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The second installment in a four-part saga brings about the return of powerful and mysterious villains who would upset the entire balance of power in the Forgotten Realms world.

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

17 people are currently reading
650 people want to read

About the author

Troy Denning

186 books662 followers
Also known as Richard Awlinson.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...

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5 stars
340 (29%)
4 stars
386 (33%)
3 stars
327 (28%)
2 stars
80 (6%)
1 star
14 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Jesse.
1,208 reviews13 followers
March 27, 2012
It was a long time coming for me to finish this 3 (4?) part series, and overall I would say it was well worth the time.

Troy Denning is one of the first authors I ever read, and I think that I've read just about everything that he's written within Forgotten Realms. It's been interesting and fun to watch him progress as a writer. And I would say that this is one of his best works.

One of the most fun things about this series is that Denning takes aspects of other books he's writen within the Realms and kinda twists them all together. There are giants from "twilight Giant" series, characters from his first stories during the "time of troubles", and of course the never boring "Chosen of Mystra" (who, no offense, I prefer the way Denning writes them to Greenwood's style).

The entire series was quite the epic ride; when mindflayers and beholders are the least of your worries you know it is going to be intense. This book was kind of one continual climax, as the characters must topple the city of shade, fighting the evil shadowvar, and then rush back to evereska to save the mythal from the nefarious phaerim...in the end, the good guys win...
294 reviews2 followers
December 2, 2018
In all fairness, once I remembered what happened in Book 1 after the first twenty pages, this book moved very quickly and I was able to enjoy the dynamic of the various storylines leading into the siege of Evereska. I was hoping to see a late appearance of Elminster to save Tiverton somehow in the end, but it was not meant to be. I look forward to finishing this series this week, but I have to pause in order to read something extraordinary that just dropped into my lap.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mario García.
119 reviews3 followers
August 26, 2023
I read and enjoyed the first book a few years ago. This is a fun sequel, and it continues the story nicely.

I like the development of the main character Galaeron, and the appearance of various heroes like the Silverhand sisters and Khelben Arunsun.

As a fan of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, this is a must read.
Profile Image for Kagan Oztarakci.
186 reviews1 follower
July 7, 2018
"Being the only way seldom makes something the right way."
"Trying is easy, doing is hard."
"...a wise adivsor always tells his master what his master is eager to hear."
Profile Image for Ryan.
67 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2025
I've read a number of Troy Dennings books, and loved most of them. This one however feels like the weakest one I've read from him. The first book in this series seemed much better. I am not sure why, but it just was not great. Part of it seemed to be trying to contort around D&D's weird rules about magic.
5 reviews
April 11, 2019
Bon livre, intrigue et personnages intéressanta avec un bon potentiel. Développement du personnage de Galaeron un peu lent et sans intérêt...
Profile Image for E J.
166 reviews
February 23, 2025
Better than The Summoning, rounded up to 4 stars.
Profile Image for David.
881 reviews52 followers
October 8, 2009
The action and pacing in this book made is a better read than the first, possibly because there's much more going on now. The main characters are a mixed bunch of being able to emphatise and not being able to, so they're ok. It's also nice to see the major characters of the Forgotten Realms setting starting to much more involved. Too bad the early parts of this book felt disjointed from the first book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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