Crypt of the Shadowking

Forgotten Realms: The Harpers #6

by Mark Anthony

The evil Zhentarim attempt to take over the richest of the Caravan Cities, and Harper agent Mari Al'Marin and ex-Harper Caledan try to foil the wicked plot. By the author of Kindred Spirits.

Genres: Forgotten Realms, Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Science Fiction Fantasy, Collections, Role Playing Games

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Mark Anthony learned to love both books and mountains during childhood summers spent in a Colorado ghost town.

Later he was trained as a paleoanthropologist but along the way grew interested in a different sort of human evolution—the symbolic progress reflected in myth and the literature of the fantastic. He undertook Beyond the Pale to explore the idea that reason and wonder need not exist in conflict.

Mark Anthony lives and writes in Colorado, where he is currently at work on his next writing project.

Also writes under Galen Beckett.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was fine, though suffering from the common issue with these books that the protagonist is a loudly self-proclaimed ex-Harper with a chip on his shoulder. He has been wandering the wider world of Toril for 7 years and only now returning to his old base city to confront his past, etc., etc. The side characters were a little more fun, but there was a villain-sized problem in how the malevolent Lord Ravendas (who is actually female, so good on the Zhentarim for having non-gendered titles of nobility I guess?) is portrayed as this domineering, petulant badass and schemer...but what, exactly, is it she can do? Since this is a D&D based novel one can't help but think about player character classes, and if she is a Fighter then there is no effort made to establish how skilled she is- in fact, her habitual appearance is lounging about in slinky robes, not donning plate armour and riding warhorses. This mainly bugged me because she seems to effortlessly command the loyalty of scores of thuggish Zhentish warriors without the usual eldritch powers or clear combat superiority to back it up. But so be it.

The relentless Shadevar monster was fun, kind of an enchanted Terminator, but I would have enjoyed learning how, precisely, Snake came to control it or give it its mission to eliminate "Shadow Magic" from the world. That whole aspect of the story could have been better developed, frankly, as also the past and motivations of Morhion the Mage. Had this book been written this century I reckon it could have been explained as unrequited love of Caledan (the main character) but the '90s were different, man, and I can't recall any instances of same-sex attraction or relationships from the novels coming out in those days.

All in all, worth my time, and if you enjoyed the excellent recent Dungeon's and Dragons film with Chris Pine you'd probably dig it.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caledan Caldorien is a former Harper (a secret society of adventurers with the common purpose to fight evil) who is convinced by a messenger from the Harpers to undertake one final, dangerous mission. The network of the Zhentarim, an evil organization well known to Forgotten Realms fans, has managed to infiltrate the leadership of Iriaebor, City of a Thousand Spires. With his fellowship of old friends, Caledan has to seek an ancient magic to counter the Zhentarim leader, a rather clichéd power hungry lady who also happens to be the sister of Caledan’s dead lover. This is a Forgotten Realms (D&D) novel so expect the standard adventuring band (fighter, thief, wizard, healer, etc.) and the constraints of that setting. But despite that, I quite enjoyed this novel and I rank it among my favorite of the 6 Harper books I have read so far.

The Harper series is an “open universe” series, meaning the books all take place in the same world but are written by different authors and almost always involve different main characters. As such they are stand-alone novels and the quality of any particular book is pure speculation until you read it. They don’t necessarily have to be read in order although there are a couple of related books so it might still be best to proceed in the order they were published. This book is an example with the sequel being number 11 in the series (Curse of the Shadowmage).

This is Mark Anthony’s first solo novel as a writer and although there are some signs that this is a rookie effort, I found it thoroughly engaging. He has a nice casual way with the written word and his characters and plot are well constructed. I can’t say the same about all of the Harper novels I’ve read. He got his start in the D&D game setting worlds but has since ventured out to a nice fantasy writing career. This book makes it easy to see why he has become a successful writer and I look forward to experiencing some of his more recent works.

[Kevin Zuech · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have written my review when I finished reading it but I didn't so now the details are fuzzy. I have liked all of the Harpers series and this one is no different although it has been my least favorite so far. Basically the same storyline as in most of them. Harpers good, Zhentarim bad. In this case it is a former Harper as one of the main heroes but they have a newbie Harper to keep an eye on him. The unique power is what makes this different. Overall a good read.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book author Mark Anthony wrote by himself. It could have been cooler.

The biggest problem with this story is that it's all about the main character, Caledan's, lack of a love life.
I mean, he's seeking revenge for his dead girlfriend (who was killed by her older sister), and he does'nt care if he dies trying, 'cause revenge is his whole life...then he meets up with this Harper (hence the book being in the "Harper Series") and they are mean to each other all the time, but really they are falling in love. They finally do it 2/3rds of the way through the book, and then get into a fight again the next morning...it's kinda lame. Of course, in the last 5 pages, when she's been killed by the Shadowking (who only shows up in the last chapter...another severe problem with this story), he realizes that he truly loves her and he's been a fool and he tells her that he loves her and the gods smile on them and bring her back to life.

