Customer Reviews

Ghostwalker: The Fighters

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ghostwalker is Erik Scott de Bie's first foray into the Forgotten Realms with a full length novel, and the second book in the stand alone series titled The Fighters. His first official writing was a short story published earlier in 2005 in the anthology Realms of the Dragon II.

My first inclination was to try to compare Mr. de Bie with some of the current fantasy authors on the shelves today; however, I will not do so as I think that is unfair to him. One novel does not a writer make, and I think he should be allowed to make his own path in the genre. This is just what he did with this novel.

To start, this book is darker than most Forgotten Realms books. In fact I may even say it has pushed the envelope of Wizards of the Coast's policy to keep books under the PG-13 rating. This novel is right at the cusp of that rating in my opinion.

From the opening scene to the last scene of the book de Bie dares you to try and put the book down. The frantic pace of this novel is such that every page must be read, and read now. There is very little down time. Unlike some novels out there today where authors add fluff to make the book longer, de Bie makes sure that everyone of his words means something and has an end goal in mind.

The plot is well thought out and well constructed. The main driving force behind this novel is a gritty tale of vengeance and what someone will go through to get tat revenge. There are also a few subplot sprinkled throughout the story, but if I was to talk about them here they would turn into spoilers - so I will pass. I will say the subplots add to the novels overall appeal and adds to the intrigue of this book. Mr. de Bie also does a very good job at giving the reader just enough information to let them think they know what is going on, then snatching it away and replacing it with something different than first thought shocking the reader. I have read too many fantasy novels that have a very linear plot, this book certainly does not follow that path. I liken this plot between a good murder/mystery and a playoff hockey game. Action packed pace that makes you think along the way.

Being a new author I was unsure just how much consideration Mr. de Bie would have for character development in this novel. I was not disappointed in the least. The character development in this novel is fantastic. From the start to the finish of this novel, de Bie never lets character development take a back seat. Several characters have such large developments that merely saying it never took a back seat does not seem to do it justice, yet if I explained there would be spoilers- so I am forced to leave it at that.

Those of you that read a lot of my reviews know I try to end each review with either recommending the book or not. I am very pleased to have had a chance to read this book so I recommend it without hesitation. If you are new to the Forgotten Realms setting you can read this and not feel lost in the least. If you are a long-time reader of the Realms Mr. de Bie throws out some very good lines to keep you grounded and creates a chuckle every now and then. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who want to read a fast paced tale of intrigue and revenge.

Ghostwalker is a great first novel for any writer. Erik Scott de Bie slips adroitly into the Forgotten Realms world while managing to bring his own particular brand of writing to the title.

If one were to imagine Clint Eastwood in his "Man-with-no-name" role as a main character in a Twilight Zone directed by Peter Jackson and add fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping you'd get the feel for this novel. Ghostwalker is a brooding, tale of revenge that could easily take place in the old west, but happens to take place in the fantasy world of Forgotten Realms. The main character, Ghostwalker, is a damaged, amoral you man bent on revenge. As a boy he is brutally beaten and almost murdered by a group of local men ala "Hang 'em High". He survives to exact revenge on this same group as a grown man.

The action is vividly written, the dialogue tight and characters solid and believable. Hopefully this novel will be given a chance by those that have not been followers of the Forgotten Realms books. This little book adds a grittyness to fantasy that very few save George Martin have been able to do.

Watch out Salvatore there is a new kid on the block and his name is DeBie!

Ghostwalker is, simply put, a breath of fresh air. It is a novel that breaks the boundaries of D&D novels, and feels comfortable in doing so. This is not a book about a group of adventurers getting together to defeat a foe, or find a magical artifact, this is a good old fashioned down and dirty tale of revenge.

Erik Scott DeBie tells a tale of intrigue. He enjoys throwing in little clues here and there, but keeps enough back to really surprise you later on in the book. There were more twists and turns towards the end of this book than in a sack full of snakes!

The tale is very gritty, and dark just the way I like it.

Set in frontier logging town, a not so well known area of the forgotten realms, and DeBie uses all the information available about this place and crams it into his story.

Saying that, I do not think you would have to be a fan, at all, of the Forgotten Realms to enjoy this story

His characters are extremely well crafted. Some of them you really start to care about, and others make you want to run a sword through them yourself.

I mentioned Salvatore at the start of this review, and I did that because DeBie has done what Salvatore has been doing for years, in terms of combat writing, but at the same time putting on his own stamp and making each fight interesting and unique. Whereas I would start to get bored reading a fight in a Drizzt based novel, here I was enoying every moment. Now lets see if he can do that after as many books as Salvatore. If he can, he will be a forced to be reckoned with in the fantasy genre.

