Customer Reviews

Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel

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

 

 

My favorite part of any fantasy novel is the middle. In the center of the book, the story could go any direction; the tale is made of nothing but possibility. Beginnings are freighted with scene-setting, and ends close doors that can never open again, but middles could unfold into anything. They are the most promising part of the book.

That's the case with Gregory Frost's "Lord Tophet," sequel to "Shadowbridge." We dispensed with beginning in the prior book, and most of this one is full of stirring middle. What fearsome blight brought the city of Colemaigne to ruin? How did our heroine's father bring it about, and how can she and her group make it right with nothing more than an unerring talent for storytelling? These are the sorts of questions that make for heroic exploits.

The second book takes up just moments after the first, when old secrets begin to come out, and blood guilt must be paid. There are hints in this volume that something bigger even than the story is going on. If the myths and revelations of the gods implied that this world is built on the ruins of an older world in the last book, we get more of a hint what that looks like this time out. But this is only hinted; it's not really part of the story, which moves on without ruminating on anything that doesn't advance the heart of the story.

The characters seem to leave ruin and destruction behind, no matter what they try. Violence and abuse shift from one person's shoulders to another. Scarcely a life they enter that they don't leave shattered. But their life and art bring joy and life to their world all the same, and in the final confrontation, Leodora has the chance to make amends for her father's transgressions. The characters are neither good nor bad; they are like forces of nature.

This book is not without problems. Though the first book gave us a long and detailed exposition, we are still being introduced to significant characters very late even in the second volume. The final confrontation is very brief. Apart from a couple of brief mentions, Lord Tophet, the title character of the book, doesn't enter the story until more than halfway through. And in attempting to avoid the brutal finality that can make endings disappointing, our author gives us a denouement that feels very abrupt, leaving more questions than answers.

But that long exposition also fills us with a pleasing sense of wonder at the world, which is the reward many readers seek in fantasy. Lord Tophet is a complex and compelling villain whose climactic conflict gives us a chance to peel through his many layers and Leodora's too. And that abrupt ending leaves so many possibilities open that the characters remain alive in our minds.

"Lord Tophet" is not high-minded literature that deserves academic study. But it is a stirring fantasy adventure that invites us on a journey in our mind. And that, in the end, is what fantasy readers look for in a book. That, and a middle that justifies the beginning and the end.

Lord Tophet by Gregory Frost is the second, and concluding novel, in the Shadowbridge duology. The first book being titled; Shadowbridge. Being that I enjoyed the first novel, and the very evil cliffhanger ending, I felt the need to pick this novel up. Based on these two novels, I can see myself seeking out other books by Mr. Frost in the future. Here are my thoughts on this novel.

The plot of this book picks up right where the first book left off. There were several mysteries left unsolved in the first book and, for the most part, this book ties up the loose ends. Some of the plot lines you can expect to see are, Soter's relationship with Leodora's parents, what exactly happened to the ruined span of Colemaigne, what Soter is trying so hard to run from, and who the mysterious Lord Tophet is. While I thought the plot was decent, and there were several stories included, this novel felt somewhat lacking compared to the first one. Many of the same elements are present, but to me, it did not have the same flow and intimacy that the first novel did. There were also a couple times in the book that seemed to really drag on for me. However, I think this was more due to the fact that the overall story seemed to be lacking. The pace of this book seemed different than the first, I really can't put on hand on it any other way than that. It could also be a simple case of having too high of expectations for the books as well. Either way, I was not nearly as impressed with this novel as I was with the first one.

The characters in this book are the ones you would expect to see. The three main characters of Leodora, Soter, and Diverus are all present. There are also additional characters that play key roles such as; Orinda and Lord Tophet. For the most part, the three returning characters hold true to how they were in the first novel. Leodora does have some significant development; Soter has a decent amount of development as well. However, Diverus (who I found to be the most interesting character in the first book) seems to be relegated to that of sidekick who only gets lines and face-time when it is convenient. While reading the first book, I found the majority of the characters to be interesting and multi faceted; however, during this book the characters seemed to have lost their magic and became rather two-dimensional. The lost that spark and instead became normal everyday characters that are found in every fantasy novel. Lord Tophet was probably the most interesting character, but he has so little time in the book it doesn't accomplish much. Simply put, there was nothing that really stood out in terms of the characters in this book. They were just there, which is somewhat disappointing considering my thoughts on the first book.

