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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mystery and Adventure - all in one!, March 14, 2008
The Darkwood Mask, by Jeff LaSala, is the fourth (and final?) book in The Inquisitive series, set in the world of Eberron. This is Mr. LaSala's first published novel, but you would never know it from the way he is able to expertly juggle various plotlines simultaneously while preserving the complexities of the story.
Eberron is considered a pulp-fantasy wonderland mixed with a dark nourish twist that creates wonderful opportunities for outlandish adventure plots, or sinister, complex mysteries. What we get in this novel is a little bit of both! The story, as with the previous three books, has as the main character, an Inquisitive, Eberron's version of the great detective. Soneste works for Thuranne d'Valderan's Investigative Services out of Sharn, city of Towers in the land of Breland. Soneste is coming into her own, as she has begun to garner fame for two recent high-profile jobs in which she was responsible for rescuing a royal aide and bringing to justice a serial killer. However, a request from her boss to travel to the neighboring country of Karnnath to help solve the murder of a Brelish aide visiting there leads to a plot that would certainly bring the two nations to war.
The story also involves Tallis, an ex-Karnnathi soldier-turned-renegade whose chief purpose in life is to bring down the enemies of Karnnath, but, at the same time, must hide from Karnnathi officials due to his "Robin-Hood-like" tactics. At first, we are led to believe that this is a straight-forward murder mystery, albeit with some interesting twists and turns. Soneste is a psionic, ability to use mental powers to assist her in her investigations, which doesn't take away from her innate ability to notice her surroundings. She would be a good inquisitive even without her mental talents. Tallis, it seems, is the main suspect in the murder of the Brelish ambassador and those in the Karnnath hierarchy would like nothing more than to see Tallis pinned with this.
However, this is much more than a simple murder, as the story delves deeper and deeper into the unstable political situation between Karnnath and Breland. The story expands to become epic in scope, as Soneste and Tallis must eventually come together, join forces and find out what is happening. The best part, however, is the sleight of hand Mr. LaSala pulls over his readers. In the end, The Darkwood Mask is a simple, sad story of love and family. Family, in fact, is a major theme that runs throughout the novel and is the driving force of each of the major characters.
Speaking of which, the characters, from Soneste and Tallis to Lenrik, Tallis' priest friend and Verdax, the kobold artificer, are fully realized, each adding significantly to the over all storyline and to the main character's arcs as well. The one issue I had with this was the oddly uneven editing job by Wizards of the Coast. A couple of scenes that were obviously longer and more fleshed out by the author seem truncated and choppy in edited form. A couple of misspellings and missing words altogether add to the momentary jarring effect of being taken from the story, but it is a testament to the author's ability that the effect IS only temporary. Pacing is excellent, although, again, the ending seemed a bit abrupt and choppy (as if there was much more to be learned). However, given the opportunity, it would be a thrill to revisit these characters and I will happily purchase Mr. LaSala's next novel, which will hopefully come sooner, rather than later.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another solid debut by a new author, March 19, 2008
The Darkwood Mask, by Jeff LaSala is the fourth and final novel in the Inquisitives series set in the world of Eberron. The other three books are; Bound By Iron: Inquisitives, Book 1 (Inquisitives) by Ed Bolme, Night of Long Shadows: The Inquisitives, Book 2 (The Inquisitives) by Paul Crilley and Legacy Of Wolves: The Inquisitives, Book 3 (The Inquisitives) by Marsheila Rockwell. The Inquisitives series even though it is technically considered a series and all are set in Eberron are actually a series of stand-alone novels that the reader can read in any order or even skip one if they so desire. However, the four authors who worked on this series obviously spent some time together as there are a couple small scenes that directly tie-in to the other books. Perceptive readers find this hidden gem very interesting.
The plot of this novel is rather linear, on the surface anyway. It comes across as a very typical murder/mystery with a couple predictable elements, such as a young up and coming Inquisitor , a murder of a prominent dignitary with political ramifications, we also have a rogue who is a thorn in the local city guard's side who is promptly framed for the murder. As a fan of the fantasy genre, I have read this basic plot numerous times - some better than others. However, what Mr. LaSala does with the bones of this plot really makes it come to life. The added sub plots are near perfect. The political tensions throughout the novel were well done, without being overbearing. There is also a subtle sub plot of the Inquisitor being completely out of her element in another city and country, forcing her to rely on others when she would much rather work alone. Mr. LaSala also does a very good job at teasing the reader with pieces of the plot, such as who really are the villains. All considered it was a solid, well planned plot that Mr. LaSala obviously put a great deal of effort into.
