Customer Reviews

Shadows Past: A Borderlands Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you loved the first two books, you will love Shadows Past. We learn more about why Rabbit's parents fled to the country and about Captain Suiden's past in Tural. Also more about King Jusson's early life. There are nuggets of humor sprinkled throughout the book. The action is well written and there is plenty of it. There are new characters to wonder about. And as usual trouble always seems to find Rabbit through no fault of his own. I was happily shocked by the explanation of the events going on. I didn't see it coming but it made perfect sense. I could not put this book down. I only hope we don't have to wait as long as we did between The King's Own and Shadows Past for #4, The Reckoning Flames. Buy this book and be prepared to pull an all nighter. I sure did.

I enjoyed the third story, "Shadows Past," in the series, which takes up directly after the events of Book 2. I didn't re-read the second book before starting the third, but Ms. Freeman did an excellent job of inserting refresher bits and pieces from the previous story to jog the readers' memory. If you are new to the series, you really have to start with the first Borderlands novel, "Covenants," then read the second book, "The King's Own," in order to fully appreciate the world Ms. Freeman has created and the vibrant characters living within it. In the third book, you learn more about the Borderlands world and many new, important characters are introduced. While not precisely a cliff-hanger ending, it is clear that there is a great deal more to be told as the story continues to unfold. My understanding from Ms. Freeman's website is that she is currently at work on Book 4 called "The Reckoning Flame" and that Rabbit is finally growing up from the naive boy he has been. I am sincerely hoping that Book 4 will not be delayed by the publisher like they did to "Shadow's Past."

Not as good as the first book in the series and unfortunately, not as good as the second book either. A few typos and grammar problems, but that seems to be plaguing many writers these days. My biggest complaints are the shallowness of the new characters and the total changes in the personalities of some of the older characters. Yes, I realize that the events of the second book were quite traumatic, but I can't help thinking that the characters of the first and second books should have fared a little better. And perhaps one in particular improved a little too much.

There was an overall lack of depth to this book which made the writer's 'formula style' a little too obvious and at times the writing even feels forced. While Rabbit was still the main focus, we did not seem as privy to his emotions and thoughts as in the first books. And while much family history was revealed, there were just as many new questions left unanswered.

If you read the first two books and enjoyed them then by all means, read this one as well. But while the first book was absolutely phenomenal in both the style of writing and the originality and depth of the characters; this third book is merely an OK read.

i really liked this book-it helps to have reread the first 2 before you read this one -it can stand on it's own but it's much better knowing some history of the char.
i loved the little bits of humor(it's a long story) thuout & we are learnibg more about some of the people.but it's clear much more is coming(& i hope soon)& it's almost a cliffhanger at the end.

some people complain about rabbit not using his powers & wanting to learn to use them. i think he has learned to ass,. being a mage with mostly bad things.such as leaving home,almost loosing his body & soul etc. & he has been trying to just be normal-he can't & while his knows it in his head-his heart doesn't buy it.but he's strating to realize he has to embrace who he is & what he is from mage to king's heir.
so i recommend this book (& the others also) & can't wait for book # 4!!

I gave this 4 stars because it IS a good read. It has some good plot twists and some interesting new characters.

The reason I didn't give it 5 stars and what set my teeth on edge is her inability to eliminate characters that have outlived their usefullness.

I can understand keeping Ryson since Groskin had enough connections it was "tough" to punish one but not the other. However, in real life it's done all the time. I can even see that Ryson has turned over a new leaf and has changed.

However, keeping Arlis, with a promotion and within reach of the king, (after he "gave information to the bandits and trafficers" because he Arlis was bored and wanted to make a few bucks, information that caused people in the mountain patrol to be badly hurt AND killed) so Rabbit could "keep his eyes on him" doesn't make any sense at all, causes strife in the unit and is totally illogical. He should have been given 20 years in the brig and dishonorable discharge at the very least.

She should have created a different character for interaction with Jeff.

This was a really bad choice and it certainly dropped the book from 5 stars to 4 and nearly to 3. Some things just aren't done. You don't promote someone for what Arlis did and you certainly don't allow them anywhere near a king!

While not as good as the first book in this series Covenants: A Borderlands Novel , this is nevertheless an enjoyable read. King Jusson unexpectedly presents Rabbit with an offer of marriage to Lady Bernice. A contract he finds he is expected to seriously entertain because of the actions of his parents well before he was born. This is neither something Rabbit wants or expected, and he's about to find out his potential in-laws have secrets of their own.

For me, the plot in this book was a little reminiscent of book 2 in the series and I would be happier to see Rabbit grow more in his magic than we see here. But having said that I also enjoyed this fantasy. The author has an easy writing style and I like the characters enough in this series to pick up book 4 "the reckoning flames" when it is published. Lets hope it doesn't take as long to get book 4 as it did to get book 3.

Finally!! The wait was so painful but the book is great. I love the whole series and hope that we see much more from this author, preferably more about Rabbit and his friends. Yes, I did re-read all the books and was just finishing The Kings Own when Shadows Past finally arrived. I tore into it with no break and savored every bit of the new story.

There were serious things happening, so it wasn't all laughs, but boy I was ROTFLOL when it was. That dinner party fight scence was outstanding. I really enjoyed this book. Rabbit and his cohorts are in my top 5 favorite character list. It has a cliffhanger ending for one of the characters, so prepare to wait for book 4. I recomment this one.

Disappointing. Rabbit has shown no sign of initiative since fleeing his mage master...he reacts, rather than acting. And sometimes not even that. I'd really like to see him grow in something other than his magical abilities.

Engaging characters, strong plotting, humor and deft dialogue. I loved it, much as I loved its predecessors.