is the fifth book in the 'Dance' series by Author David Dalglish, the previous being Dance of Cloaks, Dance of Blades, Dance of Mirrors and Dance of Shadows.
My review is a comment on the series to date rather than any single novel, The series is centered around an assassin with a conscience and the people that interact with him, The interaction generally ends badly for those he does not like, 'Dance' is a solid adventure series and is wellwritten, The characters generate sufficient interest that you want to know what happens to them, Hence, I am looking forward to the next in the series A Dance of Chaos, What a wonderfully enjoyable read this was, There is an undercurrent of darkness which is brought about by the plot and the characters themselves, I especially liked the way the characters interacted with each other, it was a joy to read,
It definitely feels like something really big is going to happen in the next and last book and this one was preparing the path well.
There is a lot more in depth relationships explored with the main characters which I also appreciated, I would have given this astar rating if it werent for the random appearance of Orcs, Maybe this is an introduction to them to another of Dalglishs books, .
I could say more about the Watcher and his complex relationships with the other characters, but it really would spoil the fun.
. ! David Dalglish doesn't write the most mentally challenging books, Of course, I can't say that withcertainty since I've only read this Shadowdance series and none of his others, In this book the author tried to set up the next book, which is the only thing that worked for him,
Hearn, the Watcher, I discovered, is Batman, I mean, he prowls the rooftops targeting the criminal empires of the capital city wearing a black and grey cloak, hood pulled down to hide everything but his chin.
If that doesn't describe Batman, who does it describe The only real difference beteen the characters is, Hearn is rebelling against his father, instead of avenging him, and uses swords to set the peace.
Otherwise, they're the same person but without all of Batman's depth,
Alyssa I don't know if David Dalglish just hates women or if he just hates Alyssa, but as someone who was raised to take over the family fortune, she sure isn't very smart.
She shows absolutely no business acumen and makes mistake after mistake after mistake, It's like the woman has never considered the future further than her nose, I'd really hoped she would have been killed off or written out by the end of the first book, but she still bores us with her pages.
I mean, how can one of the wealthiest people in the entire world not be smart enough to recognize when her house guards are being replaced by someone else's, supposedly with that someone else's loyalties and not her own that when a murderer came for her she should have found a guard, not gone after heryear old son or that, as she likes to claim, being a target for just about everyone, she hasn't done anything in her twentysome years to defend herself other than hire more guards Even though her best friend and only true ally is an assassin, she's never learned the most basic selfdefense tools and usually needs those skills when the assassin is gone.
And then, to show us how stupid she is, she makes a decision that sends the assassin away from her, I would think, someone running a financial empire larger than the king's, would have a little more sense about them,
In this book we learn a little more of Thren's motivations, which is good, He has
the potential to be a great character is he grows, but as we've seen from book, his character hasn't grown too much in the "years" that have passed.
In the previous book we saw a spark of character development when he donned the Watcher's garb and defended the city when the Watcher was incapacitated, but that was it.
The one thing Dalglish did do in this book he didn't in most of the others was set up a future story, so hopefully we'll see Thren get some more POV time.
Seriously, a king this cowardly would have been deposed of by his own people by now, His whining and hiding would have seen to that, And for someone who's terrified all the time, I'm surprised he didn't have any magical protections or a chief mage to ward his castle against intruders.
Instead he hides behind his walls and lets his city and we have to assume, kingdom be taken over by invaders,
Zusa is an interesting character and one of the most interesting, by far, While she always seems to disappear when she's needed most, she also doesn't have a lot of common sense running through her veins.
Hell, the only one who does seem to grow as a character is Ghost and he's a minor character, I'd really like to have seen him do more,
The one good thing Dalglish did do with this book, and the previous one, was set up some subterfuge, Circles within circles. While the Watcher and Thren are looking left, all the real pivotal plot points are happening to the left, And he's showing us the "bad" guy might not be that bad at all, Different goals, would be the best way of describing it, Thren wants to secure his dominion over the criminal world the Watcher wants to have peace Alyssa wants security for her and her son and Zusa just wants a place to call home.
And, as it turns out, the Darkhand and his criminal empire are just another piece on the board of a larger game, That's what Dalglish did well here,
I can't really say "OMG, you have to read this!" What I can say is, if you want an easy read without too much thinking, give this series a try.
For me it falls along the same level of mental prowess as The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist, Which isn't bad, it's just not great, This is the fifth book into a series so its limited what I can say without giving away too much, Ive been reading the Shadowdance series for a while now and I enjoy them for being quick reads set in a fantasy world that I do enjoy.
I really like the main characters and Ive come to love a lot of the side characters as well, That said it felt like A Dance of Ghosts was suffering from being the fifth in a series that ends with the sixth book.
Its not a bad book but not a lot happens, The few issues that take place are resolved quickly and without too much drama, It felt a little bit too easy and the plot was lacking a bit compared to the previous books, I know that Shadowdance is just part of David Dalglishs larger fantasy world, but I just personally think its too late to introduce new races such as elves and orcs.
It should have been mentioned in the first book, It feels like the whole setting is being changed and Im not a fan of that, "I will leave you with a graveyard of fire and death before I let you pretend to be it's god" Thren Felhorn
David Dalglish is back with theth book in The Shadowdance Series.