A couple criticisms about this novel:

1 - The general lack of excitement in the book. It just seemed that it was 200 pages of filler and 22 pages of actually story advancement. I would have liked to have seen more substance to the actual story and plot lines.

2 - The flat characters. It seemed that all the life, and things I liked about the characters in the first book, was simply gone in this novel. Things came across as overly predictable and I had a hard time caring about any of the characters.

3 - I am still frustrated that this story was broken up into two separate books when in fact it easily could have been one full length novel. As a reader, I feel cheated that I had to purchase two full price books to get one full length novel.

Some positives about this novel:

1 - The world is one of the more unique fantasy worlds I have read about in a long time. In fact, I would be more than willing to read more books set in this world if/when they become available.

2 - I still like how Mr. Frost includes smaller stories within the overall story to help expand upon things. To me, in this book anyway, those were some of the more memorable parts of the book.

At the end of the day, I have to rate this book individually and in doing that I think it falls short of the previous book. It simply lacked the magic of the first book. It didn't flow nearly as well, and it was just not up to the standards that the first book set. If I had to rate the two books together, I would probably say a 3.5 maybe a 4 overall. I really wanted to like and enjoy this novel, but I found it more of a chore to read instead of the experience I was hoping for. Make no mistake about it, I still think Mr. Frost is a good author and I will certainly be on the look out for other books by him, but this book just didn't do much for me. I will probably still recommend the first book to people, and thereby they will need to read this book as well. But, I will certainly be giving them the caveat of this book as well.

Frost's Shadowbridge duet (as they really are one book) is a beautiful and inventive fable. After the last page the story lingers like one of Diverus' melodies. They're both fast and engaging reads - well worth it!

Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel by Gregory Frost- This is the last book of a two book adventure. The first book is called Shadowbridge. Gregory Frost's other works include; Attack of the Jazz Giants and Other Short Stories, Fitcher's Bride, The Pure Cold Light, Tain, Remscela, and Lyrec.

WARNING: Spoilers for Shadowbridge will be present.

The story picks up right after what ended Shadowbridge. We find Leodora, a shadow-puppeteer under the stage name of Jax who is growing in fame, passing out after stepping into a Dragon Bowl, these are places in which gods grant gifts to the people of the Shadowbridge. She finds herself in Edgeworld, the dimension of the gods, or at least that's the conclusion she's under. While there, she has to make a choice, which is never given or explained to her or the reader. After choosing, she is whisked away back to Shadowbridge and her troupe. The mystical musician, Diverus, and her adviser/ promoter, Soter, hurry to pick up her passed out form and take her away before the people of Colemaigne, the span the troupe is currently on, become nosy and violent to find what was gifted. As they take her away, the troupe come across a theater owner named Orinda who takes them back to her theater for safety. As they make their way there, they noticed that Colemaigne is changing. What it once was, a run down ruin of a span, is changing back into the wonder of a place it used to be. When the troupe arrive at Orinda's theater, Orinda informs Soter and Diverus what happened after Soter's last visit when he was with the famous shadow-puppeteer Bardsham, who is Leodora's father. She tells them that show business acts are banned from the span because of what Bardsham caused after Bardsham's troupe left. But since the span was returned to normal by whatever Leodora did, the ban is lifted and the show business can go on again. When Leodora finally awakes, she finds that she has some sort of amulet she didn't have before and discovers it can talk and give her advice, but only in vague riddles. After performing a few times, she and Diverus explore the town and look for stories of the span. She wants to find out more about what she seen before passing out, a dark city beneath the span. As the troupe performs, Leodora's fame continues to grow enough that the ones who caused Colemaigne's ruin come for Jax, thinking that it's Bardsham.

Negatives:
1) Rushed Scenes. Every once and a while, there seemed to be a rushed sequence of events. Usually mundane things that made some of the story and actions hard to follow. For example, towards the middle of the story, Leodora and Diverus are being 'entertained' by a group of people. Everything is fine and understandable, but it soon goes into confusing territory. The leader of these people starts to go off on some tangent that I honestly could not follow and I still can not understand anything that was said. This is due because it was just rushed and hastily explained. This rushed feeling happens a lot it seemed.
2) Vague Descriptions. What goes hand and hand with some of the rushed sequences are some of the descriptions and explanations. Most of the descriptions are wonderful and vivid, yet at the same time there were things that were hard to grasp and visualize. The best example is almost everything that is described in the inverted span. Yes, it would be a little hard grasp the concept that up is down and the sea is sky and most of it was described and explained fairly well. Yet, there were times that things needed a little more detail added. For instance, the fire puppets. You have a full book and a half that has very few things magical and suddenly we are thrown into a world of magic? It wasn't terrible, just disorienting in how these things were described and explained. The whole inverted span just felt vague, and maybe that's the point.
3) One Book. Honestly, this should not have been a two book adventure. The books themselves only are around two hundred to about two hundred and twenty pages apiece. Seeing as the first book is really just filled with stories and back story, and this book expects you to recall most of the first. It just was a poor way to do it.

Positives:
1) Story. Finally, there is a point. I said above that Shadowbridge is basically tales and back story, and everything related to an adventure in that book could have been the prologue of this book, it's nice to see something happen. Don't get me wrong, I loved the tales and back stories in Shadowbridge, but it was missing something. The plot itself is way to simple. Basically, Bardsham made a fool out of a 'god' and that 'god' went after him, and only recently learned of the daughter, Leodora. To put it simply, it's satisfying to actually have something happen other than tales. What I'm trying to say is that it was nice to have a plot.
2) Soter. In the first book, I honestly could really care less about him. He was just a drunk that thought things were out to get him, a one note character. In here he's more defined and a lot more interesting. His tale, towards the end was just wonderful and added a meaning to the story. He's the more memorable of the characters.
3) Left Unsaid. What wasn't said just felt right. The whole time that Leodora and Diverus were in the invert span, what happened in their absence was mostly left up to the reader. The scenes that took place in their absence just set up everything that was going on in Colemaigne. It just felt right. Even the ending felt right. The story felt like one of Jax's tales, where what happens next is a different story.

Side Notes:
1) Characters. Leodora and Diverus as characters fell flat it seemed. Nothing, except a love interest, was adding to them at all. At times, it seemed like they would grow and develop more, but it never went through.
2) Shadowbridge. I really love this setting. It's exciting and I really hope there would be more stories about it someday.
3) Cover Art. It's just like the first, but grittier and darker. I like the general lack of bright colors and it's a stark contrast to Shadowbridge's cover.

Overall: 3/5
Final Thoughts:
Truth be told, this is more of a 3.5 out of 5. This isn't a bad novel by any means, it's just generic. While I liked the fact there was a plot, it was simple and honestly kind of boring. It just was nice to have a point. The characters weren't all that engaging as they were in Shadowbridge. They just were missing everything that made them unique. However, Soter did become more of a character that I like. I do like the feel of the book and how it left you wondering what happens next. Because of that, it kept the spirit of Jax's short tales and how they ended. But the thing that bothers me the most is that it's two books. If it was one full length novel, it would have been wonderful and better. And at times, it felt like it was meant to be one novel. Simply put, it's just average.

LORD TOPHET -the second part of Gregory Frost's duology, continues the story of the shadow puppeteers introduced in SHADOWBRIDGE. Frost weaves magic, storytelling, myth and legends into a patchwork that is as detailed as it is original. A marvelous read that satisfies but still leaves you wanting more.

Shadowbridge/Lord Tophet is like a lot of fantasy series published: The first volume has no real ending. It's all about trying to get you to buy the next book. I've grown weary of cliffhanger-itis. Books like Shadowbridge make me wonder: Did this end in a cliffhanger because the writer was lazy? Did this end in a cliffhanger because the writer is crass and simply wants me to buy the next book? (It's better to write a damned good story with a compelling and memorable ENDING (NOT a cliffhanger!) if you want me to shell out any more money for your next book.) Or did this end in a cliffhanger because the writer has no freakin' idea how to end a story? None of those impresses me. I had accidentally bought the second book first because I had misunderstood which book was the first. That's my fault. After reading both books, however, I still was not impressed. How Locus magazine could say "Frost could be on his way toward a masterpiece" is staggering, to say the least.

The stories told by Leodora throughout both volumes, although interesting and although they contribute to the background of the world in which this tale takes place, really are just window-dressing, sheer curtains that could be removed and not do very much harm to what remained. The characters were interesting and fairly well-developed, but the story's ending fell completely flat. It left me thinking, "So what?" and that's never good.

The one thing I found most annoying is that both of these books could easily have been combined into one volume. There was no reason for this to have been published as a diptych/duology (pick your term).

I reviewed Shadowbridge when it came out, and gave it 4 stars because it didn't stand alone. Now with Lord Tophet, the sequel that completes it, I would definitely give the two books taken as one 5 stars. (The two do read like two halves of a single book; neither stands alone.)

The first book built a gritty, fantastical world of the spiraling spans of Shadowbridge, and introduced us to the three main characters, Leodora, Diverus, and Soter. Their dark and mysterious pasts underlie their journey through the spans, collecting and performing stories.

Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel gathers up the threads and brings them to a satisfying conclusion. This is faster-paced than Shadowbridge, like moving inward along a spiral. Leodora comes into her heritage, Diverus discovers his secret identity and powers, and Soter tells the story that's waited all these years.

The magical world of Shadowbridge is overflowing with stories, and I hope Frost will have more to tell.

Renowned puppeteer Leodora knows women regardless of talent are shunned for performing so she masquerades as a male using the name Jax. However, the adept performer is taken by the gods from Colemaigne to an afterlife realm Edgeworld though she is not sure why.

By the time they take her back, the soul eater Lord Tophet has caused havoc on her town. Her return causes a renaissance as Colemaigne returns to its pre-Tophet cursed enlightenment. Outraged that the affliction he caused was superseded by a puppeteer of all things, Tophet vows to destroy Leodora and then bring back his brand of Chaos. He sends his killers to destroy the legendary puppeteer Jax who brought joy back to the city when "he" returned.

The sequel to SHADOWBRIDGE is a strong tale due to the solid cast whether they are mortal or immortal. Leodora as herself and as Jax is a terrific lead character while the title antagonist is as wicked as they come. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and never slows down as LORD TOPHET sends his minion after Jax unaware the city savior is a girl. Fantasy readers will appreciate this strong character driven entry as evil comes after innocence.

Harriet Klausner

Continuing where Shadowbridge left off, Lord Tophet follows Leodora and her companions as they begin on a new spiral, storytelling and rebuilding Leodora's reputation. But this time, Leodora is marked by the gods and tracked by Lord Tophet himself, who seeks to destroy Leodora and will bring entire spans to ruin just to reach her. This sequel (more accurately, the second half of a single story) puts less emphasis on premise and world building and greater emphasis on plot and themes. As a result, it lacks some of the magic conjured by the world of Shadowbridge, but it tells a stronger story. That story didn't quite capture me, but it's good overall and an enjoyable conclusion to the Shadowbridge duology. I recommend both books.

It's a rare day when I prefer world building to storytelling, but today I do. The world of Shadowbridge, so vividly created in the first book, is remarkable, imaginative, and truly magical. Lord Tophet expands that world with new settings and backstory, but for the most part it leaves world building behind to focus on the plot. This is a necessary change, of course, but still a sad one. I miss discovering the world of Shadowbridge, and I wish that its new aspects uncovered in this sequel were a better fit to prior exploration. Much of the world building that exists concentrates not on Shadowbridge but on its mythical underworld, skewing the story in an unexpected and, sadly, less interesting direction. Meanwhile, the plot that fills and finishes the book walks directly into the territory of history (and Leodora's father) and magic, gods, and underworlds. As a result, the plot is vast and meaningful--but it also strays a bit too far from Leodora. Finally, the book ends abruptly, nearly abandoning Leodora and instead emphasizing the themes which (although strong) aren't as interesting as a character would be.

While Shadowbridge, despite being all concept and no execution, captured me in its rich and imaginative world building, the plot of Lord Tophet, despite its wonderful themes and overall strength, failed to have the same effect. It didn't capture and delight me--to the same extent, anyway. It's still quite good, though: it's a welcome second half to the story, the emphasis on plot develops into some truly admirable themes about the powers of creation, destruction, and the ability to chose between the two, and the world of Shadowbridge remains, if in less detail, still magical and engaging. I wish that the story had of this second book had remained closer to the premise of the first (and I wish that the two books had been published in one volume), but I still enjoyed Lord Tophet and the Shadowbridge duology as a whole. I recommend both books, because the world building is simply too wonderful to pass up and they deserve a wider audience.

If you're a fan of Lord of the Rings, only you wish you didn't have to read about all that war, the Shadowbridge series will leave you satisfied. Lord Tophet, the second book about Leodora, who adventures across fantastical spans disguised as the male puppeteer Jax, keeps the interest level high. Frost creates these incredibly hypnotizing settings, as visually imaginative as the cover of his book, and then puts this tough, smart, vulnerable woman into that world and sets some unexpected surprises loose on her. Sometimes I got so lost in the story I had to remind myself it was a fantasy. Great, fun read.