The Shadow Roads : Book Three of the Swans' War

Rating:
Summary: enthralling fantasy
Review: For over a century, the Wills and the Renne have fought over who will rule the One Kingdom. Alliances constantly shift as treachery and intrigue are the norm in this 100 plus year old war. Making matters worse, the constant battles have awakened the sons and daughters of the Wyrr, powerful sorcerers who have slept for decades in the Wynnd River.

The Wyrr siblings hate each other and unless they can be stopped from fighting one another, the world will be destroyed in a battle to end all battles. Elise Wills and Alaan, host of two of the less belligerent sorcerers join forces to cast out their brother Caibre from Haffydd as he has made a compact with the most malignant sorcerer ever, the darkest of beings, once bound in another realm for the safety of everyone else. Caibre will released this evil from his imprisonment to abet his war efforts; in exchange for that malevolent assistance, the wickedest one will have freedom to experiment with the blackest of magics. The sorcerers battle with magic of pandemic destruction.

In a world troubled by constant wars, the two sorcerers team up to fight their brother and by doing so begin to turn towards the light. They are the heroes of THE SHADOW ROADS as they could have joined forces with the sibling to easily conquer and rule the world. Mankind plays a role in the fate of this embattled realm as humanity must turn the swords into plows or else continue to feed the dark. Thos trying to bring peace are the unsung heroes working to end the crisis. Sean Russell has written an enthralling work filled with deep characters in a world on the brink.



Rating:
Summary: Exciting conclusion to outstanding series
Review: For thousands of years, a powerful spell has kept 'Death' in his own realm, separating that land from the world of the living. But now that spell is coming unravelled. The ages-long war between the children of Wyrr (now magically joined with the river of the same name) is being joined again and Hafydd is willing to break the last spells that hold death in his place to achieve victory. Hafydd's siblings, together with local allies, have tried to defeat Hafydd before his destructiveness ends the entire world, but their efforts continually fall short--Hafydd is powerful and has powerful allies.

The battle between the children of the river is mirrored by a war between two ancient families--the Wills and the Toren--a war incited by Hafydd to gain him power over human armies. Although Hafydd leaves on a quest to find and kill his father, the armies he gathered and controlled still threaten destruction and await for his return.

Following the Shadow Roads, Wyrr's youngest son, Alaan, tries to catch up with his brother--but seems always too late. But Hafydd's plans have been a bit overly complex and Prince Michael, whose father Hafydd murdered to seize control of his armies, survives and hopes to regain control.

If it all seems a bit complex, it is. THE SHADOW ROADS is the third and final volume of THE SWANS' WAR--a major and powerful epic. In the first two volumes, author Sean Russell developed his characters and made us care about their suffering and their survival. THE SHADOW ROADS starts with action and continues that way throughout. Chase and battle fill its pages as the children of Wyrr come together for an ultimate conflict.

For me, THE SHADOW ROADS lacked some of the emotional depth of the earlier novels in the series, but it certainly delivers thrilling action and danger. Those who have read the first two books will definitely want to grab this one and they won't be disappointed. If you're a fan of epic fantasy and you haven't been introduced to the series, THE SHADOW ROAD is NOT the place to start, but this is an excellent series. Give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: An atonement of sorts?
Review: Have you ever read a book where the author is so vivid in describing a setting that it affects your mood while reading it? Say you're reading about a festival and the author is so good that you not only feel like you're there, but you feel your spirits rise as the author describes the surroundings? Sean Russell is that kind of author. Unfortunately, it can work against him, too. In The Isle of Battle, a large part of the action takes place in an oppressive swamp, so dank and dreary that it affects the reader as well. That's the only explanation I can think of for why I disliked that book so much. Perhaps I was a bit too harsh on it. I still stand by the review, but perhaps the tone was a bit too critical.

What can account for this change? I just finished The Shadow Roads, the final volume in The Swans' War. With one book, Russell has made up for everything that was wrong with The Isle of Battle. The prose is still evocative, but this time the story keeps up with it. While Russell still doesn't give us the story motif that I so loved in The One Kingdom, he also doesn't just pay it lip service as he did in the second book. I was amazed at how good this book was, and it seems all Russell had to do was get the story out of the swamp.

War between the Renne and the Wills has exploded with an invasion of the Isle of Battle. While this conflict simmers, however, a war of a different kind is taking place. A war to prevent the specter of Death from washing over the One Kingdom. Three ancient sorcerers, their spirits inhabiting new bodies, have awoken and vie for the power over Death itself in a war that goes back thousands of years, to the formation of the One Kingdom itself. Hafydd, dark knight and the new host for the evil Caibre, is trying to awaken Caibre's father and open the gateway to Death's domain. Caibre's brother and sister, inhabiting bodies of their own, race through the shadowy lands to stop him. If they can't, it won't matter what happens between the two families. There won't be anybody left in the world to worry about it.

There are so many things to recommend about The Shadow Roads, but the best thing is still the prose. Russell has a way with description that I have only seen matched by Barbara Hambly, but in a much different way. Hambly describes the everyday surroundings of her characters. Russell concentrates more on the world itself.
Russell doesn't just evoke the setting, though. His descriptions of battle scenes are vivid, too. They make you feel like you are there, experiencing everything the character is.

