A Dance of Cloaks: Shadowdance

Thren Felhorn is the master of the Spider Guild, the supreme collective under which Thren has united all the thieves’ guilds in the city of Veldaren. In the prologue of A Dance of Cloaks, author David Dalglish has given Thren two sons, Randith and Aaron, and placed the guilds on the brink of war with the Trifect, three wealthy families that wield most of the political power in a land where the king is young, foolish and easily manipulated. By the end of the prologue, though, only Aaron can claim his father’s favor, which he gains by one clearly filial act and one shocking act that is the act of a son only because his father ordered it. The brutal flavor of this book is thus established quickly and efficiently, and the reader knows that she is in for a story of ruthless people.Five years have passed since the events of the prologue when the body of the book opens. Aaron is in training with Robert Haern, whose techniques are eccentric; but he was once the tutor of the king, before the king refused his corrections, and Thren wants the best for his heir. Haern’s initial lessons for Aaron allow Dalglish to give us the history of the land and the reasons for the war between the thieves and the Trifect, as well as the religious and political background necessary to understand the rest of the novel, but the conversation feels natural and unforced; it is an infodump handled with care.The action picks up quickly thereafter, however, as new characters from both the thieves’ world and the world of the Trifect are introduced. Kayla, who sells information to any willing buyer and ultimately becomes allied with Thren, and Robert do their part to shape the young Aaron, not always in a manner his father would approve. To the contrary, they attempt to make him a better man, less ruthless, someone with a conscience.That struggle is only one of many in this complex book. There is a struggle between the adherents of two different gods, both of which seem to be real and present in this world, allowing their clergy to wield magic. There is a struggle between the daughter of one of the Trifect and her father, and between her and an upstart family that seeks its own position of power. There is a struggle between the three members of the Trifect as to the proper way to win the war with Thren’s thieves. There is a struggle between the various guilds that are allied under Thren’s leadership. And there is Aaron’s own internal struggle, between the vicious killer his father wants to sculpt him into and the more compassionate, loving, and strong man he seems to want to be.Indeed, there are so many struggles that it is at first difficult to keep all the plotlines straight in one’s mind, and so many characters that it is hard to remember who is who. Dalglish does not sufficiently distinguish some of his characters well, especially those who are female. And Dalglish occasionally becomes so caught up in the complications he creates for his characters that he forgets to include any motivation for some of their desires or actions (why is Kayla interested in humanizing Aaron, for instance? And why does Thren not want to be the founding member of a dynasty rather than see his descendants end with Aaron?). But Dalglish makes up for these drawbacks by refusing to rescue intriguing characters in which he’s invested many pages when the plot calls for them to die, and by refusing to kill off those characters we’d like to see roasted over hot coals. The plotting is the strongest of Dalglish’s writing skills, and he remains true to it when the reader might wish to see things go differently.A Dance of Cloaks is the first of the SHADOWDANCE series. The first three books and a related novella are currently available. Originally self-published, the books were picked up and reissued by Orbit after substantial editing. Two additional books in the series are scheduled to be published in 2014. I was sufficiently captivated by this book that I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Aaron in the next book, A Dance of Blades. More than that, I’m interested in seeing what Dalglish does next.Originally published at Fantasy Literature. Stars bumped up one to accommodate different standards for rating at different websites.

As you may be reading, I recently bought a Kindle. The first thing I did was to do a bit of a scrounge looking for books to read which might perk me up. As I'm currently going through a rogue-centred phase, I thought I'd try this little novel. I knew absolutely nothing about this guy until after I'd read it.A Dance of Cloaks is the story of the son of a local underworld king and his destiny to follow the old man into the bidness. I can't help it. I'm going to use mafia terminology all through the review. I can feel it. The boy grows up imitating his father, but caught somehow between a duality of purpose. On one hand he wants to be the dutiful son, and on the other he yearns to do as all sons want to do - break free of his father's shadow and make his own. Shadow, that is.Yawn, I hear you say. And you say "yawn" again when I tell you Mister Dalglish isn't being published by Tor. Or Random. Or Hachette. Or anybody, really. He's doing it el solo. On his own. Through Amazon's Createspace service. Which we've used here at Lateral Books, too. And you're thinking, hmmm. Novelty press. Boring.But you couldn't be more wrong if you looked like Michael Jackson.This book is tight with a capital T. It's so well paced and strictly controlled that it defies your conception of what novelty press is all about. Indeed, it's the perfect example of something I've been thinking about lately in relation to ebooks - that pretty soon it will be much more possible for authors to take over their own work and pump it out easy as pie through Amazon and other websites which encourage skipping the middleman of the publisher. Whether they're as successful we can only wait and see, but I do believe that in the long run it is definitely the way to go for the aspiring writer. Especially if they're doing something a little less than mainstream. It's like making your own movie and taking it to Cannes.Now, Mister Dalglish has managed to make me buy his other books, too, and halfway through his first series, I'm totally hooked on his writing. He's got a remarkable ability to toy with anti-heroes. You just never know what everyone wants or what they're going to do. I'm liking that about him. The fact he lets his characters dabble in the grey area of life rather than sit disturbingly too far into the white that they read more as passive zealots than anything else is just plain enjoyable. His plot twisted, turned, and pretty much ate its own tail before coming to a satisfying conclusion. Several plot ideas did seem a little too embellished and a little tentative, but for the most part he carries it very well because he has something on his side which is the gold in every mine - characters. He has wonderful characters.He reminds me in many ways of recent books by Andy Remic, Jon Sprunk and even James Barclay. The return of character-driven plots with more in common to the golden age of pulp Swords and Sorcery novels is a welcome phoenix to me. I can't get enough of them! Choc-full of assassins, thieves, rogues and death. Lots and lots of death!As a singular novel, this is strong. I'm baffled as to why he hasn't been snapped up by a major publisher yet. Compared to much of what is self-published in fantasy, to have written not one but a fistful of tightly written fantasy which goes straight for the jugular and STILL not be snapped up is just a sign of the times.If you like your fantasy a little edgy and a little more streetsmart, then you're going to like this. It holds its own with the tantalising promise of better things to come.

