Customer Reviews

Fugitive Prince: Alliance of Light: Volume One (The Wars of Light and Shadow series) (Bk. 1)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

By far the best of Janny Wurts' works is this series, however I must admit that at times I found this chapter in the series a trifle boring.

I suppose I am expecting the same very high standard that marks her previous novels. She is by far my favourite author, and this novel simply falls short of her standard - however, it is still a very good book and worth the read - just don't expect too much, like I did ;)

This novel focuses on the growing power of Lysear's Alliance, Koriathian plots and intrigues, and Arithon's efforts to escape their traps and manipulations. The novel does provide a lot of valuable information that will no doubt become instrumental in the following novels.

I have one big complaint though - There was certainly not enough about Elaira. Am I wrong to assume he is the lead female character? When, (Oh when!) are we going to learn more about her, and her experiences. And when will she meet Arithon again?

One thing I must praise Mrs. Wurts about - her excellent and unsurpassable talent for creating deep, vivid and beautifully captivating characters. People that are very hard to forget. I simply cannot wait for the next instalment!

Hi! Just would like to admit that I am a Janny Wurts fan, all the way from Sorceror's Legacy. Didn't really enjoy this book though. I must admit that certain criticisms levelled at the book are true it can be convulated in language and ponderous in tone, but that's the whole point of reading Janny Wurts. She has a distinctive flair for writing fantasy. It's different from the other usual fantasy greats. ( Okay, the language can be too complicated and heavy at times but it is worth it.) I must admit I didn't finish the book the first time round. I only picked it up again when Grand Conspiracy came up and I had to plow through the whole thing to get going again. I really wished that she would follow the pacing of Warhost where ponderous language and whatnot did not deter the action and bore the reader. In Fugitive however, the pacing is really really bad and the reader gets put off with it. The plot thickens but there is little action to offset the dullness of the whole thing. It only picks up a little at the end. Still having read this in hindsight, it's worth plowing through this massive book just to get to the end. Don't be put off by it, especially if you love the plot because the next in the series is definitely better and so is the pacing! Anyway, back to the book, it gives all the little background details to the other characters and some airtime to Lysaer and other characters like Talith who have been neglected in favour of the more popular Arithon. Perhaps that is why it is so dull sometimes because one is rather used to the vivacity of Arithon than the other characters.

If you've blindly stumbled onto this book, I would recommend reading the prior books (Curse Of The Mistwraith, Ships Of Merior, Warhost Of Vastmark) to understand and appreciate the depth and scope of the epic that Janny is detailing.

Fugitive Prince revolves around Arithon's quest to escape the blind, fanatical following of his equally cursed half-brother, Lysaer. At first Arithon seeks escape across the sea, and when he returns, seeks to bring captured clanborn out of slavery under Lysaer's rule.

Playing in the background, the leader of the Koriani (a group of herbalist witches, for want of a better description), seeks the demise of Arithon by setting a trap of frightening intricacy and proportion, and working in league with Lysaer.

For those with short attention spans, I would advise staying clear of this series of books. For those with more patience, I would thoroughly recommend it - Janny populates her world with vibrant, well-crafted characters, details complex battle scenes and the intricate nature of spellcraft, while masterfully interweaving separate plot lines into a complex tapestry, leaving the reader wanting more, and always wondering what will happen next.

Fugitive Prince begins the third arc in the overall five arc series and develops Lysaer's chilling new strategy for dealing with his half brother as well as the eventual rammifications. Arithon also changes his strategy to one of avoidance and goes sailing to find the lost Paravians, much to the frustration of the Koriani Prime. However, the Prime has her own plans for using Elaira and others to lure Arithon back to shore to further her own plot against the Fellowship.

This arc is longer than the previous two which allows for more character and insidious plot development. Janny does an excellent job of showing us each person's viewpoint, creating truly three dimensional characters that are never all good or all evil. She couples that with her unique descriptive style, which may seem awkward to those new to her writing, but is rich in imagery and perfectly describes each scene. This series is also unique from others i've read in that you gain more knowledge and shift your perception of characters after each new book comes out. Rereading the entire series becomes a treat because of this. I highly recommend reading this book and this entire series even though it isn't finished, because each book wraps up fairly well, instead of leaving readers in a cliffhanging lurch.

