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Forgotten Realms: Erevis Cale #1
Twilight Falling
Erevis Cale - simple butler or much, much more?
The shadows grow long on the mean streets of Selgaunt... and the sun sets on one man's service to Sembia's merchant lords.
The day's end finds Erevis Cale serving a new master, one who is beyond the petty accumulation of wealth.
After all, what is gold to one who trades in souls?
The shadows grow long on the mean streets of Selgaunt... and the sun sets on one man's service to Sembia's merchant lords.
The day's end finds Erevis Cale serving a new master, one who is beyond the petty accumulation of wealth.
After all, what is gold to one who trades in souls?
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2003
120 people are currently reading
1777 people want to read
About the author
Paul S. Kemp
88 books934 followersBestselling speculative fiction author, creator of Egil and Nix, Erevis Cale, drinker of scotch, smoker of cigars, amiable dude. :-)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
May 24, 2012
Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp- This is the first book in The Erevis Cale trilogy. The second book is, Dawn of Midnight, and the final book is Midnight’s Mask. However, the first appearance of many of these characters are found in the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series. There is a short story in Halls of Stormweather anthology entitled “Resurrection” and the second book in the series entitled Shadow’s Witness. Then after this trilogy, the story continues in The Twilight War trilogy (Shadowbred, Shadowstorm, and Shadowrealm).
The story follows a butler/assassin named Erevis Cale and him leaving the Uskevren family (whom he serves). In the process of leaving, he gets a message from an old colleague/rival Drasek Riven, whom he meets at a tavern. After the tavern explodes, Cale and Riven realize that it was a hit on them and find who is trying to kill them, a shadow mage named Vraggen and a half-drow named Azriim. After a brief fight, Cale rushes back to Stormweather (where the Uskevren family resides) to check on them, and comes across more of Vraggen’s henchmen. He finds out they are after a globe and they escape with half and a hostage, after Cale cuts the globe in two with his sword. Cale then goes out to find an old friend, a halfling named Jak Fleet, to try to figure out what the globe is. Riven meets up with them, much to the dislike of Jak, and they take it to a “god-touched” loremaster named Sephris, who tells them some shocking things about the globe and themselves. After rescuing the hostage, the trio track down and attempt to stop Vraggen and his plans, but they get more than they bargained for.
WARNING: Spoilers are present.
Negatives:
1) Jak. He is a wuss. All he does in the story is complain or whine about this or that and it really got to the point of being really annoying at times. I do like him as a character and a foil of Riven, but he is just plain whiny. He couldn’t hold his own in almost any fight and always seemed to rely on either Riven or Cale to step in and give him some aid. I really do see the point of him being in the story, but come on, at least make him a little more capable. I know I am giving a very weak argument here, but after seeing how powerful Cale and Riven are, Jak just seemed like a joke at times.
2) Cale Clichéd? This isn’t really a huge negative, and it’s something that I just now noticed. Cale is pretty much the big, bald-headed, brooding killer that is in so much media now-a-days. You see this type of character in movies, video games, television shows, and various books. While most of the characters in those outlets are utterly terrible (most of the time), Cale doesn’t come off like that. He is more believable and honest in a way. Like I said, this is more of an observation than a criticism.
3) Magadon. At the cost of given the ending away, Magadon felt like a huge mistake in his usage within the story. Now, I love this character, but he only appears in the last three or four chapters and he just suddenly becomes (kind of) buddy-buddy with trio? It just doesn’t seem right when given the perfect chance to escape certain doom, he decides to stick with them and die? It just doesn’t make sense to me. There was no evidence of a friendship building between the three and him, it just was oddly thrown in there from left field and it just doesn’t seem to fit.
Positives:
1) Characters. Although Jak was a little annoying and Cale is a little cliché, the characters are wonderfully done. Cale is as interesting a character as anyone I’ve read and his insights and feelings on certain things really makes him fantastic and likable. The emotions and thoughts he has really are insightful and make you think at times. Riven, I think, is better. He is an “Artemis Entreri-esque” assassin (Artemis Entreri is found in books by R. A. Salvatore), with his amazing sword work and typical villain personality. However, I think he is so much more than what Entreri could ever be. He is a killer, yet at the same time, you see him in a much different light and it makes you really start to like him. It’s really hard to explain what I mean, other than he is so much more complex than Entreri could ever be. Then you have Azriim. I think he really overshadows the main villain in the story just because of the traits and personality he has. While Vraggen is your typical villain who wants to “rule the world,” Azriim gives off this likable, but obviously bad persona that works really well and he slowly and rightfully becomes the main villain.
2) The Middle. The middle of the story is just wonderful. While the beginning does a little bit of an introduction and recap of things that happened before this story, the middle is what is really good. The whole finding out what the globe is and the trio trying to rescue the hostage is what this story is really about. While it might be a little odd to base a story on something so simple and “silly” as this, it works really well. It really does feel like you are reading the first book, with giving you background on the characters, the personalities, events, etc. which all first books should set out to do. You don’t want a trilogy to feel like there isn’t anything real there because of the lack of character development, you want it to feel like you can really connect with the characters and really start to like them to want to read more about them. This is what the middle section does. It really makes you like the main characters and root for them to succeed. And who cares if the story ends in a -
3) -Cliffhanger! Because of the middle section really making you attached to these characters, the cliffhanger (even though I don’t like cliffhangers, usually) seems okay. It ends with so much up in the air, yet you know this isn’t the ending and you sure are hoping it isn’t! The ending really is what makes this special. You see these characters about to die and you are worrying over if they are or aren’t, and it’s all thanks to the middle and how it presented the characters. The ending really does make you want to throw down this book and quickly grab the next so you don’t lose anything. It was just done beautifully.
Side Notes:
1) Vraggen. He is just so… boring. He really does seem original or great but it doesn’t really matter. Because you soon learn he isn’t the main villain, which is a relief.
2) Vraggen’s Henchmen. You would never have thought them to be what they turn out to be. Even looking back at some of the really “telling” moments, you would have never have picked up that they are so different.
3) Artwork. The cover art is interesting. I do like the half view of Cale’s face, it works really well. The globe is an interesting touch to. However, the background is just weird. What the heck is it? Some dragon thing? But there isn’t any dragons in the story, so what is it?
Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
The story is great. The characters are superb and having you actually being to like the characters really make this story great. The only problems I had were Magadon and his strangely loyal behavior, and Jak’s annoying behavior.
The story follows a butler/assassin named Erevis Cale and him leaving the Uskevren family (whom he serves). In the process of leaving, he gets a message from an old colleague/rival Drasek Riven, whom he meets at a tavern. After the tavern explodes, Cale and Riven realize that it was a hit on them and find who is trying to kill them, a shadow mage named Vraggen and a half-drow named Azriim. After a brief fight, Cale rushes back to Stormweather (where the Uskevren family resides) to check on them, and comes across more of Vraggen’s henchmen. He finds out they are after a globe and they escape with half and a hostage, after Cale cuts the globe in two with his sword. Cale then goes out to find an old friend, a halfling named Jak Fleet, to try to figure out what the globe is. Riven meets up with them, much to the dislike of Jak, and they take it to a “god-touched” loremaster named Sephris, who tells them some shocking things about the globe and themselves. After rescuing the hostage, the trio track down and attempt to stop Vraggen and his plans, but they get more than they bargained for.
WARNING: Spoilers are present.
Negatives:
1) Jak. He is a wuss. All he does in the story is complain or whine about this or that and it really got to the point of being really annoying at times. I do like him as a character and a foil of Riven, but he is just plain whiny. He couldn’t hold his own in almost any fight and always seemed to rely on either Riven or Cale to step in and give him some aid. I really do see the point of him being in the story, but come on, at least make him a little more capable. I know I am giving a very weak argument here, but after seeing how powerful Cale and Riven are, Jak just seemed like a joke at times.
