Customer Reviews

Lord of Snow and Shadows (Tears of Artamon, Book 1)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Gavril Andar is a talented painter who learns that he is really the heir to a kingdom in a mysterious northern realm known as Azkendir. Gavril's father is cruelly murdered and his men-at-arms come to fetch Gavril to take his rightful place as ruler. Kidnapped and made prisoner in the snowy, dreary Kastel, Gavril slowly learns the full truth of his inheritance. Meanwhile Gavril is a target. Eugene of Tielen wants to crown himself emperor and invading and subduing all of the lands of Rossiya (of which Azkhendir is one) is priority. And Eugene believes that the time is ripe to destroy Akzhendir while the untested and weak Gavril is too new to his rule to be a real threat. Treachery, evil spirits, magic, deceit, betrayal and revolution all meld together as Gavril is forced to embrace his fate.

When I read the reviews of this book, I was excited because the praise seemed to point to a plot and characters that were different from standard issue fantasy fare and full of fresh ideas and surprises. This is certainly true....sort of.

The book is largely set in a time and place that is reminiscent of Tsarist Russia (right down to having a character named Astasia and hungry commoners threatening revolt). The main character turns into a creature that is a weird amalgm of vampire and dragon and he is referred to as Drakhoul or Draghoan. There is magic and alchemy, but they are presented side by side with such "modern" technology as guns, cannon and a device that sounds kinda like an ornately ornamental walkie-talkie. Overall the book has a very old world eastern European vibe as opposed to the decidedly medieval era western European vibe you get with a lot of the fantasy being written. So in this instance the feel of the book is very different.

What isn't so outstanding or spectacular is the execution of the story. Somewhere inside this book is a better book dying to get out. The characters were intriguing but flat. They had no real flesh, to me. I felt that the character development really suffered because the plot took so much precedence. There are a lot of characters and a lot of things happened to those characters very quickly. One character finds out about her parentage after having lived all of her life in ignorance and then a few chapters later, by chance, meets her long lost grandmother and then a few chapters later, masters a difficult inherited family trait. I guess there is a reason why so many fantasy writers write volumes that are 600 or more pages long.

I obviously can't give the book unqualified praise. But I didn't hate it either. I am looking forward to the follow up books if for no other reason than to see if the characters develop better and to see what happens next.

Ok before you judge this review as lame as the title let me point out reviewing fantasy is not my forte. Although soon enough with some recent reviews I will have to skip the disclaimer I usually head them with about me not being a fantasy reader.
I am selective, and it was the blurb on the back of this novel that sold me the book.
Gavril Andral artist and sensitive young man living in sunny Smarma and painting a lovely princess. Her family of course looks on him with disdain and the opening gambit in this debut offering from Ash seems predictable. Except unbeknownst to Gavril right away he has royal blood in his veins as well as a dark legacy from his father Lord Drakhoun of Ankerhisk(sp)?. His father was murdered and his retainers kidnap Gavril as the heir to inherit his father's dark gifts and blood feuds with rival klans.
This novel borrows much from Russian lore including some sounds of names and places and folklore/wisdom. It also borrows from such tones as the darkest fantasy, and if Ash continues in this vein I can see comparisions to Barker(though not as dark) but I was also reminded a little of King's Dark Tower.
The action in the tale is a skilful mix of suspense, classic fantasy, mythology and horror. The plot moves quickly, and not even the preview of the second title in the trilogy saturated my appetite for more concerning the characters populating this magical land. Ash's best qaulity is a succinctness in providing enough detail without detracting from the story's excitement and thereby able to cut off her story in a trilogy as opposed to a tetralogy or longer series. I will probably end up reading them all more than once which for a non fantasy reader should be the seller;).

