Fugitive Prince: The Wars of Light and Shadow (Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk) [Hardcover]

Janny Wurts (Author)

Book Description

Series: Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk | Publication Date: October 1997

Two half brothers, cursed by a Mistwraith to a lifelong enmity, whose gifts of light and shadow are set into violent conflict: . Lysaer, Prince of the Light. A dedicated, charismatic leader, sworn to uphold justice and set humanity free from the Sorcerer's rule, he will claim Divine Power to safeguard his people from an enemy he firmly believes will destroy them. Arithon, Master of Shadow. Brought up a trained mage, given a musical talent that has won him the title of Masterbard, he wishes for nothing but to defuse war and strife, and search out the vanished old races, whose grace holds the key to the world's fragmented peace. With the appalling destruction of the Vastmark warhost, recoil and grief reshapes the balance of power in the Five Kingdoms. Koriani enchantresses join forces with Lysaer in a desperate bid for power, and their intrigues threaten Arithon's hard-won autonomy. The aging Koriani Prime Matriarch wants the Shadow Master taken captive, no matter what the cost - or the means. For his life stands as her bargaining chip to break the deadlocked rivalry with the Fellowship Sorcerers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here is a magical tale that weaves a most wonderful song." -- Denise L. McKiernan

"With each new book it becomes more and more obvious how important Janny Wurts is to contemporary fantasy." -- Guy Gavriel Kay

About the Author

A World Fantasy Award-winning artist (her painting adorns the cover of this, and of all her books), Janny Wurts is the author of several bestselling fantasy series, including the Cycle of Fire trilogy and The Wars of Light and Shadow, as well as the recently released, Shadowfane, all published by HarperPrism.

She lives in Florida with her husband, artist Don Maitz.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 565 pages
• Publisher: Harper Prism; First Edition edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061052914
• ISBN-13: 978-0061052910
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I value direct experience over virtual experience and research alone.
Most of the things I write about, I have done at one point in my life.
I find inspiration in the natural world, travel, insatiable curiosity, and in music.

I paint the covers and do all the interiors artwork and maps for my novels.

Experiences have included horse training and competitive riding, offshore sailing, Outward Bound, music gigs, and extensive amateur bagpiping competition, and a second career in oil painting and illustration.

One of my goals is to bring the vividness of these experiences to the readers on the pages of my stories.

For the past fifteen years, I've been happily married to Don Maitz, the artist of SF/Fantasy book cover and Captain Morgan Spiced rum fame.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Janny Wurst nears Tolkein status, October 14, 1997

By 

David A. Cornelson (Chicago/IL/USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fugitive Prince: The Wars of Light and Shadow (Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk) (Hardcover)

In the latest volume of The Wars of Light and Shadow, Janny Wurst continues the saga of two brothers, cursed with a hatred for one another brought on by a sinster alien.

The scope of varying motivations in this series is comparable to Tolkien, Donaldson, and Herbert. Her writing style, formal, and descriptive, leaves little room for vagaries. The characters achieve their independant splendor by acting in ways that make sense, yet are unpredictable. This story centers on the political asperations of the Koriani witches, a group of secondary sorceresses bent on disdaining the lesser known Paravian magic. Their struggle against the Fellowship sorcerers and Arithon culminates in a series of enchantments that center on the death of Arithon and the destruction of the clans. With a traitor in his midst, and Arithon's own stubborness pushing him to the limits, the witches succeed in thwarting all of his mechinations and destroying lives in the process.

This is a superior work of fiction, perfect for slow, spiritual reading next to the fireplace. The depth and scope, the care and serious tone of the characters make for a once in a life-time read.

These books will mark you as surely as Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam, as Thomas Covenant and as Paul Atriedes have done.

Sincerely,

David A. Cornelson

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem in todays monotonous world of fantasy., January 28, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fugitive Prince: The Wars of Light and Shadow (Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk) (Hardcover)

Nowadays I find that there are very few books making new strides in the fantasy genre. They all have the same elements, the only variations are the characters names, but the characters and plot remain essentailly the same as when Tolkien first penned his works. Not so with Janny Wurts series of the War of Light and Shadow. Here she boldly goes where no fantasy novel has gone before. To say that she reinvents fantasy would not be too far from the truth. Each word seems to conjure the image it was meant to, something sorely lacking with other books. The plot is gripping, the characters believable. The accolades I can bestow on ths book are endless. If, as the myth goes, there is a book in each of us, read Janny Wurt's efforts to see a perfect example of how it should be done.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book in a series of great books, September 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fugitive Prince: The Wars of Light and Shadow (Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk) (Hardcover)

First I want to make a point. There are plenty of useless fantasy writers out there, and Ms. Wurts is completely and utterely, and without a shadow of a doubt, NOT one of them. So naturally I am horrified when I see some of the commentaries on this book, where the occaisional Philistine urged people not to read the book, or worse still, urge Ms. Wurts to stop writing. I have read every last one of her books, and, countrary to the general Law of Sequels, they get better as they go on. The Wars of Light and Shadows series is my number #1 series in any type of book (and I read a LOT). I make weakly visits to the local book store to see whether the next in the series has come out. Fourtunately, I found that those who liked the book far outweighed the detractors of it. So I will now enjoy complementing Ms. Wurts on another really first class book. I openely invit any who wish to comment on my comments to e-mail me.