2) Cale Clichéd? This isn’t really a huge negative, and it’s something that I just now noticed. Cale is pretty much the big, bald-headed, brooding killer that is in so much media now-a-days. You see this type of character in movies, video games, television shows, and various books. While most of the characters in those outlets are utterly terrible (most of the time), Cale doesn’t come off like that. He is more believable and honest in a way. Like I said, this is more of an observation than a criticism.
3) Magadon. At the cost of given the ending away, Magadon felt like a huge mistake in his usage within the story. Now, I love this character, but he only appears in the last three or four chapters and he just suddenly becomes (kind of) buddy-buddy with trio? It just doesn’t seem right when given the perfect chance to escape certain doom, he decides to stick with them and die? It just doesn’t make sense to me. There was no evidence of a friendship building between the three and him, it just was oddly thrown in there from left field and it just doesn’t seem to fit.
Positives:
1) Characters. Although Jak was a little annoying and Cale is a little cliché, the characters are wonderfully done. Cale is as interesting a character as anyone I’ve read and his insights and feelings on certain things really makes him fantastic and likable. The emotions and thoughts he has really are insightful and make you think at times. Riven, I think, is better. He is an “Artemis Entreri-esque” assassin (Artemis Entreri is found in books by R. A. Salvatore), with his amazing sword work and typical villain personality. However, I think he is so much more than what Entreri could ever be. He is a killer, yet at the same time, you see him in a much different light and it makes you really start to like him. It’s really hard to explain what I mean, other than he is so much more complex than Entreri could ever be. Then you have Azriim. I think he really overshadows the main villain in the story just because of the traits and personality he has. While Vraggen is your typical villain who wants to “rule the world,” Azriim gives off this likable, but obviously bad persona that works really well and he slowly and rightfully becomes the main villain.
2) The Middle. The middle of the story is just wonderful. While the beginning does a little bit of an introduction and recap of things that happened before this story, the middle is what is really good. The whole finding out what the globe is and the trio trying to rescue the hostage is what this story is really about. While it might be a little odd to base a story on something so simple and “silly” as this, it works really well. It really does feel like you are reading the first book, with giving you background on the characters, the personalities, events, etc. which all first books should set out to do. You don’t want a trilogy to feel like there isn’t anything real there because of the lack of character development, you want it to feel like you can really connect with the characters and really start to like them to want to read more about them. This is what the middle section does. It really makes you like the main characters and root for them to succeed. And who cares if the story ends in a -
3) -Cliffhanger! Because of the middle section really making you attached to these characters, the cliffhanger (even though I don’t like cliffhangers, usually) seems okay. It ends with so much up in the air, yet you know this isn’t the ending and you sure are hoping it isn’t! The ending really is what makes this special. You see these characters about to die and you are worrying over if they are or aren’t, and it’s all thanks to the middle and how it presented the characters. The ending really does make you want to throw down this book and quickly grab the next so you don’t lose anything. It was just done beautifully.
Side Notes:
1) Vraggen. He is just so… boring. He really does seem original or great but it doesn’t really matter. Because you soon learn he isn’t the main villain, which is a relief.
2) Vraggen’s Henchmen. You would never have thought them to be what they turn out to be. Even looking back at some of the really “telling” moments, you would have never have picked up that they are so different.
3) Artwork. The cover art is interesting. I do like the half view of Cale’s face, it works really well. The globe is an interesting touch to. However, the background is just weird. What the heck is it? Some dragon thing? But there isn’t any dragons in the story, so what is it?
Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
The story is great. The characters are superb and having you actually being to like the characters really make this story great. The only problems I had were Magadon and his strangely loyal behavior, and Jak’s annoying behavior.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2013
http://www.rantingdragon.com/review-o...
Twilight Falling is the second novel by American fantasy author and lawyer Paul S. Kemp. It is the first book of The Erevis Cale trilogy, centered on the character Kemp introduced in the excellent group series writing project Sembia, and set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting.
Take a setting and make it your own
I’ve been a Forgotten Realms reader pretty much since I was able to read. I’d estimate I’ve probably read about 70% of all Forgotten Realms fiction that exists, and I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons in campaigns set in the Forgotten Realms. In my erstwhile youth, I even wrote some (terrible) fan fiction set in that world. The source for Kemp’s character, Erevis Cale, was a group writing project about the lives of a family of wealthy merchants, the Stormweathers, set in the city of Sembia. It was a series of seven books. First, a collection of short stories about each member of the family, then a full-length novel focusing on each in turn, and all written by different authors.
It was a fantastic series, and I remember thinking right after finishing it, “Man, you know who was the best character in that series? The butler! I wish I could read more about that guy!” That same year, Paul Kemp released this novel, followed by two more to close out his tale. This re-read I’m doing for an article project on The Forgotten Realms is at least the fourth or fifth time I’ve read this book, and Cale is still one of my favorite Forgotten Realms characters.
A more realistic number of shades of grey
One of the most intriguing aspects about Cale is the moral grey area in which he operates. He has a very dark past, but seems to be on a path of redemption when, in typical mobster movie fashion, he wants to get out but they pull him back in. His closest associates essentially function as his shoulder-angel and shoulder-devil, and he is as confident in his abilities as he is afraid of them. It makes for a very compelling character, especially for the Forgotten Realms, where the heroes and villains tend towards the extremes of alignment.
If you aren’t going to balance a Forgotten Realms novel around the massive end-of-the-world epic fantasy storyline, you really have to make sure your characters can pick up that slack, and Kemp crafts some truly compelling characters. You can see them develop, struggle, come to terms with and move on from tragedy and loss. A living world like the Forgotten Realms needs as many living characters as possible, and I’ll take Cale over Drizzt Do’Urden any day of the week.
Why should you read this book?
The Forgotten Realms has always trended towards a more young adult audience. The themes are fairly trope-y, the characters are fairly simple. Very high fantasy save-the-world stuff, lots of super heroes who never seem to get hurt, or doubt themselves, or risk failure stomping their way through the legions of evil. Twilight Falling and the later two books Dawn of Night and Midnight’s Mask provide a much more developed, mature take on the Forgotten Realms setting, and really give a great fantasy experience in a familiar setting.
Obviously, for me, the characters are the primary reason I recommend this book, but the mechanics of the writing are also solid. The pacing is great, the plot is interesting. Those who’ve read other reviews of mine will be aware of the fact that I’ve been given the title of Ranting Dragon’s official philosopher, and when you read this series and encounter the villain of the piece, you’ll understand yet another reason why I love this trilogy. Read them. You won’t be disappointed even (and possibly especially) if you aren’t generally a Forgotten Realms fan.
Twilight Falling is the second novel by American fantasy author and lawyer Paul S. Kemp. It is the first book of The Erevis Cale trilogy, centered on the character Kemp introduced in the excellent group series writing project Sembia, and set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting.
Take a setting and make it your own
I’ve been a Forgotten Realms reader pretty much since I was able to read. I’d estimate I’ve probably read about 70% of all Forgotten Realms fiction that exists, and I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons in campaigns set in the Forgotten Realms. In my erstwhile youth, I even wrote some (terrible) fan fiction set in that world. The source for Kemp’s character, Erevis Cale, was a group writing project about the lives of a family of wealthy merchants, the Stormweathers, set in the city of Sembia. It was a series of seven books. First, a collection of short stories about each member of the family, then a full-length novel focusing on each in turn, and all written by different authors.
It was a fantastic series, and I remember thinking right after finishing it, “Man, you know who was the best character in that series? The butler! I wish I could read more about that guy!” That same year, Paul Kemp released this novel, followed by two more to close out his tale. This re-read I’m doing for an article project on The Forgotten Realms is at least the fourth or fifth time I’ve read this book, and Cale is still one of my favorite Forgotten Realms characters.