I am looking forward to Erik's next novel - The Depths of Madness, which is due out in 2007. In the meantime we can enjoy a short story from him in the Forgotten Realms anthology - Realms of Elves, which comes out Feb 2006.

I will have to go with the rest of the reviewers, this book is simply breathtaking.

The thing that diminishes almost everything else in this novel is De Bie's storytelling. His writing is beautiful, almost poetic at times, giving the little frontier town of Quervarr a breath of life. His battle scenes are so descriptive that you can almost hear the clash of weapons in your room. Brilliant writing, truly. The protagonists in the book are also very good. They all have believable motivations, emotions and histories. The antagonists are a piece of art. Not only are they memorable, but De Bie "gets in their heads" on a scale experienced only in Salvatore's FR novels. The plot is masterfully conceived, and it is personal and emotional, with a fair number of twists. No saving the world here. And the ending is truly fitting.

I do have a few complaints, but they fade in comparison to De Bie's storytelling. Walker, the main character, is at times too heroic to be believable, considering his past and emotional state. Besides that, there are too many unpredictable rescues from sword-tip for my liking.

But as I said, everything becomes irrelevant once you get lost in this story.
A Forgotten Realms masterpiece.

I will take some time to reflect on the "Fighters" series, as this is my last review from that particular series. Mathematically, they get an average score of 3.75, which is more than good considering that the books were written by four different authors. It features only one poor book (Bladesinger), and the rest range from good (Master of Chains and Son of Thunder) to brilliant (Ghostwalker). You should check out these books. And I almost forgot, the cover art is breathtaking on all of the books.

Ghostwalker is definately not like the usual Realms novel. Whenever I happen to pick up a paperback stand-alone Realms novel in a series based off of a D&D character class AND by a newcoming author, I tend to crack it open with initial doubt in its quality. Call me overly-critical, call me what you will - but the good quality of this book cannot be denied.

For a 313-page book, all the characters - even minor ones - are amazingly fleshed-out. The relationship between the Knights in Silver is so well-portrayed and humorous that I find myself more indulging in the story than picking at it - which I'm known to do. The relationship between Arya and Walker is as well - amazingly so. I'm not going to spoil any of the story, but their relationship above all else in the story truly meant something to me. Mr. De Bie really knows the human (and in this book's case) nonhuman psyche - because if it weren't so then none of the characters would seem half as real as they did to me.

Mr. De Bie's writing style is probably the most lyrical I've read in a long time. The descriptions he uses, the metaphors and plays-on-words he makes are utterly delightful. If you're in the mood for poetically-written dark fantasy, then Ghostwalker is for you.

The story, as well, is more intricate than what one would initially expect from a Realms novel. For once in a long time, I read a book that kept me GUESSING. If that alone doesn't say Ghostwalker is worth the read, I don't know what will.

Pick it up. 5 stars.

This is Erik Scott deBie's first novel published and, if I do say so myself, a glimpse at a promising future in writing.

To start, I feel the need to say that this is another one of those books that I found myself reading more and more of as time passed on. By the time I finished I had read about 80 pages straight. This is good, because often times books will bring me in at the beginning and leave me a little bored torward the middle. Luckily, this was not this case with this great book.

This novel tells the dark and moody story of a man named Walker. Walker is not your typical 'mindless fighter'. He is deep, complex in emotions, and scarred. This makes for a very interesting character when it is packed with his ability to fight with incredible agility and speed with his enchanted blade (which, might I add, is REALLY cool).

Walker is also not a lighthearted 'slay-the-dragon' fighter either. This man is out for cold revenge.

I won't give away any more of the story (if I have given away some already), but suffice it to say, this is one of the better FR novels I have read. The action keeps you hooked, while the story draws you in just as well. It is a good balance, not focusing *too* much on action, which some novels do. Most of the other characters are excellently done, save a few that could have been fleshed out just a little more.

All in all, this is a great book that will keep you drawn in from start to finish.

This review is for the book `Ghostwalker' by Erik Scott de Bie, which is the second book of a series of stand-alone stories entitled `The Fighters'. This review is intended as a critique of the writing and flow of the book, not to reveal "spoolers". The other books within `The Fighters' series are Master of Chains by Jess Lebow, Son of Thunder by Murray J. D. Leeder and Bladesinger by Keith Francis Strohm.

This story takes place in the frontier town of Quaervarrk within the Moonwood region. Excluding the prelude and postlude, story takes place over a seven day period. Vengeance is in the air for a murder committed 15 years prior. Mixed in is a tale of mystery, political intrigue, lost opportunity and the struggle between love and honor.