There is much to recommend this series: an imaginative world and realm of magic, strong and diverse character development, and a complex, multi-layered tale. This book, along with the "Warhost of Vastmark," are improvements upon the first two books in the series, and under normal circumstances I would be tempted to give it a higher scoring. However, the author's dense and often over-wrought language continues to obstruct both the pace and the accessibility of the narrative, through style further convoluting an already complex tale, and often interrupting and intruding upon the rhythm and evolution of the plot. Action is often halted by digressions into unnecessary and over-stated detail, and when a simple explanation or description would suffice, a heavily laden sentence instead is interjected. Though often the author's use of language can be applauded for its vividness of description or singular expression, she turns this strength into a fault, unable to distinguish when language would best serve the story rather than its own internal and stylistic voice. As many other readers have noted the author's propensity to over-work her prose, I think that it must be admitted even by the series' adherents that the use of language here presents an obvious flaw that distances many readers from the tale it is supposed to serve.

That said, there continues to exist much merit and interest in this epic that will continue to propel the reader along if they are willing to wade through the author's self-conscious and at times unnecessary verbiage. It is readily apparent that the author takes her work seriously and has ample creative power to render a complex and multi-dimensional tale. And when her writing skills are not distracted by studied considerations of style, she is able to imbue her story with all the emotional and imaginative engagement present in the best fantasy has to offer.

I own about 1,500 SF & Fantasy books and I've read a fair few more than that. If I had to choose 5 books to keep of all those it would be this set of books with the 5th spot left for the next in the series.

Well plotted, complicated but consistent characters, wide and convoluted political situations all mixed together with some swords and magic.

Roll on June 1999 and the next book!

When I first saw the book....CURSE OF THE MISTWRAITH, I was in for the full ride. Wurts makes you wonder with her opening...."How bad can this Arithon guy be?" Then she takes your heart on a power trip with admiration, and then love of the misjudged Arithon. Lysaer....you could really learn to hate a guy like him. Sometimes I find myself yelling at him, and consoling Arithon. Even the devious Dakar has won my true affection and admiration. Definetly the very best series I will ever read. My one question,"How fast can you get the GRAND CONSPIRACY, to my door!!"

I'm not really happy with any of my reviews of this series, so I'm putting this in every one: Mistwraith is an incredibly compelling, action filled, gut wrenching, heart stopping adventure with one of the most incredible love stories I've read in a long time.

As in the previous books, the plot is intricate and compelling. The battle continues with Lysaer wanting to wage war and Arithon fleeing to try and avoid more killing, which tears him to pieces. Each book adds more layers to the overall picture of the world of Athera, the ancient Paravians who have disappeared, the mystery of where they went and why humans are on this world at all. It reminds me of one of those pictures with many layers of sheer paper with the objects colored in that keep building complexity upon complexity until the image is very rich and powerful.

An intense and emotional scene consists of the sorcerers confronting Lysaer and giving him alternate choices of action.

One of the important things that emerges more completely in this book is that since their empathic connection while healing the fisherman in Merior, Elaira and Arithon are able to maintain an empathic connection with one another and are able to be aware of how the other one is feeling by reaching out empathetically. The love that develops in this way is quite powerful, even though they are not able to be together because of Elaira's oath to the Koriani for celibacy and obedience.

Fugitive Prince is the fourth novel in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW by Janny Wurts, but because of the series' unique structure, it's actually the start of a brand new "arc" inside the overall story: book 1 comprises the first arc, books 2 and 3 together are the second arc, and the third arc consists of books 4 through 8 (the first of which is Fugitive Prince). Looking forward, the forthcoming 9th novel, Initiate's Trial, will be the first of 2 books in the 4th arc, and the 11th and final novel will also be the final arc.