A more realistic number of shades of grey
One of the most intriguing aspects about Cale is the moral grey area in which he operates. He has a very dark past, but seems to be on a path of redemption when, in typical mobster movie fashion, he wants to get out but they pull him back in. His closest associates essentially function as his shoulder-angel and shoulder-devil, and he is as confident in his abilities as he is afraid of them. It makes for a very compelling character, especially for the Forgotten Realms, where the heroes and villains tend towards the extremes of alignment.
If you aren’t going to balance a Forgotten Realms novel around the massive end-of-the-world epic fantasy storyline, you really have to make sure your characters can pick up that slack, and Kemp crafts some truly compelling characters. You can see them develop, struggle, come to terms with and move on from tragedy and loss. A living world like the Forgotten Realms needs as many living characters as possible, and I’ll take Cale over Drizzt Do’Urden any day of the week.
Why should you read this book?
The Forgotten Realms has always trended towards a more young adult audience. The themes are fairly trope-y, the characters are fairly simple. Very high fantasy save-the-world stuff, lots of super heroes who never seem to get hurt, or doubt themselves, or risk failure stomping their way through the legions of evil. Twilight Falling and the later two books Dawn of Night and Midnight’s Mask provide a much more developed, mature take on the Forgotten Realms setting, and really give a great fantasy experience in a familiar setting.
Obviously, for me, the characters are the primary reason I recommend this book, but the mechanics of the writing are also solid. The pacing is great, the plot is interesting. Those who’ve read other reviews of mine will be aware of the fact that I’ve been given the title of Ranting Dragon’s official philosopher, and when you read this series and encounter the villain of the piece, you’ll understand yet another reason why I love this trilogy. Read them. You won’t be disappointed even (and possibly especially) if you aren’t generally a Forgotten Realms fan.
May 24, 2012
This is the first of a series of books written by Mr. Kemp that I would really call the best fictional fantasy series I have read in a long time. The realism that the characters experience in this magical world ruled by corrupt politicians and two-faced gods is so in sync with the laws of reality, it feels like you are right there with Erevis Cale during every assassination and Slaad killing. Sure, there's magic and swords and the occasional dragon, but just because there is that element of fantasy in this realistic tale just increases the action and possibilities for the plot to travel with. The characters are always questioning their position in the world, whether it is a question of why their individual gods lead them to certain events, or whether or not doing what they do is the right thing. And, how else do you top off complex heroes unless you have an antagonist that is equally complex, and yet twice as deadly.
September 23, 2014
I never expected to enjoy this book this much - to think I've been putting off reading this trilogy! I'll get started on the next one pretty soon.
Erevis Cale, the subject of this trilogy, is a butler/assassin. I didn't realise that it actually follows one of the books in the 7-book Sembia trilogy and I almost wanted to stop reading. Glad I didn't. I would say there's little lost from not reading the Shadow's Witness even though it makes numerous references to it. It never does it in a puzzling, exclusive manner, so that's all good.
This novel is a great example of dark fantasy, rich in character and tone, along with an interesting plot and pace that picks up in middle and never lets off. Throughout the novel, the protagonist Cale is put through numerous self-realisation moments, pitting his goodness with his darker side. It portrays a man at conflict with himself, even as he embraces his worship of Mask, the Lord of Shadows and God of Thieves.
And Cale is not alone in this. Along the way, he teams with his conscience, the halfling Jak, and a one-time antagonist, Riven Drasek, in his bid for payback. Both of them provides nice contrasts to Cale; different shades of grey. I'm particularly riveted by Riven, an ex-Zhentarim agent and assassin, who grew into a very complex character. I'm much more partial to assassins than clerics, so Riven is much more interesting to me. It's truly a shame that there's only a short sequence of Riven POV.
The antagonists deserve a strong mention too. While not as developed as the protagonists, their motivations and their natures were slowly unveiled from their initial appearance as "the bad guys". Their encounters with the protagonists serve to define them as well as to establish their evil natures.
The tone of the book is brooding, peppered with violence and a dark undertone that I honestly didn't expect from a D&D book. But it is overwhelmingly so, giving the action scenes and the appropriate uses of both arcane and divine magic feel very realistic and never out of place. The grey is streaked with themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust lining them silver, crafting a great story from start to finish.
And one last bit of love is how Mask is central to the plot. Mask has always sort of been in the background for me, and this book certainly brings Mask up my list of notable Faerunian deities!
Erevis Cale, the subject of this trilogy, is a butler/assassin. I didn't realise that it actually follows one of the books in the 7-book Sembia trilogy and I almost wanted to stop reading. Glad I didn't. I would say there's little lost from not reading the Shadow's Witness even though it makes numerous references to it. It never does it in a puzzling, exclusive manner, so that's all good.
This novel is a great example of dark fantasy, rich in character and tone, along with an interesting plot and pace that picks up in middle and never lets off. Throughout the novel, the protagonist Cale is put through numerous self-realisation moments, pitting his goodness with his darker side. It portrays a man at conflict with himself, even as he embraces his worship of Mask, the Lord of Shadows and God of Thieves.
And Cale is not alone in this. Along the way, he teams with his conscience, the halfling Jak, and a one-time antagonist, Riven Drasek, in his bid for payback. Both of them provides nice contrasts to Cale; different shades of grey. I'm particularly riveted by Riven, an ex-Zhentarim agent and assassin, who grew into a very complex character. I'm much more partial to assassins than clerics, so Riven is much more interesting to me. It's truly a shame that there's only a short sequence of Riven POV.
The antagonists deserve a strong mention too. While not as developed as the protagonists, their motivations and their natures were slowly unveiled from their initial appearance as "the bad guys". Their encounters with the protagonists serve to define them as well as to establish their evil natures.
The tone of the book is brooding, peppered with violence and a dark undertone that I honestly didn't expect from a D&D book. But it is overwhelmingly so, giving the action scenes and the appropriate uses of both arcane and divine magic feel very realistic and never out of place. The grey is streaked with themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust lining them silver, crafting a great story from start to finish.
And one last bit of love is how Mask is central to the plot. Mask has always sort of been in the background for me, and this book certainly brings Mask up my list of notable Faerunian deities!
August 20, 2013
This is an amazing book. For me to give it 5 stars just means I cannot find any negative points to it. Some may argue that the character Magadon was "rushed out". While I would've liked for the author to introduce him earlier, that's just because I like psionicists so much. In fact, introducing him so late, made me look on the book with more eager eyes, to what is to come next. As such, here is where I think this book excells:
- The story - captivating due not only to the characters but to the plots within plots, intrigue aplenty, and to the potential impact on the Realms as a whole. The true "epicness" still to be reavealed in full;
- The characters: From Cale, to Azrrim, Riven, to Jak, they all feel and look great. Their personal struggles, inner demons, are very well conveyed to the reader. The connection between Cale and Jak, the transformation of Riven, it all feels tangible. While I do like "loot" in the books I read (case in point Regis in the new Companions book), this books does not present it in the old fashioned way (this item does this and has this or that name), it is still very enjoyable seeing the powers that Cale gets due to his actions.
- Shades and Mind Mages - Ok so not technically shades or shadovar yet, however it is tied to them, and I'm a sucker for Netherese. As well as for Psions. They just don't get the attention they deserve (except for you lisa smedman, thank you :) )
- The writing - I separate this here because it's a must. The book is wonderfully built, the cliffhangers, the pace, the surprises, the easiness to immerse yourself in the story (no jumping back and forth between characters and stories, and yes I'm looking at you Two Towers and The Companions...)
All in all, if you haven't read it, do it. Now. Really, get to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
- The story - captivating due not only to the characters but to the plots within plots, intrigue aplenty, and to the potential impact on the Realms as a whole. The true "epicness" still to be reavealed in full;
- The characters: From Cale, to Azrrim, Riven, to Jak, they all feel and look great. Their personal struggles, inner demons, are very well conveyed to the reader. The connection between Cale and Jak, the transformation of Riven, it all feels tangible. While I do like "loot" in the books I read (case in point Regis in the new Companions book), this books does not present it in the old fashioned way (this item does this and has this or that name), it is still very enjoyable seeing the powers that Cale gets due to his actions.
