A new amazing journey into the world of Athera featuring returning and new characters, several different factions and interests, powerful world-building and a larger-than-life story expertly woven by the never-ending imagination of Janny Wurts, a master of delivering events presented from new angles, whose facets often revise the reader opinions at every new turn.This book raises the stakes of the story even higher beyond the layout of The Curse of the Mistwraith and it is seamlessly connected with the next book, Warhost of Vastmark, which in fact represents the end of this Arc.The story opens five years after the tragic events in Deshir, the two half-brothers, ripe with their legacy gifts and blessed with longevity by the Five Centuries Fountain, are hopelessly compromised by a deep geas-inspired mutual hatred spawn by tragically different reasons, and carry on with their lives in a so diametrically opposed manner: Lysaer, tall, blond, charming, a master of statecraft and sole repository of the power of Light, with the support of Etarra pushes a common cause and marches to found his new kingdom in Tysan. His sole purpose is to rid the world of Athera, even at the cost of great personal sacrifice, from the threat of the Master of Shadow. Said Master, small and lithe Arithon, conflicted and desolate, after the tragedy of Deshir and the loss of his mage-sight finds a bit of solace in cultivating his greatest gift and in running away from Lysaer and the world, lest he gives in again to the powerful compulsion of the hate-geas imposed by the mysterious and only temporarily tamed Mistwraith.However, while the scion of the High Kings of Tysan earns the admiration of his natural enemies, the Townborns, and the enmity of the traditional supporters of the Kings rule, the Clanborns, and pursues his strategy of creating an alliance against the Master of Shadow by reconciling city factions and massing his army, his elusive and quiet brother desperately guards his privacy and intentions, with the result that many only perceive "the ironies of Arithon's nature and see nothing beyond surface paradox" and conclude he is a threat to their world’s balance, paramount amongst them Dakar the Mad Prophet, one of the most interesting character of the book.But indeed the truth is not so simple.The conflict that is taking shape has a multi-layered quality of complexity, and the reader soon realizes that each party, in championing interests often diametrically opposed, has a moral high ground they adhere to even if it is sorrowfully wrong or misguided. An incredible example of the credibility and effect of this is when, at the demise of a character certainly not loved, I felt regret and sense of loss. Both warned on their birth world that “the powers of mages and the burdens of a ruler make an incompatible legacy”, the princes keep the tenet at heart. Lysaer hearkens his sire’s words and strives to be a good and compassionate leader, "a mind undivided between the laws that must govern humanity and the uncanny secrets of the mysteries", thus discarding any possibility of redemption of his mage-trained half-brother, taking bitterly upon himself Athera's plight and to pass judgment.Arithon upholds this sorrow-taught conviction, too. He tries to avoid all conflicts, shunning the help offered by the Clans which feel threatened by Lysaer policy, and painfully tries to hold onto his uncompromising integrity, no matter the cost. But his empathy, his compassion for the suffering of others, which are a great contradiction in his heritage and experience, show a man so damaged that very few can really understand the deep motivations behind his actions.The princes’ ambivalence foils any attempt to truly frame them, yet no one meeting them is left unchanged, for better or for worse, and such encounters lend new point of views and nuances for the reader to unriddle a part of Arithon and Lysaer inner selves.Inevitably, the Master of Shadow and the Prince of the West (both extremely gifted and capable of refined subtleties, of masterminding complicated plans of actions and counteractions, to all outer appearances so sure of themselves but indeed far from perfect and heavily burdened by the natural frailty of human character), as their strategies unfold, are going to have a worldwide impact on the warring and magic-wary Five Kingdoms of Athera.On this layered stage, the Fellowship of Sorcerers, bent on finding a cure for the Mistwraith curse and guarding the future of Athera, fitting the events to their own agenda of neutrality; The Koriani witches, embittered and set on restoring their former glory, locked in a silent rivalry with the Sorcerers and sure of the righteousness of their quest to preserve their World's balance by opposing Arithon’s unpredictability.To the tapestry of the events are also interwoven the plot threads of single individuals, a bitter widow who is afraid of the sea, two young siblings yearning for their place in the world, a disgraced captain... all their actions count and represent a fundamental element in the story. Not by chance, along with the coherent plot developments and the masterfully managed growing cast of characters, the lines of morality and certainties blur even more, good and evil truly "depend on where you are standing" and the rich twists and surprises sweep away the reader in an incredible variety of settings, landscapes and encounters.The story never loses focus, simply all the details matter and make for great entertainment; moments of levity and gravity are genially interspersed and concur to the bigger picture (if I thought the mayhem at Jaelot’s gate was hilarious, the scenes in Alestron armory are absolutely precious!).On the writing style, I will not dwell much, but I will never stop singing the praises of the author's great mastery of language, and her ability to paint scenes and emotions with words. Her stories build slowly, but perseverance is highly rewarded with epic journeys of the utmost intensity.The more I read, the more I see why Janny Wurts is really a star of fantasy literature. Anyone who loves deep, intriguing, challenging, unique stories with characters who encompass the full spectrum of human nature (not just the bleak, not just the good), able to constantly amuse, surprise and move the reader, cannot absolutely miss her and The Wars of Light and Shadow.
