The Adversary

The Adversary (The Sundering #3)

Erin M. Evans

ISBN: 9780786963751

December 2013

4 Stars

*I received this uncorrected galley from NetGalley*

Farideh is taken by Netherese agents and imprisoned along with other Netherese enemies. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that her fellow prisoners are something more than what she expected. These captives have powers or abilities that their captors will use or destroy so the race is on for her to find a way to release them. Farideh has allies within the camp but one is an old adversary who she’s not sure she can trust. While she works tirelessly on her plans Farideh’s sister and friends are on their own seemingly impossible journey to attempt a rescue that magic and politics could destroy before they reach the camp.

This series is my first introduction to these authors and I am so excited to read more from them.

My complaints always come first so I will get that out of the way. In some areas it felt cluttered and I had moments of feeling overwhelmed by the number of characters. It was mostly in intense action scenes where I was trying to keep track of the major characters plus the minor ones.  Otherwise everything moves smoothly and the pace has a nice balance.  The characters (I know other readers have had more experience with them than I have) are also very balanced. Having conflicted and complex characters really works well in this genre.  Farideh is a good example of this and I can’t wait to read more of her adventures. I stayed up late a few nights to read this and that’s a good sign for me because I love my sleep and am an early riser. I can easily recommend this one to fantasy fans or anyone looking to get a start in fantasy. So far I don’t see a reason why this series has to be read in order.