This was one of the oldest books in my TBR-ARC queue - back from the days before I was more careful about not selecting books that were part of a series. This particular book is book number three in The Sundering series which apparently was started by author R.A. Salvatore, and I have not read any of the previous volumes.

Farideh (a character from a different series, created by author Erin M. Evans) is thrust quickly and decidedly into a maelstrom of political intrigue and magical turmoil in this third book of an epic series. She is taken prisoner only to discover that the other prisoners being held captive with her are no ordinary folk - they all have special powers and are being held captive so that their enslavers can exploit those powers.

Farideh's sister, Havilar, is seeking to find and rescue Farideh, while Farideh is making a pact with some questionable Gods in order to save herself and her friends.

Everyone seems to have an ulterior motive for whatever it is they are doing and Farideh's pacts might just come back to haunt her.

I'm really not a big epic fantasy fan and I've never really gotten into reading D&D-based novels, despite liking the Sword&Sorcery genre and having played a lot of D&D. I think a D&D game is really personal - it means a lot to those involved in the game, but it never means as much to those who hear about it later, and the books from the genre are like listening to someone tell about their D&D game.

This particular book is really slow to get moving. In part it might be that it comes across as more of a study in character rather than an epic adventure. Perhaps because I didn't know any of these characters from their previous appearances, I really didn't care about them or what happened to them. And if you don't care, it's hard to get in to reading about them.

Looking for a good book? If you like D&D adventure novels, you might want to read the previous books in this series because The Adversary by Erin M. Evans does not stand out.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know whether the second book in The Sundering soured me on the whole series, but I struggled with this one and didn't actually finish it.

Strong female protagonist. Kind of an Anti-Hero. Its too bad that Wizards of the Coast isn't publishing any more fiction.