There are a number of rather large fantasy series' which started in the 90's and continued through the last few years. They all started slowly, but have gone on to great popularity. They each defy the logic of the trilogy by doubling and tripling (and almost quintupling in one case) that tried and true number. The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. These are some of the biggest names of the fantasy genre. These are commonly grouped together as favorites, especially in my book. Mention one and the others are not too far behind. Each layered in complexity and characters, epic in world-building, and all are included in NPR's top 100 science fiction and fantasy books.The more I read this series, the more I can't understand why The Wars of Light and Shadow series is not a name synonymous with those others I've mentioned. How can it be that a series this rich in characters and complex in plot is passed over by so many people that obviously have shown to love a challenging series?With only two books left of a planned 11 books (really 10 as I'll explain below), I certainly hope this picks up and more people are exposed to such a wonderful series.And while I ponder such things, I do realize how different this series is. While the current trend seems to be that it's not fantasy if women aren't getting raped, this series does lack men having their way with the fairer sex. While new fantasy is cynical and hopeless, the Wars of Light and Shadow is a hopeful series that displays the good in humanity as well as many of the gray areas which inherently follow a complex fantasy series.But it's not all serious. Just like the aforementioned series, tWoLaS has plenty of humor mixed in:"The Mad Prophet informed the man sent down to fetch him that he had never stayed sober for more than a fortnight, even as a babe at his mother's knee. Three months was a lifetime record, Dakar insisted, as if astounded to still be alive.And another situation, also involving The Mad Prophet, Dakar, who's a terrible person, but also one of my favorites in the series:"The carter purpled and swung. The suet-round face of his target vanished as Dakar ducked and fled beneath the saddle girth. Bunched knuckles smacked against he barrel-sprung ribs of the horse, who responded from both ends with a grunt and a fart like an explosion.'Oh my,' cried Dakar, stifling a chortle. 'Your wife's nose must look like a pudding if that's your reaction to her kisses.'"Arithon s'Ffalenn, one of the main characters of the series and one of two brothers whose in whose hands hold the fate of the world of Athera, is a tragic character filled with subtelty and emotion. Arithon s'Ffalenn is a character not unlike Batman at the end of The Dark Knight. We all know the line:He has done some terrible things, which I'll discuss after the spoiler warning, and yet must continue to go forward with plans set in motion. Here follow some spoilers, unless you want me to keep writing in vague references that are oh so informative, so I'll give proper warning...Spoilers ahead for book 1:Arithon s'Ffalenn is a ruling prince who came to Athera from a splinter world and who with his brother's help defeated the Mistwraith that blinded the continent of Athera from the sun. In doing so, both were afflicted with the Mistwraith's final retribution - a geas set upon both which would cause them each to seek out the other's downfall.Due to this geas, both have committed terrible things. But, blind to this geas, though not unaffected, Lysaer (Arithon's brother) convinces almost the entire continent to rise up against Arithon. This is part of the genius of this, because you still root for Lysaer even though you don't root for what he is doing.Arithon, on the other hand, has a mission to undertake despite the fact that he not only feels the complete blame for the atrocities committed in the first book (which were terrible, but provoked by the Mistwraith's geas). His compassion is second to none and even though he is reviled throughout the continent, he is the hero they need to defeat those forces who wish to destroy.End SpoilersI could keep going on and on, but I will stop for now. I could keep talking about the characters, ones you're rooting against, who broke your heart when they were killed. I could keep going about the subtlety of character, especially of the two brothers but including all of them, and emotions displayed through their interactions that are at times tragic and others light-hearted. I could keep going about how this series was robbed of NPR's list