Another book read, another review to write. So without further ado, here goes. The Black Bouquet by Richard Lee Byers is a Forgotten Realms novel, and is the second book in a quartet titled The Rogues. Each book in the mini series focuses on one such rogue character, in this case a thief by the name of Aeron sar Randal. Before I start with the book though, I'll point out that I am a bit biased in this review, as the author is one of my favourites (read my review of Queen of the Depths). I bought this book with 4 others and I picked this one to read first. Make of that what you will.
Aeron sar Randal is a man with a plan. He has been contracted to carry out a theft inside the supposedly theftproof enclosure called the Paeraddyn, a walled (and heavily guarded) compound at the southern end of the squalid town of Oeble. To this end he has brought along his three friends Kerridi, Gavath and Dal to aid him. They are to create a diversion whilst he carries out the robbery unseen. Things do not go according to plan, and while Aeron grabs the box he was meant to steal, he is seen doing so, and his three compatriots are slain in the ensuing melee, which he barely escapes.
Things go from bad to worse, when he realises that the person who hired him to pull off the theft (a tanarukk bandit lord by the name of Kesk. And if you want to know what a tanarukk is, well picture an Uruk Hai from Lord of the Rings, only about a foot shorter, with glowing red eyes and boar-like tusks), intends to betray him once the package is handed over, in revenge for a past slight when Aeron refused to join Kesk's gang.
If he just had Kesk's louts to avoid then things would be almost easy for him. No such luck, as hunting him is the ranger Miri Buckman, who was entrusted with the safe delivery of the box he stole, and has taken it upon herself to hunt him down and recover it. Unfortunately for her she is way out of her depth. Used to forests and the wilds, she is quite naive to the treacherous nature of the town she finds herself in.
Oeble is practically a character in it's own right, the ancient town crumbling, with narrow winding streets, over arching spans that link the leaning towers together, and an extensive network of tunnels and sewers beneath the streets. All of this is nominally ruled over by a council, their will enforced by the Gray Blades police force, though in reality there are simply too few Blades to enforce much at all, and it is the numerous criminal gangs that rule the streets. As a bonus, Oeble is set in a poorly detailed part of the Realms (The Border Kingdoms), and thus this book nicely adds detail to what was a blank spot on the map.
Also hunting Aeron is Sefris, a formidible monk/wizardess who is after the contents of the box he has. Inside the box is The Black Bouquet, an extremely rare and valuable book, which was taken from a plundered temple to Shar, the goddess of loss and the night. Sefris is a member of the Dark Moon, a group of fanatical killers devoted to this dark goddess, and she has been sent to recover that which was taken from Shar.
The plot twists and turns like a crazed thing, and as a result is an absolute joy to read. I love it when smart sneaky characters get written right, and Aeron is written very well indeed. The fight scenes are fast, furious and very bloody, especially those with Sefris who fights with her bare hands and feet, a living maelstrom of punches and kicks. There is treachery aplenty and some surprising alliances too.
Unsurprisingly this book gets full marks from me, 5/5, and I've liked this book of the Rogues series so much, that I've ordered the other three in the series from amazon.co.uk.
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