City of Torment is the second book in the series called the Abolethic Sovereignty by Bruce Cordell, well noted game designer who works for Wizards of the Coast and occasional novel writer for them as well, specifically in the Forgotten Realms setting. This book fits into that theme as well, being the second in his first trilogy in the Realms.
The first book deals with an artifact called the Dreamheart which is actually the eye of a massive aboleth (super-intelligent fish creature from beyond the stars with strange mental powers). In the end most of the characters align with the intention of destroying it while one steals it and runs away in order to try and save the “dream form” of a girl he has feelings for which he believes to be stuck inside.
The second book picks up that story right away. It’s been a short time since that event happened and the main characters of Raidon (the aberrant hunting monk with an artifact sword called Angul), Thoster (the ship captain with a strange affliction), and Seren (the wizard with a secret that many would consider shameful…although she wouldn’t agree) hunt after Japheth (the warlock who made a deal with an evil arch-fey to get his powers but who he then betrayed and later would be the one who stole the Dream heart) unaware that he only stole it to try to save Anusha (the character who represents innocence in many ways that has the unexplained ability to send her dream form out into the world where she can manipulate it as a ghost-like being).
After the main group fails to get the Dreamheart from Japheth before he runs away at which point both factions decide, for independent reasons, that they need to go to the source of the artifact-eye, Xxiphu, the city of aboleths and home to the Eldest, an aboleth that has been sleeping under the world longer since before beings lived on it. The main group is going to destroy the Eldest, while Japheth goes to free Anusha, who he believes is trapped there.
This story significantly improves upon the storytelling of the first book, which is starting from a good place (see my review of the first book, which I also rather enjoyed). It lacks the lulling moments where things slow down and start to drag by introducing revealing and engaging events throughout everything else happening.
The character of Japheth rings true, as a man with nothing to lose and a pathetic infatuation with a girl he barely knows with the insistence that it’s about love. It’s a quality that, at first, I felt rang false, or that this love was undeveloped and thus a bit unbelievable to read, but it seems that the author did this on purpose and it becomes more clear (and becomes obvious in the third book, which I will discuss in a future review) that this is, in fact, a character flaw of the warlock, who in the first book is just seen as a badass with a soft spot for a girl.
Raidon goes through some changes that seemed hard for me to swallow towards the end of the book, but it’s also good to see those changes (and again, the third book indicates that it’s really probably more of a rough patch than anything). And Seren, who I saw as a bit-player in the first book, becomes a major character in the second. In fact, she develops so much that almost as soon as I started to learn about her background she almost immediately became my favorite character in the whole book (although she’s possibly the least connected to what’s happening in the story and more along for the ride than anything).
If I have any complaint its that there is a pretty heavy dose of deus ex machina on occasion be it from suddenly discovered abilities that Angul has, or Raidon can tap into with his spellscar, or that Japheth or Seren can manage with magics that seem to end up coming to them relatively easily. But I’m willing to overlook these sorts of things quickly out of respect for the character development and story.
The author has worked hard to create a sort of unexpected twist ending in his books that, honestly, don’t quite have the shock value I expect it was going for, but which satisfyingly leave you on enough of a cliffhanger that you are eager to jump into the next book (which you can do now because all three are published).
Ultimately, I see Bruce Cordell’s storytelling developing in very positive ways in this book when compared to the quite enjoyable first. It tells a story that is more engaging with every installment and he has figured out to hook this reader with his character development in City of Torment.
If you’re looking for a good Forgotten Realms story that bridges some of the gap between the 3rd edition world and the 4th edition world, this series is fitting that bill nicely. If you’re looking for a fantasy story that incorporates the world of Faerie along with alien-monsters from beyond the stars (in Cthulu-esque fashion) and a sense of Dungeons and Dragons as it’s foundation, this book will satisfy that as well.
This is a trilogy that I’ve enjoyed more than other Realms books I’ve read written by authors with more experience that Mr. Cordell. I recommend it completely, and look for my concluding review of this series to be coming as soon as I wrap up the last book.
Digital_Matrix_with_Nate