The Dread from the Drows by Erich Sanchack and Dani Sanchack is the second book in The Nosam Chronicles. After their return from the Dwarven mines, EoC and his company once again receive a cryptic note that sends them on another adventure. Although they do not know who sends them these letters, they follow their instructions, as these point to the Amulet of Planes, which could help EoC and Kaida return home. This time, they are sent to look into trouble among the Gnomes. Something has stopped trade, and the two Gnome Kings haven't been seen for a while. On the way, they face their share of danger, and Kekron struggles with his unstable magic. However, once they earn the Gnomes' trust, they must face the terrifying danger of the Mimic hiding in the tunnels and preying on the Gnomes in their own home. Through their battles with huge carrion feeders and the Mimic itself, the group shows their resilience and commitment to each other. When they finally meet the Gnome Kings, they get cryptic answers and are left wondering whether they have solved something or helped an unknown foe. The King of the Drows knows they are there, and he has an eye on Nilad.

The story has a Dungeons and Dragons feel, with the company traveling together and facing ogres and other dangers. The four friends show character growth, and the loyalty that forms the basis of their friendship deepens. Each of them realizes they have a distinct gift that they bring to the group, and that they all have a role to play, even though Kekron spends most of his time suffering from magic backlash. The narrative style takes you on the journey alongside the friends, and the atmosphere is skillfully conjured through sensory descriptions. The action is fierce and leaves the reader holding their breath, searching for a deus ex machina to save the friends from situations that seem deadly, with no salvation in sight. In this installment, the greater politics and layout of the land are drawn, asking the question: who is guiding the group? Are they helping the right people, or are they being used by a sinister force? Erich Sanchack and Dani Sanchack have started a series that promises plenty of adventure and danger to come. The Dread from the Drows is the perfect sequel to The Orphans of Nilad.

Erich and Dani Sanchack’s The Dread from the Drows follows EoC and Kaida Nosam on another high-stakes journey through the strange, unforgiving world of Nilad. Still stranded and looking for a way out, the siblings accept a cryptic job offering fifty gold pieces to figure out who is blocking the region’s vital trade routes. Alongside their dependable companions (Dinger and Kekron), they head south into the dangerous territory of the Low Knuckles. Their mission quickly goes sideways, landing them inside an underground gnomish stronghold where deadly hazards lurk around every corner, including predatory carrion crawlers and a vocal, shape-shifting mimic that imitates voices in the dark. With geopolitical instability threatening the area and an uneasy alliance hanging in the balance, the party faces huge threats from every shadow. Can this loyal team withstand the escalating subterranean dangers and survive the looming conflict waiting for them in the depths?

The Dread from the Drows by Erich and Dani Sanchack is a stellar fantasy sequel that skillfully expands the stakes of the characters’ journey. The world-building here feels incredibly rich, easily pulling you into the daily realities and distinct dangers of the underground gnomish kingdom. A sense of underlying danger hangs over every dark corridor, giving the party’s clashes with wild monsters a real, immediate feeling. I really enjoyed seeing the characters adapt to these threats, which beautifully showcases EoC’s disciplined leadership and Kaida’s sharp tracking instincts. Watching the bond deepen between the group’s powerhouse Dinger and their half-elf arcanist Kekron adds a wonderful layer of emotion to the quest. Every enchanted gift and narrow escape brings something unique to the overarching plot, constantly proving how far these friends will go to shield each other from danger. Readers looking for a wonderfully descriptive fantasy story filled with imaginative places and real heart should check out this continuation.

In The Dread from the Drows by Erich and Dani Sanchack, EoC leaves Nilad with his sister Kaida after a message sends them into the Drows Mountains. Blue-eyed barbarian Dinger rides beside Kaida, while half-elf Kekron accompanies EoC as the four head toward a gnome kingdom whose rulers have stopped answering their people. One king has sealed himself away beneath the mountain while the other has vanished. With gnomes disappearing inside the tunnels and trade with Nilad beginning to falter, the travelers enter a hidden city powered by wild magic, where even ordinary rooms can turn dangerous. Their assignment is meant to restore contact with the rulers, but every passage carries them farther into a mystery already frightening the kingdom from within. Before they can return to Nilad, they must discover what is happening beneath the Drows.