- Shades and Mind Mages - Ok so not technically shades or shadovar yet, however it is tied to them, and I'm a sucker for Netherese. As well as for Psions. They just don't get the attention they deserve (except for you lisa smedman, thank you :) )
- The writing - I separate this here because it's a must. The book is wonderfully built, the cliffhangers, the pace, the surprises, the easiness to immerse yourself in the story (no jumping back and forth between characters and stories, and yes I'm looking at you Two Towers and The Companions...)
All in all, if you haven't read it, do it. Now. Really, get to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
March 29, 2013
I enjoyed it once I got past the authors assumption that I had read the earlier series that these characters apparently showed up in. I have read quite a few Forgotten Realms novels by by no means have I read all of them and while I am going back and catching up on a few characters in preparation for the Sundering story line later this year I am not going to dedicate that much of my time to it.
The book is fast paced and interesting and gives a look at a type of priest in the Realms that isn't anywhere near the stereotypical D&D priest of years gone by. The characters are simple but well defined and likable with the dialog being smooth and the pacing of the story and the action flowing right along. Good tale, quick read, on to the next book in the series.
The book is fast paced and interesting and gives a look at a type of priest in the Realms that isn't anywhere near the stereotypical D&D priest of years gone by. The characters are simple but well defined and likable with the dialog being smooth and the pacing of the story and the action flowing right along. Good tale, quick read, on to the next book in the series.
February 7, 2020
That was a terrific experience and I'm glad it's not over. The end of the book pretty much requires you move on to the next - no complaints here... I wish there were more than 3... Damn I am exhilarated... This is exactly why I read! The writing was... skillfully crafted and poised to delight? Yeah, that sounds good... it moves fast but you still dive deep. Tons of details, in a good way. Sure there are some references from D&D & The Realms but nothing that got in my way... Looked up a few words and I'm the better for it... And fascinating characters - I am now proud to name some of them as friends. I can't wait to find out what happens next with Cale, Riven, Jak, and Magadon... and looking forward to crossing paths with the Sojourner... that son of a bitch... The Forgotten Realms really does have it all - so glad to be back.
March 26, 2018
This is the best Forgotten Realms book I've read in years.
Great plot, great characters. Story moves along at a great pace (which I must admit, I was concerned about knowing that there is a page limit to these books). Kemp does an excellent job creating heroes AND villains that are flawed and we love them anyway! He also impressed me with his world creation. I mean, he's working a pretty fleshed out environment, and yet he was still able to create fantastic destinations and add a lot of flavor to the FR's. Did I say I really enjoyed this book?
Great plot, great characters. Story moves along at a great pace (which I must admit, I was concerned about knowing that there is a page limit to these books). Kemp does an excellent job creating heroes AND villains that are flawed and we love them anyway! He also impressed me with his world creation. I mean, he's working a pretty fleshed out environment, and yet he was still able to create fantastic destinations and add a lot of flavor to the FR's. Did I say I really enjoyed this book?
November 25, 2012
This was the first Forgotten Realms book I've ever taken the time to read, and I'm skeptical that there are many (if any) of them out there that can compare. The writing, characters, and story are better than most of the things I've read in the genre which gives me a confidence in authors writing for "someone else's" world that I lacked previously.
October 16, 2019
კლასიკური d&d სეტაპი გამოდგა. დაჟე იმაზე მეტი ვიდრე სალვატორესი იყო. სალვატორე უფრო ამბავს გიყვებოდა, რომელიც d&d სამყაროში ვითარდება და კემპს არამარტო ისტორია, ბრძოლის მექანიკაც დიენდის წესებით აქვს აწყობილი, კითხულობ და გგონია რო პერსონაჟები პარალელურად კამათელს აგორებენ და თუ კარგად გაუგორდათ გამოუვათ რისი გაკეთებაც უნდოდათ.
პერსონაჟები კარგადაა გახსნილი. განსაკუთრებით მეორეხარისხოვანი პერსონჟები "კეთილების" თუ "ბოროტების".
და რათმქაუნდა რომელი კარგად მოყოლილი ამბავი ჩაივლიდა most belowed race-ს ჰალფლინგების გარეშე. აქაც გენიალური ჰალფლინგი პერსონაჟია <3
მოკლედ კარგი წიგნი გამოდგა. მეორეც თუ ასევე წავიდა ძალიან გამიხარდება
პერსონაჟები კარგადაა გახსნილი. განსაკუთრებით მეორეხარისხოვანი პერსონჟები "კეთილების" თუ "ბოროტების".
და რათმქაუნდა რომელი კარგად მოყოლილი ამბავი ჩაივლიდა most belowed race-ს ჰალფლინგების გარეშე. აქაც გენიალური ჰალფლინგი პერსონაჟია <3
მოკლედ კარგი წიგნი გამოდგა. მეორეც თუ ასევე წავიდა ძალიან გამიხარდება
March 16, 2015
Short Version: I highly recommend this book to any fan of the Fantasy genre that is looking for a tight action packed story. The characters are well crafted and feel real. The combat is well written and avoids becoming boring or over-used. The only real knock I can give the story is that there are a number of scenes where characters indicate events from a previous series without going into much depth about what happened. It's done well enough though that you can figure out the key points.
Detailed Version: I've recently picked up role playing again and was looking for something to help me get a feel for the world our game is set in (Forgotten Realms). I'd read the first 3 books in the Drizzt series and thought they were pretty good but wanted something else. I had heard good things about this trilogy from a friend and decided to give it a shot, which I'm super happy I did.
There are three main characters and a squad of 5 baddies (though only two have much personality). The protagonists of the story are fleshed out well and the tension between them compliments the story well. The internal strife of fighting for morality while battling the bad guys is well done as well. I really liked that there was flexibility to the characters' morality.
Usually with fantasy books you are stuck with a paladin or equally moralistic lead who pontificates about right and wrong while grating on my nerves and being unrealistic. With Cale and his crew things are much more pragmatic. Not entirely a "the ends justify the means" group, but close enough to allow for some grey areas as to whether what they're doing is right or not.
Each of the lead characters is well crafted, and all of the ones that get any memorable amounts of time, are given his or her own mannerisms, speech patterns, etc. The back and forth between characters is good for a few laughs and sounds like something you would hear from a diverse group like that.
The author also does a good job of incorporating people, places, and things from the D&D universe into the story without making it feel like we're reading a polished up version of somebody's basement gaming session. You aren't inundated with key terms, places, or names either, allowing you to stay in the story instead of looking for references online or in source books.
The only place where the author could have improved was filling in the back story of some key events better. From what is said in the story, I'm pretty sure there is another book series that covers Cale's adventures before this series. He summarizes some of the events but much is made of the dislike between Cale and Jak toward Riven but there's little explanation as to how the three ended up interacting (though I'm sure that was covered in the other series) other than that Jak stabbed Riven.
Beyond that little downside, everything else was great and I really enjoyed the story. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Detailed Version: I've recently picked up role playing again and was looking for something to help me get a feel for the world our game is set in (Forgotten Realms). I'd read the first 3 books in the Drizzt series and thought they were pretty good but wanted something else. I had heard good things about this trilogy from a friend and decided to give it a shot, which I'm super happy I did.
There are three main characters and a squad of 5 baddies (though only two have much personality). The protagonists of the story are fleshed out well and the tension between them compliments the story well. The internal strife of fighting for morality while battling the bad guys is well done as well. I really liked that there was flexibility to the characters' morality.
Usually with fantasy books you are stuck with a paladin or equally moralistic lead who pontificates about right and wrong while grating on my nerves and being unrealistic. With Cale and his crew things are much more pragmatic. Not entirely a "the ends justify the means" group, but close enough to allow for some grey areas as to whether what they're doing is right or not.