The next problem, I already mentioned. The nemesis never shows himself until the very end, and he never even gets a chance to fight, cause they destroy him before he even takes on his real form, or whatever. Now, you might say that the real nemesis is the Zhent ruler of the city, Ravendas. She is the evil older sister that Caledan wants to kill through the whole story. However, if that was the case, why name the book after the "Shadowking"? Secondly, there is another bad guy, named Snake (not too original), who is the royal steward to Ravendas and also the evil mage that must be present in every story. He is also really working for the Shadowking, who saved him from sure death in the prolouge. Now, Snake summoned a shadivar (an evil blind monster that can smell really good) to track down all the people in Fearun with the ability to cast shadow magic (in this story, that means someone who can play music and make the shadows on the wall dance....okay). This shadivar is 'sposs to be some awesome creature that even the gods couldn't control, but Snake is powerful enough to summon one and have it do his bidding. But in the end, Snake doesn't to anything spectacular to stop the good guys....and he really doesn't do anything to betray Ravendas either, which the author hints at the whole story. So thats a second bad guy that is useless. Anywho, maybe the real bad guy is Ravendas, she is one of the best characters, but even she dies in a lame way...one paragraph, she picks up the nightstone and turns into the Shadowking. I mean if this is your main evildoer, give her a little bit more than 1 lame paragraph...jeez.

The last big propblem with the story has to do with an old friend of Caledan's named Morhion. He's a mage that used to travel with him back when he had a girlfriend. This mage betrayed Caledan when he first tried to kill Ravendas back in the day. Now, we find out that the mage actually saved his life, because Caledan was going to die in his attempt at revenge. But what is screwy, is that Caledan wanted to die...so why didn't he just go through with his plan anyway. I don't get it. Anywho, the mage does the same thing at the end of this book and it seems lame and repetitive. There is also some weird pack that the mage made with an evil spirt to save him and Caledan back in the day. This spirt comes to feed on Morhion every month, and he just has to let him. The author even ends the story with a scene where this is happening. And maybe I'm just not deep enough to understand the subtlies of this, but it seemed to me to serve no purpose and be out of place.

Okay, so the cool stuff....There is a Chultian Monk who is really cool in the story. And I did like the descriptions (though there weren't all that many) of the city of Iriaebor, whcih I'd never heard about before. And as I've said many time, I read these books for the history of the realms, so that part I did like. And even though this wasn't my favorite story, I will continue to read all of the books and write scathing reveiws...I feel like such a cynic...

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to give this a solid three stars for a decent pulp fantasy by a first-time-solo author (he had published some short stories and paired up for a joint novel in the Dragonlance universe prior to this), but given a consistently positive impression I bumped it up to four. Despite some mildly cliche and predictable early events, the direction of the plot ended up quite enjoyable. I liked the way that current events unfolded alongside revelations of the events of past years, in an effective plot ladder. New characters were added organically as the main character reluctantly got the old band together. Although speaking of the main character: Caledon Caledonia, really? (I know that is not quite his actual name, but it is close enough). And Meara Al-Mearen? (Again, I am approximating the precise name which escapes me without the book on hand for reference).

I most enjoyed the character of (Tyberius? Tymeron? clearly the characters were not that memorable), the Chultan former swordsman-turned-monk, whose irrepressible cheerfulness and good heart packed into a muscular body made for an easily likeable guy. He was featured in the author's short story in Realms of Valor, published a couple of months earlier. The main character was likeable too but I don't know why; he was surly, obsessive, begrudging, and prone to pushing others away. I guess his heroism shone through despite being damaged goods. I was annoyed how throughout the novel, he called Meara "Harper" exclusively, despite their joint emotional journey. I don't think he used her name one time. She usually called him "scoundrel" but at least mixed it up a bit.

One true thing, shared with virtually all of the Forgotten Realms novel authors published up to 1993 (which is far as I have read), is that the author is intensely adorkable! Seriously, check out the author photo at the back if you have the actual paperback. He even thanked an Enya album in his dedications for this book! Ah, good times.

[Kagan Oztarakci · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good story, and a good read if you like the genre.

[Saul the Heir of Isauldur · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Not bad, but has kinda bland characters and the story feels weirdly paced at the beginning.

[Ida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a magnificent but a solid adventure novel.
Our party recently passed through Iriaebor about ten years after the story so I had a lot of nostalgia for a few places and characters.

The characters fit much more into an "NPC" (non player character) category rather than people in a novel. They each have a few traits meant to set them apart from the other NPCs accompanied by a quick backstory. There's no real surprise no actual growth and no depth to any of them. Same goes for the story. There's enough fundament to make it a solid adventure but nothing more.

I'm also getting tired of the apparently obligatory pairing off of the male and female leads in every Harper novel so far.

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A minor step-up from the usual popcorn D&D fare. It tells a decent story, and one that concentrates more on the people within that story, which is a rarity for this kind of novel. There's some real attempt at character building, but in the main, it's all out of the stock character manual.

And I agree with a couple of reviews here re: the title. It's misleading. The eponymous crypt plays almost no part in the story until the very end, but let's face it Crypt of the Shadowking will sell more copies than Two Bards Try Hard Not to Fall in Love.

