Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: I have read many fantasy series over the years and this is one of the worst. The general story the series is based on is good, but the author does a poor job of developing it. I read the first two books in this series and never felt the author developed a whole world. I almost put the first book down, but stuck with it and the ending was promising enough to get me to buy the second book. The second book, Shadow Moon, was worse in many ways and I almost quit reading it as well. Unfortunately, I finished it. I was both confused and very disapointed with the ending. Lucas has a great imagination, but it's wasted here. Just don't waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the movie Willow...
Review: ...hated this book.I'll admit that I didn't even make it through the whole book. I was so disgusted, I quit halfway through. About 30% of my loathing for this title comes from the fact that major characters are killed before the story even begins. This is a heavy handed plot device that never fails to piss me off. And I'll admit, Madmartigan and Sorsha were two of my favorite characters, so this one is even worse. Another 30% of my disgust comes from the fact that the characters that remain are so drastically changed that they are virtually unrecognizable. While I didn't mind Elora being a selfish brat, I found myself saying over and over "I don't think Willow/the brownies would really do this..." And the next 30% is for the fact that the book is so, well, dead boring. If you want practice staying awake to read the Wheel of Time series, this book is a good place to start. The text is dull, the descriptions of places and people that don't matter are extensive, and there's just not much going on most of the time. And the stuff that you are interested in because it links back to the movie's story is skipped over with a few paragraphs. The final 10% is my disappointment at the wasted potential. I'd always hoped the movie would have a sequal, was thrilled when I stumbled across this book. Until I started reading it. What this comes off as is Chris Claremont warping the universe and characters that the movie set up to write his own fantasy theme with his own characters. He even renamed the movie's main title character, for crying out loud. While the book might have stood reasonably well if it weren't tied to the movie that came before it, as it is I give it 1 star (I'd give it none if I could) for ruining everything the movie built up.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow start to the series, but don't give up!
Review: I started this series in book 2 (Shadow Dawn) and by the sounds of many of the other reviews it seems as though if I had started with Shadow Moon I wouldn't have read any further. It's been a while since I read the book, but what I do remember is that though at times slow, it was an engrossing book which I enjoyed thoroughly. What I assume what made this novel slow for some people was the indepth character and plot development the book does. This is a novel that really sets you up for the amazing second and third book, and honestly I found the whole series amazing. Today I have just finished the third book in the series, Shadow Star, and I pity anyone who has not read further than the first book, because the last two are brilliant! I congratulate George Lucas and Chris Claremont for a wonderful series I will never forget!
Rating:
Summary: Weak story, but credit for novelty
Review: 'Shadow Moon' is not only the first of a 3 book series, but also the sequel to George Lucas' fantasy film "Willow". Those who have enjoyed the film and want to catch up on what happened after the movie will be in for a big surprise, however, as the story takes drastic turns. The Sacred Princess Elora, who appeared as just a baby in the film, has finally reached her teen years and is almost ready to fulfill her prophecy. Unfortunately she has grown into a spoiled rich-girl and isn't the most pleasant messiah a world could have. Behind her rise, however, is a dark force which seeks to imprison the good guys and bring all around chaos to the world. Only a small (figuratively and literally) bunch of heroes can rise up and save the day. Although this sounds like typical fantasy fare, Chris Claremont and George Lucas have turned the world of 'Willow' upside down with 'Shadow moon'. Don't expect a light hearted, childish romp like the film generally was. This book is grim, and sometimes very unpleasant to read. Perhaps this particular take was drawn by comparing it with the film, but any way you look at it, 'Shadow Moon' is a dark, violent and humourless book. On the plus side, I had to commend the authors for bravely taking the story into a different direction. On it's on, the story reads like common fantasy fare. Include the film as canon, and you have a pretty deep and engrossing world. Not an easy book to read, but one that will more than likely have you picking up the sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Story Development and Over Descriptive
Review: It seems that I'm not the only one that thinks this book was slow in developing and that the descriptions were *way* too long. I also think that the book depended way too much on the movie for its plot. The story should have been able to stand on its own without having to have watched the movie first. Since it's been years since I've seen the movie, I was lost for most of the book. It's been thirteen years since the battle of Nockmaar and Thorn has taken it upon himself to find out what happened on the night that cataclysms and disasters had raged across the Twelve Domains, killing many people, including some of Thorn's dearest friends. The fate of the Great Realms lies in the hands of a spoiled brat named Princess Elora, who doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone except herself. Thorn must oppose a great malevolent force, resurrect a powerful force, and bargain with a demon to help Elora save a world rapidly falling to pieces. Once the story got going it was more interesting, but it took me a while to really get into this book.