Each of the lead characters is well crafted, and all of the ones that get any memorable amounts of time, are given his or her own mannerisms, speech patterns, etc. The back and forth between characters is good for a few laughs and sounds like something you would hear from a diverse group like that.
The author also does a good job of incorporating people, places, and things from the D&D universe into the story without making it feel like we're reading a polished up version of somebody's basement gaming session. You aren't inundated with key terms, places, or names either, allowing you to stay in the story instead of looking for references online or in source books.
The only place where the author could have improved was filling in the back story of some key events better. From what is said in the story, I'm pretty sure there is another book series that covers Cale's adventures before this series. He summarizes some of the events but much is made of the dislike between Cale and Jak toward Riven but there's little explanation as to how the three ended up interacting (though I'm sure that was covered in the other series) other than that Jak stabbed Riven.
Beyond that little downside, everything else was great and I really enjoyed the story. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
December 4, 2013
Throughout my time as an avid reader, I have not known (with the exception of Salvatore's characters) a more morally distraught—although very unique and strong—character. From the very beginning Erevis seems to have some heavy weight on his shoulders, and it only gets heavier as the story progresses. The good and bad inside a man, and the decisions he makes concerning them can really sometimes send a reader's thoughts into places they weren't expecting—reflecting this man's dilemmas on their own, as is easy to do while reading this enthralling tale.
There were new races and creatures that I never knew existed in the Realms, mainly the Shades, who are AWESOME! I won't go into details because I would be writing all day, but it was quite exciting and refreshing to read about them.
I admire Mr. Kemp's ability to capture my mind and send me to places that only he could dream of.
Tip: For those interested the story of Erevis Cale starts (though not necessary to read) with The Halls of Stormweather—just a short story—and then goes to Shadow's Witness and continues in the Erevis Cale Trilogy and ending with The Twilight War Trilogy.
There were new races and creatures that I never knew existed in the Realms, mainly the Shades, who are AWESOME! I won't go into details because I would be writing all day, but it was quite exciting and refreshing to read about them.
I admire Mr. Kemp's ability to capture my mind and send me to places that only he could dream of.
Tip: For those interested the story of Erevis Cale starts (though not necessary to read) with The Halls of Stormweather—just a short story—and then goes to Shadow's Witness and continues in the Erevis Cale Trilogy and ending with The Twilight War Trilogy.
December 23, 2019
Very good book. I found the story and the characters captivating. I only wish I had more time to read it as it took me longer then I would have like to get through it. The book was much better then the books about Elminster that I had read before.
May 24, 2012
I would characterize this book as "just good enough." It was just good enough for me to keep reading it and just good enough for me to be intrigued at how the rest of the trilogy might play out. I really enjoyed the Sembia series that spawned Erevis Cale, which led me to try this trilogy. Again, this wasn't a bad book, but it was pretty slow in parts and, while I'm sure the author is building characters for the final two books, they seem a bit hard to read at times. The one thing this book does have going for it, though, is a punch in the gut of an ending. Despite the averageness of this novel, I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out for Cale and his party.
September 13, 2018
After years on a literary hiatus, i took a chance on this in a used book store. This series revived my love for reading. The balance of lovable, albeight begrudgingly (looking at you, Riven) characters, intriguing story and worldbuilding drew me in from the first to last page, through the shadowstorm to elgrin fau, to the abbey of the rose and down to the realm of mephisopheles himself. That is one rollercoster I have, and will, ride over and over again.
May 24, 2012
Twilight Falling (good title) is the first book in the Erevis Cale trilogy. There is so much I want to talk about, especially the last 30 or so pages. But, for obvious reasons I'm not going to go THAT far. so all I will tell is it's such a great book that leaves you wanting more....also the chacter scheme gives the chacters flesh and blood (life)
July 19, 2017
Μου φάνηκε λίγο καλύτερο από τις συνήθεις σαλβατοριές, αν και έχει ακόμη το φίλινγκ των φου-ρου. Μιας και κάθε καλοκαίρι πλέον διαβάζω κι από ένα πακετάκι τέτοιο, είπα φέτος να το ρίξω στην κουλτούρα. Θα συνεχίσω με τα άλλα δύο της τριλογίας και του χρόνου θα πιάσω το Avatar Trilogy, να δω κι εγώ τι στο καλό είναι αυτός ο Σάιρικ τελικά.
August 18, 2020
Twilight Falling starts off fantastic of course. The intrigue is deep and there is only one man for the job: Erevis Cale. The firat pages tout gods, madmen, assassins, and demons, soyou know it will be exciting. The villain is Vraggen.
This is a sequel to the Sembia series so I recommend you start there, if you don’t want to read all 7, read Shadow’s Witness at least, and Lord of Stormweather between the two would be even better than just the one book.
While reading FR novels I stop costa ty to take notes or look things up on the wiki. One thing nice about Drizzt novels is most the notes are already take for me because of their popularity.
Cake us resolved to leave Stormweather and the service of House Uskevren but that proves hard when a band of fanatics endanger the residents of Stormweather in their schemes to find the Fane of Shadows?
Fun fact: on page 109 of Twilight Falling that there are intact dung sweepers in Selgaunt and that they are not only in Waterdeep.
Funnily the whole story involving Cale and Riven was by Vraggen’s miscalculation, thinking they were already involved somehow and trying to push them out of the picture. He even realizes this fault but the error is still his doom of course.
Great characters in Cale, Riven, and Jak as well as Vraggen, Dalgor, Azriim and Sephris
This is a fantastic novel, one any fantasy fan, Dungeons & Dragons dans or Forgotten Realms fans should read. From start to finish it is an exhilarating ride.
It does end on a cliffhanger though, but it’s well deserved.
This is a sequel to the Sembia series so I recommend you start there, if you don’t want to read all 7, read Shadow’s Witness at least, and Lord of Stormweather between the two would be even better than just the one book.
While reading FR novels I stop costa ty to take notes or look things up on the wiki. One thing nice about Drizzt novels is most the notes are already take for me because of their popularity.
Cake us resolved to leave Stormweather and the service of House Uskevren but that proves hard when a band of fanatics endanger the residents of Stormweather in their schemes to find the Fane of Shadows?
Fun fact: on page 109 of Twilight Falling that there are intact dung sweepers in Selgaunt and that they are not only in Waterdeep.
Funnily the whole story involving Cale and Riven was by Vraggen’s miscalculation, thinking they were already involved somehow and trying to push them out of the picture. He even realizes this fault but the error is still his doom of course.
Great characters in Cale, Riven, and Jak as well as Vraggen, Dalgor, Azriim and Sephris
This is a fantastic novel, one any fantasy fan, Dungeons & Dragons dans or Forgotten Realms fans should read. From start to finish it is an exhilarating ride.
It does end on a cliffhanger though, but it’s well deserved.
July 31, 2017
I hovered between 3 and 4 stars with this one. I'll be generous and give it 4. Part of the problem also might have been due to the mediocre narration of the audiobook.
I think the synopsis is poor and doesn't seem to hardly fit the book. This is a D&D based adventure where a party of three adventurer types have to go up against a group of baddies. Some of the writing seemed so utterly dry and the beginning, while at some points seemed to expect the reader to know all about this character, had awful info dumps.
The main character is a dark mage assassin type. He works with another dark assassin that he used to be in the same guild with, as well as a healing halfling rogue. The enemies consist of a very large bruiser type, yet another assassin mage, and another mage. They turn out to be even worse, but the bulk of the book is the bad guys trying to get this sphere thing that is a map to a time and place so the human mage can become one with the shadows, etc etc. Lots of fighting scenes, some pretty poor excuse for why our main hero is chasing them (to save one barely named young guard that was kidnapped).
It did get better as it went on, and the fight scenes were pretty good. At times I wasn't sure if the writing was just amateurish (not unusual for this type of book) or the narrator was just boring. I think it's worth trying the second book in the series. The ending of this one was almost the namesake of a cliffhanger.
