Customer Reviews

Shadowbridge

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The world of Shadowbridge would be worth visiting even if Leodora, the protagonist, weren't such good company. Its complexity and realism, overlaid on a structure that is inherently fantastical, makes suspension of disbelief a pleasure as guilty as chocolate. Frost doesn't even pretend to a scientific explanation for his world; it's all myth and fantasy, and it's wonderful. Yet the grittiness of the place, together with images of magnificent beauty, make it realistic in an almost tangible way. The romance of bridges, the darkness and squalor of areas under bridges...Shadowbridge captures it all.

We follow Leodora as she finds herself as a Shadow-Puppeteer and Story-Teller, following in the footsteps of a father she never knew. As she collects stories and comes to understand this world, she encounters dangers that she only half understands.

I'm giving the book only 4 stars for now. It's half a book and doesn't stand alone; the second half comes out in summer. But I'm not sorry I read it, even though I'd planned to wait for the second book as well. It gives the world time to percolate.

This is a tale of a female puppeteer, her drunken coordinator, and a god-touched musician, all of whom are running from unhappy pasts, set in a watery world covered with bridges and given a liberal dose of magic.

This is book one of two, the second of which is coming out in June, called Lord Tophet.

All in all, it's a fantastically done book, wrought with myths within myths. Leodora is a collector of stories, several of which are featured in the book, and are lovely works in and of themselves. I was lucky enough to hear Frost read part of this aloud last summer, and was hooked then. The writing itself is excellent; Frost has a way of drawing you in with the prose alone and keeping you there. Add to that a wonderful trio of characters, and you have a book that's hard to put down.

SHADOWBRIDGE is fully deserving of being nominated for a World Fantasy award, because it is the epitome of what fantasy could and should be.

Shadowbridge, the latest novel by noted fantasist Gregory Frost, brings us into a fully realized, ornate and gorgeous world of magic and intrigue. The story moves along at a magical pace and yet Frost never forgets that he's telling us about real people with genuine emotions. He's created a powerful new character with Leodora, a shadow-puppeteer -and he paints her so well that this book BEGS for a biscreen adaptation. But even if they do make this info a flick, make sure you read the book. Frost has a sorcerer's touch when it comes to description and imagery.

In a world where inhabitants live on bridges which span wide oceans and replace cities and continents, sixteen-year-old Leodora travels from city to city to build her reputation as a master puppeteer and storyteller. But Leodora is haunted by the mystery of her father, who was once a great puppeteer, and touched by the gods whose presence portends marvelous and terrible events to come. Shadowbridge is the first half of a duology, and it sets up the story, introducing Leodora and her traveling companions and the fantastic, imaginative world of Shadowbridge. These factors are both intriguing, but as the first half of a complete story the book suffers from a lack of direction and cliffhanger ending. I plan to continue right on to the sequel, Lord Tophet, and I enjoyed and recommend this book.

Although they are published as two separate volumes, Shadowbridge is really just the first half of a longer book. It introduces the concepts and begins the story, and does a good job of both. What shines most is the setting: Shadowbridge is a world of endless bridges rising over open seas, where spans of the bridge make up cities and the spans connect into large spirals which replace continents. Men, monsters, and gods populate the bridges, living in complex and divers societies. It is a vibrant and magical setting, unlike anything else I've seen before, and it immediately captures the imagination. Leodora and her companions are a bit pale in comparison, although they too hold the reader's interest: Leodora is willful and brave and her storytelling opens the novel up to a number of stories within stories.

These stories within stories are something of a mixed blessing, however. They introduce new aspects and mythology of both Leodora and Shadowbridge, but they crowd out their framework--Leodora's underlying journey across the spans--leaving it too long undeveloped. The reader is never quite sure how the stories will connect or which are important, and without this frame of reference the plot feels uncertain and slow. It gains momentum as it goes along, and it is readable and engaging throughout, but it never dedicates enough time to Leodora's current journey. The end of the book changes dramatically, overshadowing the arrival of malicious, otherworldly powers and ending in a sharp cliffhanger--which is less of a problem now that the sequel is out, but begs the question: why was this book released in two volumes in the first place?

