Rating: 6.5/10
Synopsis
It’s been five long years since the city learned to fear…
In book #2 of the Shadowdance series, the war between the thief guilds and the powerful allegiance known as the Trifect has slowly dwindled. Now only the mysterious Haern is left to wage his private battle against the guilds in the guise of the Watcher – a vicious killer who knows no limits. But when the son of Alyssa Gemcroft, one of the three leaders of the Trifect, is believed murdered, the slaughter begins anew. Mercenaries flood the streets with one goal in mind: find and kill the Watcher.
Peace or destruction; every war must have its end.
Review
Thank you to Hachette Audio for the audiobook of A Dance of Blades in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.
We follow Haern again in this one for the majority of the story. I liked Haern’s development throughout the story and the way the people around him affected him in positive ways especially. When we start out this story Haern is a loner. Many of the people he cared about in his life are either dead or estranged from him in some way. However, we see Haern be able to reconnect with some old acquaintances and friends and transform into a more well rounded and focused person throughout the story. Although I did enjoy the character development that was there, I do wish that Haern and the other characters had some more in depth character development.
Haern’s skill with a blade is incredible and David Dalglish is really good at writing entertaining action scenes. Each action sequence was riveting and filled with danger and suspense wondering whether the characters involved would make it out alive.
We had some good side characters in this one. Ghost, the terrifying and deadly mercenary sent to take out The Watcher. The farmer (whose name I can’t remember) and his family, caught up in the machinations of the Trifect and the people trying to take the Trifect’s power for themselves. Death Mask, a mage trying to take over the Underworld. There were many side characters in this story and all were interesting and added to the story.
This was a solid entry into the Shadowdance series. An entertaining and fun read that I just wish had a little more depth in the characters and worldbuilding.
I have read the first one a couple of weeks ago, and I found that that book was an introduction to this story, in some ways, so I wanted to continue the series, and now I am even more curious!
It was definitely an enjoyable read. I’ll look forward to what you think of it!
Love the cover.
Agreed! Almost all the covers in this series are awesome. They’re what drew me in the first place