The Black Brigade Views
If you like a little bit more than the typical hack and slash in your fantasy fiction then you’re in for a treat. At its heart, Taint of the Black Brigade is a detective story. Even though it takes place in Eberron and the characters use magic it’s not your typical D&D novel. The focus of this story is a mystery and the lengths that a detective will go to solve it.
Taint of the Black Brigade is Crilley’s second novel featuring Abraxis Wren. The first, Night of the Long Shadows, was part of the Inquisitives series and although it took place before Taint of the Black Brigade it’s not necessary for you to read it first. I know that I read it when it was first released but all I remember about it besides that it was set in Eberron and featured an Inquisitive was that I really enjoyed it. So when I began reading Taint of the Black Brigade I was coming to it without any detail from the first book.
The man Lyra was hired to protect was part of an elite, black-ops team called the Black Brigade. They worked for Breland during the last war. The 10-member squad reported directly to the king. No one else knew of their existence. They were sent to do the jobs that regular troops weren’t equipped to handle or that might result in political backlash. Towards the end of the war the Black Brigade realized that they could easily be hung out to dry after the war. They’d have nothing to fall back on. No recognition for a job well done and no military pension to live off of. So they decided to do something about it.
When the Black Brigade found a priceless treasure during one of their final ops, they decided to keep it. They realized that if they cashed it in immediately there would be questions. So they decided to bury the treasure, and dig it up years later, after the war was over. However, some of the members of the Black Brigade disagreed on this course of action and they turned on each other. With only four members remaining they agreed to a truce.
The Black Brigade Images
