Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows

4.50/5 (based on 37 ratings)
Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows
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A Desperate Quest

The race is on to free Lord Stelan from the grip of a wasting curse, and only Elyana, his old elven adventuring companion and former lover, has the wisdom and reflexes to save him. When the villain turns out to be another of their former companions, Elyana and a band of ragtag adventurers must set out on a perilous race across the revolution-wracked nation of Galt and the treacherous Five Kings Mountains, bound for the mysterious Vale of Shadows. But even if they can succeed in locating the key to Stelan's salvation in a lost valley of weird magic and nightmare beasts, the danger isn't over. For Elyana's companions may not all be what they seem.

From sword and sorcery icon Howard Andrew Jones comes a fantastic new adventure set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

350-page mass market paperback
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-291-3
ePub ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-333-0

Plague of Shadows is also available as a digital edition on the following sites:

Plague of Shadows is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Its Chronicle sheet and additional rules are a free download (229 KB zip/PDF).

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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4.50/5 (based on 37 ratings)

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A story that sticks with you

5/5

It's been about a decade since I read Plague of Shadows, but I remember its story perhaps better than any other Pathfinder Tales novel I've read. Much of it is "what happens after..." and the consequences of that, and that intrigues the imagination so strongly. What if *my* character had been there, had been part of this group, what would I have done?


A Good Take on Classic RPG Fiction

4/5

NO SPOILERS

I have to admit I wasn't particularly looking forward to Plague of Shadows, the third book in the Pathfinder Tales line of novels. The blurb about adventurers banding together on a quest to retrieve a lost artifact sounded about as cliche "gamer fiction" as it gets. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are adventurers and there is a quest, but Howard Andrew Jones' writing is excellent and he manages to give each character enough spark so that they don't come off as cardboard-cut-out heroes. I quite liked the use of flashbacks linking two different adventuring groups together despite the passage of time, and the portions of the story set in Galt really made the country come alive (in a terrifying way). There's a big twist about 5/6 of the way through that I'm not 100% sure is justified, and there's a limit to how much originality can be added on to the "fantasy adventuring group" chassis, but I honestly enjoyed Plague of Shadows and would definitely read more Pathfinder novels from the author.

SPOILERS

I thought Jones did an excellent job portraying the elves of Kyonin and their condescending but charitable view towards the "Forlorn" (elves who grew up outside elven society). I thought his portrayal of the Shadow Plane was a bit bland, especially considering the major villain is a specialist Shadow Wizard; I didn't feel like there was enough detail given to explain why Arcil, and the cabal of Shadow Wizards that Elyana's old adventuring group fought, were so fascinated with the place. The story's biggest twist (SUPER SPOILER REMINDER) in having Vallyn be working with the Galtans to betray Elyana just wasn't set up well enough; a twist of that kind needs to have enough (cleverly hidden) basis before it appears so that the reader doesn't feel it just came out of nowhere. Last, I thought the ending was superb, with Elyana leaving so that she doesn't have to watch her love grow old and die; and Drelm coming with her was inspired.


4/5

Wow, I really loved this book. Great, party-based adventuring, moving characters, plot twists I did not see coming, and lots of excellent action scenes.

I read this last weekend and immediately hit its sequel this weekend. Elyana is a great heroine, and she had lots of company as far as engaging companions. I love how the author plays against stereotypes and 1-dimensional characters. The half-orc Drelm could so easily have been a caricature, and I appreciated his development (even more in the next book). That said, you know you've got a good writer when the ostensible "bad guy" turns out quite sympathetic. Redeemable, you might say.

Great stuff.


Stick with it!

4/5

Did not expect to love this so much from the sort of stilted (in my view) start. A lot of odd stuff happens all at once, and some (apparent) stereotypes/definitions put onto the characters that didnt make them seem very interesting. Could not have been more wrong. Its all sort of a set-up so you can see how much they grow and change, so you understand how difficult some of the choices they have to make are, lending them a great deal of force and drama.

I cant even begin to dissect the plot these characters traverse other than to say its a thrill-ride, and like most of what I call good books, it escalates and speeds up the farther you get into the book, until you are completely sucked in.

I think I saw this author has written several other works and I am going to hunt them down immediately.


4/5


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Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I think there is a error in the description.

Elyana has the wisdom—and swordcraft—to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course.

Silver Crusade

Dark_Mistress wrote:

I think there is a error in the description.