I bought this book because I was in the bookstore looking for a new novel to read and noticed the beautiful artwork on the cover and became intrigued. I brought it home and read it in four days. I couldn't put it down! I was totally consumed by the compelling storyline. I didn't feel that going into a lot of detail about the characters detracted from the story. It is the plot and storyline that really keeps you absorbed in reading this novel. You feel so much emotion for the main character, Gavril. This book invokes all your emotions from fear, terror, revenge, and pity, to love, compassion and joy. The story doesn't overdo the fantasy, sorcery or magic stuff, but rather focuses on the lives of the people in the story. It is not so complicated that you get bored trying to keep up with all the facts and characters. Sarah Ash brings you into this world and you can totally visualize everything. The only drawback was that sometimes I found myself frustrated with the characters being naive and gullible and not saying more or wanting more information, but that all contributes to the mystery of the story. All in all, I loved this book and wish that the next one was out already so that I could continue reading. I think that if you like fantasy that doesn't get too complicated and mired in sorcery and magic, but concentrates on characters and storyline, you will like this book. Can't wait for the next one!

I saw this book in a local bookstore and was attracted to the beautiful cover art. This book was a pleasant surprise, far exceeding my expectations. It was very fast-paced, but the characters were not one-dimensional, I was sucked into the story and stayed up late to finish it. I felt real sympathy for the hero's plight, and also for the servant girl who was not a servant girl. Kind of nice to see such a strong female character in one of these male-dominated, sword and sorcery novels! This was a very well-thought out plot, somewhat with the feel of George R.R. Martin's " A Song of Ice and Fire" series, without the ponderous, complicated buildup of plots and subplots (don't get me wrong, I love that series also, gave it five stars). This is no Lord of the Rings, but its a heck of an entertaining read, that will keep you up late at night trying to finish it! I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The Lord of Snow and Shadows is the first in a new fantasy series. Although there are many familiar fantasy elements in this novel (sword fights, magic casting, dragons), Sarah Ash manages to put a little twist into her world by injecting some gothic romance into the mix. Thus, on the one hand we have a young innocent painter as our protagonist, who quickly finds himself under the power of the family curse (he is becoming a creature he does not want to become) while on the other hand we have the young serving girl who eventually begins to walk the path of her own magical destiny.

Ash keeps the story moving quickly as she cuts quickly to each scene, describing where necessary to create her version of frozen Russia, but never letting the prose bog the story down. At the same time, she unveils the plots and politics of her world in a clear manner. Characters are developed over the course of the novel; Ash reveals new layers of personality as the story progresses (although sometimes these revelations tend to the melodramatic). There is also a nice balance of story and action. In one chapter characters may be exploring secret hallways and uncovering secret tomes within the mysterious castle and in the next, they are battling werewolf type beasts out in the frozen wasteland.

Overall, Lord of Snow and Shadows is a nice start to a potentially fine fantasy series. It seems to me a particularly well paced and engaging novel, one that has the potential to engage both younger and older readers.

I too had read reviews and thought the book sounded fancinating; even reading the teaser on the back made me want to read more. However, when I finally purchased the book and settled in for a good read I found myself frustrated.
The setting is indeed intriguing and for the most part well written. The plot is complex and highly intelligent. Hardly ever do you find writers that pull on so many sources to create their plots. Ash is to be credited with having a wonderful imagination.
But the characters! They are, as others have mentioned, flat and wholly unbelievable. They pull the entire story down because they are moved more by the 'god-hand' of the writer than feelings and desires we never truly see or understand. Conversations between characters are often trite and unrealistic calling to mind badly written romances.
I wonder at her editor(s); they are also responsible for letting Ash and this story down.
If it's your first time reading fantasy then you might get through it and feel that the story is good because of the overall excitement one feels about a new idea being explored in the plot, but for seasoned readers I would suggest some Charles deLint or Tad Williams.

I read the blurb for this book and thought: "What a great idea! I've got to read it."

Well I did read it and was ultimately disappointed. I have two categories of book that I apply to those I buy: Keepers (books I can read over and over and will never let go) and forgetables (read once and give away) This one from Ash is a forgetable.