of the top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books, The Wars of Light and Shadow continue to get robbed of its rightful place at the top of the fantasy genre. Evoking emotions you may have never felt before and filled with the perfect combination of humor and despair, this series is not to be missed.The Ships of Merior, while initially planned to be one book was split into two books by the publishers comprising this book and Warhost of Vastmark. Even though it is only essentially half a book, the quality is top notch and the ending is one heck of a ride. 5 out of 5 Stars (brilliant, complex fantasy)The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts Arc I 1) The Curse of the Mistwraith (review)Arc II: The Ships of Merior 2) The Ships of Merior 3) The Warhost of Vastmark Arc III: Alliance of Light 4) Fugitive Prince 5) Grand Conspiracy 6) Peril's Gate 7) Traitor's Knot 8) Stormed Fortress Arc IV: Sword of the Canon 9) Initiate's Trial 10) Destiny's Conflict (forthcoming) Arc V 11) Song of the Mysteries (forthcoming)
Do You like book The Ships Of Merior (2009)?
I liked this more than the previous novel in the series, The Curse of the Mistwraith & that's hard to imagine. Part of the reason is that the world & characters are already set, so Janny could spend more time exploring how the curse played out & the characters. The world expanded & the action increased, too.There were some things I didn't like, but I can't mention them without making a spoiler review, something I hate. I can say, that what I didn't like were necessary to the story, pieces of a hard life that was masterfully told & just ripped at my emotions - so they weren't 'bad', just heart rending. They heightened the good points to bring more joy, but they weren't easy to take.Again, the book ended logically & on crescendo of action. There's obviously plenty of room for the story to go on. My hardback edition has both this book & Warhost of Vastmark together as one book. Since it is a first edition, signed to me by the author, I didn't read it but the paperback which makes two books out of them. If you liked the Lord of the Rings, I think you'll love this series. If you're used to skimming candy books, be warned that Janny's prose is dense. Each word is polished & set in place like a fine jeweler sets stones. If you skim, you'll miss points, but most of all, you'll miss an almost poetic tale.
—Jim
I find this series is to be strange. Not strange in a bad way, but strange. I'm not sure if the problem I'm having with it is really a problem. (Just bear with me)Wurts seems to be retelling a story that the history of her wonderfully built world got wrong. She plays, quite well, with the overused conventions and tropes of fantasy. The good guy really isn't a good guy; the bad guy really isn't a bad guy.My problem is that I find both central male characters to be unlikable for different reasons. The half brothers are cursed by the Mistwraith, an enity that they defeated in the last book. The problem is only one of them seems cursed, the other doesn't. Yet, the nice one isn't likable. He's too nice, too perfect. He's not the anti-hero, but the hero (making use of still one standard convention) Both brothers inspire loyalty in a way that doesn't quite make sense. I understand what Wurts is doing and she is doing it better than Jacqueline Carey did, yet I want the two main central characters to hurry up and kill each. The minor characters are so much more interesting. (This I think is intentional. How many of us truly know our leaders? I just find it, intentional or not, to be a little trying. That's me. Not the writer).Yet, despite that; the world is wonderfully created and there are some truly funny passages, especially involing horses.
—Chris
The Ships of Merior is the second volume in the Wars of Light and Shadow and here we see where Janny turns from complex magic systems to simple relationships.The founding of the love between Arithon and the enchantress Elaira is founded in these pages and it is an extraordinary command of prose that rings every bit of truth from these characters.There is intrigue all over Athera surrounding the actions of Arithon and Lysaer that eventually leads to a larger conflict, more world building and setup is done for the second arc, but the core is once again Arithon, Lysaer, the Curse, and a handful of unique and imaginative characters.If you struggled through Mistwraith, take heart. In this second book of the series, you will be rewarded with more humor and more heart.
—David Cornelson