The characters in this novel are all solid. It seems to be a growing trend in the fantasy genre, but this novel is yet another with a female lead character. What seemed rare a couple of years ago, has become anything but. The two main characters, Soneste and Tallis, are well written and interesting. I really appreciated Mr. LaSala's effort to give the characters a back story without it taking precedence over the actual novel. These glimpses of the characters pasts made them much more real, and allows the reader to understand their actions and motivations. The secondary characters such as Verdax, Aegis, Jotrem, and Charoth are all well done. Each is able to add an element to the story without stealing scenes away from the main characters - or the story itself. The character development in this novel is also very well done. Especially for Soneste and Tallis, along with one other character I will not mention because it would be a spoiler. This is one of the few books where I enjoyed every character and was curious about each of their situations.
I do have a couple minor criticisms with this novel.
First, and this has little to do with Mr. LaSala. This book suffers, at times, for poor editing. There are places where words are misspelled, missing, or repeated. While in the grand scheme of things this does not affect the overall story, it was enough to jar me out of the experience a couple times and that was disappointing. A major publisher like WotC should not have this many errors in a novel, especially for a first time author.
Secondly, there are times when (and this could be another editing issue) some scenes seemed to jump around, or the transition from scene to scene was jumpy. Again, little effect on the overall story, but when these issue take a reader out of the reading experience, it is something that needs to be noted.
Lastly, and this is a more personal bias with me than anything. In regards to the character Tallis, everything he goes though in this novel, I would have liked him to be a little more vulnerable and near helpless at times. I am not saying throughout the entire novel, but there are a couple key points where making him vulnerable would have really made his character memorable.
A few things that I really enjoyed with this novel.
First, that Mr. LaSala was able to take a traditional murder/mystery plot and mix it up, add some spices to it, and make it his own. At no time while reading this did I get the feeling he was following a paint-by-numbers outline and just inserting names and places. It felt fresh, new, but most importantly it held my interest throughout.
Second, I enjoyed the balance between character and plot. Instead of the feeling of the plot dragging the characters along, or the characters forging the plot as they moved. There was a nice gently balance of the plot/characters feeding off of one another. It created a harmony between the two that allows the reader to flow with it instead of plodding through the text.
Lastly, Mr. LaSala's prose. He gives readers just enough descriptions to get their imaginations moving, but stops at the point of not allowing any imagination. He lets the reader see the outline of his vision, but the reader is then left to fill in the specific details. That, to me, is a mark of a good writer. I always enjoy the luxury of filling in those little holes with my imagination.
Overall, like with the other Inquisitives novels, this is a truly solid book and one every Eberron fan should read. In fact, I would go insofar as to say the Inquisitives series may very well bring a number of new fans to Eberron. Is it a perfect novel, no. However, for a first time author, such as Mr. LaSala, he has set the bar high for his future work. Work, I am eagerly looking forward to reading. If you are a fantasy fan looking for a different sandbox to play in, consider Eberron and this series. This is yet another wonderful Eberron book I will be recommending to many people.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect blend of fantasy and mystery, March 17, 2008
The Darkwood Mask is an exciting mix of fantasy and mystery. The story revolves around two main characters. Tallis, an ex-soldier, who now lives as a renegade, has been framed for the murder of a foreign ambassador. Soneste, an up-and-coming inquisitive (i.e., a detective) from the ambassador's home country, has been sent to investigate. In addition the author gives us an interesting cast of side-characters who are all memorable in their own way. The characters are both well-written and interesting. As a reader I found myself truly caring about the characters and wanting to learn more about them. The "bad guys" were also well done. Their motivations and actions made sense, which lends a feeling of realism to the story.
While the book is, at its simplest, a murder mystery, it is so much more than that. The author does an excellent job of weaving together a number of interesting subplots. For example, there is a kind of fish-out-of-water storyline with Soneste being sent from her home country of Breland to the harsh and bureaucratic city of Korth, in the nation of Karrnath. The author does an excellent job of showing us Karrnathi society from the perspective of an outsider. A second storyline looks at what it means to be a patriot. Tallis, once a revered Major in the Karrnathi army, now lives his life as a rogue, working to change his country for the better. Though labeled a traitor, Tallis remains fiercely loyal to his country.
There were other storylines I found interesting, such as the fragile political situation between Karrnath and Breland. Another storyline (and perhaps the most important) I won't mention out of fear of giving too much away, but suffice it to say the plot is multi-layered and the mystery will keep you guessing to the end. Even when I figured out the who (which I was unable to do until near the end), I still couldn't guess the why...
As mentioned in the other review, the only minor criticism I have (and it is very, very minor) is that a few scenes seemed to jump a little, most likely due to parts of the scene being edited out. But this hardly took away from the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It provides just the right mix of action and mystery and throws in a bit of political intrigue to spice things up a bit. The narrative is well written and well paced. And the author keeps you guessing with lots of little twists and turns.
A first-rate novel, I hope to see many more books by Mr. LaSala.
I would recommend this novel highly, not only to fans of the world of Eberron, but to both fans of fantasy and mystery.
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