Rating: 
Summary: Too Random to be Good
Review: After enjoying the first two books of this series, I was very excited about this one. But I was doomed to be disappointed. One of EC's strengths is her character development. Yet, she kills off all of the best characters, sometimes in completely random ways. (*cough* the sea elf *cough*) It's irritating to get attached to a cool character and then see them killed with little reason other than EC not wanting to have to deal with them anymore. Characters pop into and out of the storyline without explaination. What happens to Danilo? He just suddenly stops being in the story at all. And what about the big final battle? Again, it is too random to be good. Liriel doesn't even act like you would expect her to. Overall, I was very disappointed. Elaine Cunningham, rewrite this book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Tale of Manic Genius
Review: Anyone expecting more of the story told in the previous two books is doomed to disappointment - Windwalker is a radical departure in style, tone, and content - a book of transition. While some things remain the same, the main character has changed completely. Much was lost. More was gained.The lighthearted, whimsical scripting, and elegant turns of phrase that made the first two books a joy to read are often absent, which harms the flow of the narrative early in the book. In their absence, the many changes of perspective make the pace seem forced. More seriously, the deft characterisations are now imperfectly conveyed. In the prelude of the first book, in a handful of pages, Mrs. Cunningham managed to evoke the whole essence of the dark elven race, Gromph and Liriel in particular. She set a scene, then explored it through the deliciously calculating eyes of the evil old drow. But in Windwalker, scenes in the Underdark do not explore new territory, are too far from the action, and lack the immediacy that would have made them relevant. A single scene of the spying archmage in some interesting and relevant setting might have served better. The same holds for other "distant" perspectives. Some enemies could have appeared just as well spontaneously, in context with others. Meanwhile not enough is done to explain odd actions, like Azar or Sharlarra's obsessions with Liriel. A few subtle signs of restlessness or dissatisfaction in Sharlarra to Danilo's perceptive gaze when she first appears might have made a beginning. Mrs. Cunningham crafted complex new characters, but then suffered from a difficulty in getting them across. But ultimately, the book isn't about any of them. Windwalker is the story of Liriel Baenre, and this is where it reigns supreme. In Windwalker, Mrs. Cunningham takes Liriel's intriguing but uninspired journey of discovery and redemption and turns it into a haunting tale of the choices people make and the consequences they face as a result of those choices. Sadly, in making choices things are lost, and tales of elves often make great tragedy, perhaps because they always have so much to lose. This is such a tale. Early in the series, Liriel wanted to leave the Underdark, but keep her magic - she wanted to have her cake and eat it too. She wanted the starlight and all beneath it. Friendship, love, a home - and the power to keep them. She wanted everything, and everything came all too easily. But she made her choices, and even good choices have costs. Friendship and love took an emotional toll, power a spiritual one. By Windwalker, her deeds have drawn attention, some who should have died yet live, and some who should live begin to die. And as far as choices go, Liriel begins to make mistakes. Perhaps emotionally and spiritually drained by earlier choices, Liriel makes errors that would have killed her in Menzoberranzan. She fails to make plans. She's almost killed in an attack on her ship when wards or other preparations could have made things safer. Mrs. Cunningham does this very well - each mistake feeds from what came before. At one point Liriel steps into a portal and almost gets killed in a duel, when invisibility, a disguise, scrying, or extensive magical preparations might have been in order before boldly going where she hadn't gone before. But it isn't isolated - she was already in a great hurry to reach her destination, as if somehow thinking this will solve all her problems. She stepped from her ship while it was under attack, when her aid might have been needed, and taking a week to talk with Qilue before trying yet another portal would have saved them both much trouble. Later she takes the place of a trained warrior in fighting another trained warrior...who'd already almost defeated her once, and with her magic exhausted, and herself as well, for which error she should indeed pay heavily. But again, it follows on weeks of exhausting activity, and it's yet another enemy she had her chances to kill earlier, and an enemy she made for herself earlier yet! Liriel's combat style, perhaps unduly influenced by the mercenary Jarlaxle, always tended more to the spectacular than the deadly. Instead of the deft use of minor spells of an innovative wizard, she occupies herself with brilliant but sometimes inefficient use of projectiles, punctuated by the occasional feat of magical power. In Windwalker she cuts her use of spells drastically, as if grown afraid of all power in trying to escape that of Lloth. In Windwalker, Liriel is seldom the lighthearted prankster, the partying explorer. Instead we see a girl being worn down by the staggering costs her choices are exacting. This is a book more brutal than beautiful, but it is brilliant all the same.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable conclusion to the trilogy!!