I think the synopsis is poor and doesn't seem to hardly fit the book. This is a D&D based adventure where a party of three adventurer types have to go up against a group of baddies. Some of the writing seemed so utterly dry and the beginning, while at some points seemed to expect the reader to know all about this character, had awful info dumps.
The main character is a dark mage assassin type. He works with another dark assassin that he used to be in the same guild with, as well as a healing halfling rogue. The enemies consist of a very large bruiser type, yet another assassin mage, and another mage. They turn out to be even worse, but the bulk of the book is the bad guys trying to get this sphere thing that is a map to a time and place so the human mage can become one with the shadows, etc etc. Lots of fighting scenes, some pretty poor excuse for why our main hero is chasing them (to save one barely named young guard that was kidnapped).
It did get better as it went on, and the fight scenes were pretty good. At times I wasn't sure if the writing was just amateurish (not unusual for this type of book) or the narrator was just boring. I think it's worth trying the second book in the series. The ending of this one was almost the namesake of a cliffhanger.
March 5, 2025
Βάζω 3,5 αστέρια για το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Να ξεκαθαρίσω ότι είναι το πρώτο μου βιβλίο της σειράς Forgotten realms και δεν είχα την παραμικρή ιδέα απ' την συγκεκριμένη σειρά.
Θετικά στοιχεία:
Θεωρώ ότι είναι ένα καλό βιβλίο με συνεχόμενη δράση, δεν κάνει κοιλιά η πλοκή πουθενά. Έχει λίγους χαρακτήρες που θα συναντήσεις στο βιβλίο, οι καλοί και οι κακοί, οπότε δεν έχεις και πολλά ονόματα να θυμάσαι. Είναι ευανάγνωστο και οι σελίδες περνάνε γρήγορα.
Αρνητικά στοιχεία:
Τα 3 μεγάλα αρνητικά στοιχεία που έχει και με πείραξαν περισσότερο είναι ότι: 1 οι χαρακτήρες που κάνουν χρήση μαγικών ξορκιων δεν έχουν καμία "επίπτωση" πάνω τους. Για παράδειγμα να εξαντλούνται ή να νιώθουν κάποιο είδος πόνου. Σε κάθε μάχη που διεξάγεται χρησιμοποιουν όσα ξόρκια θέλουν κάνοντας την πλοκή κάπως προβλέψιμη.
2: Οι μάχες είναι λίγο-πολύ επίσης προβλέψιμες και επαναλαμβανόμενες. Θα μαζευτούν οι καλοί και οι κακοί, θα γίνει η μάχη και πάντα στο τέλος θα νικήσουν οι καλοί. Καταντάει κάπως έτσι να είναι λίγο βαρετό και να μην έχει ουσία η μάχη γιατί το ξέρεις εκ τον υστέρων τι θα γίνει στο τέλος.
3: Οι χαρακτήρες έχουν πολύ συχνά ένα είδος έκφρασης π.χ "οργής, θλίψης,θυμού" που δεν αλλάξει καθ όλοι την διάρκεια του βιβλίου. Με αυτό των τρόπο δεν ξεδιπλώνονται περαιτέρω οι χαρακτήρες, όπως επίσης είναι μονότονα σκληρή και οργισμένη.
Καλό βιβλίο, θα το πρότεινα σε κάποιων ανήλικο που θα ήθελε να διαβάσει κάτι περιπετειώδες αλλά μέχρι εκεί. Δεν είναι για ποιο μεγάλες ηλικίες.
Θετικά στοιχεία:
Θεωρώ ότι είναι ένα καλό βιβλίο με συνεχόμενη δράση, δεν κάνει κοιλιά η πλοκή πουθενά. Έχει λίγους χαρακτήρες που θα συναντήσεις στο βιβλίο, οι καλοί και οι κακοί, οπότε δεν έχεις και πολλά ονόματα να θυμάσαι. Είναι ευανάγνωστο και οι σελίδες περνάνε γρήγορα.
Αρνητικά στοιχεία:
Τα 3 μεγάλα αρνητικά στοιχεία που έχει και με πείραξαν περισσότερο είναι ότι: 1 οι χαρακτήρες που κάνουν χρήση μαγικών ξορκιων δεν έχουν καμία "επίπτωση" πάνω τους. Για παράδειγμα να εξαντλούνται ή να νιώθουν κάποιο είδος πόνου. Σε κάθε μάχη που διεξάγεται χρησιμοποιουν όσα ξόρκια θέλουν κάνοντας την πλοκή κάπως προβλέψιμη.
2: Οι μάχες είναι λίγο-πολύ επίσης προβλέψιμες και επαναλαμβανόμενες. Θα μαζευτούν οι καλοί και οι κακοί, θα γίνει η μάχη και πάντα στο τέλος θα νικήσουν οι καλοί. Καταντάει κάπως έτσι να είναι λίγο βαρετό και να μην έχει ουσία η μάχη γιατί το ξέρεις εκ τον υστέρων τι θα γίνει στο τέλος.
3: Οι χαρακτήρες έχουν πολύ συχνά ένα είδος έκφρασης π.χ "οργής, θλίψης,θυμού" που δεν αλλάξει καθ όλοι την διάρκεια του βιβλίου. Με αυτό των τρόπο δεν ξεδιπλώνονται περαιτέρω οι χαρακτήρες, όπως επίσης είναι μονότονα σκληρή και οργισμένη.
Καλό βιβλίο, θα το πρότεινα σε κάποιων ανήλικο που θα ήθελε να διαβάσει κάτι περιπετειώδες αλλά μέχρι εκεί. Δεν είναι για ποιο μεγάλες ηλικίες.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2018
This is pretty good for a Forgotten Realms novel. That isn’t high praise, but it was entertaining enough that I’ll be reading the next book in the trilogy rather than abandoning it as the bland, derivative trash with overpowered magic and amateurish plotting that is the majority of FR books I have tried to read.
This trilogy plunges us into the shady underworld of the Forgotten Realms with assassin/priest-turned-butler (though that doesn’t last long) Erevis Cale as our protagonist. Once we clean up some loose ends from a previous book, Erevis and some associates get sucked into a quest that is mostly about vengeance but has a mysterious artifact, some shadowy gods, etc. mixed up in it as well.
The book seems to be primarily a way of assembling the adventuring party and giving them a main objective for the rest of the trilogy. Cale is an interesting character as he serves a shadowy god and has a dark/violent past but generally tries to do what is right…a path that I suspect will become increasingly difficult given events at the end of this book. He doesn’t seem to be a direct ripoff of a well-known character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, or Michael Moorcock, so I appreciate him and am curious to see what happens to him.
There was still some of the usual FR nonsense that could be fixed by a decent editor (quite a few typos, a character taking something in his hands just moments after losing a hand, characters staring into each other’s eyes in magical darkness that we have just been told only one of them can see through, etc.). However, it was decent escapist dark fantasy that I look forward to continuing
This trilogy plunges us into the shady underworld of the Forgotten Realms with assassin/priest-turned-butler (though that doesn’t last long) Erevis Cale as our protagonist. Once we clean up some loose ends from a previous book, Erevis and some associates get sucked into a quest that is mostly about vengeance but has a mysterious artifact, some shadowy gods, etc. mixed up in it as well.
The book seems to be primarily a way of assembling the adventuring party and giving them a main objective for the rest of the trilogy. Cale is an interesting character as he serves a shadowy god and has a dark/violent past but generally tries to do what is right…a path that I suspect will become increasingly difficult given events at the end of this book. He doesn’t seem to be a direct ripoff of a well-known character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, or Michael Moorcock, so I appreciate him and am curious to see what happens to him.
There was still some of the usual FR nonsense that could be fixed by a decent editor (quite a few typos, a character taking something in his hands just moments after losing a hand, characters staring into each other’s eyes in magical darkness that we have just been told only one of them can see through, etc.). However, it was decent escapist dark fantasy that I look forward to continuing
April 12, 2024
1. A lot of sexism in this one, considering it's only 300 pages long.
Some examples:
The main character is for some reason very surprised to discover that the attack on his lord's mansion is actually led by a woman.
