Name: A Dance of Cloaks
ISBN: 9781453706015

David Dalglish

Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power... ------ Book Description: Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. Marshalling the thieves' guilds under his control, he declares war against the Trifect, an allegiance of wealthy and powerful nobles. Aaron Felhorn has been groomed since birth to be Thren's heir. Sent to kill the daughter of a priest, Aaron instead risks his own life to protect her from the wrath of his guild. In doing so, he glimpses a world beyond poison, daggers, and the iron control of his father. Guilds twist and turn, trading allegiances for survival. The Trifect weakens, its reputation broken, its money dwindling. The players take sides as the war nears its end, and Thren puts in motion a plan to execute hundreds. Only Aaron can stop the massacre and protect those he loves... A DANCE OF CLOAKS by David Dalglish Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences. ------ About the Author: David Dalglish currently lives in rural Missouri with his wife Samantha, daughter Morgan, and dog Asimov. He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006 with a degree in Mathematics and currently works as a para-professional with Special Education students. He spends his free time watching PBS and Spongebob Squarepants with his daughter.

A Dance of Cloaks

From USA Today bestselling author David Dalglish The Underworld rules the city of Veldaren. Thieves, smugglers, assassins... they fear only one man. In book #1 of the Shadowdance series, Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. All the thieves' guilds of the city are under his unflinching control. If he has his way, death will soon spill out from the shadows and into the streets. Aaron is Thren's son, trained to be heir to his father's criminal empire. He's cold, ruthless - everything an assassin should be. But when Aaron risks his life to protect a priest's daughter from his own guild, he glimpses a world beyond piston, daggers, and the iron rule of his father. Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences. Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power. Shadowdance A Dance of Cloaks A Dance of Blades A Dance of Mirrors A Dance of Shadows A Dance of Ghosts A Dance of Chaos Seraphim Skyborn Fireborn Shadowborn

Christian Huss

Star: 3.5/5

Summary of the Story:

"That is the power you must one day command. Let them think every breath of theirs is a gift, not from the gods, but from you. Do this, and you will become a god among them." ~Thren Felhorn, A Dance of Cloaks

Aaron Felhorn lives in a world filled with murder, mayhem, deceit, and darkness. His father, Thren Felhorn, is the most feared man alive. He is the greatest assassin his time has ever seen, and he commands most of Veldaren's underworld. He will stop at nothing to bring the Trifect, a group of filthy rich noblemen, from continuing their reign of wealth and control. He is utterly prepared to unite every thief guild under his command, and he is almost finished with turning his son into the perfect heir, a killer that the world will fear. However, even the greatest schemes never work out as planned.

Aaron must choose sides and decide whether he wants to become the head of his father's criminal empire that was built upon Thren's trail of rotting corpses or choose his own fate. He will learn that every action has its own consequence and that the paths of darkness and light are never quite clear. Aaron's fate will lead him down a road filled with harrowing obstacles, making him learn that redemption may be just out of reach.

My Thoughts:

First off, I have to say that Dalglish completely built a believable and stunning fantasy world fully equipped with its owns religion, systems of power, a stunning society, and a maniacal underworld. Thren and the various thief guilds actually kind of remind me of Assassin's Creed, especially when I first saw the cover of A Dance of Cloaks. The various thief guilds are pretty interesting, too because they are all killing machines, but they often bicker, only fight for themselves, and are perfectly content with taking one another out to increase their power. Dalglish also formulated a great storyline. His characters were believable, and he gave each one of them interesting morals, perspectives, and skills.

I would have to say, however, that this book was not one of my top favorites mostly due to the fact that I felt that it took me a little too long to actually read it. Perhaps it was because I did not have a lot of time to read while I was tying to finish this book. This made it a bit frustrating to get very far in the story just in one sitting. I also felt that the beginning was a bit slow because it had to lead up to Aaron's current life, but Dalglish had to first establish a bit of Aaron's early childhood in order to establish this character as Thren's heir. 

