Item - Errand of Mercy

This is the first adventure in the series that I actually found myself enjoying. I'm highly disappointed that it is Roger E. Moore's only entry in the series, as I would have looked forward to reading more of his work here. In any case, the book gets several things right. It is told mainly through the eyes of a new character, Garkim. This is good because it provides a single clear focus for the story, and it works particularly well because Garkim is sympathetic even though he has the potential to oppose the paladin characters introduced in the second adventure. It also helps that the story is set in unfamiliar territory, since readers familiar or unfamiliar with the Forgotten Realms can be equally interested as they learn about what's happening in the Utter East. For the first time in this "serial novel," a book has actually managed to build up curiosity about what will happen next. Wondering where Garkim's situation will lead him is not the only thing to keep the reader's attention; once a few key revelations are made about the history of the region, more potentially interesting conflicts are set up and the future is made intriguingly uncertain. Based on past experience, I fear that the next few volumes will be far inferior to this one, but at least I care a little about where they will lead. Regardless, kudos to Moore for making at least one part of this series worth reading; this might not have been a stand-out fantasy novel on its own, but in comparison to its predecessors, it is sheer brilliance.

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