate bad guys as the complete threats they are until late in the book. It would have been more interesting to me if they had harassed the protagonists with other agents than Sechel (a fascinating assassin character in her own right). After all, they are supposed to have awesome power, but without minions, they don’t seem to be able to move beyond their dark demesne.
December 24, 2016
This was a hard one for me to get through. The "investigation" portion of this book slows the plot to the crawl. I could see what the author was doing. Creating intricate back story for the main characters as well as setting the table for the love story. But the author sacrifices much of the plot for this tactic.
I wish the assassin was featured more. When there were chapters written in her point of view, the style instantly changed and became more interesting. She deserved more action sequences.
The daughter of the Hellknight was not featured. We only get to meet her through letters written to the Hellknight. Other than that, she is a fleeting memory.
Once the characters are in Citadel Gheisteno, the action and story picks up. The graveknights were especially creepy and formidable. The author did a great job of building up Lictor Shokenir as the main bad guy. The final battle felt a bit rushed, but I fear that was due to editing.
I hate to say this but this was the worst one of the Pathfinder Tales series that I have read.
I wish the assassin was featured more. When there were chapters written in her point of view, the style instantly changed and became more interesting. She deserved more action sequences.
The daughter of the Hellknight was not featured. We only get to meet her through letters written to the Hellknight. Other than that, she is a fleeting memory.
Once the characters are in Citadel Gheisteno, the action and story picks up. The graveknights were especially creepy and formidable. The author did a great job of building up Lictor Shokenir as the main bad guy. The final battle felt a bit rushed, but I fear that was due to editing.
I hate to say this but this was the worst one of the Pathfinder Tales series that I have read.
December 31, 2018
At its core, Hellknight is a murder mystery tied to long buried history. What makes is more interesting than a typical whodunit is the protagonists are an investigator from a Hellknight Order, who puts absolute law, and emulates the strictness of Hell, and the brother of the deceased, a holy Paladin. While both of them serve law in devil aligned Cheliax, they have vastly different focuses and priorities aside from finding the murder of a noble scion of Cheliax. When their investigation finds that there's actually over a dozen victims, all with the taint of hell in their bloodline, they hit a wall.
To assist, the Hellknight, Jheraal, and also a hellspawn, calls in for magical assistance. The diabolist who comes to aid is none other than a member of the royal family, and also happens to be the Paladin's long lost love, who naturally betrayed him and his entire rebel network when he was younger. This makes the investigation all the more challenging, as he is looking for her true motives, while also trying to deny that he still has feelings for her, despite being polar opposites.
When their investigation turns up the true threat is far more than a series of murders, but could bring the legacy of undead hellknight's worst atrocities to send the entire nation into chaos, all three must confront their deepest secrets and inner truths, while wondering if they can trust their companions, all while hoping to find a way to defeat a threat which outstrips their abilities.
Liane Merciel does another wonderful job of taking what could be a standard fantasy tale of good vs. evil and turning it on its head by presenting varying shades of evil, and examining how it can force unlikely alliances with those who stand strong against evil and ones who embody it.
To assist, the Hellknight, Jheraal, and also a hellspawn, calls in for magical assistance. The diabolist who comes to aid is none other than a member of the royal family, and also happens to be the Paladin's long lost love, who naturally betrayed him and his entire rebel network when he was younger. This makes the investigation all the more challenging, as he is looking for her true motives, while also trying to deny that he still has feelings for her, despite being polar opposites.
When their investigation turns up the true threat is far more than a series of murders, but could bring the legacy of undead hellknight's worst atrocities to send the entire nation into chaos, all three must confront their deepest secrets and inner truths, while wondering if they can trust their companions, all while hoping to find a way to defeat a threat which outstrips their abilities.
Liane Merciel does another wonderful job of taking what could be a standard fantasy tale of good vs. evil and turning it on its head by presenting varying shades of evil, and examining how it can force unlikely alliances with those who stand strong against evil and ones who embody it.
July 23, 2017
Published first at TheQwillery.com
Liane Merciel’s Hellknight from the Pathfinder Tales universe is an engrossing mystery. The story takes place in Cheliax region and the city of Westcrown. The city and its history blends into the story. What was once a beautiful proud city has fallen under the rule of a noble family that openly works with demons and dark magic as well as the Hellknights, a brutal organization that demands justice and order at any cost. Most of the races in the Hellknights are devil-blooded humanoids that wear their ancestry in the forms or horns, scales, fangs and other frightening visages that cause them to be outcasts from normal society, but as Hellknights they find a purpose. In Westcrown, it is to keep order. Parts of the city have fallen to ruins that are overrun by monsters.
