Customer Reviews

Stalking Darkness (Nightrunner, Vol. 2)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My Scale:
1 star--wretched, don't bother;
2 stars-somebody will like it, flawed;
3 stars-pretty darn good with some flaws;
4 stars-great, I'll re-read it;
5 stars-flawless, a classic of the genre.

This is the second novel in the Nightrunner series, continuing the story begun in *Luck in the Shadows*.

The World:
At the edge of the Gathwayd Ocean lie four lands: Plenimar, Mycena, Skala, and Aurenen. The first three are home to humans, the last to the Aurenfaie, a long-lived, magic-using race. Since the Great War eight hundred years ago, there has been a tenuous peace between the human countries, but Aurenen (which had to intervene to end the war), is all but closed to outsiders. When Aurenfaie and humans interbreed, the offspring are also magic users. The Great War killed many of the sorcerers, so there is now a shortage of magicians. Technology in this society is magic-based, not machine-based: horses are still the primary mode of transportation; swords and archery are the primary weapons. There are two opposing types of magic: Oreska magic, which is wholesome and life-enghancing, that of the Aurenfaie and Skalan sorcerers; and the dark magic of Plenimar, the necromancy of the Sanctum. During the Great War, Plenimarian necromancers awoke the god Seriamauis, the Eater of Death. Tales of his powers to raise the dead are now regarded as fables.

From what the author reveals of Skala, we can say that it is an egalitarian society ruled by a Queen. Of some importance to the novel's development, Skalan social mores are accepting of sexual variation and sexual behavior. There seems to be no societal bias towards any given form of sexual orientation. There are public houses of prostitution for men and women both heterosexual and homosexual.

The Plot:
Seregil is an Aurenfaie exiled from his homeland, living in the Skalan capital city of Rhiminee with his apprentice, the orphan Alec. Seregil maintains several identities in Rhiminee: Lord Seregil, a foppish wastrel, and The Rhiminee Cat, a thief and a fixer being the two most prominent. But Seregil and Alec's true vocations are the defense of Skala and her Queen against all enemies, as members of the secret society of Watchers.

The leading foreign enemy is the Plenimarian Lord Mardus and his sorcerer Vargul Ashnazai, who are seeking to re-establish Plenimar as the supreme state, with the Nameless God as its tutelary deity. Mardus uses espionage, trickery and necromancy. He and his sorcerer are trying to reunite a set of magical tools, which when together will enable the Nameless God to manifest and rule the earth. On a more mundane plane, economic tensions between Skala and Plenimar are growing, leading to the threat of conventional war.

The leading internal enemies of the Queen is the conspiracy known as the Lorans, Skalan nobles who loathe the part-Aurenfaie ruling family and wish to return to a line of succession that is human-only.

The novel continues the interwoven stories of Seregil and Alec in their dual roles as foppish nobles and spies; Nysander and the Watchers battling the growing threat from Mardus and his necromancers; and Beka Cavendish (daughter of Seregil's fellow Watcher Micum Cavendish), who is newly enlisted in the Queen's army and shows us the military aspect of Skala's fight for freedom.

The Review:
This is an above-average-to-superior sword-and-sorcery tale, with gratifying complications and compelling characterizations. Seregil and Alec grow in complexity as the novel progresses, and there are some delightful scenes as Alec develops from a backwoods bumpkin in to an accomplished spy.

What Flewelling does particularly well in this outing is to explore several of the character's conflicting bonds of loyalty. When it comes to the test, does the honorable person choose loyalty to family over loyalty to the Queen? The good of the many over the few?

There is somewhat more overt sexuality of various orientations in this book than the previous, but Flewelling handles the scenes in a manner somewhat less salacious than your average episode of *Friends*. I wouldn't object to my middle-school daughter reading this series (By contrast, Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series is off-limits for another couple of years, and her new series is too sexual for even for me). Again, if you find bisexuality or homosexuality offensive, don't read this series.

The challenges of back-story presentation and of building suspense to the climax are also handled in a particularly adroit fashion. Flewelling's use of the device of giving young Alec a history lesson as a way of establishing the Skalan back-story is much less intrusive in this volume than the previous one. The nnnovel has a satisfying internal rhythm as the stories braid together, with internal sub-conlflicts built up and resolved until the denouement and resolution at the end.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

I had to review this book because I can't get it out of my head (and I'd quite like to get on with some work). I read the entire Nightrunner series, twice. In a week. There was so much joy in reading it, that I felt the need to repeat the experience. It was just as good the second time round, if not better, because I took more time to gush over particular passages and characters. I'm hooked for good, I reckon.

