Shadow Harold, master thief, is in over his head. When he accepted the King's commission (not that he had any choice in the matter) he did not think that it would be to retrieve a legendary artefact from Hrad Spein, the many-layered resting place of ogres, elves and wizards; a place of dread, awe and immeasurable power, sealed up for centuries. Unless Harold finds the long-lost Horn, the Nameless One will overrun the realm of Valiostr, the northernmost kingdom of Siala.
But that was just the beginning of Harold's troubles. Magically bound to the Key with which the dark elves sealed Hrad Spein, and which his enemies are determined to obtain at any cost, treachery, subterfuge and death follow Harold and his companions as they fight to reach their goal. On one side is the threat of the Nameless One; on the other, the servants of the mysterious Master. A long-dead mage is living in Harold's head, and his dreams are haunted by terrible visions. What is the meaning of the House of Power, not to mention the House of Pain, the House of Love, and the House of Fear? Resolutely denying his destiny as the mystical Dancer in the Shadows, Harold's journey takes him to the Forest of Zagraba, 'the land where the gods had walked at the dawn of time'...
The first book started little slow but I felt this has more action. There doesn’t actually happen all that much but there was still many battles. I should have re-read the last book because I had forgotten who was whoand what happened but it didn’t take long to remember everyone.
Harold isn’t too happy to be the supposed hero and thinks his life was much more simple as a regular thief. But he’s also started to wonder if he has changed. He didn’t have any friends or family, which he thought was a liability, and now he has whole bunch of outcasts who he can call friends. Has this made him softer?
Harold doesn’t have as much spotlight as in the last book but I didn’t feel like anyone had real spotlight over others.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Kli-Kli the goblin jester . But it seems like there is much more to him than just being a fool. Can’t wait to find out what he really is about. But my favourites were the elves. I wish there was more about them in the next book! I love it that elves resemble orcs with fangs and all.
I had some problems with one battle, mainly with the outcome at least but it’s better not to speak more about it here. I really liked this and you gotta love good fantasy book! Can’t wait to read the next book!
