Curse of the Shadowmage is the eleventh book in the Forgotten Realms Harpers series and the sequel to the Crypt of the Shadowking. Caledan Caldorien finds himself trying to overcome the same curse that has afflicted his ancestor eons ago. Mari Al'maren, together with several of Caledan's old adventuring companions from the Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon, and some new allies, set out to save their friend.
Slightly better than the first book, Curse of the Shadowmage is very well written, with the reader feeling that they have been transported to another universe and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense.
On the negative side, ENOUGH with the author portraying the Harpers as being oppressive, twisting the arms of their members and making them carry out their instructions while suppressing their free will etc! Last time I checked, the Harpers were the heroes keeping the Realms from falling under the sway of Evil! K'shar, who in the end, supposedly "saw the light" and turned stag is portrayed as the "hero" who "breaks free" of the Harpers (???). Is there something wrong with the picture here? All right, let's do away with hierarchy and the chain of command, and have the agents vote whether they want to take a specific assignment!!! That will work...
Moreover, the Shadowstar and the Shadevari are too similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's One Ring and the Nazgul respectively.
In addition, WAY too many characters are "coming back from the dead" to the point that it is getting tiring/annoying...
Furthermore, on page 309 (the last page in the book) the author states "Now Kellen was the last person in the world with shadow magic." That is just not true as Richard Baker will show in The Shadow Stone, unless that was the case for a very short period of time.
Aside from that it's a pretty good book; the plot, the writing and the characters are very well thought out and presented!
The story of the Shadevari, Azuth, and the creation of the world, along with the Shadowstar, (Pp242) is GREAT.
K'shar is a FASCINATING character who deserves a whole book (at least) all to himself.
Finaly, there is some very witty humor between Cormick and Jewel.
Other books I would recommend from the Harpers Series include Red Magic, Parched Sea, The Veiled Dragon, Elfshadow and Elfsong to mention a few.