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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
EAN num: 9780786942589
ISBN number: 0786942584
Label: Wizards of the Coast
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: April 10, 2007
Publishing house: Wizards of the Coast
Age index: Young Adult
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 218902
Studio: Wizards of the Coast
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Rated by buyers 
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Thay is one of my favorite parts of the Realms, and when i saw they are giving it a whole trilogy, which really delves into the future of Thay, i was really excited. Then i saw they gave it to Byers, and my eagerness turned into disappointment. I personally consider Byers one of the weakest Realms authors, who pumps up his word count with one pointless battle after another. Year of Rogue Dragons is a testament to that statement. To be fair, Byers is capable of writing a good book and The Shattered Mask: Sembia: Gateway to the Realms, Book III (Forgotten Realms) proves it. So, with those mixed emotions i started reading this novel. And im really happy i gave it a shot.
This novel is everything i expect a big-scale epic fantasy novel to be. Many subplots, many interesting characters, big epic (yet not boring and pointless) battles, and even some tragedy. Seems that the Wizards gave their authors some more breathing space, so now more often then not we see shades of gray, which is a welcome change from the boring good vs evil concepts we all reread a million times over. To put it simple, there are no heroes in this book, and that is what makes it big. Also there are no annoying characters, and that is a miracle lately.
I really have no complaints about the novel. I see a lot of people criticizing two romances in the novel, but to be honest i dont see anything wrong with them. They dont take too many pages, and they arent cheesy at all. I really dont understand what is the big deal with them.
A must-read for every Realms fan, and a highly reccomended book for a casual fantasy reader. Cant wait for the subsequent installment.
Rated by buyers 
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To begin, this book is not for the particularly young or squeamish. Not going to spoil the story, but there is some badness in this book. Whereas the Rogue Dragon story arc was a good hearty "good vs. evil" story, Unclean is more of a "bad vs. worse" plot. Most of the "protagonists" are deeply flawed, so know that going in. If you're ok with Elric, then this book will be fine.
Rated by buyers 
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Major spoilers abound in here, so be warned.
Disjointed and with really over-used plot themes, this Realms novel isn't very good. The "heroic" bard Braeris, returning home to rescue his sweetheart from poverty, manages to keep flubbing up and missing her. Eventually he abandons her (temporarily, but still) to the big bad evil guys. She is taken and transformed into a vampire of sorts, and we get the wet dream of emo girls everywhere: "I used to love him, but now my world is dark and I must fend for myself, even by causing others pain as a vampire". Her paramour Braeris remains just incompetent enough to keep losing, yet somehow manages to save himself or land fortunate circumstances such that every stupid decision he makes (e.g. solo-attacking a caravan with Red Wizard protection, or diving head very first and solo into the home base of the evil guys) is easily escaped.
We also have a secondary plot with griffon rider / mage Aoth, who semi-suffers from a "never really made it as a Red Wizard" complex, and is largely rather plodding and simple until the plot requires that he point out something so incredibly obvious that it seems smart.
Thing is, although the background of Thay is fairly interesting and the interplay of the zulkirs (archamage-leaders) and the tharchions (secular leaders, like dukes or duchesses) is somewhat compelling - none of the proponents are interesting or fun to read about. Braeris continually makes dumb choices, tragic things keep happening to his girlfriend, Aoth and his crew are beyond dull. Yet the plot advances.
The second book, Undead, starts in the year 1385 (years after the 1st book, Unclean, ends), and we find that the civil war is still plodding along. It only becomes mildly interesting as a "Realms Historical Event" when Mystra (goddess of magic) is killed off-panel by Cyric and Shar and the characters live through that. Not much is really revealed about the actual murder of the goddess, as these books still concentrate on Braeris, Aoth, and the forces of Szass Tam. So if you're looking for more details about Mystra or a big picture on how it affects the Realms in a larger sense, you won't find it here (at least, not in the very first two books). Mostly, it's Szass Tam grumbling about re-learning magic, Aoth dealing with a new (in the 4th Edition D&D game, "spellscar", I imagine) special ability, and Braeris the bard making a minor complaint about his magic being impacted but "not as bad as wizards".
Not a great read, overall. I wouldn't recommend it.
Rated by buyers -
Richard Lee Byers is an excellent author. In my opinion, he is the one of the best authors to write a forgotten realms book, second only to Salvatore, but obviously out to challenge him. His writing style is high in action, and full of vivid description. Not once in this book did I want to put it down, and I found that I couldn't read it when I went to bed or I wouldn't get any sleep.
The book is set in the country of Thay on Faerun. Thay is ruled by a council of mages called Zulkirs, each Zulkir being the leader of his form of magic. Slavery is a common practice everywhere in Thay and the zulkirs themselves view everyone else as mere pawns at best. The book begins with the murder of one of the zulkirs and a failed endeavor to invade a neighboring country by an army of Thay. These two events set up a general feeling of turmoil that sets the tone of the situation in the country.
The two heroes of the book are Bareris, and Aoth. Bareris is a skilled Bard just arriving home after six years of adventuring abroad, and Aoth is a wizard member of the Griffin Legion, doing his duty and nothing more, except what happens in the privacy of the tavern. We find out about Bareris's love selling herself into slavery only two tendays before and Aoth develops a love during the course of the book. The situation between Bareris and Tammith, his childhood love drives Bareris to discover one part of the mystery behind this book. Aoth on the other hand discovers a force of undead on a rampage and becomes part of the army to fight against them.
Eventually we are introduced to Malark, a monk. Malark is not motivated in the same way as Aoth and Bareris, but I won't reveal anything about him except to say that he becomes a more important character as the book progresses. Finally, Bareris is introduced to Mirror, a ghost that is thousands of years old, and our four heroes are united in the civil war that is brewing in Thay.
Byers is an amazing writer using a great combination of known creatures and original creatures in this book. He also uses organizations familiar to those of us that know about the realms. For example, the monks of the long death. In this book, we see an excellent use of a well known character of the realms when Byers uses Szass Tam. Szass Tam is as ultra powerful, polite, and evil as ever in this book. If you aren't familiar with these people, creatures, or organizations, a little `wiki' research will fill you in on such things.
This book is excellent, and everything about it makes me want to read the rest of the series. I seriously recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy horror, or is a realms fan. Unclean is just the beginning and I want to read the whole series.
Rated by buyers -
I had a bad attitude about this novel after reading the reviews but I bought it to get supersaver shipping on some other books. I really like the characters (no "good guys") and story. If you are bored with the typical fantasy plots, try this. Looking forward to future novels in the series.
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