Customer Reviews

Twilight Herald (Twilight Reign)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "White Eye" Isak has become Lord of the Farlan tribe following his victory at Narkang (see STORMCALLER). Aiding his claim to overall rule of the Land is possession of two crystal skulls and the sharing of his brain with the soul of dark Elf Aryn Bwr although he is not sure how much help that provides him. Still Isak returns to Tirah in triumph, only someone tries to kill him whom he assumes is baffling Azaer or perhaps a member or the entire group of the deadly White Circle. He suspects seditious actions by others, who either feel they should be in charge or he is unworthy.

Although he knows he must focus on those planning seditious acts and assassination attempts, he sees an opportunity to avenge the downfall of Lord Bahl. He heads to the divided city Scree where insanity rules due to a seemingly "controlled" drought leading to no one trusting anyone and death and danger are everywhere. Isak does not care or fear anyone even those trying to kill him; for he is on a mission of vengeance, which many of the Farlan believes means razing the small city as an example of Isak's power.

The Twilight Herald is a complex well written fantasy filled with political intrigue and backstabbing that make the Democrats and Republicans look like friendly playmates. The story line is loaded with several major action-packed subplots though most remain dangling for the future; but to truly digest especially the first quarter of the novel with so much happening from the onset the audience needs to have read THE STORMCALLER. Isak successfully takes over the role of solo star with Bahl gone as Tom Lloyd provides a deep complicated political fantasy in which Machiavelli and Borgia would feel at home.

Harriet Klausner

As with the first in the series Lloyd has created a fantasy feast of well written characters and a beautifully vivid world full of magic, war and turmoil. Isak as always is a great character, one of my personal favourites in the fantasy genre, he is young, powerful and often times brutal but we still see is vulnerable side when he is with his friends, this makes the main character much more in depth and satisfying to read.

In this story Isak has to comes to terms with the voice of an ancient Elven King inside of his head and the treason of one of his most powerful Lords. As if this is not enough he is forced to send out his army to a small town called Scree were an enormous amount of magic is being used. In this small town all the powers of the lands are represented there, both good and evil, there in this small town we'll see assassinations, demons raised from the pits of hell and awe inspiring battles. Will the be to much for the young Lord Of The Farlan to control? Or will he rise above the expectations of the world?

If you love fast paced with huge battles, politics and everything in between then Lloyd's work a go. You won't be disappointed!

Even more enjoyable than the first. Twilight Herald takes the world of the Stormcaller and drives everything further - the world's even more detailed, the plot's intricate and clever and I loved the way gods could subsume each other, haven't seen that in any other book and it worked really well!

The story, characters are excellent. I liked the book.

However, the spelling and use of the wrong word was on every other page. I just found it hard to believe that this book could get published without having someone proof read it first.

After reading the first book, "Storm Caller" which I enjoy tremendously and rated it highly, I couldn't wait but had to get this book and the third one, "Grave Thief" (very expensive). The day I received this book, I was so full of excitement and started reading it immediately. For some reasons, the reading of this book became slower and slower. Usually when I read a book I truly enjoy I can finish it in almost one day. I had to stop reading this book many times because it got to the point I was totally confused and somewhat bored with it. I thought at first it must be me because the writer was so good with his first book. Then I skipped through the rest of the book in fast pace and found out why this book turned me off:

(1) There are simply too many characters and scenes being introduced into this book without any types of orders. It jumps from one scene to another so rapdily and so frequently that the writer had completely lost me and I had no idea where the story was going.

(2) The portions of this book that involved Isak were far and in between and it almost seems that he is no longer the main character of this book. It is like you go to watch a movie because you like the actor in the movie only to find out that his is not the main character. What a great disappointment.

(3) Too many dialogs - while dialogs are good if they are used properly and at the right time, there are dialogs on every single page of this book. I flipped through the book and see dialogs on almost every single page. It is like watching an action movie, instead of actions, the characters just keep talking to each other. You press the fast forward button, the same people are still talking. They will talk you to death.

I advise the writer to keep things "simple". It is all right to keep the story simple, cutting down the dialogs and minor characters so the story can flow smoothly. He did a great job in his first book but I believe a very poor job in this book. Two writers who can serve as an examples for him will be David Gemmell and Jim Butcher. There are almost never any boring scenes in their books, just pure actions and thrills.

I now regret I have bought this book and paid so much for the third one. I just hope the third book will surprise me.

I do not understand why most readers gave this book either a 4 or 5 stars. May be it is possible that I am just too impatient or their tastes are totally different than mine.

Any feedbacks will be welcome.