A good follow-up book into the Dark Brothers trilogy
341430
A good follow-up book into the Dark Brothers trilogy.  The story was not as short as the first, but with the characters and plot introduced, I could see the opportunity to really add on to this trilogy.

I liked the dynamic of how Mason was protective of his sister-in-law, family was really important and that is carried throughout the book.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
183762
Tad Williams continues his great Otherland saga in Mountain of Black Glass.  This book is a good read and very hard to put down.  However most of that comes from getting hooked on the series from the first two books.  The existing plotlines are further developed, but not much new comes your way.  A lot of "yeah, that's what I thought" happens while reading.  I found myself slightly impatient with the last half of the book, as you wait for what you know is coming.  With that in mind this is still a good book.  The side stories hinted at in the second book are executed herein, and are well done.  Tad Williams is a great writer and I eagerly await my UPS delivery with the final book, Sea of Silver Light.
4828244
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that it (kind of) wraps up the Roen/Tao story, which I would've liked more of. There's another trilogy coming though, so hopefully they come back. Overall, I really enjoyed these books and was sad to finish my time with the characters.
2177985
Set immediately after the events of McClellan's first novel, "Promise of Blood", "Return to Honor" focuses on the beginning of the redemption of Captain Vlora, a non-POV character from the first two books of the trilogy. The story is around the length of a couple of chapters in one of the larger novels, and is entirely focused on Vlora's efforts to complete a mission before she will be allowed to head back to the front and hopefully rejoin the rest of Field Marshal Tamas' powder cabal. While not as long or twisting as McClellan's last short in the Powder Mage universe, "Murder at the Kinnen Hotel" which is highly recommended, "Return to Honor" does give us much more insight into what Vlora is going through, as well as exploring how she comes to know Captain Olem, something which hadn't been explored in "The Crimson Campaign" but had obviously happened in between the first two books of the trilogy.

Like all of McClellan's other shorts, I enjoyed this extra peek into the lives of his characters. "Return to Honor" did feel a bit more like a chapter which could have been in the books, unlike the other novellas which gave us more background into characters years before the events of the novels. That doesn't mean it wasn't good though, and it completely whet my appetite for the third book in the trilogy, "The Autumn Republic", which is due in about a month - something I'm very much looking forward to. Bottom line is that if you like McClellan's work you'll like this, just like I did.
2302541
Dark dreamers is alot shorter then most if the dark series but still manages to pack in the action and still has a good build up to the love scences between Falcon and Sara, the main characters. If you are a Feehan and dark series fan you should really read this as Feehan talks about the them later on in the dark series and you will be miffed if you don't know the characters. It was a refreashing read as it didn't have quite so many love scenes in as usual. I like them but coming towards the end of a book i want plot action not love action. A good read and Falcon sounds very dishy!!!
3694722
The Heresy Within follows three characters: Thanquil Darkheart, an Arbiter for the Inquisition (aka a "witch-hunter," with the ability to determine if a person has magical powers, or has become a host to a demon), Betrim, better known as The Black Thorn, a thug who has killed several Arbiters and is a member of a roving crew of blackguards, and Jezzet, a Blademaster, who travels in search of work.

Their stories come together as Thanquil meets up with Jezzet and hires her to help him fulfill his mission set upon him by his Living God-Emperor. Eventually, they join forces with the Black Thorn and the crew of which he's a member. Surprisingly, they have complementary goals. It's an uneasy alliance, but one that works.