The only female character of note is one of the four shapeshifting monsters, and she is (of course) the one who gets killed.
2. Mediocre writing, lots of typos.
3. Magadon. Why would he join Cale and his merry band? Why is he willing to die with them? He has some sort of history with Riven, but is it really enough?
4. The first half of the book is slow-going and rather predictable. The ending was interesting, but it is not enough to redeem this book.
Some examples:
"You never leave enemies alive behind you. Never. You'd see that if you stopped thinking like a woman".
"We'll track Cale and Riven for a few days. Once we've located the globe, we kill them and take it. <...> We'll need to invovlve a few more men".
"I know just the woman", said Azriim with a smile.
Vraggen <...> wasn't sure this was woman's work.
The main character is for some reason very surprised to discover that the attack on his lord's mansion is actually led by a woman.
The only female character of note is one of the four shapeshifting monsters, and she is (of course) the one who gets killed.
2. Mediocre writing, lots of typos.
3. Magadon. Why would he join Cale and his merry band? Why is he willing to die with them? He has some sort of history with Riven, but is it really enough?
4. The first half of the book is slow-going and rather predictable. The ending was interesting, but it is not enough to redeem this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2024
It's not an utterly terrible book like the two stars might suggest but this book has very wooden writing and a plotline that doesn't really speak to me. The entire book is written like a dnd campaign or even one of the player manuals with spell descriptions lifted from the rulebooks. There's a lot of phrases like "a beam emanated from his hands not larger in diameter than 3 feet" or "he spoke the words to a spell that would render himself invisible and unhearable for not longer than an hour." The plot has a lot of hostages, weird behavior (almost compulsive smiling and winking from the bad guys) and callbacks to character lore (which seems to add depth but is actually quite shallow because it's like three events.)
All these flaws considered I enjoyed the books, they were worth listening to while stuck in traffic and I wanted to know how things would shake out. The plot through a few wrenches into what I expected and I plan on reading more of these, but if you're looking for good literature and not interested in dnd these books are very bad from a technical standpoint.
All these flaws considered I enjoyed the books, they were worth listening to while stuck in traffic and I wanted to know how things would shake out. The plot through a few wrenches into what I expected and I plan on reading more of these, but if you're looking for good literature and not interested in dnd these books are very bad from a technical standpoint.
November 18, 2013
Goodreads gave this book greater than 4 stars. With that kind of rating, I opened this book eagerly waiting to be regaled by a new world or some kind of crazy plot or a different magic system or, or something that would at least make me nod in understanding why this book was rated so highly.
Instead... I opened the book to 400 pages of disappointment.
I had a lot of major problems with this book. The "in medias res", the telling-not-showing, the nature of the characters, the character dynamics, the lack of coherency in the world, the villains... and I think I can make this list go on longer, but I don't think I will in interest of time.
The book starts off "in medias res" with Cale, our assassin-butler main character. And already there's a major problem. We never see this guy as a real butler. Instead the author tells us he was an assassin who became a butler, but now that his master died, he'll have to use his assassin skills again. Soooo.... what was the point of him being a butler again? It's a very strange place to dump the reader to get to know this character.
Next, I utterly hate these characters because none of them actually hold up to their given status. Assassins? PLEASE. They act more like soldiers. Aren't assassins supposed to use deception and kill subtly? Instead these characters go around slashing and hacking and fighting duels. So again, what is the point of them being assassins? It's as if Kemp thought "oh hey, it'd be cool my story had an assassin or two. But.. they still have to fight duels and throw manly punches because those are cool too, even though an assassin wouldn't do that. Oh well, the readers won't figure that out."
Well, NO I DON'T THINK SO. You can't just tell me that they're assassins and then expect me to take that as truth. You've got to show it to me in their actions and in their thinking. But nope, instead we've got Cale and Riven acting like they don't normally kill people for a living (please, Cale can't even torture someone? What, how did he even survive as an assassin?).
And all that abuse that Riven takes from the Cale and Fleet? Good grief, why did Riven even stay? There is no chemistry between these characters. There is nothing that I would imagine to make them friends. They're just characters that have to interact with each other for the sake of the plot. And the end where Riven realizes his loyalty to Cale, I had to roll my eyes and laugh otherwise I might have chucked this book out my window.
See? Already the characters were a big fat minus. But even beyond that, the world and magic was lacking as well. I got no sense of what kind of world they lived in. There is nothing that stands out or makes it unique. Just like the magic. Hurr durr, yeah there's magic. And we don't even get the basics of how it works. Does it take energy or strength? The magic seems so random - someone has the power of mind control, the Mask can give other powers. But how does it work? Why does it work? Can anyone use it? Nothing is explained, everything must be taken at face value. Well, no. I don't like that because if you don't explain how the magic works, then it's almost like a deus ex machina that you can use anytime you want. All of a sudden it's revealed that another character can somehow do this cool thing because of "magic"! What? You can't randomly drop powers into a book unless there is some basis. And then demon magic. What is that? What are the limitations, what are the costs? Why don't we know anything?
As for the gods and religion, what is the Mask? Who are the prophets? Why are they chosen? None of this stuff is explained. There is just no depth to this story! I am so infuriated. And no, you cannot tell me it'll be explained later in the series. This is the mark of a shallow world if you can't explain some things in the first book. It's confusing, not mysterious.
As the book seemed to accumulate more and more flaws in my eyes, I grew less and less interested. To the point where I gave up 300 pages in and then flipped through the rest of the pages to see the climax. Hmmm yeah. That would have been anger-inducing if I cared a modicum for these lackluster characters. Good thing I didn't, right?
Basically, this book is a parody of a great fantasy novel. It has all the right components in summary. Assassins with a conscience, a mysterious object that could destroy the world, a rival-turned-friend, strange magic and a god that gives strange talents, demons, villains. Oh yeah, there's a reason why I picked up this book with high hopes. But y'know what? All of those great components mean nothing because they're placed in this book without depth or thought, as if Kemp is just checking off boxes on his list. Yep yep readers will love it because of these fantasy buzz words!
I don't see the depth in this story. In the characters, in the world, in the magic or gods, anything. It's all very two dimensional to me.
One star. Could not bear to even properly finish this book.
Not recommended for anyone.
I will probably not pick up any other book from this author either.
-edit-
After doing a bit of research and sleuthing (AKA Wikipedia), I found out that this is set in a Dungeons and Dragons world. Ahh, it makes more sense. This is almost like a novel-length fanfiction for a premade game, which explains lack of world building and magic background. It might also explain the strange dilemma of assassins-who-aren't assassins because I think D&D just gives you characters with stats, but are still able to do non-character-like actions.
Regardless, all these things still do not make a good (standalone) novel. The one star stays. But at least I can raise my opinion of the author.
Instead... I opened the book to 400 pages of disappointment.
I had a lot of major problems with this book. The "in medias res", the telling-not-showing, the nature of the characters, the character dynamics, the lack of coherency in the world, the villains... and I think I can make this list go on longer, but I don't think I will in interest of time.
The book starts off "in medias res" with Cale, our assassin-butler main character. And already there's a major problem. We never see this guy as a real butler. Instead the author tells us he was an assassin who became a butler, but now that his master died, he'll have to use his assassin skills again. Soooo.... what was the point of him being a butler again? It's a very strange place to dump the reader to get to know this character.
Next, I utterly hate these characters because none of them actually hold up to their given status. Assassins? PLEASE. They act more like soldiers. Aren't assassins supposed to use deception and kill subtly? Instead these characters go around slashing and hacking and fighting duels. So again, what is the point of them being assassins? It's as if Kemp thought "oh hey, it'd be cool my story had an assassin or two. But.. they still have to fight duels and throw manly punches because those are cool too, even though an assassin wouldn't do that. Oh well, the readers won't figure that out."