I do have to commend Dalglish on his ability to write great fight scenes. Some authors have trouble writing action scenes. They can often become confusing. Dalglish did fairly well with this aspect of the story, creating an in depth criminal underworld of blood and gore. I do have to warn you that this book is not for the lighthearted. It is filled with blood, guts, murder, and all the characteristics associated with struggles for power. Overall, I did enjoy the character of Aaron, but it took a while for him to grow on me. I definitely wish he had been older. This novel is meant for mature audiences, therefore I thought it was a bit strange that the main character was thirteen. But then again, this may have been done to stress the fact that a child could be a harrowing and deadly individual in a world of criminals. It also drew the audience to a character whose innocence had been lost at an extremely early age and who had been groomed to fill a position that he may not have truly desired to fill. 

Aaron had quite a bit of internal conflict. He committed murder before the age of ten and he was groomed to be a fierce assassin that would one day fill his father's shoes. You definitely end up feeling a deep sadness for a character that has a disastrous path chosen for him, especially when that character is only a child. I believe that I will eventually finish this series and am excited that Aaron is much older in the next book. Perhaps more dark themes will be further explored, and I am curious where David Dalglish will take Aaron's story.

You can see reviews like this one and more at http://knightingalereviews.blogspot.com/.

Leelynn Brady

In a world where thieves rule the underworld, it's important to be part of the right guild. Not all thieves are the same, and by getting involved in the wrong one, that could warrant an early death sentence. The most powerful guild in the underworld is under the leadership of Thren Fellhorn, a ruthless man who has no problem exerting his control. Even if it means ending a life or more. So of course, he would mold his sons to be the exact same way. Right off the bat, it is believed that his eldest would be the one to rule. But he is seen as a disappointment, and he orders his youngest son to kill him.

So he does.

No mercy. No tears. No hesitation. Just like that, his first born is no more, and his youngest son at only 8 years old has just killed his first person. His brother, no less. That is how ruthless Thren is, and that's exactly how he molds Aaron to be if he is supposed to take his father's place in the future.

Fast forward a few years, and Aaron is well on his way to being the most dangerous weapon his father has ever created. He is barely a person anymore, and those in his father's guild are scared of this creature before them. Aaron is okay with this, and he does whatever he can to make sure that he is perfect in his father's eyes. He had no issue killing his brother, his own flesh and blood at such a young age. He shouldn't have any issue killing anyone else in order to get what he wants, or to make sure that his father's guild stays in power in this land. So why is it that now, all of a sudden, he can't kill the daughter of a priest?

With that decision, he is forced to question everything that he was ever taught. Will his father agree with his decision, that is, if he ever decides to tell the truth about what happened? Will those around him continue to die at the hands of the Trifect, a group of the richest men in their city, who have been on the losing side of this war with the guilds? Everything begins to break down in front of his eyes, and even those that he trusted with his life will not make it to the end.

This was an interesting book to read. There were a lot of characters that I ended up liking but weren't there by the time the book ended. It made me feel like it wasn't the first book of an entire series, with getting rid of a lot of characters so soon. I was a little heartbroken by who does end up dying, but I won't spoil it. I think Aaron made a big decision on his own, and this ends up being his way of rebelling against his father, basically having an alter ego that will fight against those who stand with Thren. Will he be able to survive the rest of the series, when so many of those who were there before him have not? I have no way of telling from this point. I do believe that I would rather have a different protagonist to follow than Aaron though. I just can't relate to him as much as I would like.

Michael Cowell

Nate

Gillian Rose

Book Dragon

Wayne Burrows

Ashley Janssen

Dan Peterson

Ian Marchant 

Madison Craft

Pravesh Narayan

Morgana

The Underworld rules the city of Veldaren. Thieves, smugglers, assassins . . . they fear only one man. Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. All the thieves' guilds of the city are under his unflinching control. If he has his way, death will soon spill out from the shadows and into the streets. Aaron is Thren's son, trained to be heir to his father's criminal empire. He's cold, ruthless - everything an assassin should be. But when Aaron risks his life to protect a priest's daughter from his own guild, he glimpses a world beyond poison, daggers and the iron rule of his father. Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences. Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power.