I really enjoyed this story. It's a grim dark fantasy, but with touches of humor that keep it from utter desolation. Mr. Hayes easily weaves the threads together, and shows the separate POV in a way that keeps the story flowing. I'm looking forward to the second book of this trilogy (The Color of Vengeance).
1092268
A quick read and look into The Dark Brothers Trilogy. You get a glimpse into Aiden and how he shifts and picks his mate with Zoey. While she has been wanting something different in her life and she finds that with Aiden.
584354
The 3rd book in the trilogy does a pretty good job of wrapping things up - I didn't give it 5 stars because I thought there were a few too-large large gaps in the time frames. There were gaps of several years in some spots and I think there was more that could have been done in those areas. To get the full impact, I'd recommend reading the 1st 2 books in the trilogy or if you've read them, re-reading the 2nd to get up to speed on the characters.
3504324
Not as good as the first book of the trilogy but I am glad that I read it.
3794690
This is the second book in a great trilogy about friends, family, and a continuing love triangle between brothers..., and more.  It took me a long time to decide which brother I was pulling for.  The subject matter in the first book is a little lighter than the next two, but all are definitely worth reading.
613734
Ruin was an excellent follow up to dark tide 1, the only real problem I had was with how the story developement went.  At some points the book was fast paced and took time to explain things, then in other situations the  author would skip a week and take the story from their.  Dont get me wrong  this was a great star wars book (as are all the New Jedi Order books). I  mean the characters are great and the addition of new jedis is even better!  Its nice to see Jedis with attitudes different from Luke's, and seeing the  way the use the force and how they handle the  responsibilites that come  along with it. All in all it is a good star wars book and I would highly  recommend it to anyone who is reading the new jedi order books. The end of  this book was really good and surprising. It makes waiting for the next one  hard to deal with
1449590
I came to Ravenor after really enjoying Eisenhorn.  This led to me having several incorrect assumptions about what Ravenor would be like.  It's set in the same universe, by the same author, also a trilogy, about another Inquisitor and titled after the main character's last name-- but there are some key differences that, had I been aware of them, would have probably allowed me to enjoy this book more.

1) The book Ravenor has an ensemble of characters.  Whereas Eisenhorn had a well-defined central character-- Eisenhorn-- with a few strong supporting characters. Ravenor does not.  Ravenor gets some first person voice, but is pretty much on equal footing with the key members of his band.  I was sixty or so pages in before I really picked up on this; I had been skimming over some of what I thought were introductions of minor characters, only to realize they were getting more time than Ravenor himself.  And the band is quite large, 7-9 at any one point, with four vying with Ravenor for focus in the story.

2) The book Ravenor is the first part of a trilogy.  Eisenhorn was a great trilogy, but you could have read any one book without reference to the others.  Not so, Ravenor.  The first (and second) book of the Ravenor trilogy ends not necessarily in a cliffhanger, but with obviously unanswered questions.  In fact, I was getting a little irritated towards the end of the first book, as it began to look to me like a police procedural dedicated to busting a drug ring, only to have a much wider scope open up in the end, to be wrapped up in the sequels.

Anyway, I really did enjoy the book, I just wish I had started it without these preconceptions.
1669924
Enjoyed the first book so much that I continued on to the second book in this trilogy.  Yes, I will read the 3rd book, if and when it's available. Although the structure in this book wasn't as polished as the first book, the storyline was interesting and moved along.
2426745
I suspected this would be darker than Dark Moonlighting and it was, but still very good. I enjoyed the origins of the werewolves and how our hero got to his ultimate victim. I won't say more because I'm afraid I will accidently weave a spoiler into the review, but the ending had a great twist to it and sets up the next book (there will be a next book, right?) perfectly.  Just be aware that there isn't as many little humorous little scenes as the first one.
2368595
4.5 star rating:  I started this book without reading the other two in the series.  In some ways this was a mistake.  This is definitely not a stand-alone story.  Part way in, I decided to go back and read the first book in the series before continuing  reading this one.  I must say that the parts of this book that I read allowed me to understand a lot of what happened in the first book better.  Even though, I did not read the second book in the series, I was able to piece together what happened based on the events in this book.  This a very gripping series, but the past events that Quentin in particular went through are very dark and disturbing and bothered me tremendously.  It is not a light read by any means.  I became very invested in what happens to the two main characters and am anxiously waiting for the next in the series to see what happens.
1802352
part 2 of the trilogy - in some ways even better
4082429
This was really good, lots of interaction between the main characters, it was funny, witty, and surprisingly good for the last book in the trilogy. Although not as good as the first two in the series. Some of Angelinas behaviour and words were a bit cringey. You think, really? What actual person says/does that? It makes her look a tad psychotic with the unnecessary violence. Id like to see a mini two book series on the Nics two other brothers. They seemed pretty fun.