Elyana has the wisdom—and swordcraft—to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course.

Hey, Paizo might be venturing into brave new territory with their first intersexed hero.

Scarab Sages

I've never heard of the author before. What do others think of him?

Dark Archive Contributor

I've seen that cover up close. It is beautiful.

Liberty's Edge

Dark_Mistress wrote:

I think there is a error in the description.

Elyana has the wisdom—and swordcraft—to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course.

Actually I believe his would refer to Lord Stelan and her refers to Elyana. Just a guess though.

Graywulfe

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

graywulfe wrote:
Dark_Mistress wrote:

I think there is a error in the description.

Elyana has the wisdom—and swordcraft—to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course.

Actually I believe his would refer to Lord Stelan and her refers to Elyana. Just a guess though.

Graywulfe

Ya, you betcha.


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Dave Gross wrote:
I've seen that cover up close. It is beautiful.

That cover IS awesome, Is it a mock up? If so where is it from? and who was the artist?

Cheers

Blackcat

Contributor

blackcat wrote:
Dave Gross wrote:
I've seen that cover up close. It is beautiful.

That cover IS awesome, Is it a mock up? If so where is it from? and who was the artist?

Cheers

Blackcat

Darren Bader. And it's the final art, though maybe not the final cover design--Sarah might still be playing with it.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Dark_Mistress wrote:

I think there is a error in the description.

Elyana has the wisdom—and swordcraft—to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course.

His = Lord Stelan

Her = Elyana

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I've updated the product image and description to match the finished product.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Pretty cool new cover.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

With only a couple chapters left in Winter Witch, looking forward to this one!!

Thanks Paizo for bringing to life the novels for Pathfinder, almost like I was back in High School reading Dragonlance novels & occasionally Forgotten Realms ones.

Again, thanks!
RM


Sweet! A Umbral Dragon yes?

If so, I sure as hell hope they pick up a cleric along the way. ^_~


holy cow... just finished the book. This was a really good story of the folorn.

*files under tragedy/adventure*


I got a copy of Prince of Wolves along with my shipment of this... Intentional? I don't see a charge on My Account -- did anyone else have this happen to them?

Edit: NM -- http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizo/customerService/extraBookInOrder 1593997 -- and, yep, I'll let a friend have it. Gotta spread the word!

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
BigWeather wrote:
I got a copy of Prince of Wolves along with my shipment of this... Intentional? I don't see a charge on My Account -- did anyone else have this happen to them?

Check this thread out.


Dragnmoon wrote:
BigWeather wrote:
I got a copy of Prince of Wolves along with my shipment of this... Intentional? I don't see a charge on My Account -- did anyone else have this happen to them?

Check this thread out.

Hehe, you beat me to my edit. Really cool of Paizo!

Silver Crusade

Just curious but

Spoiler encounter:
What were those creatures in the Shadow Realm that the party fought near the tower?

As I posted elsewhere, so far pretty good story, I like the main character & can connect as a gamer with her.

The Exchange

Spoiler:
At the end of Ch. 5, Elyana says "We must bury him. At least he won't rise again as a wight." I thought that would have been a good time to respond "You got that wight." Instead, Stelan says "I know this must be hard." Someone could have snuck in "That's what she said." I guess not everyone grieves through comedy.

Sovereign Court

I mentioned it on the Paizo facebook page, however, Amazon, B&N, and Borders sites all have an inaccurate description of the book, listing Elyana as a half-elf. Just thought you should know.

Contributor

Haldir wrote:

Just curious but

** spoiler omitted **

I believe you're scheduled to find out in Bestiary 3. :D

Contributor

Runnetib wrote:
I mentioned it on the Paizo facebook page, however, Amazon, B&N, and Borders sites all have an inaccurate description of the book, listing Elyana as a half-elf. Just thought you should know.

Thanks! Yeah, sometimes it takes a lot of time (and emailing) to get descriptions and covers updated on Amazon.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
James Sutter wrote:
Haldir wrote:

Just curious but

** spoiler omitted **

I believe you're scheduled to find out in Bestiary 3. :D

Can we quote this as a semi-official confirmation of Bestiary 3 ? :)))

Contributor

Gorbacz wrote:
James Sutter wrote:
Haldir wrote:

Just curious but

** spoiler omitted **

I believe you're scheduled to find out in Bestiary 3. :D
Can we quote this as a semi-official confirmation of Bestiary 3 ? :)))

Uhh.... THREAD LOCKED! EVERYBODY OUT OF THE POOL!

