The Nightfall Duology begins with The Legend of Nightfall and tells the story of the renowned demon known as Nightfall: master thief, murderer, haunter of children's nightmares and nursery rhymes, except that the fabled tales tell only a part of the story.
Yes, Nightfall was a thief and, at times, a murderer, but only when necessary, and far more crimes are attributed to him than he actually committed. However, Nightfall was born with a gift, the ability to shift his weight with merely a thought. In a fight, he would always win because his mass was like a great iron weight. When fleeing the scene of a crime, well, he was nearly weightless, able to escape by scaling a wall or jumping from a great height with relative ease. Nightfall also became a master of disguises, so that he could easily slip into any one of his many personas as he traveled throughout the kingdoms. Being able to move freely helped him in not only his life of crime, but in avoiding sorcerers, those who seek to steal natal gifts from those who have them. Throughout his life, Nightfall made sure to trust no one, except his childhood friend Dyfrin, who saw the good in everyone, and a seductive white-haired dancer named Kelryn, with whom he fell madly in love. Unfortunately for Nightfall, someone sold him out along the way.
He finds himself the captive of King Rikard of the Kingdom of Alyndar and oddly enough, Rikard is willing to "execute" Nightfall, thus wiping his slate clean, as long as he takes on the job of watching over his younger son, Prince Edward, over the next few months and ensures that the foolish, but justice-driven young man becomes landed... and doesn't get himself killed in the process. To make sure Nightfall sticks to his promise, Rikard's sorcerer/adviser, Chancellor Gilleran, crafts an oath-bond that prevents Nightfall from harming any of the royal family or revealing his previous persona. If he infringes on the oath-bond, he experiences grave pain and then he dies, his soul forever becoming the prize of Chancellor Gilleran. It's a great motivator. Unfortunately for Nightfall, his task won't be an easy one.
He assumes his childhood name of Sudian and must play the devoted squire to Prince Edward or Ned, as he is called, but Edward is determined to rid the world of slavery and couldn't care less about securing his future with property, so Nightfall's job just got exponentially harder. But he has revenge on his mind and if he can steer Ned towards his old stomping grounds, he might just be able to root out the traitor and fulfill his promise to King Rikard at the same time.
The follow-up story is The Return of Nightfall and finds Nightfall/Sudian in a much different place, but still in the company of Edward. It turns out that the pair have to make a return trip to the town of Schiz, following an uncomfortable situation that they got into during their earlier travels. During their time back in Schiz, Nightfall is guilted by Ned into making good on a previous promise to a sorcerer-hunter to join him on a hunt, but while Nightfall is out, Ned is attacked and kidnapped, his entire company of protective soldiers slaughtered. Naturally, Nightfall will stop at nothing to get his dear friend back, but of course, the political leaders back in Alyndar believe him to be responsible. So off he must go to find the true kidnappers and to hopefully rescue Ned and return him to Alyndar. Just as before, it will take all of Nightfall's wits, some of his secret personas, and even a ship full of pirates to rescue Ned and keep himself off the chopping block.
I enjoyed the story of Nightfall, although the first book was better than the sequel. But I can totally understand fans clamoring for more story for a beloved character, which is basically what happened, and I was glad for the opportunity to read both stories back-to-back. If you are looking for a good fantasy story with plenty of action and intrigue, and a dash of romance, check out The Nightfall Duology.
