“I knew then why he had acquiesced and why I had been able to prevent the Empress of Diamonds from fleeing this proto-dimension. I was not a synthesizer nor builder. The proto-dimension had lost the Dark Lord that had defined it and shaped it. He had died here, killing the proto-dimension and giving it the same aspect that Fiddleback had given me…Death.”
Evil Triumphant is the third and final book in Michael Stackpole’s Fiddleback Trilogy – the only official series of novels to be set in the world of Dark Conspiracy. Following on from the dramatic events of Evil Ascending, we return to find our protagonist Tycho Caine – and his eclectic collection of erstwhile companions – drawn into the next phase of their battle against the ever-present Dark Lords. Now facing new and unexpected threats, the Minion Hunters will be driven to forge new alliances with old foes in a battle that will stretch their resources, willpower and determination to breaking point. But will such rash decisions prove to be humanity’s salvation or will they offer nothing but doom for beleague Earth? Let’s read on and find out in this climactic finale of the Fiddleback Trilogy!
Be warned spoilers are to follow!
Plot Summary
Evil Triumphant begins with Tycho Caine and his companions meeting with Fiddleback, the arachnid-like Dark Lord who, yes, until the conclusion of Evil Ascending had posed the greatest threat to Earth’s survival and our heroes’ lives. Putting aside their differences, these two parties agree to work together in the hopes of stemming the powers of newly-minted Dark Lord Pygmalion (who also happens to be Fiddleback’s own rebellious protégé) and his newly acquired apprentice, Ryuhito (the empathically imbued grandson of the God-Emperor of Japan). With this arrangement reluctantly in place, the narrative then follows the new allies’ attempts to discover Pygmalion’s hiding place, believing that if this can be located, then a plan can be devised to enable Fiddleback to deal with both these powerful individuals (given that only a Dark Lord can ever truly defeat another Dark Lord).
While slow progress is made in their quest, the party’s efforts are not without its challenges and soon the heroes are beset by misfortune and losses; including the near assassination of Tycho and the deaths of some of the group’s strongest and most capable members. But it is through these sacrifices that, at last, real gains are finally made, with the capture of ‘the almost Dark Lord’ Ryuhito, and a breakthrough in locating Pygmalion’s fortified proto-dimension.
United once more, the climax of the story sees a final ‘all or nothing’ attempt to invade Pygmalion’s home dimension, with Caine and the remainder of his team racing to set up a gateway large enough to allow Fiddleback to appear before all the Minion Hunters are eliminated by his former student. But, of course, Pygmalion’s death isn’t the end of the story, with both Fiddleback and Tycho more than ready to turn on each other. But where Fiddleback stands alone in the ruins of Pygmalion’s realm, Tycho has other allies to call on, and in springing his own trap uses the power of another Dark Lord – the Empress of Diamonds – to finally overcome Fiddleback.
Yet even this doesn’t bring our story to a conclusion, as after Fiddleback’s destruction, it is revealed that the Empress of Diamonds was in fact the puppetmaster of everything that has come to pass in the trilogy! Right from the beginning of the first novel, this reclusive Dark Lord has been pulling the strings of all the parties involved in the series, having initiated the events that led to Tycho Caine’s transformation into ‘Coyote’, Pygmalion’s rebellion from Fiddleback, and even Fiddleback’s own desires to invade Earth’s reality. And so, faced with an unwinnable scenario, it is only with one final sacrifice that all of the Dark Lords left on the battlefield can be defeated…
My Thoughts
I first read Evil Triumphant way back in 1992, and at the time I was not the biggest fan of how this otherwise great trilogy came to an end. As such, I can’t actually recall picking it again since that first read-through (even though I’ve probably reread A Gathering Evil at least once or twice a decade since the early 90s). However, rather than the vague memories of that first experience tainting my enjoyment of the reread, the distance of time actually allowed me to enjoy the overall story, despite its otherwise many annoying issues. Don’t get me wrong, this is no A Gathering Evil, but with the plot fresh and new in my mind’s eye, and my own taste in storytelling now a little darker and more mature these days, the decisions, compromises and outcomes of the narrative now make a lot more sense than they did 30-odd years ago1.
Obviously, as the final novel in a series, Evil Triumphant has some heavy lifting to do as it looks to wrap up the myriad plots and story threads that have been left in the previous novels and while it is the longest book of the three (although only by a dozen pages or so), it most definitely finds itself struggling under the weight to achieve such a lofty goal – at least in a way that can give all of its many characters anything other than a few scant moments in the narrative spotlight.
You can’t fault Michael Stackpole’s writing2 for this, as he has a nice languid style to his text, one that makes all his novels a nice, easy read, but with Evil Triumphant it does feel as if he has backed himself into a bit of a corner. Not only has he spent the two previous books introducing nearly a dozen major characters, but now he has three separate antagonists to deal with, and only 340-odd pages to wrap everything up. And this is where I think the story lets itself down, especially as you get the feeling Stackpole had set his mind on creating a bit of a ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ scenario in the middle of the novel – you know, a situation where the heroes being forced to their lowest ebb before finding the strength to succeed. Don’t get me wrong, the story is a good rollercoaster ride, with plenty of good drama and a few surprises, but at times the speed in which events proceed reminds me of someone trying to write a complete Twitter/X/Bluesky post – i.e. good luck trying to get everything you want to say in just 300 characters. As such, part of me wishes that the author had focused on fewer heroes and villains, as in the end, this would have probably allowed for a bit more space to explore the Dark Conspiracy setting further (or at least Mike’s version of it).
Look, please don’t get me wrong, I’m always going to love this series, as Michael does more to bring the world of Dark Conspiracy to ‘life’ in these three novels than all the game supplements ever released for the line ever could … but of the trilogy, only A Gathering Evil will continue to hold a very special place in my heart as I grow old.
- To be honest, I first read this book when I was a teenager and I think I might have got a bit too ‘salty’ at the deaths of some of my favourite characters back then! ↩
- I should note also that this novel returns once more to a mainly first-person narrative (that of Tycho Caine) – and as was used in A Gathering Evil – rather than the predominately third-person style seen in the second book. ↩
Jimibp
excellent review. Personally I liked it, I think it is an important next step in the trilogy. The first book was very much about the individual and how they interact with the society around it and particularly the corporations and I think framing him as an amnesiac to start with allowed Stackpole to introduce us to a world that we had never encountered before without me feeling like I was missing something. So the first book is the individual working against the corporation. Then the second book is the individual now in control of the corporation working against the Dark Lords of which they are only just becoming aware. While the third book expands on that multiple dark lords, multiple corporations, multiple power groups. I think the trilogy is an excellent study in the societal make of the Dark Conspiracy, and as a GM I found it invaluable as a source, I would have loved for them to have created a Sourcebook for the Game from the materials in the books, so rich and detailed.