The Ruby Guardian: The Scions of Arrabar, Book II

Great Series! As Forgotten Realms books go this series was a great read. It's nice to see a series cover a different area of the Realms other than the more popular "conflicted" areas. The characters were interesting and the plot and story carried it well enough that the books were a fairly easy read.

To start off this is the second book in a triliogy set in the Forgotten Realms by Thomas M. Reid called The Scions of Arrabar. The Scions I am guessing are those that are 'heirs' or something of the sort.. and Arrabar is the city they are in. To tell the true, I can't really remmeber much of the first one because I read it a while back, but this on picked up alright and got me on track about page 60. Vambran his sister Emriana thier aunt Xaphira and Uncle .. as well as the rest of the Matrell family were thrown into turmoil in the first book and the family now ( in this book ) have threats from inside planning to take over the estates. Every family member is at risk and it does not look like any are to make it through. Also, we are introduced to the Druids and thier leader. Thier cause is to take out all those that would harm the forest, but Vambran has other plans for himself then them killing him. The final take in the book is against the entire city of Arrabar and may take the entire world if nothing is done about it.. but that must be found out in the next book, The Emerald Scepter. If you enjoy deception and misdirection with family ties then you will enjoy this series.. I have yet to find what the "whole scope" of these books are, but hopefully that will be answered in the final. A die hard fantasy fan, that has read a few Forgotten Realms books will enjoy this, and its not too hard to pick up if not although it is easier.

With the second book in his first trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms, Thomas Reid hits another home run. He expands on the story told in the first book and fleshes out the characters more fully. Yet, this fleshing out does not detract one bit fromt he plot moving ahead at full speed. As I said witht he first review, Reid is proving himself to be one of the best up and coming authors in the Forgotten Realms universe. I am eagerly awaiting the final installment of this trilogy. I miss spoke in the post for the first book. The cliff hanger that ends this book is by far the best one I have ever read!

Thomas does it yet again. What started in the first is continued here. A fantastic tale, great intrigue, memorable characters. Thomas' skill in writing improves with each release of a new novel. Looking forward to book 3 with extreme eagerness. Keep em coming Thomas!

This book is the second title in the "Scions of Arrabar" trilogy, and is an improvement over it's predescessor, "The Sapphire Crescent". The plot revealed in the first book is expanded upon here, and expands onto a larger world stage. As the characters struggle simply to survive, I found my interest growing as their misfortune increased. The rather sad plot device used in the first volume having been done away with, this second book succeeds where the first one failed. A truly solid offering.