The Return Of Nightfall

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, much like the first
Review: "The Return of Nightfall" is another exceptional fantasy by Reichert, with considerable action, a fun plot, and (as is the writer's staple) an extremely talented protagonist struggling with moral issues while tackling difficult situations. Highly recommended, as is its prequil and the Renshai books. Reichert is a powerful storyteller and her works are emminently readable.

Incidentally, and in no way disparaging the novel, this book seems ideally situated to be made in to an RPG-style video game. The character changes, interactions, combat, travel, magic, and "reputation" elements of Nightfall and his alter egos would make for a great RPG. Are you listening, Electronic Arts?

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read - but not as good as the first
Review: "The Return of Nightfall" plunges us back into the swashbuckling world of high adventure Reichert created in her original, stand-alone "Nightfall" novel. The story picks up where the previous book left off, with the outwardly enthusiastic servant Sudian -- actually the cynical master assassin known as "Nightfall" -- recovering from wounds while trying to adjust to the demands of both his new fiance and his new position as chancellor of the realm. Unfortunately, the very first crisis Sudian faces is the mysterious disappearance of the king he has sworn to protect. To add insult to injury, the prime suspect is... Sudian. Rather than stand around and let his head get chopped off by bickering nobles, Sudian escapes the royal dungeons and procedes to fight, steal, and manipulate his way around the globe in desperate bid to find his lost king.

I don't think it's necessary to have read the previous novel to enjoy this one: Reichert has created an enjoyable, fast-paced action adventure that will please fans of the genre, even if it does not quite match the heights of the first book. Fans of the first book will be pleased to know that "Return" is a solid sequel: it's a fun page-turner that doesn't match the heights of the first book, but won't detract from your memories of that novel either. Probably the biggest disappointment I have with this book is that, like Robin Hobb's "Fool's Fate," the conclusion reads like the author is slamming the door on any more sequels: everything is tied up so neatly at the end that it's hard to see where more adventures could come from.

That's not to say there aren't problems with this novel: it's clumsily written at times, and I found the court scenes with Sudian's character to be inconsistent with his behavior elsewhere. Readers who are new to the series may be turned off by Sudian's ultra-competence at just about everything - he's a master of disguise, languages, blades, sailing, etc. - but Sudian's cynicism and the dramatic tension keeps him from becoming irritatingly perfect. Fans of the series may be disappointed with the near-absence of certain major characters, but the new characters Reichert introduces are likable and interesting.

Overall, I would recommend checking out this book, both if you're a fan of the original, or if you just like fantasy assassin / adventure novels. If you want a comparison on the "swordplay" front, than I'd say this novel is several cuts above the Salvatore "Dark Elf" and D&D novels, but a cut below more complex fantasies like Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" and Hobb's original assassin trilogy. It's worth buying, particularly of you liked the original, but it's not one you're going to reread again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Nightfall faces new challenges here
Review: At the end of 1993 Reichert entered the fantasy world with his Legend Of Nightfall, winning immediate acclaim and following up with other fantasy stories, all the while facing a legion of fans who wanted the next Nightfall adventure. Well, here it is: Return To Nightfall provides a new odyssey and is a recommended pick for prior fans of Nightfall, telling of one thief, magician, swordsman and adventurer whose unified encounters with mankind have fallen under his name Nightfall. Forced to reveal his true name and nature, Nightfall faces new challenges here.


Rating:
Summary: Worth the read; first book was better
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Nightfall. This second book is great - but it's not as good as the first one. The situations in which Sudian/Nightfall finds himself in Return seemed more contrived and less possible than the ones in the original book.
I also found it unlikely that Nightfall would pay so little attention to his surroundings as to not notice when he's named chancellor, and all that implies.
Overall, it was worth reading, but not one I'll likely read many times over.

Rating:
Summary: Great Return
Review: It was great to get another chance at following this character. I was really impressed by the complex human/character development. Sudian struggles with his own inner demons more then ever, the story line and plot are almost a backdrop to his own internal discoveries.

The story is well written and a pleasure to read. I'd love nothign more then to see him appear again.

Rating:
Summary: excellent fantasy
Review: Once he was known as Nightfall, a man feared by sane people. Now he is the Lord Chancellor Advisor to the King of Alyndar. To his surprise, Sudian as he is now known, likes King Edward and even regards the monarch as a friend. The King and Nightfall journey to Schiz to meet Burke Varasch so that Edward can make restitution for breaking out of prison after vowing to his jailer that he would reside there until matters involving his daughter were resolved.

Before they meet with the aristocrat, Nightfall assists a mage in finding out whether a child has a natal talent. When he returns to the inn where he left his monarch, Nightfall finds dead guards and the king missing. Thinking Edward is held hostage for ransom, Nightfall returns to Alyndar where the King's Council proclaim him a murdering traitor responsible for the death of King Edward. He is incarcerated, but escapes with the help of Captain Volkmeir, pledging his life to find and free his friend.

