Shadow Star (Lucas, George. Chronicles of the Shadow War, 3rd.)

Rating:
Summary: I wish to draw your conclusion in a new direction
Review: I found this trilogy and sequel very enticing. I believe all three chronicles of the Shadow War were professionally written. I myself did not drag along in these books. In truth, if you drag along in any book, then you shouldn't be reading its genre. You don't just read a book looking for battles or other appealing factors to you. If you choose to start reading a book, then you should finish it. These books contained a vast amount of details that help the story along. If books did not contain such details, then the story, plot, theme, and characters would be dull as dirt. You see, books need detail to emphasize its components. It seems as if you are discouraging readers of Fantasy and or Fiction to read the Shadow War trilogy. I did not find the Shadow War trilogy hard to read or difficult and I did not become oblivious to what I just read, later discovering that they were in another area, and not knowing how they got there. No one can rightfully judge a book and discourage others not to buy it because they dislike it. Thus I believe that the authors of the commentary on the book Shadow Star and its two prequels who were odious to the trilogy should change their opinion to at least be neutral instead of offensive.

Rating:
Summary: Editor Errors?
Review: I was quite excited to be able to read this trilogy by such a great team..but the final installment was quite the disappointment. I feel this was mostly attributed to the Editor of this writing. Story lines were unexplained and left out and more emphasis was placed on the "war". It showed in the second book but this last book was horrible to try and follow the story..Hope you will write again but get a new editor.

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but lacking
Review: Overall the entire series is wonderful, it explains much of the why of the movie Willow.
The problem lies in the writing style, although both George Lucas and Chris Claremont are both wonderful at what they do they stumbled at some points in the novel, being overtly descriptive and having the characters jump into unexpected actions to cover the transition into the next plot point.
The books cannot stand on their own, you have to read one to understand the others.
Despite my complaints about the books, I loved reading every word. It was hard to follow at times, but it was still a wonderful series.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Conclussion
Review: Perhaps the best in the series, this book manages to wrap up the story that started so loosely in the first book.

It preaches patience, racial tollerance, and courage. It asks us to look at the darkest parts of ourselves and see what we might become if ONE thing in our past had occured differently. It shows us that the best way to heal ourselves, and sometimes the world, is to embrace that darkest part of ourself, to great it with understanding and love. It shows that sometimes, a story or a sond can be a mightier weaopn than a sword.

Once again, another definite read for anyone who plays D&D, especially if you play a bard. Elora is now fully formed with much of her origin told in this book.

Plenty of action, lots of magic, some philosophy, and just enough love story to keep the romantics happy, Shadow Star is a smashing conclusion to the trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but lacking (spoilers)
Review: Shadow Star could have been a very good book. Unfortunately, it fails to live up to this promise.

Happily, it is not the story or pacing that is the problem. A reader can look forward to an unpredictable and interesting story that moves at a good speed.

Unfortunately, there are two flaws. The first is that occasionally the writing is unclear, leaving one wondering what has just happened in a scene. The second is far more serious.

The final chapter of the book ends on a lovely poetic note, where sacrifices have been made, but in the end it was all worth it. It is a poignant, moving conclusion. Had the novel ended there, it would have rated much higher.

But then comes the Epilogue/Coda.

Not only are at least three characters restored to life without any explanation offered whatsoever, but the Coda ends on a trite note of "Life is going to go on, and it will be filled with adventures and be all right," lacking any insight or emotion. It is enough to make one put down the book in disgust, scratching one's head and wondering how the epilogue managed to get past any competant editor.

Truly unbelievable. The book could have been worlds improved if it had been ten pages shorter...

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, yes, but satisfying?
Review: This is the concluding volume of the SHADOW WAR trilogy (book one was SHADOW MOON and book two was SHADOW DAWN), the sequel to the movie WILLOW. The series as a whole really impressed me. Chris Claremont's writing style, although weak in a couple places, fits perfectly in the fantasy genre. His characters are vivid, their interactions realistic, and I'm constantly asking myself if his beautiful prose rolls off his brain and onto the page or whether he needs to actively think about his word selection. This series is definitely darker than the movie, but it was still very enjoyable. If you haven't seen the film, you can still enjoy these books, but you won't get the full effect.

Claremont continues his brilliant writing in this book. It's fun just to read his prose because it evokes such vivid images and feelings. As in the previous books, there are a couple of instances where his descriptions are vague and confusing (I read one scene three times and still was unable to figure out exactly what he was trying to convey). He also seemed to rush the climax just a bit, but it was still a compelling ending to the book and the series. I especially liked the final chapter...it kind of left things open for us to revisit this world and these characters at a later date. I would love to see how things are going in another ten years (in their time, not ours!).

Speaking of the characters, we get to see them develop even further in this book. Elora completes her "ascension" on her own terms and it is nothing like what it was expected to be in the first book. Thorn and the brownies continue to struggle in the face of adversary and we get a glimpse into Khory's past life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this series. I was a fan of the movie and, even though these books had a lot darker tone, they were a wonderful continuation of the story.

Rating:
Summary: What did I just read?
Review: Well, I just spent about a month reading the Shadow War trilogy by George Lucas and Chris Claremont. That is literally the longest time it's ever taken me to read three books. I'll tell you why.

They drag.

The story was interesting, the writing was clear for the most part (though occasionally sprinkled with very poorly worded sentences), and the characters had a modicum of depth. It was the pacing of the story that was just plain wrong. It seemed to go from one dream-like sequence to another and I often found myself reading a paragraph and thinking, "Huh? How the hell did they get here?"

I actually read the first two books of the trilogy a few years ago, and at the time I was not used to reading fantasy. I figured that that was why I seemed to struggle through them. I recently decided to re-read them along with the third book, and I realized that I was right the first time. They are a difficult read.

I would recommend these books to fans of the movie Willow, as they continue that story. I wouldn't recommend them to the average fantasy reader, like myself. They're much too convoluted and difficult to follow. The one thing I did like was the ending of the trilogy -- it wrapped up very nicely.

Rating:
Summary: Um, did I miss something?
Review: Well, I read all three books and all I can say is "Huh?" I found these books incredibly hard to follow. I never quite knew what was going on. And to say it's an incredible follow up to Willow is blasphemy. Willow was such a great movie with wonderful characters. This is was just...weird. The ending left me feeling like I wasted my time. I did find it interesting to find out why Elora Danan was so "special." But that's about it. In summary...too confusing. I wish you luck if you decide to read this.