It may seem strange that I chose to review the second book in the series. I do so because this installment resonated with me more deeply than the other two (I just barely restrained myself from reading it a third time). The first book is really mostly an introduction to Seregil and Alec, the world of Skala, streets of Rhiminee, characters of wizardry, thievery, royal lines, gods, etc. Though strong in its own right, it delves a little too deeply in historical and religious set-ups. The third book, on the other hand, develops the world of Aurenfaie and makes for a complex read of clans and interrelations, each with lengthy names and extensive personal networks that requires quite a bit of concentration.

In contrast, this second book focuses mainly on the relationship between Seregil and Alec, and how their friendship grows into a much deeper love in the face of tremendous odds. This book focuses on growth. Alec becomes a confident spy. Seregil a marvelous teacher. While Alec comes of age, learning the ins and outs of intrigues among high society, he gains a mature understanding of love (in the 21st century, thank you Ms. Flewelling!), Seregil also grows, by learning that everything in life has its price. Needless to say, it's the awkward growth of the keen, pristine love between Alec and Seregil that is most preciously exquisite.

Stalking Darkness is a book of balance and contrast. Love against evil. Fantasy that lives in a very real reality. Nobility versus thievery and sewage workers. The sweet friendship that grows between all characters in the beginning of the book is genuine and realistic. It is a beautiful counterpoint to the dark ending.

Rarely have I come across a book so alive. This book has it all: love, evil, torture, sacrifice, trickery, humor, friendship, misunderstanding and realization. Within an apparent simplicity of writing, Ms. Flewelling demonstrates a huge talent for drawing us into a real world of characters we genuinely care about.

Buy this book! Ignore the bigots who are 'uncomfortable' about the guys relationship. Sheesh, what is this 1899?? In my opinion the refreshing openness of the growing love between Alec and Seregil is one of the best things about this series. The fact that they are both males doesn't change the fact that they are *soulmates*. (In fact, it enhances it for me ^.^) This story is a lot deeper and darker than 'Luck in the Shadows'. The plot races along, the characters capture you, and the end is just stunning. LF has created the finest universe in fantasy fiction, and her characters have carved a place in my heart. I recommend the third book in this universe, 'Traitor's Moon' as well, it is even better than this one, hard as it is to believe. The sad bigots out there might want to avoid it though, as the heroes relationship is woven beautifully throughout the story. Nothing explicit, but their love shines through, and is a vital part of the plot. Thanks LF!

"Stalking Darkness" is the second book in Flewelling's Nightrunner Series, and a direct continuation of the previous book, so you'd best have read the first installment to know what's going on. You've got action, you've got suspense, you've got murder and dark magic and skullduggery (whatever that means. I got it off the cover of one of the books). All of the events set up in the first novel come to a head here, resulting in both great gains and terrible losses for our heroes Alec and Seregil. Read this. But read "Luck in the Shadows" first. Then read "Traitor's Moon." And every other book the author writes thereafter. You'll be doing three people a favor: Yourself, by finding a wonderful source of entertainment in a great story; the author, by putting her kids through school with your purchase; and me, by bestowing upon me the honor of taking my advice to heart.

Buy this book! Ignore the bigots who are 'uncomfortable' about the guys relationship. Sheesh, what is this 1899? In my opinion the refreshing openness of the growing love between Alec and Seregil is one of the best things about this series. The fact that they are both males doesn't change the fact that they are *soulmates*. (In fact, it enhances it for me ^.^) This story is a lot deeper and darker than 'Luck in the Shadows'. The plot races along, the characters capture you, and the end is just stunning. LF has created the finest universe in fantasy fiction, and her characters have carved a place in my heart. I recommend the third book in this universe, 'Traitor's Moon' as well, it is even better than this one, hard as it is to believe. The sad bigots out there might want to avoid it though, as the heroes relationship is woven beautifully throughout the story. Nothing explicit, but their love shines through, and is a vital part of the plot. Thanks LF!

(BTW this is a repost of an earlier review I made under a different email addy)

"Stalking Darkness" is fantasy entertainment in the tradition of some of the genre's greats. You've got your good guys. You've got your arch bad guy who's trying to get the magic doohickey so that he can perform the ritual that will give him tremendous powers. You've got your escalating series of conflicts, your mysterious characters whose true loyalties are unknown, your intriguing subplots, and so forth. Some people may object that the book is too formulaic, but I don't view it that way. Although the elements may be stereotypical, Lynn Flewelling breathes life into them by paying attention to detail and adding new twists that you don't expect. For example, consider Nysander. In the first book, "Luck in the Shadows", he appeared to be a very typical 'wise old bearded wizard mentor' figure. In this volume, however, he is revealed to be a much more complex character. He is neither all-knowing nor supremely confident. Instead, he struggles with his tasks and has doubts about himself.