Nightfall is one of the best antiheroes in years as he is baseborn and spent much of his life as a feared master criminal until he befriended the king and fell in love with Lady Kelryn. They brought about his redemption by seeing beneath the criminal outer layer to the honorable decent soul inside. The terrific action is fast-paced hooking the audience from the start, but the heart of this novel is the characters who keep readers riveted to learn what is happening to each of the significant players as Mickey Zucker Reichert proves this author is a first class world-building fantasist.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Exciting adventure and great world-building
Review: Once, Nightfall had been the most feared criminal and assassin in the world. But now he's reformed. A master of disguise, Nightfall now uses his original form--Sudian--and has sworn never to take up his Nightfall persona again. After all, what use is a demon when Nightfall serves as chancellor to the King, is engaged to a beautiful woman, and has nothing but council meetings and banquets to look forward to? But when King Edward is kidnapped while Nightfall is off on a Magehunt, Nightfall is the logical suspect. To escape his sentence of execution, he needs to bring Edward back alive--and soon. But Sudian isn't the best man to track criminals through the gutters of the world--and he's sworn never to become Nightfall again.

Author Mickey Zuker Reighert establishes a fascinating world and magical system (some percentage of humans are born with a magical talent--a talent that Mages can capture, but only by torturing the talented to death). Putting Nightfall in a position where he must violate one of his most sacred promises--either by failing his King, or by failing himself, his fiancee, and his promise to the King by becoming Nightfall again--increases reader sympathy for Nightfall and increases our investment in a successful outcome--however unlikely that outcome appears. Nightfall's own natal talent, the ability to change his weight, doesn't sound particularly interesting, but Reighert uses it to the full.

Reighert introduces several fascinating secondary characters, especially the pirate Celdurant (who deserves a story of his own) adding to the book's depth. This was the first book by Reighert I've read, but she's published a number and her professionalism shows through.

Rating:
Summary: Nightfall on the high seas
Review: This sequel has been a long time coming. Its hard to believe its been 10 years since the first Nightfall book, however, after reading this one its also hard to believe that there will be any more novel length stories featuring this character.

This story starts a few weeks after the end of the first book when Nightfall (aka Sudian) is recovering from his injuries sustained in his fight against the sorcerer Gilleran. Sudian is now Chancellor of Alyndar though in his ignorance of the nobility and its ways he is also dangerously lacking in knowledge of what that entails - and nobody seems to have been smart enough to enlighten him.

Shortly thereafter while in a neighbouring kingdom, while Sudian is away on an errand, King Edward is kidnapped with Sudian the only survivor of his entourage and the natural scapegoat for Edward's disappearance and the scene is set for the return of Nightfall.

I enjoyed this novel. It is another story featuring the character Nightfall and in this book we get to know more about his way of life and various aliases before he met Edward, as Sudian/Nightfall combed the known world looking for him.

While maybe this book doesn't have quite the tension of the first novel, which had Nightfall's soul at stake throughout its length - this is still an enjoyable, light fantasy read and I was happy to return to the world of Nightfall if only for this last time, though it should be mentioned, as the kidnapped character Edward only has small, though vital, part in this story. I should also mention that it would be nice to get the first book in a hardback edition like this one as the original novel is starting to yellow pretty badly after all these years.


Rating:
Summary: Not impressed.
Review: Years ago I remember greatly enjoying the original "Nightfall" novel, even upon repeat readings. After reading the "Return of Nightfall" I have to wonder if my memory is playing tricks on me, or if "Return" really is this bad.

*spoilers*

The central crux of the main character's turmoil (whether or not to return to the guise of Nightfall) is dragged out for roughly three quarters of the book's length. When, after an interminable and pointless delay, he does become Nightfall, there is no pay-off. The promises he broke to Edward and Kelryn are forgotten since everything worked out. They all go off to live happily ever after, and Sudian returns just as effortlessly as Nightfall did. Apparently, Nightfall is schizophrenic, and there is no "real" identity for him to return to. The entier issue is resolved during a juvenile reunion and shallow soul searching session by Nightfall.

The ending is improbable and ludicrous, and that's saying a lot for the fantasy genre. The ending battle has not one, not two, but at least three examples of preposterous "Deus ex Machina" shenanigans. The legal trickery used to save Volkmier and Nightfall from execution are asinine, particularly as there is no real dispute between the nobles and Edward. This was a medieval society, not an episode of Law and Order. The initial premise that placed Sudian/Nightfall on the throne was so strained as to be laughable. I actually could not believe it as I was reading it. Nightfall's motivations are never realistic, and for a supposedly smart guy, he sure wastes a lot of time sailing around needlessly and engaging in diplomatic tomfoolery. Nearly every meaningful sideplot goes nowhere fast.

Reichert's word of the year was apparently "natal", since she uses it at least five hundred times in the course of the book. The prose was amateurish, and the depictions of the action sequences are generic and give us no real sense of how Nightfall accomplishes what he does. How exactly does he evade twenty people in locked room? How does he manage to steal hordes of personal items while dozens of people surround him? How can he "razor rebound" FOUR daggers being thrown at nearly the same time?

After being glutted upon George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, and the first six books of Robert Jordan this novel is not nearly in the same class. If you are looking for even a modicum of intelligence from the novels you read, stay away.