Customer Reviews

Cast in Shadow (Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1) (The Chronicles of Elantra)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

The killings stop when Kaylin runs from her past. Seven years ago, she fled the fiefs of Nightshade and joined the Hawks, part of the triad (Swords, Wolves, and Hawks) that protec the City of Elantra from crime. Since then, she's learned to read, write, and fight---she's so secure in her job she can even show up late without too much fear.

Then one morning, her mirror awakens her with a message from her Sergeant. Kaylin's late to a summons to the Tower of Justice and her boss, the Hawklord.

When Kaylin gets there, she discovers that children are again being killed in the streets of the fiefs, children bearing the strange whorls and tatoos Kaylin herself developed just before the first killings started.

Kaylin is teamed up with a Severn, a man she doesn't trust from her past, and a Dragon Lord. Plus, the Hawklord has placed a containment on Kaylin's magic: a device that no one clearly understands the use of.

The worlds Sagara has created is fascinating and well realized. She handles the inclusion of separate races: leonine, avian, and draconian very well. Overall, a good mystery within a fantasy plot. Also, while the book is a serial, enough questions are answered about this present plot to not leave readers dangling til the next book comes out.

The world in which the author writes is very interesting. All the races are intriguing. The heroine - Kaylin starts off fairly interesting and goes downhill from there. I can't understand why the other characters think so highly of her. She is frequently terribly annoying. Another difficulty is the writing style. It is somewhat confusing. Several times I had to go back and reread a sentence. The book is not worth that. If Michelle Sagara can make her main character more interesting, the setting of this world shows considerable promise.

I have to wholeheartedly agree with E. Llado. I picked up this book because it seemed like something I would enjoy. The premise was promising and the world Sagara created had so much potential. I started to worry when I realized I was two thirds of the way through the book and still waiting for a moment of clarity -- the moment in a book where everything you've read so far comes together to give you a clear picture of the world the book is set in. My impression of the setting and the people is fuzzy, at best.

I found the character development weak and I didn't empathize with the main character at all. The writing was choppy and I found it exceedingly difficult to focus on the story as random, tangential comments seem to pop up and throw me out of the story as soon as I got into it. I was left wishing the characters were developed more: who are these people? I know almost as much about the characters around Kaylin as I did when the book started and only slightly more about her.

I'm hoping that the next book in the series is better. I'm a firm believer that you should always give a series a second chance - especially in this case because there were, throughout the book, flashes of what it could be.

Finally, a fantasy & romance publisher risks publishing a book which involves the winding path a young lady walks to realize her potential and save her own life. Michelle Sagara blows a much needed gust of fresh air into the paranormal romance genre which usually involves cookie cutter yes-boyfriends (or alpha-mates) and stubborn women who burn up the sheets. As other reviewers have mentioned, the reader gets occasional glimpses into Kaylin's personality and growth. Kaylin, Severn, Tiamaris, and Nightshade all offered interesting glimpses into their personalities which makes me hunger for the next book so I can get to know them better. Personally, I liked the gradual character reveal as I've come to grow tired of the standard romance formula of giving a character's elevator pitch in the first paragraph, mission statement in the first five pages, and summation in the first chapter. Such upfront first impression characters always tell me everything about his/her character in the first half of the book and you can easily predict what will happen after that. Also, while you can usually smell the love interest from two chapters away, Sagara deftly handles the possible suitors in this book so the reader is always mentally assessing Kaylin's changing moods and feelings.

Disclosure: I only read the first book after finding out that the second book was published, so I knew the story would continue. Had it only been a single book and not part of a possible series, I would probably want more closure at the end of Cast In Shadow.

Wow, Kaylin, neither did I!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I feel like I've been left scratching my head. Several times in the book, the heroine says "I don't understand." or others ask her "don't you understand?" And she doesn't understand anything going on, so how am I supposed to understand? And the worst part is that after they ask her that, THEY DON'T EXPLAIN!

Kaylin is a "hawk," which means she part of law enforcement. She was born in the slums and left at 13 after some traumatic event. Children were being slaughtered in the slums and it's happening again. Now she's been assigned the case and must revisit her past in order to stop the killings and come to peace with who she is, her magical gifts, and the people who surround her.

Sounds good, doesn't it? I thought so.

Good points of this book:
1. Entertaining--Even though I was lost for a lot of the story, it was an entertaining read. I kept reading because I wanted to know the secrets, understand the tattoos, and mere curiosity.
2. Different plot line--not too strong and a bit confusing, but it was different.

Annoying points of this book:
1. Kaylin--We never get a description of her other than her tattoos. She barely passed her exams to become a hawk, so she doesn't seem to understand anything in the world around her that includes multiple species. She isn't a very interesting character. I really didn't care what happened to her, she was very flat, ignorant, childish, and untalented.
2. Elantra--Too confusing. I don't know if it was because the story was written from Kaylin's POV who didn't seem to know anything, but this world she lived it didn't make any sense. There are multiple species, but they all seemed to fall in some sort of cliché. We were never given any clear description of what the species looked like so it was hard to imagine this world. Not only that, but she seemed to have different names for each species which made things all that more confusing.
3. Too secretive--This was the MOST annoying. Kaylin states that the immortal species know how to keep a secret and lie more than they state the truth. OK, so how am I supposed to believe anything they DO say, which isn't much. Everyone around her is content to make a small comment in passing that makes no sense and then say, "I won't tell you anymore." ooooooooooooooookaaaaaaaaaay? Because of this, it's not a mystery that she's solving, it's some random events that seem to happen because there are no clues to follow.
4. Too secretive Part 2--This book is 507 pages. We learn in the first chapter that she has some magical abilities....that's all, that she has "some magical abilities." We don't learn until page 132 what the gift is, and it's just lamely stated "I can heal." Then, we don't learn until another 300 pages or so that she has another ability and what it is. Not only that, but even though she tries to kill Severn in Chapter 2, we don't learn until page 279 why she hates him. It's fine to hold out on the readers (you know, to create tension & have twists, etc.), but when you keep referencing it and don't explain it? VERY ANNOYING.
5. Grammar--So, this is just a minor annoyance, which others have already pointed out. The grammar and sentence structures were pretty poor. It was easy to overlook.

All in all, I don't think I'll ever pick this one up again. I might for curiosity's sake read the next in the series to see if it gets any better, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just glad that I picked this up at the library. Read before you buy.

The tale is not the smoothest of telling... But the story it contains holds great promise especially with the 2nd book to be published late this year, early next (Cast in Courtlight).

The heroine was once a young lass who lived in Nighshade fife and she has always felt that she barely escaped with her life. For she was the only child to live of those who woke with tattoos one morning. Now 7 years late someone is killing tattooed children again.

Kaylin, is now a member of the Hawks... part of a Triad law enforcement agency and nothing but human or so she seems. But unlike most humans in a society ruled by immortals she has magic, and its power is growing... There are those who fear her enought to suggest she be put to death before the meaning of the killings comes to light.

The author has created a interesting fantasy world and I look foward to the next book!