The story starts in the ruins when devil-bloods or hellspawn are killed by Sechel, an assassin who kills in an unusual way. She rips hearts from her victims’ chests, but instead of dying the victims remain in an comatose state with a hole in their chest. Jheraal, a Hellknight investigator, is assigned to investigate the crime and stop the murder. Ederras, a Paladin fighting at the Worldwound, finds out his brother, a noble in Westcrown, is murdered, leaving him the sole heir to his family name and wealth. Ending his self exile, he returns home to find his brother’s killer. It’s not long before Jheraal and Ederras, two opposites, are working together to find and stop the murderer. As they investigate, they only discover this mystery is deeply rooted in their families’ and city’s history.
Merciel’s two main protagonists, Jheraal and Ederras, are the primary POV characters. They each take turns showing you the world and story through their perspective, giving the reader several unique ways of looking at the story.
The characters are all well developed. Merciel does a wonderful job of giving them a life outside of the main story and allows them to grow and develop. I actually fell in love with Sechel and would relish reading more about her in her own book. This shows how well Merciel did in humanizing her characters, even those that don't have as much time on the page.
I highly recommend Hellknight for anyone that enjoys a fast paced fantasy mystery. For those that have no knowledge about the Pathfinder universe, don’t worry, I didn’t either until I started reading the books and I’ve never felt left behind. Don’t let a good mystery slip away. I would recommend this book for young adults as well as adults. There is some descriptive violence and minor adult situations, but nothing I would be worried about my teenager reading.
Liane Merciel’s Hellknight from the Pathfinder Tales universe is an engrossing mystery. The story takes place in Cheliax region and the city of Westcrown. The city and its history blends into the story. What was once a beautiful proud city has fallen under the rule of a noble family that openly works with demons and dark magic as well as the Hellknights, a brutal organization that demands justice and order at any cost. Most of the races in the Hellknights are devil-blooded humanoids that wear their ancestry in the forms or horns, scales, fangs and other frightening visages that cause them to be outcasts from normal society, but as Hellknights they find a purpose. In Westcrown, it is to keep order. Parts of the city have fallen to ruins that are overrun by monsters.
The story starts in the ruins when devil-bloods or hellspawn are killed by Sechel, an assassin who kills in an unusual way. She rips hearts from her victims’ chests, but instead of dying the victims remain in an comatose state with a hole in their chest. Jheraal, a Hellknight investigator, is assigned to investigate the crime and stop the murder. Ederras, a Paladin fighting at the Worldwound, finds out his brother, a noble in Westcrown, is murdered, leaving him the sole heir to his family name and wealth. Ending his self exile, he returns home to find his brother’s killer. It’s not long before Jheraal and Ederras, two opposites, are working together to find and stop the murderer. As they investigate, they only discover this mystery is deeply rooted in their families’ and city’s history.
Merciel’s two main protagonists, Jheraal and Ederras, are the primary POV characters. They each take turns showing you the world and story through their perspective, giving the reader several unique ways of looking at the story.
The characters are all well developed. Merciel does a wonderful job of giving them a life outside of the main story and allows them to grow and develop. I actually fell in love with Sechel and would relish reading more about her in her own book. This shows how well Merciel did in humanizing her characters, even those that don't have as much time on the page.
I highly recommend Hellknight for anyone that enjoys a fast paced fantasy mystery. For those that have no knowledge about the Pathfinder universe, don’t worry, I didn’t either until I started reading the books and I’ve never felt left behind. Don’t let a good mystery slip away. I would recommend this book for young adults as well as adults. There is some descriptive violence and minor adult situations, but nothing I would be worried about my teenager reading.
May 23, 2017
This book had me on the fence until chapter 18. It took me forever to get through this book because I couldn't identify with any of the characters and there was so much dialog and intrigue between characters. I didn't want to keep reading it. Ultimately, I needed the Pathfinder Lore and pushed through with it. Finally the plot got moving around Chapter 18 and things start happening. The characters find the enemy which could and should have gotten more description as they were quite interesting in their own right. This portion brought the book back to likeability. I got my Lore and I can move forward with other Pathfinder books.
December 27, 2018
This is an excellent book with interesting main characters, a murder mystery and some undertones addressing the dehumanizing of certain minorities in society. Liane Merciel her pathfinder novels always seem to address the tension between good people in evil or brutal societies. This one again sets up a Hellknight, a diabolist and a paladin in a murder mystery involving magic and ancient evil with Cheliax as the backdrop.
Even though the characters are very good and well rounded, and the plot is quite interesting (I might steal some parts for a RPG adventure), it somehow took me quite some effort to get into this book. At certain parts I had to force myself to continue.
Even though the characters are very good and well rounded, and the plot is quite interesting (I might steal some parts for a RPG adventure), it somehow took me quite some effort to get into this book. At certain parts I had to force myself to continue.
October 18, 2017
This was a fun crime solving case set in the Pathfinder universe, and like so many stand alone novels it just leaves me wanting to read more about the characters that were developed in the novel. Much of the end stage of the book didn't really mesh with the first half, the plots seemed to have been rapidly sped up to complete the story within x-number of pages. It felt extremely rushed, and it did no service to the otherwise interesting characters and the premise of their relationships. If you like quick reads, pulp fantasy, or action filled novels you'll likely enjoy this book.
January 11, 2025
This is labelled as book 32 in the Pathfinder Tales series of books, however, you (as far as I can tell) don't have to read them in any order, they are more or less standalone books. Alos, while they are based on the Pathfinder Role-Playing game you don't need to be familiar with that to enjoy these books.
I enjoyed this book, it starts off as a murder mystery in the fantasy setting of Pathfinder so there are demons, Paladins, and the undead. If you have never read any of the Pathfinder Tales books I think you would be fine starting off with this one.
I enjoyed this book, it starts off as a murder mystery in the fantasy setting of Pathfinder so there are demons, Paladins, and the undead. If you have never read any of the Pathfinder Tales books I think you would be fine starting off with this one.
January 29, 2020
Very good book, even though it took forever to get thru because of the holidays. I just wished that the combat wasn’t sort of glossed over...I would have liked more details. However, the subtleties and politics were spot on.
August 21, 2018
Best mystery/ horror/ fantasy book ever. This book should be a best seller. Great for people 13<.
June 3, 2025
A solid character focused fantasy adventure!
October 5, 2020
At the risk of sounding snobbish, I don't usually expect much from RPG tie-in novels (or from tie-in fiction in general). I was, however, positively surprised by this one. The plot was interesting, the characters well *really* interesting, well-rounded and with well-thought motivations and values. Even the paladin, while being slightly a pain in the ass (as it is common for paladins) wasn't as bad as I feared. The writing was good and the descriptions of Westcrown were evocative with the sharp contrast from the lives of the poor to the decadent parties of the aristocracy. Oh, and I really enjoyed how the book took into the account various magical ways of investigating murders that could be used in such a high-magic setting.
The two things I didn't enjoy so much were the villains, their motivations and their hole plan - that fell a bit flat with a lot of fuss and risk taken to achieve something relatively minor that I believe could have been achieved much more easily in simpler ways. I also didn't like how the investigation - while interesting and well-written - didn't amount to much, with the protagonists finding the villains because they were led to them. In the end all they've learned didn't mean much since the outcome was still decided by a typical clash of steel and spells. However I did enjoy how to win they had to use diplomacy as well as muscle and actively seek their opponents weak points.
As I said, this was a surprisingly entertaining and well-written read. I think I'll read another Pathfinder book soon and while this time it will be from another author, I will surely come back to Liane Mierciel in the future.
The two things I didn't enjoy so much were the villains, their motivations and their hole plan - that fell a bit flat with a lot of fuss and risk taken to achieve something relatively minor that I believe could have been achieved much more easily in simpler ways. I also didn't like how the investigation - while interesting and well-written - didn't amount to much, with the protagonists finding the villains because they were led to them. In the end all they've learned didn't mean much since the outcome was still decided by a typical clash of steel and spells. However I did enjoy how to win they had to use diplomacy as well as muscle and actively seek their opponents weak points.
As I said, this was a surprisingly entertaining and well-written read. I think I'll read another Pathfinder book soon and while this time it will be from another author, I will surely come back to Liane Mierciel in the future.
August 10, 2016
Another fantastic pathfinder novel by Liane Merciel! This time it takes us to Cheliax and paints an interesting picture of this popular region. The characters are interesting and the story offers a unique and much more realistic insight into the mind of a Paladin. No longer limited to lawful stupid, it shows the struggles that sometimes must be overcome.
But beyond that, we find an interesting theme of racial identity in Cheliax, what it means to be a hellknight, and how a fierce loyalty to the law might affect a Chelaxian.
Lastly, a scion of House Thrune. By far my favourite character in this book, with very memorable quotes.
All in all, a fantastic book that I would definitely recommend.
But beyond that, we find an interesting theme of racial identity in Cheliax, what it means to be a hellknight, and how a fierce loyalty to the law might affect a Chelaxian.
Lastly, a scion of House Thrune. By far my favourite character in this book, with very memorable quotes.
All in all, a fantastic book that I would definitely recommend.
April 17, 2016
Excellent. Nice to see the interplay between a Hellknight, Paladin, and Diabolist. And see the Paladin not written as a lawful stupid twit who can actually get along with the others. Now if only I could get the lawful stupid twits to read this one...
February 23, 2019
The interactions between a cast of extremely well-developed characters make this an exceptionally good read.
Full review (with spoilers) on my blog.
Full review (with spoilers) on my blog.
May 10, 2016
Another decent entry in the Pathfinder series.
April 17, 2017
It was decently written, but I stopped reading it because of my total lack of interest in the sory and its characters. Sorry, but not everything deserves to be read "od deski do deski".
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