I must admit, I purchased this book because of Amazon's buy 4-for-3 offer, with this as the 4th book since it had the highest rating of the Fighter series books. It then sat on my shelf, waiting while I read books from authors I already knew and enjoyed. Then, I had the pleasure of reading Mr. de Bie's short story within the Realms of the Elves anthology. I was so impressed that I chose to read `Ghostwalker' next, and I am glad I did.

Overall, I would have to say that this is one of the best Forgotten Realms books I have read. Even though the story only takes place over a period of 7 days, at no time did the story seem to be drawn out to fill the pages, nor did it feel as if too much was happening in within the short period which. The author is able to keep track of the multiple sub-plots, as well as keep the reader informed, so that when they all come together it seems natural. I do have one very minor criticism of the book, which is more likely due to this being Mr. de Bie's first novel, there are too many unneeded breaks within the chapters. Several breaks seem to take place right after the previous break, so why have a break. I consider this minor because the story flows naturally enough to ignore the unnecessary breaks.

A Note to Readers new to Forgotten Realms: Like many shared settings, especially those stemming from gaming or other media types, the Forgotten Realms books are written with the assumption that the reader has some familiarity with the Forgotten Realms gaming setting. This frees up the author to focus on his or her story, instead of having to explain the world in which the story takes place; the calendar, geography, common races/species, magical properties, etc. This is very important when the book length is normally confined to 300 - 350 pages. As a reader reads more books in the Forgotten Realms setting, they will become more familiar with the world of Faerun and its inhabitants, making the experience more pleasant. This book is excellent for readers new to the Forgotten Realms, since it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the Forgotten Realms setting.

Stories about cruelty, death, and revenge are nothing new, particularly in Forgotten Realms novels. It is also not unheard of in the Forgotten Realms for characters that has been gravely wronged and left for dead to return when it is least suspected seeking vengeance.

This title has all of those elements and there is even a decent love story woven in the plot.

For me, what makes this story different is the main character being a Ghostwalker. For those not familiar with Ghostwalkers in the Dungeons & Dragons world, it is a prestige class with very strange yet powerful attributes, particularly their connection to the ethereal realm.

Even though they are not the same thing, the main character reminded me a little of the late Brandon Lee's character in the movie "The Crow".

My only real criticism of this book is that I felt as though the last four or five chapters were rushed. I can't put my finger on exact example to give (probably because it has been over a year since I read it). I just remember getting to the last few chapters having felt like something was left out or there was more to the story that could have been or should have been told. Don't get me wrong, the story wrapped up very well, but as I said, to me it seemed a little rushed at the end.

I would definitely recommend this novel if you are a Forgotten Realms fan and would like to read something a little different.

Since reading this author's short story in Realm of the Dragons II, I was looking forward to his first novel. I was not disappointed. The book is certainly a stand-alone story, and, while staying true to the world and limits of the Realms genre, it was singular in its plot and presentation. The book has general audience appeal and I am hoping that some non-fantasy readers will pick this up and be brought into the fold. De Bie writes some of the best fight choreography I have read in a long time--it is both belivable and startlingly visual. However, this is not a D & D type adventure (which tend to be all fight and no depth). This has an involved plot line and fully fleshed characters you come to care about. I'm pleased to have a new writer on the scene who follows well in the Salvatore footsteps. I'm already looking forward to De Bie's next offering.

If you pick up this book hoping for a typical good sci-fi book, I am sorry to tell you this is not it. This is a very good novel, period. It is very well written and with a few changes in terms used could easily slip into any category from Mystery, Sci-Fi, Action Adventure and even Mythology. It even has a nice dash of bittersweet romance thrown in to spice things up. Not that it needs it, this novel screams along at a rapid pace, grabbing you by the throat in the Prologue and pulling you along for the ride, only slowing down long enough to catch your breath before providing new twists and revelations. Just about when you think you have it all figured, something or someone pops up and pulls the rug out from underneath your feet.

This novel, in the end is a masterfully crafted tale of revenge and self-discovery, with a twist. In order to discover himself Walker must keep killing those who wronged him. The villains are what make this book tick. They are paid the same diligent care and development most authors reserve only for the heroes. Bravo to the author for the added depth and "truth" this lends to his work. Not only was I shocked with the ending, so was Walker! This novel while not overtly violent, has a good dose of intense combat situations that will thrill and chill you until the finish. Or is it finished??

This book also does not get caught in the trap that befalls so many books set in shared world settings. The author does not let the burden of having a waiting group of fans (who most likely have definite expectations for this shared world) confine him to what is safe and easily accepted. He blends the expectations with new creations and innovations that will no doubt be a part of the Forgotten Realms setting for years to come. With this as a first effort for the author in the Forgotten Realms, I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.