Time for another book review, having finished this particular tome on Friday at work, but what with D&D Friday night, and a late shift (not to mention a stinking headache) Saturday night, and then of course the cinema date debacle yesterday, it falls until now for me to write it up. So anyway, on with the review.
Red Magic by Jean Rabe, is a Forgotten Realms novel and the 3rd book in the Harpers series of stand-alone adventures, each featuring an agent (or sometimes more than one) of the semi-secret organisation for good in this fantasy world. This particular book focuses on two Harpers, Galvin (a druid), and Wynter (a centaur). Accompanying them on their journey is Brenna Greycloak, a wizardess and a politician from the nation of Aglarond. She and the Harpers have been sent to evaluate a possible threat from Aglarond's neigbouring country Thay.
Thay is arguably the most evil nation on the planet, a large realm that sits upon a lofty plateau (and thus overlooks everyone else), that is ruled by the tyrannical Red Wizards. Slavery is widespread as is magic, the wizards regular use of weather alteration magic, has made what should be a windswept prairie, into the most fertile farmland in all the Realms. Thus Thay is VERY wealthy. The only reason Thay has not conquered every nation around it, is that the evil wizards bicker and fight amongst each other, and so undermine their combined power.
Hearing from an informer that a wizard by the name of Maligor is raising and training a large army, and having borne the brunt of Thayan aggression many times, Aglarond's council is worried that the wizards again seek to go to war against it. The trio sent to investigate are an odd bunch, Galvin loves nature and hates civilisation, he avoids it like the plague in fact. Wynter is a farmer most of time, but he grew up in Thay, knows how evil that land is, and when the Harpers ask him to work to thwart the wizards who live there, he is eager to do so. Brenna doesn't fit in at all, a city raised mage, she is completely out of place in the wilderness, and spends a good part of the book having to acclimatise herself. Still once they reach Thay itself, her haughty bearing and refined way of speaking come in useful, as the native Thayans are nothing if not arrogant.
As it turns out Maligor has no intention of going to war with Aglarond, his army of gnolls (7' hyena men) that he has been amassing and training (and being VERY public about doing so) is merely a distraction. He knows that anything he does will be being watched by other wizards, so his army is there to give them something to watch and wonder about. All the while, in hidden chambers (that are cloaked from magical scrying), he is amassing another army of Darkenbeasts. Darkenbeasts are created via use of a vile spell, that turns a small animal into a 6' winged killing machine. Needless to say, Galvin is livid when he realises what the wizard is up too.
The books other main character is the wizard Szass Tam. A rival of Maligor's, and a man with the ambition to someday rule all of Thay. He is far more patient than Maligor, but then time is on his side, as he is undead. What he cannot countenance is Maligor gaining in power, because any victory for him is a blow to Tam's preminent standing amongst the wizards. He also HATES Harpers, considering them to be mere meddlers.
The plot is good, and the story moves along at a decent pace, until about the last 50 pages where it accelerates. I think the conclusion is a bit too rushed, it is clear that the author could have used another 50-100 pages, and the story would have been better for that extra space I feel. The characters are all good, not a forgettable one amongst them, and the book is an essential read for any Dungeon Master wanting to run a D&D campaign in Thay. I'm going to give the book 4/5.
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