Do You like book Peril's Gate (2007)?
I'm speechless and breathless (and have been for several weeks) after finishing this penultimate tipping-point volume in Janny Wurts' Wars of Light and Shadow series. Even taking a break and reading a half dozen other books hasn't allowed me to express the emotions that wracked me or the wonders assuaging them. Not since reading Janny's To Ride Hell's Chasm has a book's pacing been so unrelenting and rewarding. And to think she wrote that novel after Peril's Gate to step back from writing this series!I highly recommend this book, but also strongly suggest you not start with this novel. Begin at the beginning, with Curse of the Mistwraith and immerse yourself in all things Atheran. Please see Stefan's outstanding review of Peril's Gate for a concise synopsis and insightful comments.
—Jon
Cry mercy! The first time I read this book was about 10 years ago, around the time it was published; it was also the last book of the series I had read because the rest of the series was never available in the U.S. due to publisher problems. With the series now being reissued (as well as new books being written...two more are complete and waiting on my shelf at home) I've been rereading the whole thing.However, another extremely important issue arises over the fact that this was the last of the series I had originally read...my memory of it was by far the most negative of any book of the series. And negative for very particular reasons. As the reread commenced I eagerly (?) awaited this particular book to see if my memories were at all accurate and my disdain held up.Interestingly, to a large extent they were not. The big problem I had with this book is a particular long, drawn-out scene which in many ways recaps the entire first 5 books of the series as well as the first half of this book. I would have sworn this scene took up over half of the book, when in fact it's probably more like 10-15%. Furthermore, I didn't find it nearly as irritating as I did the first time, although it still has its moments.Without spoilers, this extended scene encapsulates a major problem and conceit with the series as a whole, one I try to let slide but builds to a climax (I hope...) in this book. Arithon (and occasionally others, but usually Arithon) suffers as no man has ever suffered before, but somehow, miraculously manages to survive...only immediately to go into the next greatest suffering anyone has ever encountered...that is until the next one...and the next one...and the next one...and the next one...and the next one... The tedium of this is rather overwhelming in-and-of-itself. It is counter-pointed by the fact that the phrase "cry mercy" (sort of the local dialect version of "oh god have mercy") gets repeated so many times (I wish I had a searchable ebook just so I could do a quick count) in this one section of the book that I wanted to beat the book into the ground every time I encountered it. "Cry mercy" is not the cry of the characters but the plea of the readers, "please let it stop already!"To my surprise and complete lack of memory, the vast majority of the rest of the book is fairly good, moving plot and characters along at a nice clip. This book is the exact center point (the keystone as it were) of the planned 11 book series and as such, should encompass some major turning points for the entire tale, which it does. The ending is remarkably satisfying (this I actually remembered despite my otherwise negative memories), encompasses at least two *major* plot developments (I can come up with more than two, but many of the others are relatively minor from my point of view or are being lumped together as a single larger element), and hopefully starts the rock rolling down hill toward a conclusion and finale (which to be fair is still 5 books away so it's probably not going to roll all that fast).Obviously we'll have to see where this goes. I'll be quite disappointed if the following books fall back into the über-suffering mode which has overwhelmed all of the previous volumes and which comes to such a painful head in this specific book.
—This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For
I love books, the longer the better. Usually. But not when a story is filled with page after page after mind numbing page of useless metaphor and descriptors used only to provide insight into... absolute nothing. There is no forwarding of the story line, instead a rehashing of past events used simply as filler to lead you to a new character - a character you already knew would make his way into the story. Any progression made on the actual story could have been written in (at most) 200 pages. This book frustrated me to no end. For the first time, I seriously contemplated not finishing a series. And seriously, the characters all need a Xanax. And a drink. The emotional range is stuck at manic/depressive for each and every one of them.
—Mandy Andersonn
