Amazing! I dont read that many books from start to end as fast as I read this one. It just pulled me in. Well written and captivating story and characters. I wanted to "be" Nightfall. ( )

I originally reviewed this book on my blog - The Cosy Dragon. For more recent reviews by me, please hop over there.

Nightfall is a legend with multiple disguises, but he has finally made a mistake. Executed, stripped of disguises and charged with a seemingly impossible task, he needs to land Ned before he can escape the oath bond. Nightfall no longer has his true self to return to, but he mustn't remain Nightfall either.

Nightfall or Sudian, whatever you want to call him, is a nice character. I wouldn't say he was great, but he's not bad. You do see some significant character development, but it is mainly in terms of the way Nightfall begins to interact with the other characters, particularly he idealistic Ned.

It's hard to discuss this book without giving away key spoiler points. Must of the book is built on suspense, which is appropriate as the third person narrative. The majority of the time it is focalised through Nightfall, which works very well for building his character.

Something I didn't understand was why Nightfall didn't just create another persona like the assassin Nightfall. That sentence is confusing until you have read the book I guess. Nightfall doesn't fall into his other personas, he only remains Sudian, but surely he could have come up with another assassin similar to intimidate people! That would totally destroy everything that his childhood friend has tried to do for him though, which would undermine other parts of the book.

Something that bugs me about this book are the constant reminders about being undernourished at birth and this making Nightfall look so much smaller and uglier than Ned. If I imagine Nightfall like the way he is portrayed on the cover, I find him very attractive for a man! It's probably the beard. Another issue I have with that is that at some stage, his locks of hair are described as being clipped shorter, but the book cover doesn't reflect that.

This is my second time reading the book, and in my opinion it lacks something. I remembered the storyline quite well, and so all the suspense that drives the plot was lost for me. I knew that whatever Nightfall tried, he would wiggle his way around it!

The book ends on a cliffhanger to an extent, and so it is fortunate there is a second book! I believe it took a long time for Reichert to produce the sequel, but it was very eagerly anticipated. It is also on my bookshelf and I'm aiming to read it some time soon. I enjoyed this book first time around, and it wasn't a bad read as a repeat either. I'd advise savouring the read slowly the first time (if you can, it's pretty a pretty driving narrative) so that you get the most of this book before moving on to the second.

I'd recommend this book for adults and mature teenagers. The issues of sex, diseases and prostitutes, and also violence against children are all present, but I think they are dealt with quite well, and certainly not in a positive light. ( )

It feels like a lot of things were taken from Don Quixote for this work. It has many unique elements and is a lot of fun to read though. ( )

Nightfall, (other aliases)is a brigand, thief and killer. He's an all round loveable character. Caught and bound by king and chancellor sorcerer to the king's second son. The sorcerer binds Nightfall to keep Edward safe and be his squire. Nightfall, now named Sudian, is sent with Prince Edward Nargol to get Edward landed in six months. Through many dangers, brigands and devious intreques, Prince Edward and idealist trusts his squire and the squire even though bound to Edward learns to teach and care for his Prince. ( )

This book is for the slash fiction fans, honestly. When I first read it I had no idea what I was getting into, it is the story of a famous thief and murderer who becomes blackmailed into travelling with an airhead prince. Nightfall (the murderer/thief) also secretly seeks to get revenge on the person who revealed his identity to the princes father, an action witch led to his capture. However, the prince doesn't know his identity and was told that he was merely a peasant who wished to be his squire.
The journey to get the prince landed is long and full of humour and twists that made me unable to put this book down. It has evil sorcerers, kings, princes, and jousting competitions. If you are looking for something new and fun then I fully recommend this book.