Rating: 
Summary: Dear fans of Wars of Light and Shadow--
Review:
The great news is, the newest volume of the series is finished and turned in to the publisher, and by now, well along in production. You will have it in hardcover this year. The official release date is October, but HarperCollins ships early, and it might appear as soon as September.
In addition, the publisher is very much behind this story - so much so, that when the price of paper went absolutely off the scale, no pressure was put on me to shorten or change the content to make the book have less scope, and hence fewer pages. The book will appear precisely as I have designed it, with the plot following its arranged pattern.
There will be a change, however, in the way it is bound.
The Wars of Light and Shadow falls roughly in five segments, or what I call "story arcs" that encompass five distinct phases.
The first one was Curse of the Mistwraith.
The second one encompassed Ships of Merior, hardcover, or, if you are a British reader, or an American reader following the paperbacks, Ships of Merior and Warhost of Vastmark.
The third story arc is Alliance of Light. It is a "three phase" plot, as Ships and Mistwraith were "two phase." And the length, as you could imagine, is hefty. Longsince, my publisher warned me that the book could not be done in one volume, since bookstores would not carry it at the price. Paper has just gotten two expensive. We'd talked of making it two parted; then finally, settled on
three parts, since the plot falls into distinct segments that way. The size is
still huge - part one is nearly the length of Mistwraith, as it is. I expect
the other two to be about the same.
The better news, is that as three parts, you'll be seeing the story much sooner in schedule. The first is coming in October; the second will be out in October 1998. The last is tentatively in the same month, for 1999.
The titles will be as follows:
Alliance of Light I: Fugitive Prince
Alliance of Light II: Grand Conspiracy
Alliance of Light III: Stormed Fortress
Taken as three, you'll see the same "wrap up" and full finish detail as
Ships/Warhost provided. Taken separately, there are "endpoints" that are pauses. I did the very best I could with this - three hefty installments - to make them satisfying, given that we could not, absolutely not, put them all into one volume.
As of this writing, Fugitive Prince is in production; Grand Conspiracy is 2/3 of the way in draft, and expected to be turned in final before the end of this year.
After Alliance of Light, there are two more story "arcs" left to go.
Guaranteed, each one covers a distinctly different phase; and each one carries to its own conclusion. Guaranteed, you won't be able to "predict" where each one goes. Alliance itself - in it's three phases - will bring twists that can't be anticipated, all without plot or characters departing from a logical premise. I wish to stress that I am NOT in any way attempting to "prolong" the plot or the story - the planning for this series encompasses more than twenty years of work, and I know to the fine point each step it will take to the finish point. Given the superb support of my publisher, and the compromises we must make to meet the demands of today's book industry, rest assured that the
story IS all I planned it to become. The shift in Alliance's binding was the only possible approach to keep the fullscope of the story intact.
Lastly, my thanks to each and every one of you for your tremendous patience in awaiting the sequel - these are highly intricate books, and the writing of them is like a chinese number puzzle - each bit fiercely interlocked into the next, until the sequencing of events and logistics moves parallel or forward but never back in the time loop. I appreciate the loyalty of you all, that allows me to create in this sort of scope and depth. There are no shortcuts, and the time it takes to fit these volumes together is enormous. I can hope the results will be worth the wait. If it's any consolation, I know precisely where these volumes are going, and exactly how each end ties up. Therefore, there will be no unnecessary step or diversion taken enroute to the finish of the series.
You, the reader, make everything possible. My thanks to each one of you, for sharing the adventure. May you enjoy Fugitive Prince in the reading, as much as I did in the creation of it.
