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My favorite part of the book is the prologue: no boring, obligatory peaceful trek through info-dump after info-dump that many fantasy authors are so fond of. Not even the omniscient third-person exposition along the line of "Arrabar, city of commerce. Arrabar, where politics thrive side-by-side with the blessed bounty of Waukeen." No, it starts with Xaphira Matrell, a mercenary officer, hiding in an alley with a crossbow bolt embedded in her thigh. Then we get a flashback to earlier that evening, where the sense of emergency and tension is kept by Xaphira's nephew (Vambran) informing her that he may have accidentally killed someone. She then makes a sacrifice: take the blame for herself, to protect her nephew and the noble house she belongs to. The prologue ends with Xaphira fighting some guards and escaping the city as a stowaway on a ship.

Unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there.

First, we have the protagonist. Vambran Matrell, haunted by the guilt of causing his aunt's exile, stumbles upon a suspicious case of murder. On he proceeds to investigate; the reasoning of "Justice must be served!" is incessantly brought up. He is righteous in his justification; he is a good brother to his little sister; he is both able and dutiful as a mercenary commander. Despite the claim that he likes both "wenching and fighting", we never see any of the former; in Crescent, Vambran is as squeaky-clean as a paladin. But fine, he makes some mistakes and doesn't emerge from every fight unscathed. I don't dislike him, but he invokes neither interest nor sympathy. He's just there, a bland cipher that blunders from scene to scene and drags -- clumsily, I might add -- the story forward.

Then we have Emriana Matrell. Oh, how she irritates and grates. She is the ultimate "rich girl, wannabe thief; doesn't like wearing dresses and comes with a spunky attitude" cliche embodied. She even proves to be the ineffective tag-along that ends up being menaced/captured and needing a rescue from her older relatives, anyway. Sure, there's a single occasion where she follows her brother and brings help, but that's it. And for some reason, at the end, her grandmother Hetta names her one of the most sensible, most trustworthy members of the family. Despite her having displayed zero trace of intelligence or wit and despite her getting repeatedly into trouble. Yup, that's a potential head of the house, all right. Her constant wail of "I'm all grown-up now! I'm not five-years-old anymore" doesn't help. But then, I rarely find teenage characters endearing.

Speaking of trouble reminds me how incompetent and how flimsy the villains in this novel are. The book promises a great deal of intrigue: it hints at the political structure of Arrabar; the plot deals with multiple parties -- a high-ranking Waukeenar priest, and three noble Houses -- plotting to hire an army to invade Chondath. It tantalized me and made me go, "Ooooh, intrigue. Oooh, multi-layered plot. Squee!"

Unfortunately, the delivery didn't much live up to this.

The scenes dealing with the villains plotting to stop Vambran from poking his nose into where he's not wanted? I have difficulties naming flimsier scenes of similar nature. They're all so very, very predictable. Ambush Vambran. Stifle Vambran politically. Find Vambran female company to distract him (this never goes through; may possibly come up in the second book). I winced repeatedly when Grozier Talricci, one of the major antagonists, keeps telling his house wizard to "come up with something clever" and "don't bother me with the details; just do it." Yeah, that's the key to effective planning right there.

Denrick, another antagonist, is no better. He is Emriana's suitor, and at first glance he is a boorish, arrogant peacock who loves hearing the sound of his own voice. Oooh, thought I, is he going to turn out a clever, shrewd villain whom everyone underestimates? Not so. Emriana ends up in an arranged betrothal with him, and he promptly ties her up and tries to rape her toward the end of the book (where the antagonists take over the Matrell estate). Yes, really. He hits her maid. Yes, really. He tells Grozier's wizard to enchant Emriana so she will desire him utterly. Yay bad romance novel conventions.

Evestor, the older brother of Emriana and Vambran, doesn't fare very well, either. He ends up being the one behind it all, sort of. But still, nothing interesting. He just... sides with Denrick at the end. Heck, he even has one of those megalomaniac moments "Mine! The power is mine at laaaast! oneone eleventy-one!" Uhm, not long after that, he falls over a balcony and dies.

Throughout the various blunders Vambran makes, a mysterious red-clad stranger shows up repeatedly to save him. I'm sad to say that I very quickly guessed the identity of this person, and I was proven right. I think that's my biggest gripe with this book: the plotting is sod-all predictable, flat, and there's no surprise whatsoever. All this, after all the buildup of something subtle and intelligent; I end up going "That's it? Why the hell did they bother with all that seemingly elaborate scheming?"

Final rating: The book, overall, isn't bad. It's not good, either. I think it sits squarely on that threshold between "decent" and "mediocre."

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Originally posted by Winterfox
And for some reason, at the end, her grandmother Hetta names her one of the most sensible, most trustworthy members of the family. Despite her having displayed zero trace of intelligence or wit and despite her getting repeatedly into trouble. Yup, that's a potential head of the house, all right.

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Heck, he even has one of those megalomaniac moments "Mine! The power is mine at laaaast! oneone eleventy-one!" Uhm, not long after that, he falls over a balcony and dies.

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