Erich and Dani Sanchack’s The Dread from the Drows is a fantastic second book in the Nosam Chronicles, and I love seeing this quartet settle further into who they are together. EoC remains an excellent leader, shown when his calm approach convinces suspicious gnomes, Nervie and Uppendown, to hear them out. Kaida is fantastic beside him, reading rooms quickly and stepping forward whenever the group needs her. Dinger brings so much heart to the foursome, with his teasing of Kekron giving their friendship a wonderful familiarity. Kekron gets some of my favorite material as gnome spell work opens a new direction for his magic, culminating in a lengthy explanation that has Dinger begging Kaida to ride faster before he dies of education; I nearly died laughing! The authors do an excellent job with the dialogue between them. Readers who loved the first book will adore another wonderfully imaginative adventure with this mismatched quartet. Very highly recommended.

The Dread from the Drows by Erich and Dani Sanchack continues the story of Kaida and EoC. The two of them are still stranded in the strange world of Nilad and no closer to finding the Amulet of Planes that might finally get them home. When a new strange note arrives from their mysterious unseen guide, it promises real answers, but only if they are willing to head straight into danger. They are joined by warrior Dinger and the mage Kekron as they journey into the Drows. It is a tough place where a Sorcerer King rules and where old enemies threaten to destroy the alliances. Deep in the mountains, they uncover a civilization held hostage by something far worse than politics, and surviving it will cost them more than any of them expect.

Authors Erich and Dani Sanchack created an incredible world of mystery and intrigue. The authors did a fantastic job of raising the stakes right from that chilling prologue in the Sorcerer King's throne room. EoC and Kaida make a great pair to follow. I loved how their easy banter with Dinger and Kekron gives even the tense, war-torn moments humor and a feeling of family. Dinger and Kekron's dynamic was honestly one of my favorite parts of the whole novel. The world of the Drows feels so much bigger and darker than I expected. The political theme around the Sorcerer King adds a great layer of tension on top of all the action. The Dread from the Drows is an incredible epic fantasy, and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Epic fantasy readers this series is for you. Book 2 is quite amazing in its depth without being overly indulgent. This is a must read...after you read the first book of course! Amazing father daughter co-authoring. easy 5 stars....

Kaida and EoC are still trying to get home, and the deeper they travel into the Drows, the more dangerous that goal becomes. The mystery beneath the mountains gives the sequel a darker feel, and the friendships give all that danger a reason to matter. An easy five stars for fans of The Orphans of Nilad.

What I liked most about The Dread from the Drows was how much mileage it gets out of one simple goal. Kaida and EoC want to go home. That sounds straightforward until a cryptic note sends them into a region where old rivalries shape who they can trust and a kingdom is living in fear of what lies beneath the mountains. The closer they get to a possible way home, the harder it becomes to separate what they want from what other people need.

That tension made the book feel like a real step forward from The Orphans of Nilad. The world gets bigger, but the danger also becomes more personal. I especially liked that the group can be brave and capable and still have no idea whether following someone’s advice is the right call. Their uncertainty makes their decisions more interesting than the battles themselves. Five stars for a sequel that gives its characters harder choices and makes you care about how they handle them.

The mystery under the mountains drew me into The Dread from the Drows, but Dinger and Kekron were my favorite part. There’s an ease to the way they tease each other that makes their friendship feel lived in. Those smaller moments give you a sense of what the characters are like around people they trust, which matters in a story where they spend so much time trying to figure out who else deserves that trust.

