By Ian Strelec, Staff Reviewer

Available at FRP Games

Eberron: Thieves of Blood PB [Novel]
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Initiative Round
Thieves of Blood is Book One of the "Blade of the Flame" series by Tim Waggoner and published by Wizards of the Coast. The story follows two main characters - Diran Bastiaan, assassin-turned-priest of the Silver Flame, and Ghaji, his hulking half-orc companion and bodyguard. Diran was once a member of a secret assassin's cult that recruited its members by kidnapping young children and initiating them into the training. At the ceremony where he was inducted into the guild officially, a dark spirit was bonded to his soul to make him faster, smarter, stronger, and absolutely cold-hearted; that is, the perfect assassin.

A priest of the Silver Flame removed the spirit, however, and Diran joined the clergy in an effort to make up for his mistakes. The book opens with Diran and Ghaji continuing their wandering mission to destroy creatures of evil, a mission interrupted by the arrival of the Black Fleet. The Fleet is a group of pirates who have been kidnapping people up and down the coasts for the past few decades, and Diran and Ghaji learn to their horror that the leader is a vampire when the fleet attacks and kidnaps one of Diran's closest friends. This first book follows the pair as they go hunting the Fleet and its undead admiral in a quest to find Diran's friend and put an end to the threat of the Black Fleet.

Critical Hit
The "redeemed crusader" character may be somewhat of a cliche, but Diran fits the mold well and performs admirably within its definitions. He doesn't seriously step outside the norm with the character, but Waggoner created a strong character in him nonetheless. The relationships in the book are at least believable in some sense of the word, and the characters act in a fluid and realistic manner. Speech is written as spoken, so you won't find half-orc barbarians speaking like Oxford graduates (unlike some books I can name...). The book doesn't really step out of the box at all, but the overall presentation is strong, the pacing good for the overall plot, and the plot lacking in major holes. Waggoner did a good job of making sure that the story made sense - at least as much sense as one can in a world where you have flying boats powered by extraplanar forces as a major mode of transportation.

Critical Fumble
The only real problem this book has is in the sheer lack of creativity - it just doesn't jump out as anything new or interesting. It uses a typical character in a fairly standard plot with somewhat uninteresting villains. What could have really made the difference here is Diran's background, but changing that would have drastically altered the story beyond understanding. So, it's not to say that the background or the characters are weak; rather that they're simply not strong as they could or should be.

Coup de Grace
Overall, the book is decent. It's not incredible, not overly interesting, chilling, or gripping. It's definitely not bad, but I will say that there are plenty of things you could be reading that are better. The story, characters, background (that is, everything important) is just so very...blah.

Final Grade: C