Review: Elaine Cunningham blows us away with an unexpected conclusion to the story of our lovable dark elf, Liriel, and her human companion, Fyodor. After reading this one, I needed to sit for a while in the dark. This totally unexpected twist leaves us hungering for more. We can only pray that Cunningham plans more adventures for the unscrupulous, adorable drow. After this read, we will surely need a further conclusion! In the story Liriel and Fyodor travel to Fyodor's homeland of Rashemaan and discover secrets of the famed (and feared) Rashemaan Witches, as well as, another confrontation with a few old enemies that we (and Liriel) thought were left far behind. Fasten your seatbelts before reading, for this book will take you through more twists and turns than you can expect. Excellent work from Cunningham, yet again!
Rating: 
Summary: Decent story hampered by appalling editing
Review: Elaine Cunningham's third Liriel Baenre novel, the final in the Starlight and Shadows trilogy, is decent enough, albeit not one of her best work. It has a reasonable plot, adequate characterisation, and a fitting conclusion, but unfortunately Elaine's editors have let her down in a big way - I counted a fair number of spelling errors, grammatical inconsistencies and other editing mistakes. For this type of work to have names of major characters in the world of Faerun to be misspelled (eg Laerel for Laeral) or flat-out incorrect (Durham for Durnan - for goodness sakes!) is just unacceptable and detracts from the reader's enjoyment in a major way. Which is unfortunate since the Elaine magic glimmers on occasion only to be let down in this manner. Get a new editor, Elaine, please!
Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: Elaine, Elaine, Elaine... What happened? This series started off so strong (Daughter of the Drow), then got a bit wobbly (Tangled Webs), now it's tipped completly over (Windwalker). I love this character of hers, Liriel. The unusual drow with a taste for exploration and adventure. I like the fact that she's less diabolicly evil, more vitriolicly sarcastic with a soft heart for the lesser creatures. But Liriel seems to digress in this book. At times during Windwalker Liriel seems to have forgotten what she's learn in her previous adventures. She forgets that she loves Fyodor (even though it scares her), that her killing people upsets Fyodor, that she really DOSEN'T love Lloth, and that another goddess has showed serious interest in recruting her. Meanwhile the maidens of the Promanade Temple seem to have forgotten the risks she took, the fighting she did for them, and the sacrifices she's made. This book felt really rushed, 'jumpy' as someone else said. Too much story packed into too small a book equals somewhat shallow characters and a story that feels paper thin. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad read, just... I was hoping for so much more.
Rating:
Summary: awesome! the best ever! totally sucks you in!
Review: i don't care what other people have said! This is the best work of art i have yet to read in the Forgetten Realms! Elaine is my favorite author! She sucks you into the characters and into their journeys! It's like you are right there in their minds...with them on their journey and experiencing every emotion they are going through!! This book totally made me cry, and that is a hard thing to do! I was so caught up in in Liriel's journey with Fyodor...and their struggle... I recommend this series to EVERYONE! it is the most amazing work of art, a true masterpeice.
Rating:
Summary: awesome! the best ever! totally sucks you in!
Review: i don't care what other people have said! This is the best work of art i have yet to read in the Forgetten Realms! Elaine is my favorite author! She sucks you into the characters and into their journeys! It's like you are right there in their minds...with them on their journey and experiencing every emotion they are going through!! This book totally made me cry, and that is a hard thing to do! I was so caught up in in Liriel's journey with Fyodor...and their struggle... I recommend this series to EVERYONE! it is the most amazing work of art, a true masterpeice.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Ending to the Series
Review: I eagerly anticipated this continuation of Liriel's story and, by and large, it did not disappoint. Ms. Cunningham is a wonderful author. She has the talent of somehow writing a story you don't realize is happening. A lot happens and it doesn't feel like it. The old characters (Shakti, Liriel, Fyodor) were great, though only the elf Sharlarra really stood out among the newbies. Ms. Cunningham did a TERRIFIC job, I thought, of filling in some continuity holes left by the transition from 2nd to 3rd edition FRCS. It's all logical and fits together. The ending was beautiful and haunting and heart-rending. You might very well find yourself becoming a bit misty-eyed. The possibilities of more Liriel is there and I, for one, hope Wizards has the good sense to commission them.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I have to agree with the Kohler review. I think they really could have gone somewhere if they kept him alive.
I have to say, this was the first Fantasy novel I've read. I'd been bored and yup, I did it, I saw the cover and bought it. I searched all my resources for the first two books to no avail. So I went ahead and read it without a background.
I'm pleased to say, I liked it. I liked the realationships within the different "Species" if you will and the descriptions were wonderful. It did get a bit jumpy and I found myself flipping back pages trying to make sense of it. Though I'm sure if I had read the other books I would have known more. :)
Rating:
Summary: dissapointing
Review: I liked the first two books a lot but this one was quite different. It was written a few years later I believe and included a whole slew of characters who's roles in the story made little sense to me. (Should I have read Cunningham's other FR books first?) One thing I did like was the fact that Liriel's "pact with the devil" or in this case Lolth, was coming back to haunt her and the scene in Ellistrae's temple was great. Shakti's role (who I unlike most others really liked in the first two books as an antagonist) was pretty pointless, as were all the deaths. Rashemen was well depicted though.
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