The Herald by Ed Greenwood [Review]

The Herald (The Sundering #6) by Ed Greenwood
Format: ebook
Source: provided through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: May 12, 2014

The Sundering
1. The Companions
2. The Godborn
3. The Adversary
4. The Reaver
5. The Sentinel
6. The Herald - Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle

Ed Greenwood
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

In the 6th and final book of the multi-author Sundering series launched by New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms®, further chronicles the exploits of Elminster as he fights for the future of Faerûn.

Chaos grips Faerûn as vainglory, prophecy, and ancient forces comingle in the shadows cast by war. Agents of the Shadovar lurk in the corners of Candlekeep in search of the arcane secrets that will power their war machine toward Myth Drannor. Gods and their Chosen run amok, all in a gambit to seize power. And a threat foretold by an ancient seer stirs.

At the heart of it all, Mystra, the great Goddess of Magic, has withdrawn from the world. Without her protection, Elminster, her greatest champion, fears for the nascent Weave, the fabric of magic Mystra wields to bind Faerûn. Will the Nightseer Shar, mistress of the great and fearsome Shadovar, seize the opportunity to blanket the world with her Shadow Weave?

With the help of Storm Silverhand and his protégé Amarune, Elminster works frantically to strengthen the Weave’s tethers and forestall what seems an inevitable reckoning. But other interests machinate for their own sinister ends.

As the Sundering draws nigh, Elminster and his heroic cohort must see the signs for what they are. The choice of worlds lies in the balance.

Thoughts on The Herald: There was a lot going on in this book. Understandable, seeing as this is the final book in The Sundering series, but there were times the cast of characters was so large and the action flipped between them so quickly it was hard to keep track of who was who. (I'm going to go on record as saying that might be a me-thing, though. Because sometimes I'm super lazy and like things to take their sweet time getting to where they need to be.) (On the other hand, things did move fast in this book. So, yeah. Yeah. Take that as you will.)

With the Sundering at hand, some big players have put their best pieces into play to try to further their own interests. Dark and light are going head to head in a battle to control the Weave. Elminster's plan is thrown awry when all the work he's been doing for the past however-many-years unravels in one fell swoop.

*laughs over my weaving and unraveling word play* *seriously, somebody stop me before I hurt myself*

BIG THINGS are afoot. Danger. Betrayal. Heartache. Sacrifice! Magic! MORE DANGER! HAIR THAT FIGHTS BATTLES INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PERSON IT'S GROWING ON! (How does it do that? I'm totally smitten with the idea of sentient hair. Or... hair that can wield a sword. THE POTENTIAL FOR CRAZY IS SO WONDERFULLY HIGH HERE!)

Right. So things get crazy. Good folk die. Bad folk die. And the Sundering is coming! Good stuff, man. Good stuff.