Whole lotta of night

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The Heir of the Night - Helen Lowe
Paperback, 452 pages, Published January 1st 2012 by Orbit

I had initially picked up the second book in the series and it has taken me some time to find the first book.
I was surprised by this book as it is a rich fantasy novel with a detailed world and on the whole well realised characters.  I was swept easily into this tale and it held my interest.
Where I struggled with the novel was that too much detail and too much background information that really bogged the story down.  The information that you are given is useful but was it really necessary? I mean there is so much of it.
The characters are not bad but because they spend so much time explaining everything they never really develop. This meant that at the end of the book you had the two main protagonists Malian and Kalan riding off into the distance but no sense as to who their enemies really are. The only enemy you have is the Swam of the Dark and you have no idea as to their motives or leadership group. I did struggle with the names, while original were confusing and at times it was hard to discern the gender of a character initially.

I enjoyed the book and I will pick up the second to see how it develops. I am hoping that the backstory will dissolve and the action begin.

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