Review: Not bad, but could have been better
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 4, 2011
The sample chapters clearly show that the author can write well, promising a tale of daring and creative revenge in the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo. There was even a point early in the story where I was rubbing my hands together with glee because it seemed like the villain was going to unwittingly hire the alter ego of the man trying to assassinate him to track down the man trying to assassinate him. And that was gonna be awesome to watch!Unfortunately, this was only one of the really amazing potential plot twists that just failed to materialize - hinted at and then just dropped. If the author had lavished as much attention on the middle and end of the book as he clearly did on the beginning, City of Rogues could have been so much more than just another fantasy novel with familiar tropes, stock characters, and modest world-building.It's not a bad story, mind you, but I can't help but feel it could have been so much better if the author had made some bolder plot choices.