Skip to main content

The Haunting Duet


A tenuous pact between two rival organizations – a guild of powerful and ambitious wizards called the Prismatic Brotherhood and a reclusive dragon-worshipping cult of clerics known as the Order of the Silver Talon – is all that stands in the way of the Gobra’s conquest of Reaping Tides. However, the discovery of a powerful tome trapped within a library full of ancient magic and hidden beneath the Silver Talon’s giant cathedral for one-thousand years threatens to destroy that fragile alliance, weakening the security of the entire region. But will this tome grant its finder, Magdev Thandriss – guild master of the Prismatic Brotherhood – the level of power he so desperately desires, or will it release the greatest enemy Eldrivaos has ever known? Can a charismatic elven bard – too old to still be alive – convince the evil Aztiglomizzia, Terror of the Northern Wood, to once again assist the goodly races of Eldrivaos in defeating this epic Fiend? And will Tekumze, the leader of an unlikely band of rugged misfits calling themselves The Leper Kings, become the key to the world’s salvation? Or will he become the catalyst of its doom?
Reading at the dedication in the front of the book there was a mention of Dungeons and Dragons. So I reckoned that there would be some elements of D&D hidden in the Haunting Duet and, having played the game myself on more than one occasion, I was pretty curious what James Stills had in store for me and how it would be told.
I very much liked the idea of going off in search of a hidden book to grant new powers, and this reflected well in the prologue of The Haunting Duet. Displaying a nice introduction into the world of Storm Giants, as well as introducing Magdev, who is in search of the book of Etaglev. Then there is a follow-up in the second chapter with a 3 year leap, where Magdev is trying something out with summoning. I found these two chapter pretty neat and they really caught my attention. However, from the next chapters on I felt that the story diverged too much and lost some focus. In the Haunting Duet you will meet up with: humans, goblins, orcs, dwarfs, gnomes, dragons, elves and demons. On top of the different races there is also The Prismatic Brotherhood, Orders of the Silver Talon, Leper Kings and the Gobra’s. And for me it all felt a bit too much at certain points,
With the ideas always leaping at you from the pages and this sometimes felt overwhelming and a bit chaotic.
The writing style has a nice pace. From the characters that made a frequent appearance I can not quite put a finger on who was supposed to be the main character. If I would have to make a guess I would go for Pug from the Leper Kings as I found that his character was the most well developed. And with the events ending The Haunting Duet, I think there is more in store for Pug yet. Another character that gave a very adventurous but also D&D feeling was the elf named “The Roach”, who after his sudden appearance became an important part of the storyline. One part that I found a pity was after the introduction of Magdev, he does not make a strong appearance during the middle part of the story. His final appearance, however, proves to be pretty interesting with a probable alliance with a second party.
A great part of The Haunting Duet were the fighting scenes. The story, having indeed some of the D&D themes and styles, could have been directly from single play scenes. The fighting scenes displayed several spells known to me, using well planned actions highlighted with acrobatics and magical weapons. They were rich and pretty lively. But I do think that these fighting scenes turned the story too much in one direction, thereby driving away any attention to the story. I think that the chaos that I sometimes found was driven by a fast integration of a casual scene in between the fighting scenes. For me it was a pity that the fighting overshadowed the overall world of Storm Giants and the emphasis on the storyline.
Another thing that I think could have explained in more than a few sentences is the relationship between The Prismatic Brotherhood and The Order of the Silver Talon. Both parties are seen throughout The Haunting Duet but their founding and their true motives remain elusive. Next to these two the Gobra’s introduction felt short for me. They made a sudden, although pretty interesting appearance.
A lot of the ideas of the Haunting Duet unfortunately made a sudden introduction and left more than something to be desired instead of providing enrichment to the story line. I hope that in the sequels there will be of a more sedated pace, taking time to both highlight the general outlay as well as keeping up the lively fighting scenes.
There is much too like but the book was sometimes overwhelming and rather chaotic.

Popular posts from this blog

Author Interview with Christopher Fowler

Author interview with Christopher Fowler. Author bio:  Christopher Fowler is an English novelist living in London, his books contain elements of black comedy, anxiety and social satire. As well as novels, he writes short stories, scripts, press articles and reviews. He lives in King's Cross, on the Battlebridge Basin, and chooses London as the backdrop of many of his stories because any one of the events in its two thousand year history can provide inspiration In 1998 he was the recipient of the BFS Best Short Story Of The Year, for 'Wageslaves'. Then, in 2004, 'The Water Room' was nominated for the CWA People's Choice Award, 'Full Dark House' won the BFS August Derleth Novel of The Year Award 2004 and 'American Waitress' won the BFS Best Short Story Of The Year 2004. The novella 'Breathe' won BFS Best Novella 2005. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Christopher, welcome over to The Bo

Short Fiction Friday: Selfies

Selfies by Lavie Tidhar "Selfies", by Lavie Tidhar, is a creepy little horror tale about the fate of a young woman who makes the mistake of a lifetime when she buys a new phone in the local mall. It is only a few weeks back that I read a different but very interesting short story of Lavie Tidhar, Dragonkin . I found this story directly to my liking, the synopsis and build up of the story was unique and got me excited by it's less is more writing style. In the end this story for me had so much going on that I hope to see Lavie Tidhar exploring it even further. That aside, now its time for Selfies . I think I can now safely say that Lavie Tidhar is an author to watch out for, his stories will get you thinking and will scare you twice over.  I have been thinking a lot of the current situation with always being connected on social media and the likes. It's unavoidable. One thing that is connected with all of this is of course your smartphone, yes no longer a cell

Guest Blog: Alien Invasion Stories from Armada to Grunt Traitor

Guest Blog: Alien Invasion Stories from Armada to Grunt Traitor  By Weston Ochse © 2015   There’s something at once terrifying and romantic about an invasion. One wrong move could mean the destruction of everything you know and love, but in the heat of battle, there are crystalline moments in which true humanity shines. Like many military authors, I often look to history for guidance on how to write the future. I’ve always looked at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift as the perfect sort of battle to represent an alien invasion. One hundred and fifty British soldiers in a remote outpost are beset by four thousand Zulu warriors. The odds seemed impossible, yet in the end the British won the day. The early Michael Cain movie Zulu retells this story and stands as one of my favorite military movies of all time. There are moments in the film that resonate. In the face of overwhelming attack, the sergeant major lowly commanding his men to take it easy. Right when everything seems los