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A review by kadomi
Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows by Howard Andrew Jones
3.0
The series of Pathfinder Tales books are a mixed bag so far. They're fast food. They offer a deeper look at the various countries of the Inner Sea region of Golarion, clad in fantasy tales. Now, let's say that this is McDonald's fast food. My favorite burger there is the Big Mac. Dave Gross' Prince of Wolves set in Ustalav was a Big Mac. Elaine Cunningham's Witch of Winter was a cheeseburger. Tasty, but not filling, and lacking substance.
Plague of Shadows is a hamburger. Not as tasty as the cheeseburger, and kinda bland, but you eat it anyhow.
It didn't really do anything that I want from a Pathfinder Tale. I want a deeper look and feel for the atmosphere of its Golarion region. This story begins in Taldor, moves through Galt and touches on Kyonin, but none of them in any depth. Galt is pretty much the French Revolution going on perpetually, and it would have been fun to find out more about the power structures and factions. Hell, you don't even get any motivation for the BBEG at the end. I have no idea what this guillotine event is all about. Galt=evil, without any true explanation. Disappointing. Kyonin is similarly skimmed.
The only thing I really liked was Elyana as a character, though again, she lacked any real depth. It would have been more interesting to see her develop more with Drelm, the half-orc.
At least it's a fairly entertaining read, but all in all that's just 2.5 stars for me, rounding up to 3 on Goodreads.
Plague of Shadows is a hamburger. Not as tasty as the cheeseburger, and kinda bland, but you eat it anyhow.
It didn't really do anything that I want from a Pathfinder Tale. I want a deeper look and feel for the atmosphere of its Golarion region. This story begins in Taldor, moves through Galt and touches on Kyonin, but none of them in any depth. Galt is pretty much the French Revolution going on perpetually, and it would have been fun to find out more about the power structures and factions. Hell, you don't even get any motivation for the BBEG at the end. I have no idea what this guillotine event is all about. Galt=evil, without any true explanation. Disappointing. Kyonin is similarly skimmed.
The only thing I really liked was Elyana as a character, though again, she lacked any real depth. It would have been more interesting to see her develop more with Drelm, the half-orc.
At least it's a fairly entertaining read, but all in all that's just 2.5 stars for me, rounding up to 3 on Goodreads.