The Moonshae Trilogy Review (2024)

Douglas Niles

The Moonshae Trilogy is written by author Douglas Niles and it is a part of the vast story of the Forgotten Realms Saga. The story that these three books are about to show you takes place on the Moonshae Isles and follows a very interesting character who has a goal that involves uniting all of the people on the islands.

If you want to find out who this character is and how this story will turn out, then make sure to check out our The Moonshae Trilogy review and learn what you can expect.

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The Moonshae Trilogy

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Darkwalker on Moonshae

 

Tristan Kendrick

It all begins with this first book of the series and the one in which you get to meet the main character and protagonist of the entire series. He is known by the name Tristan Kendrick and he is a prince and heir of the kingdom of Corwell.

He is also the character who has the goal of uniting all of the people on the islands that we mentioned before. He lives on the Island of Gwynneth and his father describes him as immature and very irresponsible. There are also a few other very important characters in this book who you will be meeting later down the road.

Important Characters

A few of those very important characters who will be introduced at various points in this book are Earthmother, Robyn, and the antagonist, Kazgoroth, the Beast. Earthmother is a powerful goddess who is respected by the native inhabitants of the islands, known as the Ffolk.

Kazgoroth is an ancient enemy of Earthmother and he comes to the Moonshae Isles for only one purpose, to destroy Earthmother. And Robyn is a life-long friend of Tristan’s, a ward to the king of Corwell, a druid of great potential, and now a highly important love interest of Tristan’s.

The Plot Thickens

The character who manages to cause most of the threats and dangerous events in this book is Kazgoroth, the Beast, himself. He has come into the world of Moonshae for one purpose only, to destroy all of the power that Earthmother possesses and he will stop at nothing until that mission is complete.

Kazgoroth has the ability to take the shape of anyone and anything so it is definitely going to be tricky locating him and knowing where he actually is. The Beast begins his quest as he roams the land of Gwynneth and destroys everything in his path.

Omen’s Isle

Kazgoroth is trying to reach a place where many Northmen raiders are gathering, this gathering is at Omen’s Isle, in the middle of the Moonshae. And the reason for this gathering is the preparation for the attack on the kingdom of Corwell. The Northmen think of what they are about to do as a normal raid on a kingdom but there are a few important details that they are missing and are unaware of.

Doppelganger

The most important of those is that they don’t know that their enemy’s leader isn’t King Thelgaar anymore but it is Kazgoroth who has taken his shape and is fooling everyone that their beloved leader is still alive. What happens after this is totally up to you to find out as the spoilers from here on are definitely going to ruin your reading experience.

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Black Wizards

 

Hunted

The second book in the series is Black Wizards, The Moonshae novel that follows the events of the first one directly and reveals even more thrilling secrets that you simply can’t miss out on if you have already started reading the trilogy.

We will do our best not to reveal any major spoilers in this review but it is definitely going to be hard considering that every page holds something big, thrilling, and exciting. The story in this book follows our main character, Tristan Kendrick, again as he and his allies are being hunted by the god known as Bhaal as he wants revenge for something that they did near the ending of book one.

Bhaal Himself

There is so much more to this story as the Moonshae Isles are about to experience a great deal of threats once again. Something big is definitely going on here and the god of death, Bhaal, seems to be behind it all. Also, a band of dark wizards and sorcerers are working together to take control of the High King and his power over the land to use for their own selfish and evil reasons.

Bhaal himself has created an army of zombies and ogres and is threatening the noble people of Ffolk while the Puppet King has no other choice but to accept what is currently going on around him. Then you get to read a whole lot more about Tristan himself and his friend Robyn, the druid, as it is up to them to restore the balance in their land and drive off the evil that is currently ruining everything that is dear to them.

The Dark Sorcerers’ Plans

These so-called dark sorcerers have managed to be very influential over the land with their evil plans thanks to the guidance provided to them by the god of death himself, Bhaal. Some of the things that have been caused by their doing are the murders of the druids of Alaron, a cleric of Bhaal, known as Hobarth, has personally taken this job and has been, unfortunately, quite successful.

One of the worst things that could have happened here has also happened, and that has to do with the High King himself. He has fallen under the control of seven evil wizards who are led by Cyndre. This is definitely bad for a man who is the ruler of Caer Callidyrr and the King of the Ffolk.

More to Discover

There is definitely so much more to discover in this book and let’s not forget all of the major twists and surprises that we didn’t want to reveal here so that we don’t spoil all of the fun for you. It’s safe to say that you know so little about the exciting story inside this book and you can find out all about it as you open up The Moonshae books for yourself.

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Darkwell

 

Restoring the Balance

And the last book in our review is Darkwell, the third and final book of the trilogy and the one that is going to make everything clear on how things turn out and if Tristan manages to restore the peace and balance in his homeland.

This is The Moonshae book that is going to finally answer all of the questions that you have been asking about so many of the characters inside the story. The book that will reveal to you that Tristan has finally become King and that he and Robyn must decide whether they are going to rule together, as King and Queen, or spend the rest of their lives as bitter foes.

Deadly Threat

But before any of that happens, there is one more threat that these two must take care of as the Moonshae Isles are in mortal danger once more and something has to be done before it is too late.

The deadly threat that has come to the Moonshae Isles this time is happening in the great city of Maztica and the city seems like it is about to fall in ruins if something isn’t done to fix this whole situation very soon. A swarm of terrible and hideous monsters has overcome the entire land and it is not yet clear why and where these creatures are coming from.

Mighty Alliance

One good thing from this whole situation is that in all of those ruins and terrible events, an alliance of hope is born as many fight side by side to defend their land from this horrible threat. Legionnaires and native warriors are going to band together and work together if they have any chance of pushing back this enormous army and get rid of them.

There are many surprises to see here, many secrets to reveal, mysteries to solve, and amazing moments to witness. You definitely don’t want to miss out on the last book if you are a fan of the first two books of the series.

Must-Read

That’s about all we have to say about these three thrilling books in our review and the rest is up to you to decide if you wish to take a look and find out the whole story for yourself. As we said, there is so much more to the events and characters that we described here and many more surprises and twists in The Moonshae trilogy to make your whole reading experience a lot better.

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