Shadowbridge has its faults, and as the first half of a story it is unfinished without the sequel, Lord Tophet. Nonetheless, it is a promising and intriguing beginning. The unique setting fascinates me, and Leodora and her stories is a worthy vehicle for exploring it. Frost's writing style suits the vivid grandeur and intricate detail of the setting. I have Lord Tophet waiting, and plan to continue on with it directly. I recommend Shadowbridge--fantasy readers and fans of unique fantasy worlds will enjoy it, and it certainly deserves a wider audience. However, as each slim (250 page) volume retails at $14, these may be good books to borrow rather than buy.

It took me so long to like this book, to get into this book that if it had not become so enjoyable during the second half of this, I would have given it a one. The story seemed to go on and on and with no real plot movement.

I am now almost finished with the second book - or rather what should be called the second half of the book - and if this had been a single book rather than two, I would have given it an unreserved five stars. But the way this was set up and divided, it felt like a greedy marketing ploy.

I recommend this book with the next, Lord Topher, but I cannot recommend it alone. It has likeable main characters, an interesting worldscape, and a breathtaking ending. But only if you read the second book right after it. Otherwise, it is an incomplete story.

Leodora has a rare talent for shadow puppets in the Balinese style. The daughter of the most famous puppeteer ever, she has inherited his tools and his library of myths. Driven by a rebellious spirit and guided by her late father's manager, she is quickly building fame as she travels the world over, performing on one bridge after another.

Oh, did I mention this is a world made entirely of bridges?

The world of Gregory Frost's "Shadowbridge" is a trackless ocean, spotted with a few islands and an eternal ribbon of bridges on which people live. Every bridge has its own traditions, its own culture, and its own puppet-play myths that let Leodora bloom into an ever-better artist. It's hard to imagine an editor who would actually approach a fantasy writer these days and ask, "Say, Gregory, would you mind making your work a little less like `The Lord of the Rings'?" Yet that's what this author has done with this story.

And story is just what happens here. The characters relate to the world through narratives and folk tales. Like Chaucer and Aesop, what matters in actual events is only comprehensible in these novels according to how the characters relate to their stories.

"Shadowbridge" is a smart book that avoids many common fantasy pitfalls. Brief encounters reveal that this world is full of elves, fauns, and fairies, but they don't play much of a role. Magic is a force, but no one gets hung up on bearded patriarchs in pointed hats. And the gods are as interesting of characters as the humans whose lives they direct.

That's not to say thise book are wholly groundbreaking. Seasoned fantasy readers will spot the influence of Michael Swanwick, Robert E. Howard, Madeline L'Engle, and others. The icons of the gods of this world bear more than a passing resemblance to the characters in "The Matrix." And the relationships that inhabit the book are familiar to anybody who ever longed for a life at a slightly higher level of accomplishment.

Many of the bridges have cultures which closely resemble nations of the world. France and India pop up, if you know what to look for, and so does a little of Ireland. One bridge, Hyakiyako, is a little obtrusive for its naked resemblance to feudal Japan, or rather, to feudal Japan as filtered through anime such as Inuyasha and Spirited Away. This interferes a little with the willing suspension of disbelief. I leave it up to you whether this is enough of an intrusion to be a problem.

"Shadowbridge," establishes the characters and their relationships. Less a single novel than three novellas leading to a shared nexus, it introduces a handful of people who have been touched by gods, whose lives are no longer their own. All of them come from backgrounds of violence and fear, curses they desperately need to outrun. And they find themselves on Colemaigne, the bridge where Leodora's father and mother brought the wrath of an angry god on an innocent city.

Then all at once it begins again--and the novel ends. "Shadowbridge" lacks a true climax, though it does give us a bridge into the second book, "Lord Tophet," which takes up just moments after the first, when old secrets begin to come out, and blood guilt must be paid.

