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Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, Vol. 1)

Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, Vol. 1)

List Price: $7.50
Your Price: $6.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Book is INCREDIBLE!
Review: This book marks the making of a new up-and-coming fantasy author, who will grab people's attention like that of Mercedes Lackey, and R.A. Salvatore!
This book grabbed my attention not because of what its says in the blurb on the back, but the cover really intrigued me! So, I ordered, bought it(and the sequel, Stalking Darkness)read it, and absolutely loved it. Mrs. Flewelling shows that she cares deeply for her characters as if they were a family member. It definatley overcomes the cliche's of most fantasy novels these days, and brings you to a world where you're sure that you can smell, taste, hear, feel, and live whats being read on the page.
This novel is a must, and Lynn Flewelling is not an author you want to miss!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best Books I've ever Read!
Review: I worked in a bookstore when this title came out. Out of all the thousands of books in the store, this one grabbed my attention. I took it home and stayed up FAR TOO LATE reading, savoring, enjoying every moment. Wonderful characters, interesting plot....very cool twists. They are so...human! even if they aren't. I want to know this world Lynn created. I want to be there too. I care about them. I can hardly wait for the next in the series...hurry Lynn!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: I read all the drafts of this novel before it finally went to press. I have, after years of recovering from the trauma, finally read the published version. Trust me, this is a great read. Even though I KNEW what was about to happen, I kept turning the pages and got to work 90 minutes late the next day. Buy it. Read it. Own it. Give it to young men who like to play with crayons or memorize prayers in Latin!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An amazing read!!! A must buy!
Review: I read this book and recommended it to everyone in my family - they've all read it now and loved it. The sequel was even better, if that could be said! Endearingly real characters with real life emotion and fast paced action. I loved the twists and turns! I read the book in one night. The second time I read it, it was the same way

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW
Review: I read a lot of S-F but not much Fantasy. I was so impressed with Luck in the Shadows, it kept me up all night. And then I re-read it a week later. I have given it to 3 friends to read and they have all loved it

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you like witty, fast-paced fantasy, you'll love this book
Review: I really liked this charming book. It had a great mix of humor and emotion, and the characters were very easy to like. The book is about a sly, charming thief and spy, Seregil, who picks up an apprentice when he is captured and they meet in a dungeon. His companion, Alec,a modest, backward lad of fifteen, has an aptitude for theivery and sleight of hand, so they become partners. They work for the Queen, gathering information about the approaching war with their age old enemy, Plenimar. They also learn about themselves, especially Alec, as they traipse about the country, robbing and carousing. However, they are not simply roguish theives, their mission is much more important. When a magical artifact strikes Seregil and he falls into a coma, the responsibility of getting him to his teacher and friend, the wizrd Nysander, falls to Alec. In this, he proves himself, and through many other challenges they must face in the future. This was an amusing book, filled with wonderful jokes and hilarious situations. The characters were lovable and real, brought to life by the talented Lynn Flewelling. I recommend this to all who love to laugh and live on the edge.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A refreshing debut novel.
Review: The book starts off with a bang and doesn't lose any steam until the end. The two heroes, along with their many companions, are really well done and are a refreshing change from the heroes that seem to pervade the industry at this time. It is a rollicking fantasy and I eagerly await her next book

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: an excellent fantasy - the first 100 pages are wonderful
Review: I really liked the beginning of the book. The characters seemed at first to be stereotypes but as I turned the pages they developed into memorable characters. The suspense just kept building for the first 100 pages or so. Then the book lags some in the middle and picks up again for a rousing finale. The background is vaguely medieval with magic and intrigue. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Tanya Huff books. I marked down the publication date of the sequel so I don't miss it. I'd tell you more of the plot but I don't want to spoil the surprises.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well, nothing's ever perfect -- but some things get close.
Review: I picked up Luck in the Shadows in a local bookstore almost entirely on impulse. While I'd heard mention of Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series from a few of my friends, and while I'm always up for a well-written, compelling fantasy (be it mannerpunk or any other genre) with homosexual undertones, it took me a while to actually shell over the money and get reading. Call it procrastination, call it laziness, call it Having No Money 'Cause I'm A Poor Student -- I call it "just plain stupid," having fallen in love at last with Flewelling's impressively compelling characters.

Of course, I have a few quibbles with the book. To begin with, there are many typos throughout, which, though they make for a fun game of catching all of them out, make the reader wonder whether Flewelling's editor fell asleep often on the job. Luckily, Flewelling rarely falls prey to one of my biggest pet peeves in fantasy or sci-fi writing: consulting the "Randomly Barfed Out Syllable Name Guidebook," wherein an author assumes that smashing the keyboard is just as valid a way to name a character or a country as any. (Note: it is not.) While some of Flewelling's names tread dangerously close to crossing the line from "I'm a fantasy name" to "I'm utterly ridiculous" she never quite falls into enemy territory, for which I'm grateful. The main problem I had with the book as a finished work was that it began wanting to be Lord of the Rings and, suddenly and unexpectedly, deviated into a decisively mannerpunk-plot: court intrigue centric rather than relic-of-deadly-power-etc.-centric. While I enjoyed the court intrigue very much -- I've a soft spot for good mannerpunk, and this is excellent mannerpunk -- it took me by surprise. (Of course, the second book seems to pick up where the initial plot of the first left off, but it's still somewhat jarring to have to wait for it.)

What I like the most about Flewelling are her characters. Seregil is charming, reminding me almost of a young, rogueish, wilder (and more flamboyant, I suppose) Sherlock Holmes; Alec worms his way into your heart and stubbornly takes root there, much to your delight; Micum and his family are all wonderful and compelling; and Nysander, though he seems to follow precariously close to the Wizard Stereotype (see: Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, or Gandalf from Lord of the Rings) comes up in the end as quirky, original and a delight to read.

Of course, not to be discredited is Flewelling's writing style, which is fluid, uncomplicated, and wholly captivating. Luck in the Shadows was a glorious find, for its refreshing choice of romantic paths, its clever and effective style, and its wonderful characters.

And now, it would seem I've a sequel to finish reading.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: bewitching
Review: (i am not a native speaker: please overlook my style)
this book is the first of the nightrunner series: each volume is self contained though reading them in chronological order increases the pleasure of reading and add to the growing tension of the liaison between the two main characters, which, by the way, is a homosexual one.
first of all, the author is a skilled writer, one thing which comes to be essential in a genre where anyone putting a couple of dragons-sorcerers-knights and kings together seems to get published: i DO love epic fantasy but cannot stand shabby, obvious, nonsensical writing; the plotting has its weakpoints, characterization is not always as polished as one may wish and there is a general tendency of exaggerating the sentimental vulnerability of the hero (i tend to ascribe this to the author being a woman describing the intimacy of male characters), but the novel is one of those that keeps you awake at night to finish it.
the world created here is absolutely believable, political intrigues are reasonably wicked and well developed, the magic is an essential but so to say everyday part of the life of people: you will not find most powerful wizards throwing thunderbolts at each other.
in this first episode the two heroes meet, get to know each other and live their first adventures together: ms flewelling is particularly subtle in not introducing them with long, naif descriptions: the characters act and we get to know them, even the depths of them, by their conduct. flashbacks are very rare and fit perfectly in the growing of a story where we meet no incredibly supernatural wicked beings but nonetheless is nearly breathtaking.
to sum up: the story is excellent, entertaining and reasonably escapist without being dumb; it could have even surpassed the boundaries of genre fiction if the author had had the strength of leaving it in a drawer for a couple of years to reread it later with a severe critical attitude to polish the small flaws.
to sum it brutally: this book is worth the money it costs and bears rereading.


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