This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer Title: The Alabaster Staff Series: The Rogues, Forgotten Realms Author: Edward Bolme Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 320 Synopsis: A young girl is entangled in a plot between factions of the gods Tiamat and the fallen god of Unther [where this story takes place]. Also in play are the political powers of Unther and another nation that is trying to take them over. Kersin [or whatever "exotic" spelling the author makes it to be], the young woman, is forced to steal the Staff of Necromancy, give it away, watch her erstwhile allies get slaughtered, taken into protection by a powerful lord, shadowed by said lord's bodyguard and in the end, try to prevent the raising of a dead mad god. My Thoughts: The first chapter is very misleading, as it follows a young boy who steals into the city and steals some fruit to survive. He then gives some fruit to Kersin and we never see him again. I felt very bait-n-switch'ed. But after that, I enjoyed this. The purple prose was really kept to a minimum and that in and of itself made this worthy of enjoyment. Kersin was a likeable main character and there was no love story, or even worse, a love triangle. Thank goodness for that! The inclusion of the Harpers was a nice touch too, especially since I like the idea of an underground group of Good Guys doing good things to make the world a gooder place :-) The ending fight was nice and climactic, with a zombie god and all. Looking forward to the next book in the Rogue series. " ( )