(But seriously, while I'm not saying anything official--after how cool Bestiary 2 was, do you really think we could stop there?)


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

No, no I don't think you guys COULD stop there. :)

PS: I just posted a review of Plague of Shadows. (My favorite so far).

Dean

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
The_Minstrel_Wyrm wrote:

No, no I don't think you guys COULD stop there. :)

PS: I just posted a review of Plague of Shadows. (My favorite so far).

Dean

On your more with the characters - I'd watch next Wednesday's web fiction if I were you...

Sovereign Court

No time to write much of a review just yet, but I finished the book last night and loved it. Great story! The writing was excellent and the characters very intriguing. I would love to read more about them some day. Good work Howard Andrew Jones! Another fantastic addition to the Pathfinder Tales collection. I can't wait for my sister to get the extra copy of Prince of Wolves I got and sent to her. She's going to dig this stuff, I know it!


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Enlight_Bystand wrote:
The_Minstrel_Wyrm wrote:

No, no I don't think you guys COULD stop there. :)

PS: I just posted a review of Plague of Shadows. (My favorite so far).

Dean

On your more with the characters - I'd watch next Wednesday's web fiction if I were you...

Okey Dokey... noted.

Thanks Enlight_Bystand.

Contributor

The_Minstrel_Wyrm wrote:

No, no I don't think you guys COULD stop there. :)

PS: I just posted a review of Plague of Shadows. (My favorite so far).

Dean

I'm delighted you liked it so much. It's always a pleasure to hear that your work has been enjoyed.

Contributor

skinnyfat wrote:
No time to write much of a review just yet, but I finished the book last night and loved it. Great story! The writing was excellent and the characters very intriguing. I would love to read more about them some day. Good work Howard Andrew Jones! Another fantastic addition to the Pathfinder Tales collection. I can't wait for my sister to get the extra copy of Prince of Wolves I got and sent to her. She's going to dig this stuff, I know it!

Thanks, Skinnyfat. I do have some ideas in mind, but I'm locked away writing the sequel to a book for another company right now. Web fiction featuring some of the characters should be popping up on the Paizo board next week, though.


I don't understand the price point for Paizo's fiction books. I am an avid reader and $9.99 is not a standard price for mass market paperbacks. And that's just for in-store purchases. Amazon often pushes the disparity even further.

I haven't read any books in the line because at $9.99 they are overpriced compared to the market. If Paizo needs that price to avoid losing on sales, that's unfortunate. But I find it hard to believe that sales will be much broader than to the pathfinder fans.

I haven't read any of the Mistborn books, but I'm far more likely to pick one up for $7.99 than to try a pathfinder novel for $9.99.

Just some feedback from a pathfinder player and sword and sorcery reader.


My dear boys, it's all about the numbers. Somebody get them a copy of Prince of Wolves! Mine's already spoken for.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
HolmesandWatson wrote:

I don't understand the price point for Paizo's fiction books. I am an avid reader and $9.99 is not a standard price for mass market paperbacks. And that's just for in-store purchases. Amazon often pushes the disparity even further.

I haven't read any books in the line because at $9.99 they are overpriced compared to the market. If Paizo needs that price to avoid losing on sales, that's unfortunate. But I find it hard to believe that sales will be much broader than to the pathfinder fans.

I haven't read any of the Mistborn books, but I'm far more likely to pick one up for $7.99 than to try a pathfinder novel for $9.99.

Just some feedback from a pathfinder player and sword and sorcery reader.

You explained the price yourself. Mass Market. Yes mass market books do indeed sell for 7.99, smaller print books sell for more. I would love for them to be cheaper myself. I mostly subscribe cause I prefer reading it on the computer.


As someone who's worked in a bookstore for the past five years, I can tell you that I have watched the prices on mass markets go up and up. Yeah, some do still come out at $7.99, but not many. Most, these days are actually $8.99, and more and more are coming out at $9.99.

Also, I dig that the Pathfinder Tales books are the same price online (at a place such as Amazon) as in-store. It makes people more likely to actually go into their local bookstore and pick it up, which is definitely a good thing in today's day and age.

Sovereign Court

As I'm moving to Kindle reading, and new Kindle versions cost more than $9.99 in general (as the publisher sets that price) and the subscription comes with an electronic version, it works pretty well for me. Mind you, an ebook-only subscription would also suit me; I think that I'm done with physical books for fiction.

