Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great start to a new Eberron trilogy, June 2, 2006
Thieves of Blood is the first novel in the Blade of the Flame Trilogy set in the world of Eberron by Tim Waggoner. This novel tells the tale of Diran and Ghaji as they wonder Eberron looking to spread the word on the Silver Flame. To truly understand these characters, I think the reader should first read Mr. Waggoner's short story in Tales of the Last War. The short story is titled "The Blade of the Flame" and tells the story of how these two characters came to travel together. I am very thankful I read that before starting this novel.
The plot of this book is rather tight and there are not many sidebar quests/storylines that will draw the reader's interest away from the main story. The main plot is Diran seeking to rescue a former lover of his from Erdas Cal who is a servant of the Blood of Vol. This journey is a little clichéd at times, but mostly Mr. Waggoner does it in such a way that it doesn't seem old and rehashed. While it doesn't seem new and refreshing it is done well enough to not distract the reader. The plot moves along at a decent to fast pace. I didn't have a hard time reading it at all. In fact the way the plot is written and the way Mr. Waggoner writes it lends itself to easy reading and comprehension of the main points. Although, I will say there are some typos throughout the book that should have been caught, but that does not take away from Mr. Waggoner's efforts here. He can't control that. The ending I think was too ambiguous for this type of novel. I would have liked to see more closure. I realize this is a part of a trilogy, but there still needs to be some type of `end' to the story.
The characters in this book are gems. Great characters, well written and each seems like a believable characters. The character of Tresslar is the only character I have a problem with, he is very clichéd and too `neat' to be in this story. It seems like he is only there to solve something later in the book. The rest of the characters are fantastic. Diran - Assassin turned priest is so well written you can feel his inner struggles. Ghaji is a bit of an enigma but I am confident he will be further fleshed out in later books. The villains are almost perfect too. They act just as one would expect but in ways that are new and refreshing. I just can't say enough about the characters, they truly add to the story, they just aren't there to be on the ride.
Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable book and has given me faith for the world of Eberron. Mr. Waggoner doesn't throw the unique things of Eberron into the face of the reader, see Keith Baker's books. Mr. Waggoner allows the story to tell itself and doesn't force things to happen. I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in this trilogy. A must read for Eberron fans, I also believe most fantasy fans will enjoy this as well.
Four stars only because of the ending and the Tesslar character. I would have given it 4.5 if I could.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
fun, exciting fantasy tale (3.5 stars), June 8, 2006
Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed this novel. While the start of a new series it can also be read as a stand-alone. The basic story-line of the novel is fairly straightforward but interesting and well-written. Diran, an ex-assassin who is now a priest of the silver flame, and his companion, the half-orc Ghaji are travelling the land fighting demons and other aberrations as part of Diran's service to the flame. Along the way they encounter Diran's ex-lover, Makala, who is also an ex-assassin. She is then kidnapped by a strange group of raiders (led by a vampire). Diran and Ghaji set off on a quest to rescue Makala and the others.
While the novel started a little slowly in my opinion, it really improved as it went along. In particular, the characters were well-written and had interesting back-stories, which the author did a nice job of laying out using dreams and flashbacks. The issues and emotions faced by the characters felt 'right' in that I could believe they would react in that way. The inner conflicts faced by the characters were another plus.
My only complaint is I would have liked the 'good guys' to be a little less straight-forward and a little more grey (i.e., not always act like the good guys - one is an ex-assassin after all).
In addition to Diran and Ghaji, I thought the villains of the tale were well done. While a little clichéd at times they were still interesting and well-written. At points you really wonder how Diran and co will overcome these foes.
Plus, while the plot is fairly straight-forward, the author executes it very well. He managed to keep me interested and curious about what would happen next. And to me that is what is important. Can the author keep me vested in the characters and their plight? In this case the answer was yes. The book left me wanting to know more about the characters and in particular what happens next.
My only complaint with the book is that a few scenes seemed unnecessary and contrived. One scene has the heroes rescuing a sailor (actually a pirate) from "The Mire". The scene just didn't seem to fit with the story, except to add a new character who in my opinion was not really necessary. Also there were a few scenes where the characters actions didn't make much sense to me. Such as the opening scene where Diran attacks a shapeshifter who he seems to think is a powerful demon which he would have no hope of defeating.
But, as I said, this book got better as it went along and I actually think the ending was just right. In fact I thought it really made the book. The last several chapters are fast-paced and exciting. The author does an excellent job of putting the reader into the action and letting us know what the characters are thinking and feeling. I don't want to give the ending away, but I really liked it and thought it provided a great insight into what type of person Diran is and how far he has come.
I am looking forward to book 2 in this series and would recommend "Thieves of Blood" to anyone looking for a fun, exciting fantasy tale with lots of action.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bloody Great Book!, December 30, 2007
I just finished reading Thieves of Blood. Great ending! Wow, that was very well done. I was quite impressed and it was so nasty. I love the main character, Diran. He's such a great character. I love that he was an assassin and now he's a priest. His backstory is awesome. I love Makala too. Oh, poor Makala and Diran. Wow.
I like how it ended though. There's a part with ghouls under a floor that was just totally horrifying. There were a lot of clever moments in the final battle also. Diran made such a clever use of his holy symbol. Being a priest of the Silver Flame has its definite advantages.
Anyway, it was a very well-written book with exciting scenes and great characters. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Diran and Ghaji are a good team and I look forward to seeing their further adventures.
The creator of Eberron, Keith Baker would be proud of this one.
Paul Genesse
www.paulgenesse.com
www.paulgenesse.blogspot.com
Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)
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