Dark Of The Gods (Paperback)

The main character, Jame, as a young woman who cannot remember much of her recent past, but finds she has strange abilities and a mission to deliver a sword, ring, and book to Torisien, is very well drawn. Her entry into the city of Tai-Tastigon is not only very darkly flavored but brings a strong touch of horror to the reader, at least partially due to the reader not knowing precisely what is going on at that point. But as the story progresses, the vital uniqueness of the beginning slowly subsides into near-standard revelations of Jame's past and ancestral heritage; the multiple gods of the city, when seen close-up, lose some of their awe-inspiring flavor; and the basic plot devolves into rather simple lines. The battle between the inn that has become Jame's adoptive home and its across the street competitor, another battle for control of the Thieves Guild, and Jame's search for the meaning behind all the gods, her past, and the relics she holds in trust for Torisien form these lines, unfortunately all rather predictable, but they are well woven together. The resolution of all of them makes for a very satisfying conclusion to this book - far better than the conclusions of most opening volumes of long fantasies, making this book stand very well on its own.

Stylistically nicely written, without too many made-up words that seem to plague most fantasies, but with enough strangeness to let you know that this is not your everyday world, and a smoothness to the tale-telling that will carry you along without a bobble of something sharply out of place. Characterization of characters other than Jame seemed a little thin, but neither are they just cardboard cut-outs.

Overall, a nice start to a fantasy series, but much of its promise fades before the end, though having a real conclusion to this opening book is a definite plus in this world of seemingly never-ending fantasy works.

"Bones", the included short story, is something of a sidelight to the main story started above, but adds some depth of insight into Jame's character.

In the second book here, Dark of the Moon, we get to meet Jame's brother Torisien, who shows up as quite different from what Jame expected. More than anything else, this second book is one of political intrigue, something Jame is not good at, being essentially naive at such machinations. But being thrown into this game forces Jame to grow, to more carefully consider the consequences of her actions.

More of the underlying forces, beings, and history of this world are slowly revealed here, most especially the 'Builders' and those who belong to the Perimal Darkling. These revelations and their intertwining with the action of this story are the best items here, leading logically to decisions and actions by Jame that make at least a convoluted sense. There is more depth to the secondary characters, and more urgency to the plot. But I did feel that even more than in the first novel, this book trends more and more towards standard fantasy lines, with little that is genuinely new.