Lord of the Shadows- Jennifer Fallon

The final book in the Second Sons Trilogy. A truly epic book with a nice and entertaining conclusion which left me utterly satisfied.
Make sure you have finished the first two books before you read this review. My reviews for those books are: The Lion of Senet and The Eye of the Labyrinth.

Dirk Provin is now with the Lion of Senet after pretending his betrayal to the Baenlanders. He seems to have put his faith in the Shadowdancers, whom he used to loath. But this betrayal has cut one person more than everyone else- Tia Veran, who had finally begun to trust him. However, unknown to anyone, Dirk is still working to bring down the Shadowdancers and his intricate plan has required this deception.

Soon, he will have to notch up the risk factor as his plan requires him to tread a dangerous line; one false move and Dirk will fail miserably and probably bring ruin to everyone who supports his cause. Soon, Dirk finds that he must now trust a person to help him accomplish his task. He must trust this person to play along his lines and to exactly what he says. But this may not be too easy considering that the person is none other than Marquel, who is someone without any morals and who will do anything to help consolidate her power. Can Dirk succeed?

Meanwhile, the Crippled Prince has been kidnapped by Tia, although he isn't complaining. He has just discovered how he was being manipulated by the Shadowdancers and his keen on revenge. This affects what Dirk has planned, although for better or worse no one can tell until the end.

I have to say, I was actually a little sad when I finally put down the Lord of the Shadows. The trilogy had come to an end. The three books had provided entertainment right up to the very last word.

I still am amazed by the fact that such a brilliant fantasy series was written without a single bit of magic or a mention of another race except humans. And it was good. These kind of books are rare.
I have mentioned in my other reviews and I will say it again in this one- I love the extremely complicated plot. Nothing can beat the tension built up as you wait to see what Dirk's next move is, how he manipulates people, and how he wiggles out of sticky situations.

Now, I have to mention how the character build ups have improved form last time. I was disappointed with Marquel's character in The Eye of the Labyrinth. Now, she has redeemed herself and is a perfect nemesis. She and Tia provide that hindrance to Dirk's plans which give the whole situation a sense of reality. After all, things never work out perfectly.

There were many other things I liked about this book but you can only understand my feelings by actually reading the book.