"Shadowbridge" is not revolutionary, but it is fun, with the sort of myth-making wonder that fantasy readers look for in a book. For personal reading that makes you think a little and leaves you feeling a little bigger of a person than you began, you could do far worse than this book.

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).

Elegant writing and masterful storytelling combine to take you to a world that you could have never imagined. The characters journey throughout the endless spans of Shadowbridge chased by an unknown past. Collecting tales along the way of the varied and sometimes bizarre inhabitants makes this world more than real, it makes it steeped in lore. I was captivated, and wished it would continue forever...

Shadowbridge by Gregory Frost is the first novel in a two part set. The second book is titled Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel, at this point I am unsure if there is a common titled that binds the two books together, but they are part of the same series. It is always an interesting process into how one finds a particular title or author. In this particular case, a friend recommended this novel to me. Prior to that I had never heard of Mr. Frost before. But, like always, I am always willing to give an author a shot. So I picked up this novel. Here are my thoughts on this novel.

The main plot of this book focuses on a puppeteer as she seeks to develop her skills at telling stories about the world. How she acquires her stories and how she seeks to tell them to people. There are a couple sub plots as well, such as; a young simple man who lives in obscurity is given a gift by the gods, a secret that seeks to disrupt the traveling group, and lastly the multitude of stories scattered throughout the realm and how they interweave with everything. Beyond the first two plot points this book comes across as a little shallow on the plot side of things. Granted, at only 250 pages there is only so much that can be included. Yet, aside from a few things this book, to me, felt as it was more character/world building than anything else. We are introduced to the world and how it came to be, from stories of course. However, just when the story seems to be picking up speed and developing itself... it ends. Just like that. The ending just appears. While I will not argue the fact that Mr. Frost has created a fantastic and rich world full of history, I would have liked to have seen that same amount of detail throughout the book in all aspects.

The characters in this book are one of the redeeming qualities. There is quite a bit of development for the main two characters, Leodora and Diverus. Some development for the supporting member of the troupe Soter, but not nearly to the same level as the other two. A couple things I appreciated about the characters were that all their actions seemed natural and not forced in the least. The dialogue was also well done. Mr. Frost was able to give all the characters their own unique voice, including those characters that only appear in one or two scenes. As I said before, the amount of character development that went into the characters was also very good - especially considering how few pages this book truly is. I also enjoyed Leodora as she was seeking out stories and the things she was willing to do for those stories. It added a certain depth to the character and a truthfulness and genuineness to the situations she was in.

A couple minor criticisms about this novel:

1 - The book, as it is, seems incomplete. Being that it is part of a duology, I wonder if the story would not have been better served being combined into one book. The way the book ends, could leave the reader feeling cheated and wondering what happened.

2 - The overall plot, while interesting, seemed shallow. With the quality of writing in this book I expected much more plot development. As it stands Shadowbridge almost feels like a 250 page prologue.

Some things I liked about this novel:

1 - I really enjoyed the setting. It proves the fact that there are still new ideas to be had in the fantasy genre, if only people put in a little creative energy.

2 - I really liked the aspect of how the stories in the book, the tales that are told, interweave with the actual story. They add a depth to the world that is hard to replicate with one novel.

3 - Mr. Frost's prose is a nice fluid style. It is easy to read, but provides a great amount of detail. I don't want to call the prose simple, because I feel that would give it a negative connotation. But in its simplicity, there is elegance. One that I enjoyed reading.

When all is said and done, I did enjoy the novel. However, if you are considering reading it, I would highly recommend having the second book handy so you don't suffer from the immediate letdown of the ending. I have never read any of Mr. Frost's previous work, but based on this novel, I will certainly be checking some out. I will at least be reading the second book of this series. I think there is something in this book for every fantasy fan. Although, if you are looking for a typical hack-n-slash style novel you may have to look somewhere else. There is none of that present in this novel. New fans of the genre will enjoy this as much as well read fans of the genre. I will most likely be recommending this book to people in the future, once I see how the story ends of course.

Although this book is well written it loses something by switching from the story line to just plain stories..These stories did not add anything to the overall plot for the most part and made the book a slow boring read.