Lynn Flewelling, Shadow's Return
Lynn Flewelling's new book! Some thoughts (and spoilers) below.
This is the fourth in a fantasy series that I love, despite imperfections. The previous three books have compelling characters, and wide-ranging plots that have several strands. There are obstacles and high-stakes, and mysterious magic, but the main characters get through on their wits. The supporting characters are the ones with the magic, and that works, since characterization and an adventure plot form the strength of the series. Also, it's just fun.
Not to say that the previous books are perfect- the first suffers from a lot of exposition, the dialogue is sometimes clunky, the world-building details don't make sense. In the first two books the heroes are wonderfully characterized, but the villains are cutouts, and in the third the plot is not as dynamic but the antagonist is not evil- which makes it interesting. There was progression in the writing and story and characters are the series went on.
I was really looking forward to this book, to continue the progression, and I am disappointed and confused.
Nine years have passed since the last book, and I wonder if the author has read the books recently. There were a lot of detail errors in this book that I picked up: name changes from the previous books to the 4th, name changes within the 4th book, history of one of main character's changing, mistakes in the made-up language, etc. A good editor should have read and picked these up, and though annoying, they did not really change the enjoyment of the story much.
First, a huge stylistic change- magic is suddenly the main character. It forms the plot, and it is not developed enough to be interesting, it is simply gruesome. There is very little grand adventure- it turns into an escape story that drags. The main characters that previously used wits and got out of situations in clever ways are shadows of themselves, and apart powerless. Until they are rejoined- not until the last third of the book- they are boring.
Second, the third book doesn't make sense if this one does. The idea of the third is that a country at war (Skala) must convince a former ally (Aurenen) to re-ally them in a war they are losing against a powerful third power (Plenimar). One more thing- Aurenen is populated by a magical race that lives 300-400 years, lives in clans, and there do not seem to be very many of them. Skala is a matriarchal monarchy that has large cities and farms- magic is dying out in Skala. There are a lot of political concerns, and no one is really a villain, so it falls to our heroes (Skala) to convince Aurenen that in the future it would be better for them to be allied, though at present Plenimar is not really a threat to them. It brought to mind WWII- the idea of countries not involved allying against an invading power because in the future they would be invaded.
So what has changed?
First, Plenimar has seemingly been invading Aurenen for slaves for a long time, a point never brought up in the 3rd book, essential for the plot of the 4th. This is even more important because it is constantly brought up in the 3rd book that the loss of any member of Aurenen is a cause for concern, that they are honorable, and isolate themselves so as not to die out. So the fact that they have been constantly raided for slaves (apparently they are highly prized as slaves because they live 300-400 years, and are all beautiful) is not even mentioned in the diplomacy hearings?
Next, the main antagonist in the 3rd book, Ulan, was interesting because he was NOT evil. He was honorable, and wanted only what was best for his clan and then Aurenen- he was against an alliance because he felt it would go against that and that he would not be doing his duty as a leader. He did not have anything personal against the main heroes (Seregil and Alec)- only that they were for something that he was against. In fact, there were even hints of him working with Seregil when it was to his favor- really interesting. Suddenly, in this 4th book, he hates Seregil and Alec and sells them into slavery for his own advantage, but mostly because he hates them. Huh? Why? Why destroy your most interesting antagonist to date and turn him into another violent villain. Not only that, but he apparently routinely gets rid of political pawns through selling them into slavery. Very contradictory to the third book, I feel.
Not only has the villains' psychology taken a step back in this book, but also the world-building. The 1st and 2nd books had offered that perhaps that Plenimar was not evil intrinsically, but from desperation from dwindling natural resources, and that the common people were just that- ordinary people (I am being generous, but this view was presented). This book disproves that- abusive slavery, abusive military, and evil magic, with corrupt leaders. Why so cutout, huh? The only 'good' Plenimar people we see are escaped slaves! And most are immigrants, people too broken to return to the families they had before being enslaved.
Finally, the major problem are the two main characters. Their personalities are stripped down to obsession, neediness, jealousy, and endurance. They are hardly recognizable as the main characters from before. One point that is hammered is that adversity has made them stronger, not broken them- this is made rather cruelly in comparison to a character that has been enslaved for over 40 years, tortured, and castrated, and now is rather pathetic. Sure the above character is not kind to the heroes, but his experiences have surely been enough to punish him, and the fact that the heroes feel themselves to be better than him in regards to enduring hardship is a bit petty and seems off.
There are some other points that bother me about the book, but I think that I have said enough on the topic, and I would have to get really specific to say why.
Overall, this book is not a bad story- it moves quick, has a definite beginning and end to the plot, and some interesting points, though as I mentioned, there are also some bad ones. The words flow smoother than they did in the first book, with less exposition, and there are some technical improvements writing-wise. But it does not fit the previous series, world, or characters as the author had built them in the 1st three books. It would have been stronger and more enjoyable had she started a new world, and differed it more from her established one- maybe then the characterizations would have also been more fleshed out instead of relying on the reader to have read the other books. The previous series is not necessarily over- but this is not a good direction for it to go in, and it seems a bit like Flewelling took the easy way out by putting this book in the series. She took an idea that did not work in the series and rather than giving it a life of its own, she forced it in, and it shows in the fact that it feels awkward and a huge step back as a writer.