Unsurprisingly, for the umpteenth time, Veldaren, is once again under siege, The Thief Guilds are dead, with the exception of the Ash Guild, and only one Guild rules all over the city, The Sun Guild, led by Muzien The Darkhand.
This time, neither Thren Felhorn and The Watcher are there to suppress the occupation but rather the duo are out on a road trip in hopes to learn more about Karak's Dark Paladins.
With only Alyssa Gemcroft, Lord Victor Kane and The King to deal with the Darkhand's occupation, how will they handle Muzien's plans for the city
Being theth book in the series, A Dance of Ghost serves as the calm before the storm.
Not that it's a still and quiet book but rather compared to previous books, It has a solemn feel to it, Muzien's take over of Veldaren is calculated and done in such a masterful way compared to previous take over, It has moments of bloodshed however there are no soldiers and thieves running amok and less fire on the streets of Veldaren, David Dalglish created an intimidating and unforgettable villain in the form of Muzien, He is calm, and mostly unmoved by any threats that comes his way, Even Thren Felhorn is shadowed by Muzien's presence,
Unfortunately Muzien is possibly the best thing on this book, Ghost makes a return but this point, all interest goes to Muzien, Ghost's arc mostly feels like an "Ok let's just get this over with" moment, It was an uninteresting return but it did serve a a purpose, As Delysia and Hearn's relationship is put to the test thanks to Ghost, A big improvement in this book is the way the female characters were written, specially Delysia, She is written in a much stronger way physically and emotionally, she proved numerous times that she can handle herself in a fight.
Also Zusa shows some emotions in the most shocking way possible likewise Alyssa Gemcroft still proves to be a woman of strong will and would not any man undermine her authority, in fact most of the time Lord Victor Kane is at her mercy.
Thren is still very unpredictable and also greatly improved as he transitions to a villain to a likeable anti hero, That said we're still not forgetting the despicable things he has done in previous books, Ultimately the most disappointing aspect of the book is the lack of Deathmask and his guild, You really miss their presence as they were such a bad ass in the last book, It will make you wonder, "Where the hell are they during Muzien's occupation of the city", Hopefully they will have a huge part to play on theth book but this time, Deathmask fans will without a doubt be disappointed.
All in all A Dance of Ghost is a mediocre book at best, that said it does set up the big finale in terms of theth book.
It is the calm before the storm but it's a readable calm and it will definitely make the reader look forward to the next book.
The Shadowdance series continues in David Dalglishs A Dance of Ghosts, Once again returning to the Veldaren, we find the city in the midst of a power struggle, Muzien Darkhand, sinister leader of the Sun guild, has arrived and is systematically removing all opposition to his unchallenged supremacy of the underworld.
Alyssa Gemcroft struggles to maintain her position in not only the Trifect, but her family as well, and Haern and his father, Thren Felhorn, travel to the Stronghold, religious bastion of the god Karak, to uncover the plots swirling around them and, if successful, foil the plans the priests have for their home, for if Karak prevails, none will make it out alive.
The Shadowdance series is an enjoyable read for those who like actionpacked scenes and skulking through the darkness of night, drawn blade in hand.
While I'm starting to feel that Alyssa's story has just about played out, I really enjoyed the interactions between Haern and his father and, based on the cliffhanger, am excited to see them face off against the gods themselves.
This one felt like a transitional book as it sets things up for the final novel, Still enjoyable though. Yayeeeah!!!
Excellent read, as was every book in this series, I really tried to spread this one out as to avoid the long wait before the next book, but once I would start reading I couldn't put it down.
So, here I am anxiously awaiting Book Six,
Having read the authors self published versions of the previous books, I admit that I did not reread the current editions, However, I didn't have any trouble following the story with the changes that were made, All the characters received adequate page time to understand who they are and why they are, I walked away with new perspectives on familiar characters and their relationships to one another, The plot is thick and juicy with loads of action and drama, and I remain deeply invested in the outcome of this series.
Not to mention the superb writing of David Dalglish, who has created a world in the fantasy genre that I always enjoy visiting as much as i enjoy visiting Skyrim or Westeros.
Excellent read. Fans of the genre should definitely pick this one up, And if you haven't read the other books in the series, you should get started, You're in for a treat,
I feel like a dam trying to burst, . one hole keeps getting plugged and another opening is the way this series is going, I was flying right through this one, it just had a nice natural flow,
The plot in this one gives some answers, but leaves you with just as many unsolved questions, Since the flow was so natural as it was, there wasn't any big surprises for me, What I was most interested in was Haern and Thren, and I'm still not satisfied,
What really stood out, for me, was the character development, There were a lot of character development, some of it was great and some of it I didn't like,
Thren: It was interesting and nice to see more of Thren and his personality,
Haern: An interesting development, but not that surprising to me,
Alyssa: I don't agree with all she does, I hope it will be better in the next book,
Zusa: Still strong,
Victor: That's some character development, I'm curious about how that will go for Victor,
"You pick strange company to keep, Watcher," Thren Felhorn said, stepping out from the trees and into the light of the fire.
Haern grinned at his father,
"Of course I do," he said, "You're here, aren't you",