6939839I think I’m going to like this series, but only time will tell.

 The Brotherhood of the Griffon is a quintet of books seeming to focus on a man name Aoth Fezim, leader of a mercenary band The Brotherhood of the Griffon and a character we have seen previously in the Haunted Lands trilogy, although many years have passed and the Spellplague has changed Aoth.

After fighting Szass Tam and his undead hordes in Thay (and failing), Aoth and the Brotherhood traveled where fate and fortune lead them, fighting one war after another.  But two disastrous failings lead the Brotherhood into dire straights, where few would be willing to risk their money or their lives on the group, so they find themselves in Chessentea, the land of dragons and a land no so friendly towards mages and magic.  But a city needed their help, and the Brotherhood needed money, so they took a job rooting out a group of murderers in the city, of which Aoth almost became a statistic.  Joining with a band of dragonborn, Aoth and company discover secrets best left hidden, and in a gamble to gain the upper hand he dispatched two of his people to seek out an ancient heir to the throne: an ancient red dragon said to rule the lands long ago and disappeared.

Riding his red eyed griffon familiar, Aoth, along with an elementalist mage with personal space issues, a foppish ranger more shrewd than he looks, a surly dwarf with secrets in his golden heart, a dragonborn paladin and his roguish brother, uncover a nest of mystery and intrigue and only the gods know what is in store for them next.

Honestly, I have forgotten much of Aoth and his band from the Haunted Lands series, but I am enjoying Brotherhood of the Griffon so far.  The characters are interesting, there are enough different viewpoints to keep you going but not so many as to bog you down, and every little piece of the overall puzzle that falls into place leaves you excited to learn what comes next.

Speaking of next, it’s not book 2 of this series.  Rather is the first in a duo: Unbroken Chain by Jaleigh Johnson next.

7934199A hero trapped on the edge of light and dark…

Ashok is a shadar-kai of the Shadowfell who is brought to the city of Ikemmu, a haven of shadar-kai who have learned to use their fierce need for adrenalin and danger to better their city and their civilization. Although he starts out eager to find the weaknesses in the strange city’s armor and return with them to his vicious enclave, Ashok finds himself drawn in by the city.

As he struggles to find a balance for himself, his family finds the a way to bring down the city on the Shadowfell’s border.