The characters are another strong point in The Shadow Roads. They all grow to some extent, and all have three dimensions. The Valemen, who were innocents in The One Kingdom, have grown hardened to the violence that they have been forced into, yet they still contain that kernel of their former selves, sickened by what it is they must do to survive. None of them come through this crucible the same as they went in. It affects them in logical ways, with some tragic consequences as well. Cynddl, the Fael storyfinder, is also extremely well done. As they journey through the shadows, he is almost overcome with the horrible stories that he can feel emanating from the ground that has been host to many atrocities through the ages. His final act in the book is extremely touching and fitting the character that we've seen throughout the series, a final gift that is logical in hindsight but one I never saw coming. There are too many characters to name, but not one of them is a cardboard cutout.

The only mild complaint I have about The Shadow Roads is the climax of the story, which is comes a little out of left field. I didn't think it was necessary for the character who commits the final act to have done so, as I found the character's arc interesting by itself without having to have been involved in the ultimate resolution. Also, while I think the story motif came full circle in this book, it still felt a little detached. In The One Kingdom, the motif was as much a part of Russell's narration as it was a part of the story. This time, it's an element of the story but Russell doesn't really get the reader involved in it. There's no message to it like there was in the first book, where Russell appeared to be saying that life is a series of personal stories that sometimes interact with others' stories. This time, Cynddl's storyfinding is just part of the plot.

Sean Russell has saved his Swans' War series with this conclusion, making it well worth getting through the second book to get to it. His world-building is wonderful, his descriptions of the various lands our heroes travel through put you into the story, and the politics in the "real world" make an interesting contrast to the mystical elements that everybody else is dealing with. I was reading a discussion of George R.R. Martin and his Song of Ice & Fire series, and somebody said that The Swans' War series took some good influences from Martin. I can't help but agree. Go out and get this series now. You'll be glad you did.

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: you'll be sad when you turn the last page
Review: not becase it's a bad book..but because it's a great book...a fitting ending to a great trilogy...

this is how fantasy should be done...as with the previous two entries in this series, it's a character driven story..as I said before, even though it's based in fantasy, the reader can relate to these characters..people driven by fate..fighting a war that they didn't want a part of..fighting battles the cause of which started before they were even born...

there are alot of characters and situations going on in this book though..which is why I didn't rate it a bit higher..sometimes I found it easy (especially if I had to put it down for a few days) to lose track of who's with what party, etc, etc..but overall, it doesn't detract from the main part of the story...

the ending definetly leaves you wanting more...how does it end? I'm not telling..all I'll say is that there could be more...and I hope there is...

Sean Russell is fast becomming one of my favorite writers in a genre that I never got into previously...fantasy...and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his works!

Rating:
Summary: Sean Russell hits a grand slam with Shadow Roads
Review: The Shadow Roads, Sean Russell's conclusion to his first trilogy is truly wonderful. I was so sad when the book ended, even though I ripped through the last 100 pages in one sitting. I am not going to describe what happens in this story - you can find a summary in lots of places. Instead I will tell you why this is such a great story.

Other's have mentioned Russell's incredible prose and ability to describe the world and write believable characters. I agree with this completely and would add how much I love his ability to create such intricate and convoluted plots. Just when you think the story is going to go one direction, it turns on a dime and heads off down another path. For example, at the end of the second book (Isle of Battle), Hafydd, a sorcerer, gets a magical jewel that starts to change him. I was sure this was going to develop into a major change in his character and affect the plot. Instead, Hafydd realizes that this jewel is affecting him and he gives it to another character to study its affects on that character. This is just one example. This book meanders like the river that runs through the story. There is nothing sentimental about the characters and their relationships, just real camaraderie, real anger, real love, real danger, and lots of real action!

I only have a few complaints about this particular book. One is that it seems not quite done. I am sure the efforts it takes to make a deadline are difficult, but it is clear to me that this book needed some more work. There are places where the wrong character's name is written by accident (Tam for Carl), and their are places where the plot skips in a jarring way - like there was a sequence that Russell intended to write, but then never did. In spite of these minor annoyances, I am glad the book was released as is. I have been waiting for it for the last two years and when I saw that it was to be released two days after my birthday, I jumped for joy. What a great birthday present!

Another complaint I have, is that this book - this series really, has so many characters and so many complicated plot twists, Russell fails to develop them all to a satisfying degree. The first book (The One Kingdom) is most in control, and the most well developed. The second book introduces and/or develops a whole different group of characters, which continue into the third book. There are even few more characters added in this book. Russell has done an amazing job tying it all together. Particularly the end I thought was amazingly successful. However, there is a lot here that feels unresolved, or too simply resolved. It seems like he just bit off more than he could chew, or he needed to chew it a bit longer. I am sure the publishing industry has no patience for that, but I would love to see him refine these books more - especially the second one, but this one too as an extension of the second one. If he could improve the stories at little bit- bring it up one notch, I would say this trilogy would rival Tolkiens.

In spite of these few complaints, I loved this series. The books thoroughly engaged me and I am depressed that they are over and I have read all of Sean Russell's other books. It is mind boggling how he conceived and developed such an amazing, complicated, character rich, magical, epic story. Go Sean Russell!