The Shield of Weeping Ghosts: The Citadels [Mass Market Paperback]

The Shield of Weeping Ghosts by James P. Davis is the third novel in a series of stand alone novels called The Citadels. The other novels in the series are; Neversfall: The Citadels by Ed Gentry, Obsidian Ridge: The Citadels by Jess Lebow, and Sentinelspire (The Citadels) by Mark Sehestedt (July, 2008). The Citadel series focuses of citadels and tells their story in unique and interesting ways. These novels are much like the other series of stand alone novels that have been previously released, such as the Rogues, the Clerics, the Wizards, and the Fighters. Incidentally, Mr. Davis also had a novel in the Wizards series; Bloodwalk.

The plot of this book is actually rather difficult to describe. Being that this is a book in the Citadels series there is certainly a story being the citadel in question. However, as I was reading this novel, and upon completing it, I was left more confused that satisfied with how the actual plot was laid out. There is also a plot line involving a group of the seldom written about Rashemi. Along the way there are a couple other subplots such as an ancient evil, some distrust among the Rashemi, and a mystery that has permeated the Shield of Weeping Ghosts and the secrets it is protecting. The reason I say I was left confused is due to the fact that there are parts of the story that take place in the past, but are meshed together with the present. This, at least in theory, sounds like an interesting concept. However, as it's written it seems jumbled and often confusing as the two story lines fight for the attention of the reader. Instead of reading a story that was new and refreshing (in principle), I was left having to re-read (sometimes several times) sections of this novel to try and figure out what was going on and who it was happening to.

The characters in this book are solid and fairly well written. In particular the character Bastun. There is great depth to his character and an equal amount of character development. In fact, I will even go so far as to say his character was the most interesting thing in this book for me. There are a couple of other characters that feature prominently in this novel as well. Characters such as; Thaena who is an ethran with the Rashemi, Duras is member of the ethran's guard, Syrolf who is also a member of the ethran's guard, and Anilya who is a durthan. All of these characters were interesting, some more than others, and all played an important part of the story. Some of the dialogue seemed a little `off' to me, almost as though it was trying to meet up two separate plot points with an explanation from a character. When done the right way, these explanations (which can be found in many books) are fine, but when they start discussing information that the character shouldn't know, or know little about, it becomes unbelievable and taints the novel and I felt that way a couple times in this novel. Aside from the dialogue issue, I enjoyed most of the characters in this book.

A few criticisms about this novel.

1 - For me there was a great deal of confusion with certain parts of the book. I understand the wanting to create a somewhat chaotic feel, but when a reader is required to re-read passages of a book. It tells me that the author didn't succeed in explaining the scene. It was frustrating to begin to get into the flow of the story only to have to re-read a section.

2 - As I discussed above, some of the dialogue seemed forced. It actually felt as though the character wasn't talking to another character, rather that character was talking to the reader making sure they got a plot point.

3 - The lack of tertiary characters. To me, those side characters (even if they are there for a scene or two) add a certain depth to the story. They are not just mindless, faceless, fodder to be killed off when a death is needed.

Some things I really enjoyed about this novel.

1 - Bastun. Plain and simple. I really liked this character. I liked his character development, and I like where (and how) he ended the novel. Bastun is certainly one of the more memorable characters I have read about in awhile.

2 - I enjoy Mr. Davis' prose. It's fluid and doesn't try to be overly flowery. It pretty much is what it is and doesn't pretend to be anything else. It allows the reader to get into the flow of the novel quickly.

3 - I really appreciated the degree of description hat Mr. Davis added to this novel, without being overly descriptive. Some authors tend to get caught up in over describing things that really make no difference. Mr. Davis on the other hand, describes things quickly and to the point then moves on. This allows the reader to get an idea of the author's vision, but doesn't bog them down with needless details.

Overall, there were things I enjoyed about this book but things that frustrated me as well. As a Forgotten Realms story it's about average. I was not wowed by this book, but I wasn't left feeling cheated by it either. Confused, yes - but not cheated. I think that since I am not, nor have I ever really been, a gamer there are some things that I may not have picked up on. It's a fine line for authors in the Realms to write novels that readers will understand and `get' and at the same time providing information that gamers will appreciate. For Forgotten Realms fan they may enjoy reading about a group, the Rashemi, which are rarely written about. Being that this is a stand alone novel it is also a book that fantasy fans can pick up having no knowledge of the Realms. A decent overall story, but with some flaws.

I really enjoyed this book in the Forgotten Realms series. The author creates an interesting set of tensions between the main characters as they delve deeper into a cursed fortress. There are plenty of encounters to keep those keen on D&D guessing which creatures they are battling and the characters' powers being used. There are a number of plots which come to a satisfying conclusion and the author writes well.

This was a very good story in my opinion. Nice pace, good detail and lots of action. It left some openings but that just made me want more. I dont have to have every detail closed up. I like the mystery and being able to fill in my those holes on my own. I hope to see more of this author.

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