Brimstone Angels
Brimstone Angels is the latest novel placed within the Forgotten Realms written by Erin M. Evans and published by Wizards of the Coast.
By Cape Rust
I have been a huge fan of the Forgotten Realms book series for many years, but it seems like it has been a hundred years since I read one. In a way, it has been a hundred years, at least in terms of the amount of time that has passed in the Realms. With the advent of D&D 4th addition, Wizards of the Coast decided to advance Toril’s timeline. During that time, many gods were killed, there was a nasty little thing called the Spell Plague, and Neverwinter, once the jewel of the north has been… tarnished. Erin M. Evans’s novel Brimstone Angels places an unlikely group of adventurers smack dab in the middle of a city struggling to rebuild and immerse them in plots within plots that reach all the way to the deepest layer of the nine hells.
The protagonist of this novel, Farideh, is a female tiefling warlock who has a twin sister and was raised in a village of outcasts by a clanless Dragonborne. The tiefling warlock part might seem rather typical to people who have played 4th Ed. D&D but Mrs. Evans does an excellent job of making Farideh more than just another tiefling warlock. I can honestly say this is the first book I’ve read where the author takes the time to explain how Warlocks gain their powers and the costs that come with those powers. Too often I have seen Warlocks played and written as “just another caster.” This book focuses on the effect that Farideh’s pact had not only on herself, but on those she loves. From a gaming standpoint, reading this book will give a DM some great ideas on how to make Warlocks feel less cookie cutter.
Because this book deals with Devils and the Nine Hells, things are never as they seem. If you have no idea how the layers of hell in the Forgotten Realms work, you might get confused. The good news is that while you will be confused, you can still follow the plot line. Delving into the machinations of devils is ambitious and in game terms, this book gave me a good idea on how I would run a game involving these fire ridden schemers.
The last time I was “in” Neverwinter, it had been ravaged by a magical plague but was still the jewel of the north. Erin Evans takes us into a Neverwinter that did not fare well during the last 104 years or so. Her descriptions of the city were good, but not great. I got an understanding of the state of the city, but I think a more detailed and in-depth description of the contrast between what Neverwinter was and what it is would have made me realize just how bad things are. A better mini-history of the city given by Mehan, the twins’ halfdragon “father” would have been great.
I am a fan of female fantasy writers as they seem to dig deeper into their characters’s emotions and tend to be more successful at expressing those emotions. If you are into this kind of thing, you will enjoy this book. Fortunately for those of you who prefer action packed sword and spell slinging, this book has plenty. My biggest complaint would be that towards the end of the book things really did get complicated. There were three or four different schemes running concurrently that could confuse the reader if you didn’t pay attention. To Erin Evans’s credit, those plots within plots culminated nicely.
Brimstone Angels is a good book and can act a great resource for people running or playing in the Forgotten Realms, no matter what edition you are playing in. Because of the extensive lore surrounding the Spell plague and the changes in the Forgotten Realms, I think Wizards of the coast needs to include a good description of what has happened in the Realms in the last 100+ years and where in the timeline this story occurs. This book is worth your time and I am truly excited to see what Erin M. Evans brings to the table for the next book.