Contributor

Hey all, I've got an interview that's a behind-the-scenes look at writing Plague of Shadows over on the Black Gate web site. I thought it might be of interest:

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/03/02/black-gate-interviews-howard-andrew-jon es-part-three/#more-18305

Dark Archive

Just finished Plague of Shadows. Great characters and storyline. Exactly what I was looking for when I subscribed to Pathfinder Tales. Can't wait to read more of your work!

Contributor

Captain Chaos wrote:

Just finished Plague of Shadows. Great characters and storyline. Exactly what I was looking for when I subscribed to Pathfinder Tales. Can't wait to read more of your work!

Thank you very much, Captain. You can find Elyana and many of the same characters in a 4-part story underway right now on the free fiction component right on this blog, but you probably know that. And my Arabian fantasy swashbuckler, The Desert of Souls, came out just a week or so before Plague of Shadows, but you probably know that too!

Dark Archive

Howard Andrew Jones wrote:
Captain Chaos wrote:

Just finished Plague of Shadows. Great characters and storyline. Exactly what I was looking for when I subscribed to Pathfinder Tales. Can't wait to read more of your work!

Thank you very much, Captain. You can find Elyana and many of the same characters in a 4-part story underway right now on the free fiction component right on this blog, but you probably know that. And my Arabian fantasy swashbuckler, The Desert of Souls, came out just a week or so before Plague of Shadows, but you probably know that too!

Aye, getting into the 4 part story now, and my next Amazon order will include The Desert of Souls...looks great...

Did I hear that you are going to PaizoCon this year??

Contributor

Captain Chaos wrote:
Howard Andrew Jones wrote:
Captain Chaos wrote:

Just finished Plague of Shadows. Great characters and storyline. Exactly what I was looking for when I subscribed to Pathfinder Tales. Can't wait to read more of your work!

Thank you very much, Captain. You can find Elyana and many of the same characters in a 4-part story underway right now on the free fiction component right on this blog, but you probably know that. And my Arabian fantasy swashbuckler, The Desert of Souls, came out just a week or so before Plague of Shadows, but you probably know that too!

Aye, getting into the 4 part story now, and my next Amazon order will include The Desert of Souls...looks great...

Did I hear that you are going to PaizoCon this year??

I've been thinking about it, but that's a long haul for me. Gen Con is in easy driving distance, so I'll definitely be in Indy. Thanks for your support. Believe me, I appreciate it.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I am almost done with the book. I am liking it more and more as it goes on. I know Arcil is a bad guy but I think he might be my favorite character. He is evil and nuts to boot, but funny in a twisted way.

Contributor

Dark_Mistress wrote:
I am almost done with the book. I am liking it more and more as it goes on. I know Arcil is a bad guy but I think he might be my favorite character. He is evil and nuts to boot, but funny in a twisted way.

I'm glad you enjoy Arcil.

When I was a kid, I didn't really understand the alignments very well, and it's only when coming back to them with Pathfinder that I "got" it. Maybe I just didn't understand evil, and I'm sure that part of my understanding improved with the Pathfinder description. Lawful evil can have a code of conduct and beliefs. I suppose someone chaotic evil or neutral evil could have friends who were *evil*, but I can't imagine them having much loyalty to them -- they would probably be friends of convenience only.

I thought someone Lawful evil might actually value some people of shared background and interest even if they weren't card carrying LE buddies, and that some good characters might not notice that their boon companion wasn't necessarily on the side of the angels, especially if he followed the rules and kept his word and worked for the good of the group. Suppose his alignment started out more neutral and he slowly got more self-involved... Surely, such a person wouldn't think of himself as evil.

Anyway. That's Arcil.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Howard Andrew Jones wrote:
Dark_Mistress wrote:
I am almost done with the book. I am liking it more and more as it goes on. I know Arcil is a bad guy but I think he might be my favorite character. He is evil and nuts to boot, but funny in a twisted way.

I'm glad you enjoy Arcil.

When I was a kid, I didn't really understand the alignments very well, and it's only when coming back to them with Pathfinder that I "got" it. Maybe I just didn't understand evil, and I'm sure that part of my understanding improved with the Pathfinder description. Lawful evil can have a code of conduct and beliefs. I suppose someone chaotic evil or neutral evil could have friends who were *evil*, but I can't imagine them having much loyalty to them -- they would probably be friends of convenience only.

