A Dance of Blades

Shadowdance, Book 2

By: David Dalglish

Narrated by: Elijah Alexander

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

From USA Today best-selling author David DalglishIt's been five long years since the city learned to fear....

In book two 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.

Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power.

©2013 David Dalglish (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Fast, furious, and fabulous." (Michael Sullivan, author of Theft of Swords on A Dance of Cloaks)

"Strong characterization as well as detailed action...a believable tale of a young man's coming-of-age and the difficult decisions he must make. His saga should appeal to fans of R.A. Salvatore and Richard Lee Byers." (Library Journal on A Dance of Cloaks)

"[A] winning combination of A Game of Thrones, sword-and-sorcery RPGS, and vivid description...Dalglish puts familiar pieces together with a freshness and pleasure that are contagious." (Publishers Weekly on A Dance of Cloaks)

Good story, ok performance

This story did well at flushing out more backstory of the Watcher that we know. Some of it seems a bit silly on the decisions that characters made, but then again there are silly people. Not one of the best audio performances, but it was a lot better than some and didn't ruin the book for me.

Great story continues! Excellent narration again

Any additional comments?

The bold cast of characters continues into this book, although don't get attached to anyone .. they are highly likely to die along the way in dramatic fashion. This book is even darker than the last and to great effect. Dalglish does not disappoint. The same smokey-voiced narrator as last book -- excellent delivery, and continued consistency through the creative use of accents. Love it!

Action Packed Second Book With A Few Flaws

I went into A Dance Of Blades right after listening to the first book A Dance Of Cloaks. In my review of the first book, I noted that I really liked the story but didn't much care for the narration. The same applies to this book, however after listening to the first, I have become somewhat used to the narrators speech, and I didn't find it as bothersome this time around. So I won't spend a lot of time on it here.

A Dance of Blades finds Aaron, now named Hearn to his friends, and The Watcher to everyone else, now on a vendetta to stop his father and the other thief guilds. The book starts out the action quickly, and Hearn even leaves the city of Velderin, showing a little bit more of this world. While on the road he encounters an ambush of the caravan carrying the son of Alyssa, one of the characters from the first book, and now a powerful merchant. Hearn intervenes to try and save the boy, but is later blamed for his death. This sets up the rest of the story, with all characters seeking revenge.

There are several characters that continue on from the first book, and some who didn't survive the first book are missed, although at least one reappears having apparently survived. There are also a few new characters, Death Mask, a wizard who joins the Ash Guild in a plot that is not quite fully uncovered in this book, and Ghost, an assassin who is very skilled and entertaining. I did have to laugh a little at their comic book names though.

I would have liked to seen a little more of the world this book is set in, but almost as soon as the story left the safety of the city, much like the main character Hearn, it seemed to grow afraid of what lurked outside the walls and quickly retreated back inside. Overall though, this is a very exciting second book in the Shadowdance series, and I think author David Danglish will become a name in the fantasy genre if he continues with books like this.

Overall pretty good you decide

I enjoyed this sequel a few concerns not addressed in the story but the author explains in his notes. The accents are not good tried to overlook this overall good story but I wasn’t exactly excited for more.

Predictable

Robin Hood with a sword

Lots of needless melodrama
The main character skills and abilities are completely dependent on whatever plot device is going on in this chapter of that chapter

I really hate it when a main character is described by killing dozens and dozens of people and then suddenly has some crisis of conscience and everybody starts moralizing to him where were they before he killed dozens and dozens of people