Twilight Falling

Forgotten Realms: Erevis Cale Trilogy, Book 1

By: Paul S. Kemp

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

Erevis Cale - simple butler or much, much more?

The shadows grow long on the mean streets of Selgaunt...and the sun sets on one man's service to Sembia's merchant lords.

The day's end finds Erevis Cale serving a new master, one who is beyond the petty accumulation of wealth.

After all, what is gold to one who trades in souls?

©2003 Wizards of the Coast, LLC (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Really Good First Book

What did you love best about Twilight Falling?

The story and characters were solid.

What did you like best about this story?

It was an easy story to follow. It has its twists and turns but the author keeps it with the core people. I like Drizzt books but sometimes you spend handfuls of chapters and Drizzt and his group then another few on some bad guys etc. It can make it a little hard to follow... but this book was really nice.

What about John Pruden’s performance did you like?

Awesome. Not only did he change his voice but he really went above and beyond with accents etc. I never thought I'd listen to someone who was as good as Bert Bevine but John Pruden was cool.

I would reccommend this book

What made the experience of listening to Twilight Falling the most enjoyable?

The characters are in depth and so is the story. You don't get that cartoon like feel that comes with some fantasy stories. It seems that world could be real and the people in them are dealing with their own real/ magical stuff. Not to mention it is a fun adventure!

What did you like best about this story?

kemp likes to try to bring in as much gritty realism as he can. Also, how the heroes are not only dealing with outer conflict, but the conflict within themselves and between each other.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favorite?

I like them all, but Jack stands out to me.

It was three books that should of be one.

Would you try another book from Paul S. Kemp and/or John Pruden?

Yes love them

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Back story of Hell and some of the politics of Hell.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favorite?

Cale

Do you think Twilight Falling needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

All 3 should of fit into one.

Any additional comments?

I wish they had a book that just focused on the politics of hell see dragon magazine for the article.

Not for you if you aren't familiar with the Realms

This book is truly difficult to review because depending on personal knowledge of the reader, the experience will be vastly different. If you are familiar with the Forgotten Realms setting, as well as such arcane concepts as Ioun Stones, Githyanki, and the various colors of Slaadi, you will love this book. If not, you do not have the requisite subknowledge to fully comprehend and enjoy this book or the other Erevis Cale books. As I have been playing D&D since 1981, far before the publication of the Forgotten Realms, this was not a problem for me. Unlike many of the earlier Forgotten Realms novels, you do not see the dice rolling in the text. I also found it refreshing to see well written stories based on incredibly high level characters that did not involve Elminster or the Harpers.

The storyline is a basic variation of the Hero's Journey. Erevis Cale is a major domo for one of the ruling families in one of the southern trade cities. His house is attacked and he vows to avenge this outrage. The remainder of the story is difficult to explain with ruining the whole series, but among other issues, Erevis is the first priest of Mask, the God of Shadows. This trilogy and the next are basically Mask meddling in Erevis' life.

I would be interested to talk to someone without the intimate knowledge of the gaming system, but I am afraid it would be a very negative experience.

The narration is unbearable.

I couldn't get past the first chapter. The narration is some of the worst I have ever heard.

Great story!

A great book series and great reading as well. I could really immerse my self in the story.

YEEEESSSSSSS

it's wild how this story has so many layers to it. choruses and echoes of paths taken, the question of choice and will in The wider conversation of fate or destiny. characters are amazing, the story groups you with both hands and doesn't let go. kudos to anybody who read the book at the time of publication and had to be patient for the next one to see where it goes

Unfortunately disappointed

I hoped for the best here as I took a break from the usual Drizzt fare and took a chance on a different author. Kemp is not a bad writer by any means, but this story did not capture me. Perhaps it's a matter of personal taste but I had high hopes for Kemp in particular seeing as I am also gearing up to read his Egil and Nix series. As a massive sword and sorcery fan I was looking forward to reading an author who is self styled as a sword and sorcery author and has a series that appears (on the surface) to emulate some of the elements of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, one of the major foundational pillars of "S&S".
So in my dismay I come across this story. Well plotted, well written, tense, mysterious, magical, dark... just not much for me.

The hero, I guess we can call him that, is just along for the ride down a path of magical assassinations as other assassins pursue them. In the most basic terms, it's a book about a guy with just a shred of a conscience who nonchalantly follows an evil sort of demigod who supplies him with power; his loyalty for no other reason than to acquire said power. This guy goes through a series of missions for this being, occasionally accompanied by other magic assassins. It's shadow on shadow, and eventually it just isn't fun to see how far down this guy is willing to go. Nor is it fun to see any of the other characters do anything at all, as they are just as bad as the "bad guys". Eventually I just didn't see the point in any of it. But as I said, it is well written, and well narrated. I'm not saying the plain good vs. evil of Drizzt is that much more exciting but in terms of overall flavor I like there to be a bit more conflict of themes. Take Fafhrd and Gray Mouser for instance. Yes they are total scumbags and the city in which their adventures take place is a seedy hive of villainy, but they bring such joy and variety of intrigue to every situation, in and out of battles, missions, whatever. That sense of joy, excitement, juxtaposition, variety, etc., wasn't on display here. Maybe I missed something. I will continue the series to see if hopefully a new companion comes in with a conscience or different perspective to bring another dimension to the storytelling. Hey, maybe even a, I don't know, a woman?

awesome start to this series

This is my 3rd time going thru this series in 5 years and I love it no less. Truly awesome story and narration.

Fantastic Story

Definently the best series I've head in some time. You have your typical band of mismatched people none of which are really good people but they band together to stop an evil. I'm not going to give away any spoilers but definitely worth the read. I came to this series from ra Salvatore's books over the dark elf drizzt and feel that this is equally as awesome as that series looking forward to hopefully more books about Erevis Cale.

Not for me

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I enjoy all the Drizzt novels so I may have been spoiled by the writing of R A Salvatore. It may appeal to D&D readers but I though it was very one dimensional.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

No interest in following up this hero or his companions.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of John Pruden?

Victor Bevine narrates the Drizzt novels very well so he could be a contender. John Pruden did not differentiate between the characters and therefore did not add to the intensity of the story. Very disappointed.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not for me.

Any additional comments?

I will not read any more books by this author or the narrator,