I thought someone Lawful evil might actually value some people of shared background and interest even if they weren't card carrying LE buddies, and that some good characters might not notice that their boon companion wasn't necessarily on the side of the angels, especially if he followed the rules and kept his word and worked for the good of the group. Suppose his alignment started out more neutral and he slowly got more self-involved... Surely, such a person wouldn't think of himself as evil.

Anyway. That's Arcil.

Actually i liked him a lot because he is how i think most "evil" people should be. most people don't see themselves as evil. They say i am doing what is best for the greater good and many are selfish to boot. Which to many others is evil, but few people see themselves or their actions as "evil". Arcil felt that way to me. Was he evil? oh yes, but he didn't see himself that what. I think he thought he was just practical and willing to do what it took to get the job done. His problem was unable to see past his own wants, desires and views.

Derlm (spelling) I was meh about him but liked him more and more as the book went on. Actually i just felt that way the whole time. I thought it was a bit of a slow so so start but got better and better as the book went. I finished btw.

Contributor

Dark_Mistress wrote:


Actually i liked him a lot because he is how i think most "evil" people should be. most people don't see themselves as evil. They say i am doing what is best for the greater good and many are selfish to boot. Which to many others is evil, but few people see themselves or their actions as "evil". Arcil felt that way to me...

Derlm (spelling) I was meh about him but liked him more and more as the book went on. Actually i just felt that way the whole time. I thought it was a...

I think you're right about most evil people not seeing themselves that way. Surely Arcil did not.

Drelm starts out as an obstruction, not really an ally, so I'm not surprised you were kind of meh about him at first. I hope you warmed to him eventually, as Elyana did.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Howard Andrew Jones wrote:
Dark_Mistress wrote:


Actually i liked him a lot because he is how i think most "evil" people should be. most people don't see themselves as evil. They say i am doing what is best for the greater good and many are selfish to boot. Which to many others is evil, but few people see themselves or their actions as "evil". Arcil felt that way to me...

Derlm (spelling) I was meh about him but liked him more and more as the book went on. Actually i just felt that way the whole time. I thought it was a...

I think you're right about most evil people not seeing themselves that way. Surely Arcil did not.

Drelm starts out as an obstruction, not really an ally, so I'm not surprised you were kind of meh about him at first. I hope you warmed to him eventually, as Elyana did.

Yeah by the end I liked him. Not my fav character but I liked him by the end. I get the point of what role he played. He just came off as a bit one dimensional to me at first and then he added depth as the story went on.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

1 person marked this as a favorite.

My fiancee isn't a gamer or even a fan of fantasy or sci-fi, but I've convinced her to give this book a try because of its strong female character, and because I think it could be a gateway drug into Golarion and Pathfinder (What? A guy can't have ulterior motives?) We're reading it out loud to one another as a way of sharing the experience, and I must say that I'm liking reading it the second time even more than the first. We're through the first three chapters and she's already calling it "my book," as in "can we read a chapter of my book now?" So maybe she's already a convert! I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Well good luck converting her to a gamer girl. We need more of them. Once we have enough numbers we can overthrow you men and take over. :)


No sane lord would feed chicken bones to his dogs. ;-)

Contributor

bugleyman wrote:

No sane lord would feed chicken bones to his dogs. ;-)

I caught that too. I was also wondering about them gnawing the chicken bones, and the relative size of the dogs or the chickens for this to be possible. ;)

Aside from that, a fun tale. Reminded me of Clifford Simak's ENCHANTED PILGRIMAGE.

Silver Crusade

Finished yesterday & I must say excellent tale & I'm looking forward to further adventures from Howard in the Pathfinder world.

I think this one is probably my favorite book in the Tales line......so far. I felt like I connected with the characters more then the other books & such.

A few spoilers:

Spoiler:
I guess it only dawned on me that Elyana's horse was her animal companion after she died. The reaction & interaction with Elyana was written well, thanks Howard.

Spoiler:
I kinda guessed Vallyn was the traitor early in the book, but it still was a bit shocking in the end he still betrayed them. He really didn't like Arcil!!

Spoiler:
Looking forward to further adventures of Elyana & Drelm!!!

Again, thank you Howard for a enjoyable read. Thou, I now got nothing to read till Worldwound Gambit!!! ha ha

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