The characters that Robert E. Vardeman has created are some of my favorite. But Lan took a nasty turn in this story as the evil Iron Tongue in his head turns him against his friends. I didn't like that. Maybe this is needed for the conclusion to this series in the last book, Pillar of Night, I don't know. Obviously Lan must become strong enough to defeat Clarbore, but I sure hate to see him leave his friends behind. I don't think he can do it alone, even though he seems to think that he can.
The world Mr. Vardeman has created in this story is dismal. That might have has a slight impact on the way I felt about this book.
Overall, I found Fire and Fog to be a good continuation of the story and I am looking forward to seeing how this whole thing ends.
I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.