Shadow's Daughter [Paperback]

Shirley Meier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1991

After Megan's father's entanglement in court politics leaves her family penniless, they are forced to move into literally the lowest section of the city. It takes backbone the strength of steel to find triumph in adversity, and in F'talezon it takes more--it takes magic. But Megan learns to survive--and becomes a hero in the process. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Baen (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671720961
• ISBN-13: 978-0671720964
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,296,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily one of the best novels I've ever read., August 20, 1999

By 

Andrew Piskorski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow's Daughter (Paperback)

...and that's out of thousands.

I cannot recomend this novel highly enough. Possibly the best I've ever read. Back in '92, I almost decided to not buy "Shadow's Daughter" when I stumbled across it on a bookstore shelf - I was soon very glad I didn't.

This would be fantasy, if you're one of those people who care. Set in the 4900's (Fifth Millenium) AD, after global collapse of civilization in the 2000's.

I am extremely impressed by Meier's skill at making her characters seem REAL, especially in the way she's able to convey a character's inarticulate thoughts in text. A great story, and with moral/ethical messages (for example, on justification) if you care to look for them. This is not a "nice" book - no Xanth here - expect nastiness at least on the level of Drake - but all done so POWERFULLY that it can only draw you further into the story. It's not PERFECT (as Haldeman said, no book is) but, imo, it is a masterpiece.

Meier is, as far as I know, an unknown. Someone this good shouldn't be.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, November 6, 2001

By 

Kit "bownci" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow's Daughter (Paperback)

I picked up this book in the bookstore based on the words "she becomes a hero". I love reading books about female heros. In the book, I don't believe Megan turned into a hero, but I enjoyed the book very much anyway. Megan is 3 or so when we first start the book. I thought the author did a very good job of capturing the thoughts of a 3 year old. Megan turns into a very mature person faster than most people because she has a very hard life. The only complaint I had about the book was the fact that it was sometimes hard to follow. I'd read one paragraph and then in the next paragraph I wasn't sure if there was supposed to have been a period of time in between it. Aside from that, the book was very good.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twain type future based fantasy of swords and magiks, September 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow's Daughter (Paperback)

"The great writings are as wine, mine are water, available and enjoyable by the many." -S.L.Clemens Which is a good way to categorize these books. The previous reviewer seems to have missed what made the same book exciting and enjoyable to me. Megan's evolution perhaps captures my interest being realistic, paralelling my own so closely. The logical conlclusion is, that without a common frame of reference, some people can't imagine themselves into a story. There's little joy here. Ocassional humour, but this story is of unpleasant happenings in an imperfect world. That Megan can grow up without being overwhelmed by her experiences and ddestroyed or twisted is the victory. "I've found that just surviving is a noble fight." -B. Joel To my mind, the most fascinating part of the book is the glimpses of history so old it's myth: the 20th century and the apocolyptic war which drove the world back to the bronze age. Throw in a little evolution of psychokinesis and you have the general setting. More swords and political intruige than wizards and spells. Actually, there isn't a wizard or a spell in the whole thing. This story, like Stirling's 'SnowBrother' set the stage for the main characters eventual alliance. Taken as a whole, the 'prequels' are better for adding dimension to the novels 'Sabre & Shadow' (originally released as 'The sharpest edge'... but S&S is enhanced and superior), 'The Cage' and 'Shadow's Son'. Good standalone books, but best read sequentially.