Product Description
Fantasy author David Dalglish continues his series of the half-orc brothers, whose struggles will soon bathe the land of Dezrel in demon fire…
Five hundred years ago, brother gods devastated their world with civil war. When they were imprisoned, their conflict ended without a victor. Centuries passed while their followers secretly continued the war, a war that will soon have an end.
The gods have found their paragons.
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Book Description:
Their prophet dead and their home lost, the half-bloods Harruq and Qurrah Tun form a strained alliance with a band of mercenaries outside the city of Veldaren.
As the brothers and their allies wage a private war against powerful thief guilds, divine forces threaten to tear them apart and ruin any hope for a better life.
Harruq must do everything he can to defend his family, for Qurrah’s love of a girl with a shattered mind and the power of a goddess may doom them all.
THE COST OF BETRAYAL by David Dalglish
The death prophet returns, and the disloyal will suffer.
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About the Author:
David Dalglish currently lives in rural Missouri with his wife Samantha, daughter Morgan, and dog Asimov. He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006 and currently working as a para-professional with Special Education students. He spends his free time watching PBS and Spongebob Squarepants with his daughter.
KindleQueen @ 10:46 pm
I just finished this book and have to say that it is very good. I really enjoyed the first book but think this is even better and an excellent continuation to the story.
The characters really come to life in the story and several scenes in this book struck a nerve with me and touched me emotionally, which is something very few books have been able to do. One thing I really look for in a book and that will sell me on a story is if the characters are believable and that I care what happens to them. Very few books have that affect on me but this one did.
Dave Dalglish does a good job of making everyone multifaceted. No one is all good or all bad. They all have flaws, doubts, fears, dreams and hopes and that makes for good characters in my mind. I can read it and feel anger at the good guys for something they have done and feel pity for the bad guys(I won’t spoil it, but read the book and you’ll understand).
I am looking forward to the next book and I believe that as the story progresses it will get better and better and that Dave Dalglish will become a household name in the fantasy genre.
Derek Prior @ 11:25 pm
“The Cost of Betrayal” continues the tale of the half-orc brothers, Harruq and Qurrah Tun, deepening their conflict and introducing a host of new characters.
Whilst Qurrah sinks deeper into darkness, Harruq receives the hope of redemption at the hands of new friends and family. His burden of guilt is heavy but with one clomping step at a time he tries to change.
Both brothers struggle in their own ways, Qurrah’s conscience occasionally guttering like a dying candle. This keeps the brothers from dissolving into stereotypes, keeps them real and engenders empathy – no matter how discomforting this might be.
Dalglish shows a remarkable ability to write scenes with multiple characters without the reader losing sight of any of them. He blends humour and pathos to great and stirring effect. He makes strong use of dramatic irony, dipping from one point of view to the next in a succession of brief scenes letting the reader know what is coming and then, more often than not, subverting the expectation.
The dark deeds of Qurrah are compensated for by the camaraderie of the Eschaton mercenaries led by the wizard Tarlak. These characters provide the family the half-orcs have been so badly lacking, acting as mentors, friends and healers. Highly skilled and each with their idiosyncrasies, they reminded me of a fantasy version of the Avengers, flawed, individual and yet heroic and ordered to the greater good.
The book also introduces the compelling Tessana with borderline personality disorder of demonic proportions; a wonderfully sketched character with layers of complexity and archetypal resonance.
There is more darkness than light in the book with just enough respite to catch your breath. Rumours of redemption are dashed most horridly, but glimmers of hope keep sparking up, and when they do it’s always in the context of relationship.
The spells are even darker than in the first book, Dalglish’s capacity for horror seemingly limitless. There is great variety in the use of magic – Tarlak even employs it for domestic duties and offers the magic equivalent of a replicator.
The action scenes are relentless, graphic battles of desperation and ferocity, innate rage versus magical omnipotence.
Dalglish sticks to the essentials throughout – characters and story without too much irrelevant detail. The action lulls in the middle, the characters experiencing something akin to normal life, but this is in preparation for the tumultuous ending.
Another great genre book, more accomplished than the first in the series and evidence that a very good new writer is in the process of honing his craft.
John Bryant @ 1:23 am
this sequel far surpasses the original, which was a fantastic book in it’s own right. Wow, I don’t know where to begin. The continuation of the Qurrah/Harruq/Aurelia saga, with a ton of new, awesome characters thrown into the mix. This book is unforgiving, surging ahead at a breakneck pace, where no one truly feels safe, not even the two lead characters. I immediately fell in love with every member of The Eschaton, and think they made the book complete. They provided some much needed levity to this book that might have been missing from the first book and its almost relentlessly bleak storyline. My mind is still reeling thinking of everything we went through and were introduced to in this volume. In turns I felt drained, sad, heartbroken, uplifted, terrified, hopeful and repulsed. I have no qualms saying that not only is this the best book I’ve read this year, it’s one of my favorite books of all-time. It is that good, and I hope the third book can at least live up to the incredible heights this one reached. Bravo, David.
Anne Victory @ 3:51 am
The second book in the Half-Orc series is another success. Continuing the story of the half-orc brothers Tun, in this installment they find friends and family of sorts. This book is somewhat of a dark fantasy but I found myself actively hoping for redemption for both brothers. While Hurruq seems to embrace salvation, I still hope that Qurrah finds it, as well.
As for the fantasy aspect of the book, it’s a fairly generic fantasy world. I don’t mean this in a bad way, just that it reminded me heavily of the old days of Dungeons & Dragons games, staying up until the wee hours with friends. There’s a level of comforting familiarity with the world, which leaves you free to follow the brothers’ journey.
M. Holroyd @ 5:50 am
The first book was a brilliant read, and the sequel definitely keeps with the extremely high standard of the series so far.
Once again as soon as I started I couldn’t stop reading, and I’m now about to eagerly start book 3 (not sure what I’m going to do with myself once that ones read though!).
Having read a Dance of Cloaks before I got into this series, it was great to read about what the characters in that had developed into.
Although I was a little disappointed at the lack of depth to some of the other Eschaton Mercenaries, but that’s understandable as the book is about the brothers, and I’d probably have disliked being sidetracked from the story line to hear Brugs life story!
After this book, I personally can’t wait for Qurrah to die, although I’m guessing I’ll have to wait until the last book of the series, if he even dies at all.
Here’s to hoping he has an extremely rough ride of it until then!!!!