Shadow’s Witness by Paul S. Kemp is the second book of the Sembia: Gateway to the Realms series.It follows the events of Resurrection by Paul S. Kemp, the short story in The Halls of Stormweather anthology.The story is about the Uskevren’s butler, Erevis Cale seeking revenge for a tragedy that befalls the Uskevren household. Along the path of revenge, Cale goes up against demons, Harpiers, and the struggle to except a god.Negatives:1) Wounds and Damage. The thing that really bugged me about the story is that Cale can take insane amounts of damage and live. I would think that getting cut from your gut to your throat would be very fatal. But I guess not.2) Uskevren complications. The other thing that bothered me was I would want to know what happened after Cale returned. Hopefully, the following stories will answer my questions.3) A Certain Character. Drasek Riven didn’t seem as developed and really lack a lot of depth. And seeing that I’m a fan of Riven in the Erevis Cale Trilogy, I was really let down.Positives:1) The characters. I really enjoy the character of Cale. To be a killer and yet have a sense of humanity is pretty interesting (to say the least). I also liked Jak Fleets ability to find some humor even when he is absolutely scared.2)The books pace. The story read really well. I didn’t want to put it down for to long and I finished it fairly quick. There were some parts that weren’t as well paced but most of the story flowed well.3) Simplicity. I was most impressed by how easily the story read. Most author use ‘fancier’ words to spice up a lot of Forgotten Realms stories, here everything is pretty basic wording. Yeah, sure it may not seem that impressive, but reading other authors, I’ve noticed that they place in words that didn’t fit in with the other wording.Overall: 4/5*I would have given it a 4.5 but Riven really was a disappointment
This was an enjoyable adventure story continuing the story of Erevis Cale from the Halls of Stormweather, which will continue for at least seven other books, as well as several other short stories. It focuses on Erevis and his friend, Jak, confronting a gaggle of ghouls lead by some shadows and a shadow demon, as well as Erevis's complex relation with Mask, the god of thieves. If that sounds interesting to you, you will probably really enjoy this book. If that was a bunch of garbled nonsense to you, then it's probably not for you. It's a D&D novel, so it focuses on some things that will make sense if you play the game, but less if you don't. It has an interesting combination of medieval adventure, upstairs/downstairs interplay, and espionage, which really takes things in a different direction than other D&D novels, and it was quite a lot of fun. I hope to continue reading about this character.
What do You think about Shadow's Witness (2000)?
This was a fun and easy read. The plot moves quickly and some of the sword and sorcery bits are exciting. I'd heard that Erevis Cale is an interesting character with a conflicted nature, however I didn't find that to be the case in this story: Cale talks about having a wicked past, but he shows far more self-awareness and compassion than you would expect from a bad seed. Mulling over a checkered past does not necessarily make it a real burden. I was also surprised by how often magic fixes a problem. Got hurt? Healing spell! Facing insurmountable odds? Invoke the protection of your deity! Suppose that comes with the D&D setting.
—Daniel