Well, NO I DON'T THINK SO. You can't just tell me that they're assassins and then expect me to take that as truth. You've got to show it to me in their actions and in their thinking. But nope, instead we've got Cale and Riven acting like they don't normally kill people for a living (please, Cale can't even torture someone? What, how did he even survive as an assassin?).
And all that abuse that Riven takes from the Cale and Fleet? Good grief, why did Riven even stay? There is no chemistry between these characters. There is nothing that I would imagine to make them friends. They're just characters that have to interact with each other for the sake of the plot. And the end where Riven realizes his loyalty to Cale, I had to roll my eyes and laugh otherwise I might have chucked this book out my window.
See? Already the characters were a big fat minus. But even beyond that, the world and magic was lacking as well. I got no sense of what kind of world they lived in. There is nothing that stands out or makes it unique. Just like the magic. Hurr durr, yeah there's magic. And we don't even get the basics of how it works. Does it take energy or strength? The magic seems so random - someone has the power of mind control, the Mask can give other powers. But how does it work? Why does it work? Can anyone use it? Nothing is explained, everything must be taken at face value. Well, no. I don't like that because if you don't explain how the magic works, then it's almost like a deus ex machina that you can use anytime you want. All of a sudden it's revealed that another character can somehow do this cool thing because of "magic"! What? You can't randomly drop powers into a book unless there is some basis. And then demon magic. What is that? What are the limitations, what are the costs? Why don't we know anything?
As for the gods and religion, what is the Mask? Who are the prophets? Why are they chosen? None of this stuff is explained. There is just no depth to this story! I am so infuriated. And no, you cannot tell me it'll be explained later in the series. This is the mark of a shallow world if you can't explain some things in the first book. It's confusing, not mysterious.
As the book seemed to accumulate more and more flaws in my eyes, I grew less and less interested. To the point where I gave up 300 pages in and then flipped through the rest of the pages to see the climax. Hmmm yeah. That would have been anger-inducing if I cared a modicum for these lackluster characters. Good thing I didn't, right?
Basically, this book is a parody of a great fantasy novel. It has all the right components in summary. Assassins with a conscience, a mysterious object that could destroy the world, a rival-turned-friend, strange magic and a god that gives strange talents, demons, villains. Oh yeah, there's a reason why I picked up this book with high hopes. But y'know what? All of those great components mean nothing because they're placed in this book without depth or thought, as if Kemp is just checking off boxes on his list. Yep yep readers will love it because of these fantasy buzz words!
I don't see the depth in this story. In the characters, in the world, in the magic or gods, anything. It's all very two dimensional to me.
One star. Could not bear to even properly finish this book.
Not recommended for anyone.
I will probably not pick up any other book from this author either.
-edit-
After doing a bit of research and sleuthing (AKA Wikipedia), I found out that this is set in a Dungeons and Dragons world. Ahh, it makes more sense. This is almost like a novel-length fanfiction for a premade game, which explains lack of world building and magic background. It might also explain the strange dilemma of assassins-who-aren't assassins because I think D&D just gives you characters with stats, but are still able to do non-character-like actions.
Regardless, all these things still do not make a good (standalone) novel. The one star stays. But at least I can raise my opinion of the author.
March 1, 2022
This was my first “Forgotten Realms” novel. Did I like it? Yes absolutely, but with conditions. If you’re a newbie like me, read this on kindle if you can. You can look up the various gods and locations in this world. I like it, but if I didn’t have that advantage, I don’t think l would’ve liked it as much.
So our protagonist is a butler/assassin that gets involved in some mages plan involving a star globe of some kind. The henchman of this evil mage is what drew me in. They are pure evil to the core in that fantasy anime aspect.
The action is there with some fair but good pacing. This is the first in a trilogy, and you will want to read the next one immediately, because I do. If you like fantasy, give it a read.
So our protagonist is a butler/assassin that gets involved in some mages plan involving a star globe of some kind. The henchman of this evil mage is what drew me in. They are pure evil to the core in that fantasy anime aspect.
The action is there with some fair but good pacing. This is the first in a trilogy, and you will want to read the next one immediately, because I do. If you like fantasy, give it a read.
December 13, 2017
To bolo dobré. Úplne sa mi vrátili vzpomienky na môjho halflong trieda v Neverwinter nights. Celu knižku som si verne živo predstavoval na monitore počítača.
Erevis Cale je bývalý zabijak, ktorý zanechal remesla a robil majordoma v šľachtickom sídle. O jeho minulosti neviem takmer nič, iba že slúži temnému bohovi - maske. Zhodou okolností jeho zosnulý pán vlastní istý artefakt, po ktorom priahne odpadky mág Vraggen a jeho pomocníci. Erevis sa dostáva do víru udalostí spolu s Rozklanom, súperiacim zabijakom, a bývalým verným partnerom Jakom, halfling thiefom/mágom. Akože dualclass :)
Na konci cliffhanger ako sviňa a už sa teším na dvojku.
Ak nebolo to na jednotku s hviezdičkou.
Erevis Cale je bývalý zabijak, ktorý zanechal remesla a robil majordoma v šľachtickom sídle. O jeho minulosti neviem takmer nič, iba že slúži temnému bohovi - maske. Zhodou okolností jeho zosnulý pán vlastní istý artefakt, po ktorom priahne odpadky mág Vraggen a jeho pomocníci. Erevis sa dostáva do víru udalostí spolu s Rozklanom, súperiacim zabijakom, a bývalým verným partnerom Jakom, halfling thiefom/mágom. Akože dualclass :)
Na konci cliffhanger ako sviňa a už sa teším na dvojku.
Ak nebolo to na jednotku s hviezdičkou.
July 19, 2021
After a long break from Forgotten Realms bibliography, I decided to start reading some books since I started DMing a campaign set in Sword Coast last year. After starting again from the point I had left the adventures of Drizzt and come April of this year I was growing tired of them.
I had a friend suggest Erevis Cale to me a lot of years back and decided to switch it up and picked up the whole trilogy. I haven't been able to put it down.
Surprisingly well written and interesting, Paul S. Kemp really worked wonders in his first book, it has been ages since I enjoyed a Forgotten Realms novel this much. Do yourselves a favour and if you're a fan of FR, pick this up and give it a try.
I had a friend suggest Erevis Cale to me a lot of years back and decided to switch it up and picked up the whole trilogy. I haven't been able to put it down.
Surprisingly well written and interesting, Paul S. Kemp really worked wonders in his first book, it has been ages since I enjoyed a Forgotten Realms novel this much. Do yourselves a favour and if you're a fan of FR, pick this up and give it a try.
January 1, 2022
It was not too bad, but is was not particularly good either.
I don't have any major criticism, you get D&D/Forgotten Realms, and if you expect something else look elsewhere. I wouldn't recommend this one if you haven't read any other of the Forgotten Realms books, I believe there are better ones to start with; neither would I recommend this book if you want really good fantasy.
One piece of criticism: What pulled me out of my "immersion" from time to time was the language used, it sometimes just didn't fit the genre, it came across as too modern.
I don't have any major criticism, you get D&D/Forgotten Realms, and if you expect something else look elsewhere. I wouldn't recommend this one if you haven't read any other of the Forgotten Realms books, I believe there are better ones to start with; neither would I recommend this book if you want really good fantasy.
One piece of criticism: What pulled me out of my "immersion" from time to time was the language used, it sometimes just didn't fit the genre, it came across as too modern.
July 22, 2024
If you've read any other review you know this ends in a big cliffhanger, so there's that. With that out of the way, this was a pleasure to read, I kept calling it "that trashy early-2000s DnD novel I'm reading" but I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. The writing is competent, the characters are exactly who you'd expect them to be but executed really well and the plot moves at a brisk pace. It's got some fun fights, it's got some edgy heroes, it's got some evil freaks, what else would you be here for.
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