My Five Word TL:DR Review: Fantastic Start to New Series

I really enjoyed Play of Shadows.  This is a story packed with intrigue and conspiracy in which you’re never quite sure where the real threat lies, brought to life by a band of over the top, easy to engage with, stage characters.  The entire story is brought to life by a small troupe of actors who embrace and provide safety for the MC who then unintentionally brings disaster to their doors.

As the story begins we make the acquaintance of Damelas Shademantaigne, grandson of two famous Greatcoats, currently on the run through the streets of Jereste, hounded by the local militia, fleeing a duel he can’t possibly hope to win and finding himself trapped outside the Operato Belleza he makes use of an ancient law of sanctuary that provides him with a temporary respite.  Accepted into this small troupe Damelas finds himself new friends and a new found love of the stage – poor actor that he is – until one night he fumbles his lines causing an uproar and bringing untold chaos down upon the company.

To set the scene a little.  Jereste has a new Duke but it seems that all is not well.  The streets are overrun with a local militia known as the Iron Orchids who seem to be growing in power and ruthlessness.  The nobles are unhappy with the current rule and secretly plot.  The whole place has the feeling of a ticking bomb so when the Knights of the Curtain stage a local historia (one of the plays that faithfully recount historic events) showing a different version of events (history being written by the winners not always being a totally faithful account after all) the place descends into uproar.  It seems like the ghosts from the past are determined that the ‘truth will out’ and what better place than the stage.

There are many reasons why I enjoyed this book so much.

Firstly, the writing.  I loved it.  This author is positively a wordsmith.  He can make you laugh and cry.  He has a wonderful turn of phrase and his work is actually a joy to read.  Clever, witty, atmospheric.  He sets the scene well, he gives you characters you can love and he adds a dash of magic to raise it all above the norm.

Secondly, the setting.  Or the setting within the setting.  Jereste is a hot mess, the Orchids are stirring up rebellion, the streets are not safe and the whole place seems to come easily to life on the pages, but, on top of this we have the theatre, which plays a huge part in the story.  Here we have ghosts who will not only capture your imagination but will hold our main character captive as he is possessed by the need to recount the true history of Jereste.  I loved the magic – not just the magic of the theatre but the fact that magic literally takes place upon the boards – its such a great concept.

On top of this, well, we have a found family feel.  Damelas is embraced by this unruly cast of characters.  He finds true friendship and loyalty which isn’t a surprise because in spite of his own feelings of not being worthy he really is a good guy.  He ran from a duel he couldn’t win but his motives for taking on the duel will soon unfold.  He isn’t afraid to stand up for people although he has little more than bravado to help him with his rash deeds and he finds himself centre stage in a very dangerous predicament that he refuses to flee.  There are plenty of likable characters here, rag tag plucky street urchins, actors whose best days have long since departed and aren’t afraid to find solace in a bottle, a curmudgeonly director whose bark is worse than his bite and an assassin who is as deadly as she is beautiful.

The plot itself is a twisting thing and difficult at times to pin down.  We have the actors,slowly uncovering the secret history of Jereste whilst trying to uncover the true source of unrest and the motives.  It’s a mystery and it does involve murder but it isn’t a murder mystery in the typical sense.  What I enjoyed was the change in the MC as he becomes more confident and begins to show his mettle.  As I mention, Damelas is the grandson of two Greatcoats and grew up in their shadow, always feeling inadequate.  As the story progresses you can see Damelas gradually changing, not a sudden awakening of zero to hero but a slow metamorphosis in which he uses his intelligence and the teachings of his grandparents to begin to make a difference.

Now, in fairness, I will mention that the pacing can be a little up and down.  This story is set in the world of the Greatcoats but you don’t have to have read those books in order to enjoy this (although there could be spoilers for the earlier series that I’m unaware of) but this does involve a level of world building and set up – personally, I didn’t find the pacing a problem but you might wish to be aware that there are dips here and there.  I loved the writing and I wanted to savour it – it’s the conundrum of wanting to enjoy each and every word whilst also wanting to rush to the end to find out what’s happening.  My advice, take your time with this one.

Overall, an excellent start to a series that promises so much.  I can’t wait to join Damelas and the Knights of the Curtain on their next adventure.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars