Customer Reviews

Initiate's Trial: Sword of the Canon: Volume One (The Wars of Light and Shadow series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(There are no Initiate's Trial spoilers in this review).

I have been a fan of this series since I fortuitously discovered Curse of the Mistwraith in an airport bookstore during a 1995 layover. Despite my feelings that Story Arc III of the series was a little saggy in places, The Wars of Light and Shadows continues to be my favourite fantasy series of all time. The story and characters are compelling and most certainly NOT cookie-cutter, and this is the only series I read and reread enough to purchase in multiple formats (the bindings crease apart rather quickly, and one novel may have had an unfortunate swan dive into a toilet).

This series is deep without feeling sprawling -- you may not need to remember the names of all five hundred cousins of the King, but you will constantly find that a passing remark or observation is unfolded in a later book, forcing you to completely reevaluate your perspectives. The onion-layered prose is thick but manageable, and rereads are always rewarding.

Initiate's Trial is the first part of the two-part Arc IV, Sword of the Canon. What this means is that the book stops at a reasonable pause in the action, but one more book will be needed to bring the Arc to a strong resolution. I rate this book at four stars now, but this may change once the "ending" book of the Arc is published.

Initiate's Trial is a brisk read, with a different storytelling style than previous books. Although the book begins long after the end of Arc III, it covers a very short window of time, which adds to the immediacy and intensity of the story. This time gap provides some much needed freshness to the story, as many events have happened in the intervening time, and bits and pieces of this hidden history are dangled in the present day as bait for your continued reading. I was disappointed that the holes had not been completely explained by the end, but fully expect to hear it all in the next book. The time gap also makes this book friendly to new readers curious about the story but hesitant to invest in the previous books first, and former readers who gave up earlier in the series.

I was very pleased with both the new characters and the evolution of the old ones. It was easier for me to sympathize with the "new" Lysaer, and Arithon continues to be a joy of a character study (although his staged introduction and recovery reminded me a little of a video game -- power up, new ability!). There were only two devices that I felt were distractions: an increasing reliance on prophetic Sight to further the story, and the amount of time spent outside of the physical realm. Although Sight makes perfect sense within the context of the story, I occasionally felt that it was too tidy of a solution, like any character stuck in a bind need only wait a few minutes for someone to have a vision. The non-physical / out-of-body parts in the series have always felt somewhat passive, pulling me out of the story's momentum -- I prefer reading of actions, sights, and smells rather than intents and geometry.

In spite of this, I am duly impressed and satisfied with Initiate's Trial, and eagerly await the conclusion to Arc IV. If you are counting from the beginning, we are now through 9 of the 11 planned books, and the author has stressed from the beginning that she has always known where the end will fall -- this is not a series that will spin out sequels for eternity.

Kindle-specific notes: The world maps are impossible to decipher, and the text is littered with hyphens that were probably at the end of a line in the printed edition, but as a reader familiar with the world (with the paperback in the mail), this did not bother me.

For Reference:
Arc I: Curse of the Mistwraith (1 binding)
Arc II: Ships of Merior (2 books: Ships of Merior / Warhost of Vastmark)
Arc III: Alliance of the Light (5 books: Fugitive Prince / Grand Conspiracy / Peril's Gate / Traitor's Knot / Stormed Fortress)
Arc IV: Sword of the Canon (2 books: Initiate's Trial / Destiny's Conflict, to be written)
Arc V: Song of the Mysteries (1 binding, to be written)

The tour de force of Stormed Fortress is a hard act to follow, but, as usual, Janny Wurts is up to the job. It's 250 +/- years in the future, Arithon is a prisoner of the Koriani, betrayed by a clansman who was one of the Companions - which event is foreshadowed in Stormed Fortress. Prime Selidie is determined to break the compact the F7 made with the dragons in the Second Age and will go to any lengths to do so. Elaira is now a rebel and travels to visit the Biedar in a bid to help her best beloved. Lysaer has gotten better at fighting the curse, but is having a mighty struggle of it. Asandir enlists the help of Daliana, a descendent of Sulfin Evend, to try to shelter him.

New characters abound, and the shades of old ones emerge. Dakar is grown up, now a skilled mage in his own right, but still funny as hell.

A rousing good read, the opening of a new Arc to be finished in the next book, as things gradually build to the ultimate climax... Wurts' plotting is superb and there is no guessing what she will pull out of the hat next.

I was moved to tears several times, laughed out loud a few times, and my heart stopped once or twice!

Initiate's Trial lives up to the my expectations. Building on what has gone before and knowing that many things are in play the need resolution, this book jumps forward in time to an Arithon who is dealing with one of those issues. When done he and release from his trial to return to people and places of the continent of Paravia, he cannot remember who he is. As the first half of the penultimate arc of the series this book introduces new characters and new plots by the Prime or all they just continuations of earlier plots. With Morriel/Selidie the spider web is difficult to unravel.

In this book we get to see things hinted at in earlier volumes. For example, a fully invested monarch in battle. But of course they are rarely what we might expect.

Janny Wurts has produced another book of intricate, bardic prose that never fails to engage one's emotions and spirit. Knowing that there are only two more books left in this series, I for one will be sad when the end finally comes... and yet filled with expectation at what might flow from the pen of this wordsmith and storyteller.

First, I was very pleased to see this being released as an ebook concurrent with the UK release - first time in a long time I didn't have to shell out for overseas shipping.

Initiate's Trial continues with the tight plotting, strong characters, and rich prose that I expect from Ms. Wurts. I have always considered the Wars of Light and Shadow to be an excellent example of what an epic fantasy series can be when it's done with care and craft, and this volume only adds to that belief.

I was honestly surprised over how little I resented the 250 year jump in time (which had to happen somewhere in the series if it was going to cover the full 500 years suggested in the first book). Still, it left me with a rather bittersweet feeling to hear supporting characters I had come to greatly enjoy referenced as historic figures, or as the subjects of old ballads. There were a few events referenced in the intervening years (mostly in the decade after Stormed Fortress ended) which I would like to know more about, but not knowing the specifics does not interfere with enjoying this book.
**Read the glossary. You get some lovely pieces of information from the character entries there.

I did find the parallels to Curse of the Mistwraith (both overt and subtle) interesting. One minor (I mean, really minor) nitpick: a part of me felt like I should be taking a drink every time there was "peril", "puppets", or something was "inchoate".

I love this series and have been a steadfast fan from book 1. This latest installment seemed a little wordy. There was plenty of opportunity for action and character development unfortunately it was mired in prose so rich the story itself was bogged down to the point of stalling completely. The description led me to believe that the story would detail the life of Airthon's dauhgter and her life amongst his enemies. Instead she gets a cameo appearance so short that I can't recall her name. All of the other stories contributed something new and I thouroughly enjoyed them. I found myself skim reading the majority of this book and sighed in relief when I finished it. I hope that the final two books return the focus to the story and cuts out the filler. I don't need every blade of grass described, I'd much rather find out what is actually happening to the characters.