“I cut off his hand, yet he thanks me for not doing worse. That is the power you must one day command. Let them think every breath of theirs is a gift, not from the gods, but from you.”

Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. Marshalling the thieves’ guilds under his control, he declares war against the Trifect, an allegiance of wealthy and powerful nobles. His son, Aaron, has been groomed since birth to be his heir. Sent to kill the daughter of a priest, Aaron instead risks his own life to protect her from the wrath of his guild. In doing so, he glimpses a world beyond poison, daggers, and the iron control of his father.

Originally I had intended to read this book, write the review, and be done with it. Then I read the book, and neglected the review because I was far too busy reading the second book in the series.

Good sign don’t you think?

I found this book extremely well written with engaging action scenes and intriguing characters. There is a lot of switching back and forth between events and characters, but I didn’t have the slightest hint of trouble following along.

The book is a bloody one, you need to know that upfront – if you can’t get past that kind of thing, don’t read it.

If you can handle that, and like fantasy novels – then read it. And once you’re done, read the second one!

I also greatly enjoyed the second book, though perhaps a fraction less than the first. Through no fault of the author, one must be somewhat better than the other, it’s just the way it works.

I had never heard of David Dalglish before I discovered these two books, but you can rest assured that I will be reading more of his books in the future, including the currently un-released third, and final book in this series.

/5

Buy the Book on:
Smashwords (Multiple formats)
Amazon (Kindle)
Barns and Noble (Nook)