Night of the Long Shadows by Paul Crilley is the second book in a series of stand alone novels set in the Eberron world. The series it titled The Inquisitives, the first book is Bound By Iron: Inquisitives, Book 1 (Inquisitives) by Edward Bolme, the third book is Legacy Of Wolves: The Inquisitives, Book 3 (Eberron Novel: The Inquisitives)by Marshheila Rockwell scheduled for release in June, 2007 and the fourth book is The Darkwood Mask by Jeff LaSala, to date this novel has no release date. If the first two books, Bound by Iron and Night of the Long Shadows, are any indication of the two forthcoming novels in this series, then I have nothing but high expectations for this series as a whole.

Before I get into this review, I would be remiss if I didn't suggest that people read a story in the anthology called Tales of the Last War. The short story in the book by Mr. Crilley titled Death before Dawn features at least one character that is found in this book. Reader do not need to read this story of course, but having read it before this full length novel adds a certain familiarity with one of the characters as well as a little more understanding of a couple things.

The plot of this book, at least on the surface, seems rather straight forward. It almost reads like, Sherlock Holmes meets Eberron. It starts off as a tale of an Inquisitive trying to solve a murder, however, this novel quickly becomes anything but another murder mystery. The plot found in this novel is actually several smaller plots wound together with a much larger plot in the background. However, the large plot does not truly reveal itself until the novel is all but over, which makes it that much more interesting. Mr. Crilley has a knack for writing plot twists into his stories, as evident from this novel and the short story mentioned earlier. I would talk more about the subplots of this story, but really don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Suffice to say that Mr. Crilley has obviously taken great pains to incorporate several plot elements that even the most observant of readers may miss. As a reader of many fantasy novels, I appreciate the extra effort that appears to have been put into the plotting of this story.

The characters in this book at as well thought out and constructed as the plot lines. There are many characters in this book that will be memorable for one reason or another. Characters such as Wren, Torin, and Cutter to name a few. The majority of characters in this book are not the typical one dimensional, cliché ridden characters found in other fantasy books. Mr. Crilley's characters have a way of feeling an old pair of shoes. Even though they are new characters, they still feel like I have read about them several times before. It took very little time for me to be interested in the characters individually and as a whole. Being this interested in the characters, and having a solid plot, made for an enjoyable read that flew by. It's evident that Mr. Crilley put considerable time into the creation of these characters, that effort was not lost on me.

Some things I really enjoyed about this novel are the ease at which Mr. Crilley's prose flows. I often found myself starting a page only to realize that forty-five minutes had passed. There were very few, if any, `dull' points in this novel. The pace was almost nonstop. The banter between Torin and Wren made for some truly enjoyable moments in what is largely a dark story. I particularly enjoyed the character Cutter. From the first introduction of him, to the last sentence about him he continues to grow and expand. I can easily see more being written about him, and several of the other characters.

Some minor, very minor, criticisms about this novel. I would have liked to have known a little more about the warforged involved in the story. I think I would maybe have liked to see the pace of the book slowed down a little at times. Don't take that sentence the wrong way though, the pace worked well, but there were times when I think a little slow down may have benefited the feel and buildup of the overall story. Also, the character of Kayla just didn't work for me. When she was in the story the parts seemed a little strained and didn't have the normal flow. This could very well be something personal with me though.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It's an excellent addition to the Eberron world. This book, and the other in this series, are very good novels for people just starting to read about Eberron. One does not need to know about Eberron to truly enjoy either book. This is certainly a book I will be recommending to people in the future. ( )