I also liked how differently the four friends fit into the group. Dinger’s experience as a fighter and Kekron’s growing skill with magic give them different ways to help, but neither can answer every problem the group faces. Sometimes the most interesting question is whether they can agree on what to do when nobody has the full picture. That’s what made the danger feel personal to me. I cared about whether the group would make it through, and I cared just as much about what the experience might do to their friendship. An easy five stars.

One of my favorite things about The Dread from the Drows is that Kaida and EoC enter a place that already has its own history and problems. The rivalries in the Drows were there long before the group arrived, and the people living under the threat beneath the mountains have their own reasons for what they do. That made me pay closer attention whenever someone offered help. I kept wondering what that person stood to gain and how much the group could afford to trust them.

The setting also does a lot for the suspense. The mountains feel imposing because of what’s hidden inside them and because of the fear that has already spread through the kingdom. I liked seeing how the mystery and the politics fed into each other. Even a potential clue about the way home could pull the group further into somebody else’s conflict. I’d give it five stars for making the Drows feel like a place with a history of its own, and for giving the characters a good reason to venture into it anyway.

The detail that hooked me in The Dread from the Drows was the cryptic note from the group’s unseen guide. For Kaida and EoC, it could be the best lead they have on getting home. But whoever sent it knows enough to point them toward danger and has their own reasons for doing so. I liked that the same clue could give the characters hope and give me a reason to worry about them.

That uncertainty gives the adventure a different kind of suspense. I was curious about what lay beneath the mountains, but I was just as interested in who knew what was down there and why they wanted the group involved. It made me think about how much easier it is to trust an answer when it’s the one you’ve been waiting for. Five stars for a fantasy sequel that gives you something to puzzle over while the characters are doing the same.

What stood out to me about The Dread from the Drows was how much of the danger you feel through the people already living with it. Kaida and the others come to the Drows looking for answers, but for the people in the kingdom, the threat beneath the mountains is part of their everyday lives. I liked how that difference in perspective made the setting feel more real. The group can imagine leaving once their mission is over. The people who live there have to think about what happens afterward.

That was also what made me interested in the kingdom’s uneasy alliances. When people are scared and have something to protect, you can understand why they might hold back information or hesitate to trust outsiders. It gave the story more depth for me because even people who want the same threat gone can disagree about what they’re willing to risk. That tension is what I’d recommend the book for.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this sequel was how much the group has to rely on each other once they’re in unfamiliar territory. Dinger has experience as a fighter, and Kekron brings his growing skill with magic. Both have something useful to offer, but neither skill can tell them whether someone is being honest or whether an alliance will hold. I liked seeing what happens when capable people still have to make decisions with incomplete information.

The humor between Dinger and Kekron helps, too. Their teasing gives the story room to breathe and lets you see what they’re like around someone they can relax with. Those moments made it easier for me to care about the group when things got serious. I’d give it five stars because by the end, I was just as invested in seeing these four stay together as I was in finding out whether they’d get home.

My favorite part of The Dread from the Drows was the underground gnomish kingdom. A threat hidden beneath a mountain is already a great setup, but it feels more unsettling when you think about the people who live there. For the four friends, the mountain is somewhere they have to venture into. For the people of the kingdom, it’s home. That difference made me think about how fear might shape ordinary life long before the heroes show up.

I also liked that the Drows already has its own rivalries and alliances. The group has to make sense of relationships that started long before they arrived, and that gives even an offer of help some tension. I’d give it five stars for creating a place I wanted to know more about even when the immediate mystery could have carried the story on its own.

I liked that surviving the first book gives Kaida, EoC, Dinger, and Kekron a reason to trust one another without making them feel ready for everything. They know what each person can bring to a fight, but they still have to decide what to do with a clue from someone they can’t see and alliances they barely understand. I found that more interesting than watching them simply take on a bigger enemy.

The friendship works especially well in that setup. Dinger and Kekron’s banter gives the book some warmth, and it’s easy to see why having someone you can joke with matters when you’re far from home and everyone else has their own agenda. I finished the book wanting to see how these four would handle the next decision together. That’s what earned it five stars for me.