I absolutely hate it when I can't finish a book and kick myself for doing so, but I couldn't carry on. I'm a massive reader and lately finding a good new adult fantasy which isn't cliche, is like finding a needle in a haystack (however I do recommend The Summoner by Taran Matharu). Right, back to the book. I got the sample and was so immersed that I thought I'd found a really good book so I brought it after skimming the reviews but I was very disappointed. 35% in and I still have no sympathy for any characters apart from Aaron. Not only that, there are characters that remind me heavily of varis and some others from Game of Thrones and there is the faceless women... I mean COME ON how obvious can you be?But it's not just that, like I said I'm 35% through and I only have the most basic of plot lines so far and I cannot keep slipping into battle when I don't care what happens to them because of the poor character development.It's sad that it is poorly written as it has a very promising idea. Maybe if you have never read/watch GoT you may be able to enjoy it...(It is also written in a very George RR Martin way as there is one chapter for each character and you have to wait several chapters to carry on their story. Personally, I find this very difficult to read.)SORRY FOR THE LONG REVIEW

I am no literary genius, however I do know a well written book when I get one. I have seen this book likened to Name of the Wind and some of Robin Hobbs work. That simply cannot be the case. Both of those books, whether you like the stories or not (I very much do) are so deeply described and structured. Compare them to this book, which I found to be a jumble of badly constructed characters that are left wanting. You feel like you know very little about them, which isn't the type of story I like to read.Further to that though, the story just doesn't connect. It all seems like very little thought goes into what the characters do and say. This is a fantasy story so don't misunderstand when I say, it feels unbelievable. Not about the magic, or the world, but what the characters do. There are some badly described ghost women for example, that seem impervious to any assault, yet when a few extra soldiers come to attack them they run (float? I don't know, it wasn't explained. I don't know what they really are) off.Give it a go, it might be your cup of Tea. It perhaps might attract a certain type of audience. It clearly has, and fair enough to you. But if you have read the likes of Robin Hobb, Mark Lawrence (particularly him), Brandon Sanderson, Pattrick Rothfuss, and the fantastic Joe Abercrombie; then I would not waste your time with this book.

I absolutely love this book, from the second I started reading it I couldn't stop. The story line is gripping and the book is filled with action. I had never read books by this author before but I would definitely consider reading others now. My friends new years resolution is to read more so I have lent him my copy of the book- its that good. I don't lend books out normally, he damages it he orders me a new one. This is one of my favourite books and I keep my favourites in the condition they are in when they leave the shop. I cannot stress enough how good this book really is. I guess you'll just have to read it and trust me- you wont regret it. If you love the Game of Thrones books or any book by Brandon Sanderson I reckon you'll love these.

David Dalglish writes fantasy how it should be written. No pretentious place names, character names, dialogue or action. The book flows from page to page and does not waffle (like other fantasy books that seem to go on and on and on...)and keeps you reading. I have others in the series, and although there is a basic link, could be read as stand-alone novels. Highly recommend - particularly if you were a fan of the Legend, David Gemmell. Dalglish's books don't have his raw grittiness but they are the best fantasy I have read since Gemmel's death.

I bought every booked published by this author who does write incredibly well. As with all eBooks in my possession there are typos and misspellings which ought not to be there. Also I'm a fast reader and think some books could have been put together. At times it felt like buying episodes rather than a chunky book. However I will buy more books as they are published because the author is talented and tells a good tale. A good read.