Best Luck and Magic -- Janny Wurts
Rating: 
Summary: Good read for a middle-of-the-series book
Review: As always, the characterization is excellent. Janny's editors might want to watch word repetition. I had hoped for a more satisfying development of the story, but even so I recommend this series without reservation.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book in a series of great books
Review: First I want to make a point. There are plenty of useless fantasy writers out there, and Ms. Wurts is completely and utterely, and without a shadow of a doubt, NOT one of them. So naturally I am horrified when I see some of the commentaries on this book, where the occaisional Philistine urged people not to read the book, or worse still, urge Ms. Wurts to stop writing. I have read every last one of her books, and, countrary to the general Law of Sequels, they get better as they go on. The Wars of Light and Shadows series is my number #1 series in any type of book (and I read a LOT). I make weakly visits to the local book store to see whether the next in the series has come out. Fourtunately, I found that those who liked the book far outweighed the detractors of it. So I will now enjoy complementing Ms. Wurts on another really first class book. I openely invit any who wish to comment on my comments to e-mail me.
Rating:
Summary: Coming in October 1997
Review: FUGITIVE PRINCE is the first book of a trilogy that will consitute the third story arc of The Wars of Light Shadow: Alliance of Light. For an open letter from Janny Wurts explaining why this story arc requires three separate volumes and for a sneek peak of the cover of FUGITIVE PRINCE, visit my webpage at http://www.westol.com/~trystane/trystane.html and follow the link. Feel free to visit the other parts of my page devoted to the works of Janny and also the artwork of Don Maitz. Be sure to wait for the link to My SF/F Chat Area to load and stop by there and join the conversation about Janny's books and art
Rating:
Summary: Good read for a middle-of-the-series book
Review: I had been waiting 2 years before i could get my hand on this book. It was great. I would have liked to have seen more of Elaira in it, and her relationship with Arithon, but i like the way Janny writes his trying to escape from his demons. I also can't wait for the return of the Paravians, that should really shake things up. One little thing, and this is a guess but i think that Sethvir might be Callum Kincaid whom Morriel talks about when she visits Althain Tower.
Rating:
Summary: Hate waiting for sequels
Review: I had been waiting 2 years before i could get my hand on this book. It was great. I would have liked to have seen more of Elaira in it, and her relationship with Arithon, but i like the way Janny writes his trying to escape from his demons. I also can't wait for the return of the Paravians, that should really shake things up. One little thing, and this is a guess but i think that Sethvir might be Callum Kincaid whom Morriel talks about when she visits Althain Tower.
Rating:
Summary: darker but still gripping
Review: I have thoroughly enjoyed this series being a follower of Janny's work since her Feist collaborations (thoroughly recommended). This book fully lives up to Janny's development as a writer of compelling, believable characters and far from being a slow read, it carried me on a very consuming journey. Why does this installment feel so unleavened with humour and joy? I found this novel too dark to merit a full five stars - not enough of Elaira's presence, Dakar's growing maturity and a catastrophic event in the weave of characters might be a few of the reasons. I don't know if I can take too much more desperate straits, depletion of Arithon's resources and faint hope in the face of adversity without some moments to lift my sinking heart. I care about these characters and reading this actually put a strain on my emotions. Please, Janny, give some thought to what you are doing to us! Marvellous work, though - I am waiting earnestly for the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping. . .
Review: I hve read this series from begining to what has been written several times each and I have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. This series is as good as the Recluce series and any fantasy fiction reader SICK of the Wheel of Time NEEDS to read this. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Plot Thickens...
Review: I just want to say that with each book she writes, Janny Wurts just gets better and better. In 'Fugitive Prince' the plot thickens. Although the book itself has a few major events in it, it feels more like it's concerned with filling in the blanks, passing time, and making a few revelations. The language is grand, as are the characters. And whoever thinks that they feel sympathy for Arithon after Warhost of Vastmark - trust me, Janny Wurts wrings tears with this one.
Rating:
Summary: The story goes on.
Review: I liked this book very much and am impatient to get the next one in the series. The story kept going but the begining was a bit slow and some of the chapters (one inparticular) were a bit confusing, but overall it was a great continuation of The Wars of Light and Shadow. --Cari
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