Solid, but nothing special.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book was a good one, and it was nicely written and have characters that are somewhat cliched, but still interesting enough and developed in a good steady pace. The protagonists are seeking to liberate a city from oppressive control by evil self-serving forces. It's set in the Forgotten Realms and I would say that fans of the setting or of the Harpers would do no wrong reading this, as they'll definitely find things to like.

[Doug Kallies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very compelling. I enjoyed the dynamic between the companions and the strained relationships due to past transgressions. Yet another book that paints the Harpers as somewhat less than savory, however. Regardless, I found it hard to put the book down, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel. Recommended.

[Scott Kirkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my chronological reading of all things Forgotten Realms. I run across all types. I think Anthony is probably one of the better story arc creators in the anthologies. This one was unique, crossed a lot of time, and hit some really interesting storylines. I think I prefer Anthony's short story over his novelisations, but when they were pumping these out to support a gaming system, it's understandable, that my overall impression of this work would be that it was a little disjointed.

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rollicking adventure as broken ex-Harper Caledan Caldorien (all-time bad name tho), returned after seven years to the dark memories of his erstwhile hometown to find it under the hold of darker forces still, finds new life in teaming with a young Harper agent to save the city--and world beyond--from an old nemesis looking to unleash a terrible force upon the Realms. A lot of standard/familiar themes and elements executed near to perfection here.

[E J · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very popcorn FR novel, cartoony in some parts and otherwise reads a bit like a game session. Only read it because I found a copy for 5 bucks. Some bits reminded me of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the movie with Hans Gruber as the villian. I forget his real name, which is disappointing. Actually, Ravendas was a bit of a Sheriff of Nottingham but considerably less fun/funny and very much in need of a hug or two from dad. Ugh, what is the deal with goth/emo girls? Go for a jog or eat a piece of fruit. There, problem solved.

[Keith Vai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the previous one. It was a quick read that did not bore me.

This book was published in 1993. In 2023, I watched the Dungeons & Dragons movie -- and it seems to lift a whole section from this book.

I liked the characters and the story kept moving. I will look for more books by Mark Anthony.

[Shanna_redwind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd forgotten how much fun reading a Forgotten Realms book is. Lots of magic, fighting and mayhem. And in the case of this book, some interesting characters that I found myself caring about and rooting for.

[Gareth Farrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical D&D story from the olden days. Not great but also not bad. If you enjoy reading Forgotten Realms stories then there are better ones than this. Though this is a stand alone story so I sort of enjoyed it as I didn't need to have read other books first.

[STU · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a while since I've read any Forgotten Realms.
Says its #6 in the Harpers - but that they are mostly stand alone.

Plenty of action and easy reading, but very very predictable with any "twist" being sighted a mile off.

[Ogre · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a pulp formulaic story, this was pretty good. Not spectacular but definitely a decent read.

[Tania Stephanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the storyline. Although, I found some of the dialogue could have been improved. Also would have liked a bit more depth with the romantic subplot.

[Sean Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you've read one Harper book, you've read them all

Do any Harper's actually enjoy being a Harper? Just more rinse and repeat the same tired, bitter, reluctant ex-Harper hero grudgingly coming back to save the day. One dimensional leads, predictable story. Just compelling enough to finish, barely.

[Jason Fawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the numbers basic FR adventure.

[David Broadus · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s OKAY! The ending was good though.

[Cesare Bartolini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit in doubt as to whether give this book a 3- or 4-star rating. It's a good story, after all, nice and consistent, set in a rather unused part of the Realms.

In general, I do not have high expectations from Harper novels, but this was actually among the better ones. The characters are very bland and typical D&D stereotypes, as happens in most of these books, but the story is solid, with a good old-fashioned adventure plot, and enjoyable all considered.

It is quite clearly an adventure plot. This means that it was probably played by a group of (A)D&D players, or at least designed by someone who had such a mindset. You can clearly see the subplots, the party splitting up, going back and forth through some places around the region, the occasional fighting encounter, and the final climax. So, nothing new there.

I think that the main issue that disappointed me is that it is very predictable. The plot is so standard from a point of view of a D&D adventure, that most things that are introduced as surprises to the characters in the book are easily anticipated by the reader.

Also, there are a few inconsistencies. In particular, it is quite unclear what happens to Mari Al-maren at one point when she is charmed. The book seems to suggest that Morhion did it, but there is no reference whatsoever of the fact afterwards, plus it is unclear what Morhion would have gained from that at that point in the plot.

Don't waste time on this book. Unless you are a hardcore Forgotten Realms fan, in which case you should read this.

[Rachel Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time when I was 11 and I loved it so I am rating it as I would have back then. It is probably a little simplistic for adults but even now it was a fun read full of memories.

[Derek Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first forgotten realms book I ever read, got me hooked on fantasy forever!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a really fun read. I was engrossed in the story throughout and it took me through a fairly diverse spectrum of emotions.

[Sam Stockdale]

Some nice ideas in there for a DM to 'borrow' hehe! Cool characters and a nice storyline.

[Badger Dubhghaill · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite enjoyable, until the usual "main character falls in love and thinks he is betrayed" bollocks was written in.
Overlooking that it's a nice adventure.