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When
Vambran Matrell is twelve years old, he accidentally shoots and kills an
important man with is crossbow while at a celebration. His aunt, Xaphira,
disguises herself as an assassin and flees Arrabar, thereby taking the
blame off of Vambran and the House Matrell. Thirteen years pass and
Vambran is now a member of the Sapphire Crescent, a band of mercenaries
that work for the church. Returning home for his younger sister's, Emriana, sixteenth birthday, they stumble upon two people being killed
by the city watch (guards). Vambran feels that there is something wrong
with the situation, but is sent home by a second set of guards that show
up. Returning home is never pleasant for Vambran since his uncle,
Dregaul, has never forgiven him for what happened all those years ago.
Thinking only of the reputation of House Matrell, Dregaul treats Vambran
like an outcast and is upset with him looking into the murder of the two
commoners by the guards. Vambran seeks the council of his good friend,
Kovrim, a cleric, and the two start looking into the killings. Twice,
Vambran is attacked and then saved by a mysterious figure in red.
Vambran knows he is onto something big; why else would they be trying to
kill him? Meanwhile, Emriana is forced to pay a visit to House
Pharaboldi where she has to endure being the companion of Denrick, a
rather pompous young man who is attempting to court her. What Vambran
and Emriana don't realize is that the wheels of change have been set
into motion and both of them are standing in the way. Forces more
powerful then they can image are plotting against them and they must act
quickly if they are going to have a chance of stopping something that
will ruin the name of House Matrell forever.
The Sapphire Crescent is the first book of three in The Scions
of Arrabar Trilogy by Thomas M. Reid. This Forgotten Realms fantasy tale features
the following main characters: Vambran Matrell - a Lieutenant in the
Sapphire Crescent, Emriana Matrell - Vambran's younger sister, Dregaul
Matrell - the leader of House Matrell, Denrick Pharaboldi - a
pompous young lord, Kovrim Lazelle -
a priest in the church, and Xaphira
Matrell - a mercenary who disappeared years ago.
From the first chapter,
I knew that I would enjoy my reading of The Sapphire Crescent by
Thomas M. Reid. I have read a lot of Forgotten Realms books, but most of
them feature Drizzt Do'Urden. Here I was pleased to find another part of
Forgotten Realms that I didn't know existed. The Houses in Arrabar
remind me of the powerful Houses of the Drow. Unlike the Drow Houses,
the Houses in Arrabar are merchant houses: the stronger the house, the
large the merchant business. I really enjoyed the main characters and
didn't see a lot of the plot twists coming, which always makes a book
more interesting. And just when I thought I had things figured out again
. . . bam, I was wrong again. That is one of the main reasons I liked
The Sapphire Crescent, it always kept me guessing. The other main
reason is that I found this world intriguing. Like most worlds, power
corrupts; and in the city of Arrabar, the same hold true. the only
question is: How far up the ladder does this go? I look forward to
watching these characters grow in the subsequent books. Overall, The
Sapphire Crescent by Thomas M. Reid as a fantastic start to a series
that promises to keep the reader entertained for hours on end. I look
forward to seeing what happens in the next book in this series:
The
Ruby Guardian.
I rated this book an 8½ out of 10. |
