The whole story is very, very dark. People are eaten alive by a number of different creatures, there's evidence of blood magic, and drowning innocent people seems to be a favourite pastime of some of the younger wererats. I can't really go into too many details without ruining the ending, but suffice it to say there are no fluffy bunnies in this story. (Or if there were, they'd be eaten by wererats.)Aurek is an interesting and suitably complex character. Obsessed by the loss of his love and more than a little insane with guilt, he's so single-minded in his goal to find the magical spell he needs that he winds up endangering pretty much everyone around him. Keeping Dmitri in the dark about everything is one part overprotection, one part exasperation with his younger brother's lack of intellect, and one part arrogance, which... pretty much sums up the relationship between the two of them perfectly. And while Dmitri really isn't too bright (he completely misses things that are obvious to everyone around him, like Aurek being a wizard instead of just a scholar, or the fact that the giant freaking rats showing up everywhere look exactly like his new buddies), he's a very likeable character, easy to relate to. The two of them made me want to crack their heads together, being so stubborn in their wilful misunderstandings, but I never stopped rooting for them.Louise and Jacqueline are perhaps less complex than the Nuikin brothers, and certainly less likeable. They're petty and manipulative, but they know this and make no apologies about it. Some of the best conversations in the book are between the two sisters, who can't stand each other, but are often quite cheerful about their mutual hatred.As always, Huff gives a mood and setting so well filled in it could almost be another character in the story without going overboard on details. The dark deterioration of Pont-a-Museau is the perfect backdrop for a story involving creepy killer tentacles, a rather horrific bone golem, and countless rats.Overall, it was a really great story, lots of action in a dark setting with the occasional glimmer of humour. If you're the sort of person who prefers fluffy bunnies and happy ever after, this might not be something to appeal to you. It's a lot darker in tone than most of Huff's other works, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sometimes, when the mood hits you, novels are like chocolate: the darker, the better. Scholar of Decay is about as good as it gets.
This novel is an entertaining read. The value is mostly in the atmosphere. The novels work when they use the bleak and depressing atmosphere to the best effect. This novel puts its protagonist through the ringer and we follow him every step of the way.I do have to give you a bit of background, any of the books in the Ravenloft series are bleak and though not always "scary" are always on the dark side of things. Some are darker than others and are for that reason some of these books can very bad.Unfortunately, this book has a couple of things I had to mark off. It has a few moments of RPG-itis, when the descriptive elements use too many gaming terms or make the action seem a bit too much like a gaming session. In some parts, the plot is fairly thin. I'm not sure the action needs to be too complex, but there were times when it's evident that a scene is only included to move the plot from point A to point B.
What do You think about Scholar Of Decay (2007)?
What did I think of this? Meh sums it up I'm afraid. The world building was up to the author's usual standards but the characterisation not so much. It was certainly a departure from her usual style. Her writing is usually fairly spare and the characters not prone to grand emotional displays. The reverse was true here. The main character seemed to spend a half his time succumbing to fits of rage or dispair and throwing things about. I'm clearly not romantic, as I didn't feel sorry for him, I just found him tiresome.The ending was unexpected but I liked that.
—Barbara
