The Adversary (Brimstone Angels) (vuoden 2014 painos)

"I should have stayed with her."
"She gets out, and you're going to be looking back from the afterlife a great fool."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then I think she'll forgive you for waiting a few days," Dahl said, "if you're going to be a great fool and join her. Come on."

3.5? Look, this really was...a Dungeons and Dragons book. And as someone who doesn't read much of the lore, never read the first 2 books in the Sundering series, nor anything in the Brimstone Angel series...I could follow along (more or less) comfortably, and really bought into all the characters even as I showed up halfway through their arcs. I really commend Evans on being able to tie in old plots and arcs from her previous books, and yet give new readers enough foundation to be invested in them even if I didn't see their beginnings. I still got a ton of satisfaction from all the pay-offs and great character moments.

This was delightfully complicated - if not a touch convoluted. I especially loved how she worked with the nonsense that shows up in like every campaign - "but uhh, what if I just kill this character who is kinda sorta in my way?" She threw all these characters together who didn't care for each other, and were pretty trigger happy, and constantly had them outsmart each other, negotiate logically, and find a ton of ways to settle each encounter without the stabbing you would expect :p

I don't think I'll continue with the Sundering series for the sake of learning about the Sundering...frankly, when we get into the really big picture nonsense of epic fantasy, I stop caring - but I will keep Farideh and Havilar's future adventures on my to-read list! ( )

I am giving this 3 stars, and would give more since I didn't read the first two books, so I was quite lost for the first 100 pages. Overall I enjoyed the book. ( )

Loved loved loved. Took me awhile to get involved, but once I did, it was consuming. And it left me wanting more of the story. That's always a good thing!!

Loved loved loved. Took me awhile to get involved, but once I did, it was consuming. And it left me wanting more of the story. That's always a good thing!!

The Adversary is the third book in the multi-author Sundering epic fantasy series. Like the previous two books, this is the first I have read by this author and also like the first two books, it continues the story of characters from another series by the author. As a result, it took me a while to orient myself and really get into the tale.

However, unlike the previous two books in this series, The Adversary felt like once I got to know the characters a bit, I wasn’t as handicapped by lack of previous knowledge. The story felt less tied to author Erin M Evan’s previous series and more to the other books in this Sundering series. It finally felt like there really is an over-arching storyline here and not just a showcase for the different authors’ works.

At times, I found the pacing a bit slow. But that was okay – there’s a lot going on here and a whole lot of characters to keep track of and, by taking it slow through some of the build-up to the real action, it prevented the reader from getting lost. It also gave me a chance to get to know the characters and to care about what happens to them.

With this novel, I finally feel like I’m starting to understand what is happening in the Forgotten Realm and where this is all heading. It kind of feels like the previous two books were meant to set the parameters of the series and, with The Adversary, we are finally finding our way to the core of the story. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series to find out where it will take me. ( )