Dawn of Night: The Erevis Cale Trilogy, Book II (Mass Market Paperback)

The book opens with a very interesting scene involving the Sojourner, the slaads' master hinted at in Twilight Falling. He is powerful! The book then moves to Cale and his group. Cale must deal with a life-changing transformation, and Riven also seems to be undergoing something. Magadon's past is explained and I found him a very intriguing character.

The action is, as usual, well described but not gratuitous. Kemp's pacing is excellent and the end of the book leaves me pining for book III.

The first book of this Trilogy was equally impressing, so I had high hopes for this one but was let down... I am not even for sure why the Sojourner character wants all this power, and how he is able to do it, without Mystra stepping in on him, also Kemp's character Cale is supposed to be worshipping Mask, but Cale is trying to be anything but semi-neutral. He reminds me of a Drizzt Do'Urden gone white, and extremely bald... While reading the book, I really wanted Magadon or "Mags" to die a horrible death, though he got cut up severly by Serrin in the end, the honorable halfling Jak Fleet was there to heal him. I noticed that throughout the entire book whenever someone got seriously injured there just happened to be some magical power and or regeneration going on. Anyways, I was happy to see that Riven turned on Cale, but as to what will happen into book three I can already guess. That somehow Cale will get his revenge on Riven, and the Sojourner will not gain whatever power he was trying to obtain in the first place. Aziriim will die, probably Mags will die, and Fleet will go home peacefully smoking his leaf.

I just hope Paul S. Kemp will bring the last book of the War of the Spiderqueen to a great end and will not let something like this happen again.

Finally I would like to say that Wizards of the Coast needs to let the authors expand their imaginations and let them write more. Almost every Realms book I read when it comes down to 100pgs left in the book and the Heroes are 10,000 miles away from their appointed destiny, there comes some teleportation device and or magical ferry that picks them up and takes them there.... what is up with the 350pgs books? They are TOO SHORT!!!