Cast in Shadow (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michelle Sagara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered — and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin.…

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers — powers that no other human has. Her task is simple — find the killer, stop the murders…and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No one provides an emotional payoff like Michelle Sagara . . . it doesn't get any better than this!" -- Bestselling author Tanya Huff

About the Author

Michelle Michiko Sagara is a Japanese-Canadian author of fantasy literature, active since the early 1990s. She has published as Michelle Sagara, as Michelle West (using her husband's surname) and as Michelle Sagara West. She lives in Toronto and is employed part-time at Bakka. --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Luna; Reprint edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373802544
• ISBN-13: 978-0373802548
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 100 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, good potential, good writer, but . . . February 5, 2007

By CeciM

Format:Mass Market Paperback

My first thought after finishing this book was "Well, it was good but not great." At least I didn't think "What a waste of my time," because the author is basically a good writer. The characters and the world are interesting and I'm left wanting to know more.

I've tried to define for myself why I wasn't as enthusiastic as other reviewers, and I think it's the details that overwhelm you while reading but don't add up at the end. The one nagging flaw to me is that the whole premise that drives the "suspense" is not really a mystery to Nightshade, Severn, the Lord of Hawks, or the Dragons. They don't know literally who is the culprit, but they all know what Kaylin should be told ASAP - yet the story drags it out to the bitter end. I think this would have been a better story, and the author is good enough to pull it off, to reveal the truth about Kaylin up front and then tell the story about how she solves and/or deals with her dilemna. I was also annoyed with the attempt to be humorous about Kaylin's chronic tardiness and perpetual circles under her eyes. Is this to establish Kaylin as an antihero? Inept? Lovable and cuddly? Every other Hawk's fledgling? I would rather know more about Kaylin's thoughts and history and less about her laundry, too. (The laundry, hunger, tardiness, and lack of sleep are examples of too many details that don't really add to the story but stood out and distracted while I read the story. I can't help but wonder how Kaylin can function if she is so challenged about clothing, eating, and sleeping. According to the details, this is a serious problem for her. The author is good enough, though, that I can almost smell K's apartment....) I also think the relationship with Severn could have been developed better and that there should have been more interaction between them.

I admit, I HATE stories that just have one crisis after another that drive the supposed plot, and this book has that problem. I just think this world, the characters, and the underlying story are far more interesting than the final story that was written. I am going to read Cast in Courtlight soon and hope it delivers better than this one.

This author has a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to her future efforts. I hope she can avoid the lucrative formulaic plots because she's better than that. Read more ›

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Non-Epic Fantasy January 30, 2008

By Nemonus

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Tolkein, Sagara is not. You won't find pages and pages of description about the history and races of the Empire the story takes place in, and characters do use curse words and phrases like "cool" as easily as modern people do.

I like Tolkein. However, I also count Cast In Shadow as one of my favorite fantasy books. I read it very quickly, drawn in by the main character, the world, and the witty writing style. Kaylin is not the perfect fantasy female I'm getting tired of. She complains, comes in to work late, has messy hair, hates the magic her life is full of, and still holds her own with magic and muscle like the less well-drawn heroes. I think she manages to be likeable because of her faults and quirks--they're realistic. Her past was also unique, and, although I don't want to spoil anything for those who havn't read the book, I must say that I was very pleased when the relationship between Kaylin and the Mysterious Man From Her Past which is revealed two-third of the way through the book did not turn out to be a jilted lover story. In fact, although Luna is an offshoot of Harlequin, there's little to no acknowledgement of romance in Cast In Shadow.

There isn't that much world-building in terms of the races, but I stopped caring about that when I realized how cool they were--and I think that's a main thing to realize about this book. It's to enjoy, not to think about. Read it if you like furries--there's bird people (Aerians),cat people (Leontines), and Dragons which are most often in human guise. The Barrani are sort of demon/elves, immortal and stuck up because of it, although Sagara does do a good job of making some of them likeable while retaining the racial traits that annoy Kaylin. I thought these races were enjoyable, but rather typical.... Luckily there were also the creepy Tha'alani, who read thoughts via tentacles on their heads. These, as far as I know, are quite unique.

I do have some negative comments: The entire world, geographically, is not explained; Elantra is apparently one city in the domain of the far-off Dragon Emperor, and I couldn't get a feel for what was outside its walls or how its government really worked. As another reviwer noted, Kaylin's superiors are supposed to be intimidating, but although Kaylin's Leontine superior Marcus shows Kaylin his claws he is on very friendly terms with her, and the lofty Hawklord actually gets some hugs. I liked Marcus and the Hawklord, but also got the feeling that the author hadn't really intended me to, but had liked them too much herself to keep them intimidating and aloof. Read more ›

80 of 96 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Author's characteristic themes reappear August 22, 2005

By V. Chan

Format:Paperback

Michelle Sagara also writes as Michelle West (the Hunter and Sun Sword series, which are effectively one super-series, still incomplete), and some of her characteristic plot elements appear here, together with the romanticism of her writing style. I was pleased to find that this book is much shorter and faster-moving than the Sun Sword books, and somewhat less mannered. The plot is an interesting variant of the Chosen One motif, and it is left mysterious who exactly chose the heroine and for what. It was also pleasant to find that (a)her appalling childhood trauma involving one of the male protagonists was, when revealed, actually traumatic; and (b)Ms Sagara does not try to say that because the deed was necessary it was also right.

The ambiguous demon-lover figure who has appeared in all of Ms Sagara's books (both as Sagara and as West) also appears here. The worldbuilding and characterisation are sketchy but adequate for the purposes of the story, and the heroine while irritating on occasion is at least shown as making an effort to behave like an adult. I do not know how Ms Sagara will end this story, which is nice and lets me look forward to the next book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected it to be... June 12, 2007

By Tatianna the Reader

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Okay, let me start off on all the things that I am not... I am not a fan of romance novels, I am not a great fan of Michelle Sagara's (West) Huntlord books (which were the first ones I ever picked up by her). I am not at all crazy about this recent melding of the paranormal and the romatic to the point that most of the woman who are the leads in most of these books I personally would either avoid or smack around.

That said, I liked this books a lot. (No apparently I wasn't aware that Luna as an offshoot of Harlequin, I haven't read a Harlequin book since I was eleven years old.) I love feel of the characters and how well they interact with one another (even with the cursing in multiple languages. I know three or four in which to curse in and I switch as well) I wanted more though. It is great that the humans are not the top of the food chain here, that way you either make it or you don't and it isn't because of the opposable thumb, its because you can.

The plot is thin, it is very convoluted and the way that NO ONE wants to explain ANYTHING to Kaylin is to much, honey if you want to know bad enough improve your reading skills and look for the information yourself. That and holding a grudge will only hold you back, (this I know from personal experience.)

Yes the writing is choppy at times, yes Kaylin can be frustrating enough to strangle but it will get better. At least it looks as if it is... I had the new Kim Harrison and Kelly Armstrong books waiting for me to pick up and devour but this one held my interest, this one made me want to finish it... I've already ordered the second and pre-ordered the third of this series. That will be the litmus test, if this keeps my attention then Ms. Michelle Sagara (West) will have found a new (old) reader.