Vazeer the Lash has made a name for himself among the most corrupt of Hell’s Labyrinth, a crime-riddled port city that thrives on thievery and murder, where the art of betrayal and deceit is taught from birth. It’s under the oppressive gray mist and fog that Vazeer has become an expert Grell Runner, smuggling expensive stolen items across Sullward’s brackish waterways in well-paying contract bids. But, unlike his other orphaned brood-mates, Vazeer has become educated, cultured by a rich world history, longing to put his dangerous criminal life behind him in favor of a comfortable retirement. To secure this dream, he takes on a secretive, high-stakes Narrow Bid with five other criminal experts called Shadow Bidders, each one more untrustworthy than the last. They are tasked with the unthinkable—killing a man known as the Raving Blade, a dastardly power broker infamous for torturing and maiming anyone who dares to move against him. As lies and secrets and bodies pile up, Vazeer faces life-altering choices if he wants to keep himself—and his dream—alive.

Peter Eliott’s A DREAM OF SHADOWS takes place over a tense 48 hours, with all the trappings of a fantasy heist, elevated by its complex scoundrel politics and vividly atmospheric setting. From the seedy wharves of Dockside where the bid is “sketched,” to Wags where Vazeer’s dreary, troublesome childhood flourished, and then to the charming cobblestone lanes that allow him to luxuriate in his spoils, every corner of Hell’s Labyrinth feels especially detailed and immersive. Even the most minor of characters are fully realized, their lives beyond Vazeer’s orbit are multifaceted, hardscrabble, and interesting. Layered history of this world comes to life with meticulously rendered storytelling, often using Vazeer’s impressive collection of artifacts, furnishings, and art to recount important backstories. And it’s Vazeer’s own captivating voice that lends so much to how the plot unfolds, carefully, often threaded with suspense, tinged with dark humor. Since he’s a self-proclaimed vain and pretentious character, his introspection and historical or political asides sometimes meander, bogging down the overall pace of the novel. But, most of these trips off the beaten path provide another deeply woven complexity to the world or insight into Vazeer’s flawed, yet honorable personality or the misdeeds of his cohorts. While it would have been interesting to spend a little more time with the other Shadow Bidders before they set out on their mission, most of their sordid histories, reputations, and unique skills come into play—for better or worse—during the story’s moments of heightened tension while the secrets of the bid reveal themselves.

Vazeer’s sibling-like relationship with his brood-mate Flerra Tellison is put to the ultimate test, as he is forced to work alongside a pirate, a fierce warrior with photographic memory, and a cunning, mysterious “Finisher,” who bears none of the scars of a difficult life. Even a slow burn romance develops over the course of the novel between Vazeer and Nascinthé of Levell, a “Masque” trained in the art of deception. The second half of the novel unfolds with brilliant precision. Stacking twist after twist, Vazeer fights his way through horror and betrayal in blood-curdling battles underneath the backdrop of a once-in-a-generation storm, rewriting the landscape of Hell’s Labyrinth forever.

A tightly-plotted fantasy debut, Peter Eliott’s A DREAM OF SHADOWS tells a breathtaking, enthralling tale, bursting at the seams with a rotten, yet likable ensemble of murderous rapscallions and an absorbing world concealed in fog and shadow.

~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader