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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literary Gem, October 2, 2006
This review is from: The Shadow of His Wings: A Novel of the Six Kingdoms (Paperback)
I honestly cannot believe that I am the first person to review this book. Although I accidentally stumbled across this in a library sale bin about 15 years ago, and I've never talked to anyone else who's read it, I always held the conviction that this was a cult classic of sorts with a rabid fanbase. Apparently not. First thing first, I will not condescend by provided any plot synopsis. The last thing I want to read in a review is "what happens in the book." What I will say is that this book is a genius tale. It contains elements of dark humor, realism and for a backdrop a world nearly as fully realized as those of Tolkien, Wolfe and Herbert. The story is essentially a nice little atheist parable to boot. Unlike most lame fantasy novels, this is not a rip-off of Tolkien. It's also not one of those stupid fantasy books where a mild-mannered nebbish from our world is magically transported to a realm of sword and sorcery where he seduces large-breasted barbarian women and learns spells while wielding magical items. I enjoy science fiction and fantasy, but a very large proportion of the genre seems to be engaged in some sort of intellectually stunted exercise in swindling virginal high-school kids. The downlow is that Bruce Fergusson doesn't get the recognition he deserves. "The Shadow of his Wings" is a classic. In a way, I'm glad it isn't part of a series of 12 books. Sci/Fi & Fantasy as a genre should be an outlet for some of the most creative literature. Whole worlds can be created. Unfortunately, what we get is garbage with titles like "Dragonwind Crossbow of the Dwarf King; Book 7 of the Tales of Acnea: Cycle of the Neverending Sequels" or 6 unnecessary sequels to the original Dune trilogy. But with Fergusson we get an engaging narrative, believable characters and some really impressively creative plot devices. If you're the type to take the advice of strangers on the internet, take my recommendation and read this book. Look, I gave it five stars. I need to feel validated and get at least one other person to read it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Colorful cover, dark and tragic story, August 11, 2010
Bruce Fergusson's "Shadow of His Wings" is the first book in the Six Kingdoms series and takes place in the Kingdom of Myrcia. It tells the tale of Lukan Barra, a common woodworker in the city of Castlecliff who after failing to achieve the final woodworkers seal of approval decides to seek his fortune elsewhere. Unfortunately, the city soon falls under siege by the neighboring kingdom of Skarria, causing chaos. Lukan agrees to undertake a city sanctioned quest to venture to the lair of Rizzix, a mighty Erseiyr (an immortal dragon-like creature of legend) in hopes of securing its assistance in defending the city against the Skarrian siege. Here are my thoughts; Pros + Adult themed fantasy story that deals with some harsh topics. + Author names practically everything from city streets, inns, statues, rivers, roads, kingdoms etc. + Heroes are all flawed and far from perfect. No squeaky clean do-gooders here. + Well written story. The battle sequences in particular are quite well written and gritty. + Skarrians were an interesting people. I wish the author had spent more time describing their culture. Cons - Author uses several words which are difficult to comprehend by the context of the story. Examples include (panniers - pouch? spurrose - crest? diadem - barbed garrote? stelliars - something with soldiers or the castle? cillas - no idea? flenx - horned wolf or cat?). A glossary would have been nice. - Story is written in the first person. Something I'm not really a fan of. - Prison chapter is very graphic and may be shocking to some readers. - No map. Always one of my biggest gripes in many fantasy novels. A map or maps were definitely needed in this book as the author was so overly descriptive about places within the city and the neighboring areas. This book sat on my shelves for at least 20 years. To be perfectly honest it was because of the cover art. I picked it up countless times and always put it down because of the art. Luckily the story itself bears a very vague resemblance to the bright cover illustration. The story is not very uplifting and the characters face many hardships. The back teaser does a great job at describing the story. This book was quite different compared to the preconceived notions I had formed about it based on the cover. If you like your fantasy a bit more dark and less on the fantastical side then this book may appeal to you.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Professor Pirate, September 24, 2011
This was one of my favourite fantasy genre books as a teen, as it was one of the first fantasy novels I had read that depicted gritty, grimy three-dimensional world before the likes of George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie came along. There are flaws, as the reviewers above have pointed out - the lack of a map or description of certain items and locations, but they are easy to deduce and realatively few in number - especially compared to the writings of some modern fantasy authors like Stephen Erikson who throw foreign and alien items, creatures and concepts at us with manic abandon and don't explain what they are until half way through the book, if at all. True, the cover art of the US version is cheap and pulpy, but I had a British edition, which had a slightly better cover image. Anyway, although there are now more sophisticated, substantive and argueably better fantasy novels out there now, I read this book when I was teenager nearly 20 years ago when the style of writing was rather novel and refreshing, and as such this book has a special place in my heart.
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