If you're keeping track, all of this means that the series' 5 arcs have a nicely symmetrical 1-2-5-2-1 structure, and also that, just in case you're not familiar with this truly excellent series yet, you still have the amazing opportunity to read the first 3 arcs, which are recently all in print again, before Janny Wurts' next novel hits the shelves.

Just one of the wonderful aspects of THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW (which, in case you hadn't noticed yet, has garnered unanimous rave reviews here at Fantasy Literature) is that Janny Wurts always makes it easy to get back into the story, even if it's been a while since you've read the last novel. She does this by recapping the events from previous novels, not in a "The story so far" section at the front of the book, but much more elegantly, by including those events into the narrative, often from a different perspective, so your understanding of the series deepens at the same time. (However, if your memory is as bad as mine, and you prefer a more traditional chronological recap, this can be found in a later novel, and there's also a book by book time line available on the author's excellent website).

Fugitive Prince picks up close to the end of Warhost of Vastmark, and for fear of spoiling even the slightest bit of enjoyment for new readers, this review won't cover much in the way of plot summary. Suffice it to say that the conflict between the the half-brothers Arithon and Lysaer continues unabated. The "Alliance of Light" mentioned in the title of this third arc refers to Lysaer's coalition of mostly townborn loyalists, built around a religion and a true cult of personality centered on him, with the goal of ridding the world of Athera of both his half-brother and the last remnants of the clan-born.

Many familiar characters from earlier novels return, and several new and fascinating ones are introduced. This being the start of a new arc, the plot logically includes a bit more set-up than the previous 3 novels did, making the first half of this novel probably the weakest section of the series so far -- which isn't saying much, as it still sticks head and shoulders above almost everything else in the genre. However, in the style I've more or less come to expect by now, the midway point of the novel presents a tipping point, leading to a truly excellent, hard-to-put-down second half and an exciting finale that will leave you eager to get to the next book in the series.

Janny Wurts also continues to reveal secrets and layers in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW's improbably complex fantasy universe, this time maybe not of the truly mind-bending kind (although, that grimward scene...) but still enough to keep you on your toes -- especially some casually mentioned tidbits about the Koriani enchantresses that'll add a whole new perspective to your understanding of this series. Every book in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW will have you reconsider the previous ones in an entirely new light.

One aspect of Fugitive Prince -- and the entire series -- that bears emphasizing is its unique descriptions of magic. In fantasy, magic is sometimes portrayed as an almost scientifically rational process complete with systems and charts (a la Brandon Sanderson), or, at the other extreme of the scale, as unexplained and vaguely described hand-waving. To be fair, Arithon's powers sometimes lean towards the second of those options, but in Fugitive Prince you'll find a description of an elaborate spell construct by Morriel Prime that hits the perfect middle ground between the two: it's so carefully described and (for want of a better word) rational that you can practically see it in front of you, but at the same time it manages to keep the true mystery and wonder of its nature. It's simply one of the most memorable descriptions of magic I've ever encountered in fantasy. Then again, Janny Wurts' prose almost constantly hits that same level, with some of the most carefully worded and nuanced writing you'll find in the genre. While her style can be demanding on the reader, it's equally rewarding if you're willing to adjust to a level of detail and depth that's unparalleled in fantasy.

Fugitive Prince is another excellent installment in one of the best fantasy series out there. If you're not on board yet, seriously -- go find a copy of The Curse of the Mistwraith now!

Janny Wurtz continues to match her master bard character, The Master of Shadow, in spellbinding the reader in "The Fugitive Prince", book one of "The Alliance of Light" of her epic fantasy "The Wars of Light and Shadow". I started reading this series over a decade ago, but an inability to find the new volumes stalled my progress. Several months ago, I checked her web site and found that the series was being reprinted in Europe, and re-released in the US under new covers. I immediately started to order the available volumes I had not read, and found that timed had faded the memory of the storyline. Hence I began at the beginning and have made two thirds of the way through this the forth volume in the series. I read prior to sleep nightly, but with Janny's magic prose, and I am unable to put the book down and nightly must force myself to turn out the light. A must read for speculative fiction aficionados.