Rating:
Summary: Without a doubt the worst book I have ever read
Review: This is an awful book for anyone, but if you are a fan of the movie Willow (which this drivel is based on) you especially should stay away. All of the characters from the movie (that aren't thoughtlessly dispatched five pages into the book) have their charisma and any shred of likeability ripped mercilessly from them. Rool and Franjean, who were wonderful as comic sidekicks, are particularly wasted as they become humorless and spend their time calling Willow (renamed Thorn, and I doubt even God knows why) a fool and bragging that they can foresee the future and know how it will all end, wisdom they don't think to use for any good. The story drags and fails to yield much suspense even in action parts. Chris Claremont spends way too much time with minor descriptive elements. At one particularly low point, he went on for several pages to describe in exact detail how each group working in the kitchen of a castle worked to prepare a feast as Willow/Thorn simply passed through the room. I will be honest and say that I could not bring myself to gather the strength to finish this vile book. Nor will I ever feel any urge to pick it up and see how it all works out in the end. You may think that I was exaggerating when I said that this is, in my opinion, the worst book ever written, but I wasn't. Spare yourself the time and energy and do not read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Strangely Tedious--a Disappointment
Review: Maybe I was "spoiled" by seeing the action and fun of the movie, but I had much higher hopes for a work by Lucas and Claremont. Despite the emphasis on the enormity of the Cataclysm and the creeping evil that has swept the land, I found myself getting frustrated by the fact that NOTHING HAPPENS. Page after page of skippable descriptive text drones along, replete with tedious details about stuff that just doesn't matter, and before you realize it, another hundred pages have been flipped with no discernable plot movement. The writers don't seem to realize the powerful impact a few carefully chosen words, or clipped sentences, can have in promoting tension and excitement for a scene, as opposed to endless paragraphs detailing the exact color of the approaching horror, and how its smell reminds Thorn of someone he once met who had overslept in his bedroll on a long-march military campaign in which the stew was always cold...and on and on and ON! The perpetual flashbacks (a good storytelling tool when used in moderation) are heavily overused; in some sections, you have page after page set entirely in italics. Most of the key information to understanding what's going on is gradually doled out in these flashback scenes. This makes the sudden transition back to the "present" even more jarring. The plot events are also distributed unevenly. For one entire chapter, nothing happens; then, when something DOES happen, it's interrupted by something else entirely, with no real explanation or even acknowledgement that the shift has occurred. In mid-chase through a garden, Thorn suddenly finds himself back in a dungeon he'd escaped from. No one seems to know why (which is fine), but even Thorn himself doesn't seem surprised at this turn of events! Thorn is in mid-battle with Death Dogs, when suddenly he's attacked by someone he (apparently) used to know. He faces the heart-wrenching struggle against his former friend--who we've never seen before, and no explanation of why this is heart-wrenching is given--, and meanwhile the fight against the Death Dogs is...what, exactly? Assumed to continue without him? On hold till he gets back? No one seems to know, and no one comments on it. Part of the problem, I think, is that there is no character interaction. The only personality we get to know is Thorn's, and he spends most of his time on internal ponderings, never talking to anyone if he can help it. (The brownies are such an obvious Voice of Internal Conflict that they don't count; you can practically picture them perched on each shoulder, bearing halo and wings or pitchfork and horns.) When someone else is portrayed sympathetically, their interaction consists of a literally magical intuitive connection; suddenly, he likes and respects Person X, even though they haven't actually exchanged more than six words aloud. Someone, somewhere must've told Lucas or Claremont that dialogue is the hallmark of bad characters, and they do their best to avoid it, or at least leave it up to nameless goons and caricatured villains. I clearly had my hopes set too high when I picked out this book. I can only hope they'll pick up the pace, tighten their prose, and relax enough to allow some character interaction in their next work.
Rating:
Summary: Great fantasy but a bit too descriptive
Review: Let me get one thing straight: I am not a professional reviewer or anything. I'm just an average guy who likes reading sci-fi/fantasy books and when I saw the authors for this book I thought I was dreaming. This book was a great read and very enjoyable. The only complaint I had about it was that it was a bit too descriptive for my tastes. I like to get to the heart of the plot, I don't want to read paragraph upon paragraph of flowery prose on how the Sacred Princess's feast was prepared or how her dress looked. I often found myself skipping over a few paragraphs just to get on with the story. but that is just my opinion. There are many who like descriptive prose and attention to every little detail, but I'm not one of them. All in all--a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful writing, but a downer of a plot.
Review: Well, as most have, I saw this book on the store shelf and thought "A Willow sequel...with Claremont and Lucas? CHA BUDDY!" I became fascinated with the writing style which, though a bit melodramatic at times, was full of really, REALLY scrupulous description, which as a very visually-oriented artist type, I'm quite fond of. What killed my enjoyment of the book was the plot. The line of action feels disjointed. The build/suspense is interminably long, the climax occurs about two-thirds of the way through the book, and there really is no resolution or finish to the end, just an odd dropoff. All of the well-liked characters from Willow are either no-shows or go missing in action very shortly after the story begins (I mean come on, George, Chris, what's with killing Sorsha and Madmartigan off before the end of the first chapter?!) What we're left with is Willow, who very soon metamorphoses into the brooding, depressed, demon-allied supermagus Thorn Drumheller and the once-hilarious Franjean and Rool, whom I'd looked to to save the story, now saddled with forced-feeling personality shifts to match Willow/Thorn's. Even so I began to develop a personal attatchment to some of the newer characters, particularly the austere Princess Royal, Anakerie (whom I would've liked to have seen developed further)and the *adorable* Pathfinder Geryn Havilhand. My trust was betrayed with Geryn's very contrived-plot-device desertion of the heros and ultimately shattered when, true to earlier form, he was killed toward the end of the novel. I confess to having hurled the book across the room and cried for a while, picking it up several days later only to find that the end of the novel wasn't even an end, and felt alot like falling off of a cliff when you could've sworn you had a mile or so to walk. If you read this book, read it because you like mildly diverting high fantasy and don't care much for character development or a satisfying plot. *Forget completely that this was meant to be a continuation of "Willow". It stands better on its own.
Rating: 
Summary: a breath taking tale
Review: Fans of George Lucas's Star Wars and Willow films, as well as fans of Chris Claremont's X-Men comics, are in for a real treat. This book and the following two, Shadow Dawn and Shadow Star, make up a story that is destined to become a fantasy classic. Taking place a dozen years after the end of the Willow film, these books not only stay faithful to Lucas' visionary film, but expands quite beyond it to create a breath taking new tale. Although the first book is not quite good as the next two, it perfectly sets the tone of a world in need of a Savior and then introduces you to that Savior, her friends and enemies, in marvelous characterization and action. I'll never forget Khory's origin, or that fateful boat ride...I highly recommend this series to any fan of fantasy. It deserves every acolade it receives.
|