This is the fourth in a fantasy series that I love, despite imperfections. The previous three books have compelling characters, and wide-ranging plots that have several strands. There are obstacles and high-stakes, and mysterious magic, but the main characters get through on their wits. The supporting characters are the ones with the magic, and that works, since characterization and an adventure plot form the strength of the series. Also, it's just fun.
Not to say that the previous books are perfect- the first suffers from a lot of exposition, the dialogue is sometimes clunky, the world-building details don't make sense. In the first two books the heroes are wonderfully characterized, but the villains are cutouts, and in the third the plot is not as dynamic but the antagonist is not evil- which makes it interesting. There was progression in the writing and story and characters are the series went on.
I was really looking forward to this book, to continue the progression, and I am disappointed and confused.
Nine years have passed since the last book, and I wonder if the author has read the books recently. There were a lot of detail errors in this book that I picked up: name changes from the previous books to the 4th, name changes within the 4th book, history of one of main character's changing, mistakes in the made-up language, etc. A good editor should have read and picked these up, and though annoying, they did not really change the enjoyment of the story much.
First, a huge stylistic change- magic is suddenly the main character. It forms the plot, and it is not developed enough to be interesting, it is simply gruesome. There is very little grand adventure- it turns into an escape story that drags. The main characters that previously used wits and got out of situations in clever ways are shadows of themselves, and apart powerless. Until they are rejoined- not until the last third of the book- they are boring.
Second, the third book doesn't make sense if this one does. The idea of the third is that a country at war (Skala) must convince a former ally (Aurenen) to re-ally them in a war they are losing against a powerful third power (Plenimar). One more thing- Aurenen is populated by a magical race that lives 300-400 years, lives in clans, and there do not seem to be very many of them. Skala is a matriarchal monarchy that has large cities and farms- magic is dying out in Skala. There are a lot of political concerns, and no one is really a villain, so it falls to our heroes (Skala) to convince Aurenen that in the future it would be better for them to be allied, though at present Plenimar is not really a threat to them. It brought to mind WWII- the idea of countries not involved allying against an invading power because in the future they would be invaded.
So what has changed?
First, Plenimar has seemingly been invading Aurenen for slaves for a long time, a point never brought up in the 3rd book, essential for the plot of the 4th. This is even more important because it is constantly brought up in the 3rd book that the loss of any member of Aurenen is a cause for concern, that they are honorable, and isolate themselves so as not to die out. So the fact that they have been constantly raided for slaves (apparently they are highly prized as slaves because they live 300-400 years, and are all beautiful) is not even mentioned in the diplomacy hearings?
Next, the main antagonist in the 3rd book, Ulan, was interesting because he was NOT evil. He was honorable, and wanted only what was best for his clan and then Aurenen- he was against an alliance because he felt it would go against that and that he would not be doing his duty as a leader. He did not have anything personal against the main heroes (Seregil and Alec)- only that they were for something that he was against. In fact, there were even hints of him working with Seregil when it was to his favor- really interesting. Suddenly, in this 4th book, he hates Seregil and Alec and sells them into slavery for his own advantage, but mostly because he hates them. Huh? Why? Why destroy your most interesting antagonist to date and turn him into another violent villain. Not only that, but he apparently routinely gets rid of political pawns through selling them into slavery. Very contradictory to the third book, I feel.
Not only has the villains' psychology taken a step back in this book, but also the world-building. The 1st and 2nd books had offered that perhaps that Plenimar was not evil intrinsically, but from desperation from dwindling natural resources, and that the common people were just that- ordinary people (I am being generous, but this view was presented). This book disproves that- abusive slavery, abusive military, and evil magic, with corrupt leaders. Why so cutout, huh? The only 'good' Plenimar people we see are escaped slaves! And most are immigrants, people too broken to return to the families they had before being enslaved.
Finally, the major problem are the two main characters. Their personalities are stripped down to obsession, neediness, jealousy, and endurance. They are hardly recognizable as the main characters from before. One point that is hammered is that adversity has made them stronger, not broken them- this is made rather cruelly in comparison to a character that has been enslaved for over 40 years, tortured, and castrated, and now is rather pathetic. Sure the above character is not kind to the heroes, but his experiences have surely been enough to punish him, and the fact that the heroes feel themselves to be better than him in regards to enduring hardship is a bit petty and seems off.
There are some other points that bother me about the book, but I think that I have said enough on the topic, and I would have to get really specific to say why.
Overall, this book is not a bad story- it moves quick, has a definite beginning and end to the plot, and some interesting points, though as I mentioned, there are also some bad ones. The words flow smoother than they did in the first book, with less exposition, and there are some technical improvements writing-wise. But it does not fit the previous series, world, or characters as the author had built them in the 1st three books. It would have been stronger and more enjoyable had she started a new world, and differed it more from her established one- maybe then the characterizations would have also been more fleshed out instead of relying on the reader to have read the other books. The previous series is not necessarily over- but this is not a good direction for it to go in, and it seems a bit like Flewelling took the easy way out by putting this book in the series. She took an idea that did not work in the series and rather than giving it a life of its own, she forced it in, and it shows in the fact that it feels awkward and a huge step back as a writer.