Another facet of Flewelling's plot that deserves credit is that it never slows down. She never needs to pause and spend fifty pages having characters chat with each other, or waste time on anything that's not relevant to the plot. In fact, almost every chapter in the book contains some new surprise or development. I particularly enjoyed the fact that she doesn't always take the most obvious approach to writing a particular scene, but instead uses betrayals and other plot intrigues to keep the reader on their toes.

Lastly, I'll agree with other reviewers who applauded the author's handling of the relationship between Seregil and Alec in "Stalking Darkness". I'm willing to read about any couple in a fantasy novel; to me, it doesn't matter whether the characters involved are gay or straight. What does matter is that the relationship is well-written and interesting. In "Stalking Darkness", the interaction between Seregil and Alec feels real, and the characters' reaction to it are remarkably human.

The story of Alex and Seregil and the impending war between two countries comes to a full-tilt, action, thrilling culmination in the second title in the series. And yet, there's more to come even still.

All the secondary characters become as vividly portrayed as the leads, and the world becomes so vividly real in your imaginations, you can see the cities, the countrysides, the homes of the characters.

Magic and kidnapping, major evil and heroic feats. Strong female characters and a country with a tolerance level for all people, you want to go there!

Great fun!

What can I say about this book(and it's predecessor "Luck in the Shadows") that can give you any idea of what your getting yourself into the moment you start? These books are surprisingly incredable. I wont lie to you, I bought them based only on the fact that I heard there was a male/male couple. I was thrown into a world I quickly fell deeply in love with. The writing style is refreshing, descriptive but not long-winded. The characters, both good and evil, are rich and full of color. I've come to love each and every one of them(ok maybe not the necromancers but you get the general idea ^_~) I cried for them, laughed with them, wanted to comfort them or go off and kill their enemies. Seregil and Alec are two of the coolest characters I've read about in a long time, and I even came to love Thero by the end. The female characters even though they're parts weren't as large as the males, were strong willed and wonderful. I guess if I had to sum up Lynn Flewelling's writing in one word it would be Addictive. I highly recommend this book to anyone willing to stay up long into the wee hours of the morning reading ^_^

After having read countless numbers of excellent fantasy novelsover the years, I was pleasantly surprised to discover LynnFlewelling's duology (thanks to a friend who loaned them both to me) when I thought there were no more fantasy novels out there to keep me reading until the early hours of the morning. What compelled me the most were Flewelling's main characters, Seregil and Alec. It is their relationship and its slow, somewhat reluctant development that kept me reading. But I have to throw in my few spots of criticism--the dialogue throughout the first book was often awkward and jarring but Flewelling smoothes much of this out by book two. Also, the system of magic in this world is not well explained--likewise, the prophecy that Flewelling devises that overshadows all of the main characters is not clearly laid out and the role of each character in fulfilling the prophecy is also murky. I felt that many of the main characters could have been more flushed out and I finished the series feeling that they were often too stereotypical (including many aspects of Seregil and Alec). But, with these two books, Flewelling has created a world that will necessitate much more probing (more books!) and I am looking forward to further additions to the series that will give more depth and dimension to the world established here. (Oh--and a final note: I have to mention that Flewelling's home page on the web is worth visiting for those of you more curious about the series and Flewelling's background, especially her love of horror as evidenced by many scenes in Stalking Darkness!) END

This magnificent sequel to Luck in the Shadows is a real page turner! Flewelling's fluid writing and awesome imagination has brought to life some of the most fantastic characters in Fantasy (or any other) fiction; a time of magic and portents, mystery and intrigue. This novel has tremendous atmosphere. The two main characters, nobleman/spy/thief, Seregil and his protege, Alec, together with a small band of loyal companions, must follow their destiny to stop the ancient evil of a terrifying god. There is too much in this book to actually sum up in a few words. Suffice to say the author creates characters you come to care for very much. Both Seregil and Alec have mysterious pasts that the reader will look forward to discovering all about in (please!...hopefully) their further adventures. This is a book about friendship and loyalty, good and evil. It's witty, charming, exciting and filled with surprises. At times I laughed out loud, but there were also many touching moments, and you'll find your gaze briefly scanning the next page in anticipation. I loved Stalking Darkness so much I bought extra copies for friends and relatives who loved it as well. But it looks like we'll have to wait until the latter part of 1998 for the sequel, Traitor's Moon!!... I shouldn't wish my time away, but... Anyway, please give these two Fantasies a read (and re-read). You won't be disappointed. Her characters will live lovingly on in your memory ... (Seregil is a Gem!!