The ideas were there and sound, but somehow they didn't quite click for me. Gavril Andar's relationship with the Drakhoul wasn't explored enough for me. Ash simply began making Gavril change and do things while making him bemoan his fate and look desperatley for a way out. The fact he was an accomplished painter had no bearing on the story after about the third chapter. He could have been a blacksmith or a bard and it would have made no difference to what happens. Gavril's link to his men wasn't used hardly at all except to say that Gavril tried and failed to contact them when he was in need.

The story came across to me as very light weight, when it could have been epic. All the ideas were there. A world discovering science but still having practitioners of magic, demon creatures, sword wielding soldiers that are also learning to use firearms for the first time... It could have been great, but suffered from "first in a trilogy syndrome" meaning all set up and no real substance. I hope the second book makes up for it.

Buy this if you can't find anything new in fantasy to read, otherwise wait for book 2.

I thought the premise for the story and the blood feud interesting. The setting was also refreshingly different from most fantasy fare. (I didn't care for the technological aspect but that's personal taste).

Unfortunately, the story turned flat fast. Elysia was unbelievably stupid in her blind following of Velemir depite warnings to watch herself, Astasia had no function in the story, Gavril was boring and predictable and Jaromir, just a nice guy after all, who gosh gee, happened to have murdered the hero's father, thus bringing the demon into the hero. That's Ok, let's be best buddies. Cinderella and the two wicked step-servants had me grinding my teeth and the sorcerer had Mwhaaa written all over him. Please. Stop. Breathe life into these names, make them people. The demon and Karila were the best characters, but suffered from not enough scenes syndrome. Particularly personalized scenes with depth. Fleshed out, the child especially could have been dark and very interesting.

Now on to the improbabilities. A castle with so many secret passages enemies can and do enter and escape with regularity. And more people aren't assassinated? Eugene, instead of relying on Jaromir, could have sent someone in, done the job, and headed on to Muscobar, much faster and with less expense in money and lives. The castle itself suffered awful quick destruction against the cannonball fire. Minutes, it seemed, of bombardment, were enough to destroy it. Right. Uh, huh. And why were no sallies sent out against a large attacking force? Even if Gavril was ineffectual with a drugged demon, did no one, say warriors who were used to constant warfare, think of fighting? Instead, they holed up and waited for their powerful master to save them. Their powerless master, it turns out, with numerous seasoned veterens to advise him, yet without a strategic survivalist bone in his body. Geesh.

And I hated the ending. It was so predictable and so obviously a set up for book two. Gee, do you think that in getting rid of your power you won't be vulnerable Gavril?

There's more that others have already said, but at the risk of most reviews being repetitive, I'll leave off here.

I will read book two because the series was a gift. I hope it picks up. If not, gift aside, book three will join the others in the trash.

For the character development and general level of writing, I would have been inclined to rate Lord of Snow and Shadows with just one or two stars. The characters were miserably written. The motivations were thinly sketched-- people seem to fall in Reel Deep Tru Luv at the drop of a hat. The grasp of human nature that Ash exhibited felt flat and immature.

This said, there were some really interesting plot elements and Ash does seem to have a decent grasp on world building. She neatly sidestepped many of the High Fantasy tropes in creating her plot elements. In the hands of a really skilled author, the world could have been genuinely interesting.

I will confess to being curious to see if Ash has a better grip on craft in her later books. Not curious enough to go out and buy the second one new, however. I may pick it up if I see it second-hand.

I'm giving this 2 stars simply because it's her first novel. I bought the book because the cover art was beautiful and the story sounded interesting but, from the first page, I found the book unbelievable.

It reads like a bad romance novel with silly airy dialogue and undeveloped characters that you don't care about for a second. The story isn't even that interesting, although it is unique, and I think a more seasoned writer could have created a better story with that storyline.

As the book stands, I can't recommend it. I did finish it, but the only joy in reading it I felt was by realizing I had finally finished it. With fantasy series (and I have read most of them) I cannot wait to get the next book. With this one, I couldn't wait to finish the first one. However, having said all this, I will give her credit for thinking of a unique storyline and, as I have already bought her second book, I do hope that I can leave a better review for the next one.