The Adversary

Last seen in Lesser Evils, 'tis another tale of tiefling twins and their family and friends (and not-so friends). This time out, we get more of almost the entire cast of the last two books. The only exceptions I can think of are Tam (who has a part, but sits out the main adventure) and his daughter who was in book two.

I enjoyed the story, and still love the characters. It gets a little confusing at times, and there are constant deals, tensions, conflicts, and bonds left and right. Skipping ahead over seven years (a horrible way to "time travel") is interesting, and shakes up some of the dynamics.

Technically, I have a few issues. Each chapter gets a little a little scene that... appears to take place in a very specific period in the book, and the prologue also takes place later than where the story picks up in the first chapter - which drops an interesting scene right on the reader, but seems to miss the point of a prologue. You can also see some elements that are probably being shaped by the setting changes being rolled out for the Forgotten Realms with the edition change that seems to be coming up including the movements of major factions and the appearance of chosen of the gods - likely the reason for the time skip. Also, for a book based in a D&D setting, communication between main characters still lacks and the party gets split a lot. ;)

But mostly, I want to read more. I want to see where things go with Havilar and Brin now that they've admitted they love one another, but he's tied up in royal obligations. I want to see if Lorcan's actions toward Farideh remain based on self-interest or if he's actually being a little more "human." I want to see if Dahl comes to terms with his religious connections. There are also several other threads brought up with Sairche, Bryseis Kakistos, and more...

Comments

  1. marinredwolfJanuary 12, 2014 at 9:33 AM

    Side note: Out of curiosity, I tracked down the author's blog and read through some posts about the books and the characters. In the process, I learned something I didn't realize reading the books. Mehen is gay. That's never stated, but knowing that's the case, everything fits. All the clues are there, if read a certain way. And it doesn't come across as hidden so much as just not an important detail to the stories. Mehen doesn't go on about his history so much. I find it interesting to read the author's comments that she conceived of the character that way and wouldn't change that part, even though it wasn't particularly accepted when she started. And I'm pleased to hear that things have changed enough that she can point it out now. What bugs me is that I find myself asking "why didn't I see that?" Is it because I was simply wrapped up in the story and didn't ask what the little details of Mehen's history meant? Or is it because the thought of a gay character in a relatively mainstream (D&D tie-in, no less) novel seems so alien that it never registered as a possibility? Or something else? I'm not sure. Probably a combination of a lot of little things. Curious...

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