Customer Reviews

Shapers of Darkness: Book Four of Winds of the Forelands (Winds of the Forelands Tetralogy)

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

 

 

I have read all of David B. Coes's books and have been impressed with his maturation over the years as a writer. In this latest edition of winds of the forelands there is much ado about battles and sieges. Also, the majority of his books deal with the politics of dukedom. It really is a fascinating read when you look at the political side of things. Unfortunately he spinkles in jsut a bit of romance, but not enough to worry about.

The ending of the book is awesome and it does give rise to me now wanting Weavers of War and quickly.

The only complaint I have is that these books have the worst cover art I have ever seen and if I were him I would take it up with TOR, because it makes his books look like Romance Novels when they are not.

RECOMMENDATIONS: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Shapers of Darkness is the fourth volume in David Coe's engaging Winds of the Forelands series.

Where the previous installment (Bonds of Vengeance: Book 3 of The Winds of the Forelands) focused almost entirely on the political intrigue, Shapers of Darkness is non-stop action from cover to cover. At this point, the Qirsi Weaver's behind-the-scenes machinations have all come to fruition and the entire realm is at war, and there are as many internal threats as there are external. As the penultimate volume in the series, Shapers of Darkness does a great job of pulling plotlines together and building anticipation for the series conclusion Weavers of War.

The series suffers a bit from the sheer volume of characters, nations, plots, and subplots, and to his credit the author seems to realize this. Coe provides a helpful "who's who" list of characters at the beginning of the book, which is a nice way to get reacquainted with the cast before jumping into chapter 1. There's still a sense of repetition or perhaps homogenization, in that the various nations seem interchangeable. This is especially noticeable in comparison to George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin gives each people their own culture, mannerisms, customs, and speech patterns. Coe does this to a far lesser extent, almost as if it were an afterthought. Still, this is a relatively minor complaint against an otherwise very enjoyable series.

Shapers of Darkness is so action packed it's almost exhausting, and it will definitely leave you panting for more. Fortunately the end is near. Weavers of War will be the series' final volume.

This series continues to excel. I'm sorry there is only one book left because all four books so far have surprised me with the plot twists and the action is constant. I'm already looking forward to reading his new series. If you haven't read any of Coe's books I suggest you use the look inside feature on Amazon to read a sample chapter. You'll be glad you did.

David B. Coe is just such an amazing writer, and all of his books are just so enjoyable to read, that I couldn't put it down. Not only are his characters well developed, but his book has a great plot, which further adds to the suspense of this novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fantasy novel, and if you haven't read any of his other books in this series, I would recommend that you start with the first, Rules of Ascension. This series is amazing, and I cannot wait for the 5th book to come out!

"Shapers of Darkness" picks up literally right where "Bonds of Vengeance" left off, with Tavis and Grinsa riding back through Eibithar to rejoin the king's army. As I made known in my review of that book, "Bonds of Vengeance" is a snore-fest wherein almost nothing of significance happens. "Shapers of Darkness" does substantially better, thankfully.

After an entirely pointless episode where Tavis and Grinsa are abducted by brigands, the series is back in high gear. War is breaking out in several different locations across the various kingdoms, and almost every character gets caught up in some sort of violent conflict. There is still a problem with too many viewpoints. In fact, some of the major voices from the earlier volumes are only heard from once in the entire book. Nonetheless that problem seems less pressing here than in the previous book.

Coe has always had a problem with dull descriptions and clunky dialog, but he does possess and undeniable flare for battle scenes. Here he offers up more and bigger fights than in any previous novel, and the result is a pleasure to read. The ceaseless action pushes the novel along at a good clip. "Shapers of Darkness" is a fine story and it left me satisfied enough to push on into the final book of the series.

"Winds of the Forelands" series advances towards the outcome of the Qirsi movement in "Shapers of Darkness". The focused fourth novel spotlights those crucial to and manipulated by the conspiracy as the war launches in the Forelands. The movement's ramifications come to a head by urging a war among the Eandi kingdoms. The effective descriptions brilliantly depict the battles' physical limitations, emotional struggles, and aftereffects.

Aside from the usual characters, considerable emphasis is spent on the secondary cast, most notably dukes and minister Qirsi affected by the Weaver. One of the story highlights is Duke Tebeo Dantrielle fighting in Chapter 14, both compelling and grizzly. Dusaan makes a great antagonist; he's ambitious, arrogant, cunning, and ruthless. However, an unexpected scene involving him might be objectionable to those of sexual violence.

Though one significant addition is the list of characters separated by the respective House at the beginning, it barely presents enough agents of the conspiracy by neglecting Fetnalla yet states the baby Bryntelle ja Grinsa as a member. If such a list is available it should better reflect the characters and their standing.

The editing has digressed from its previous standard with repeated words a couple times which I find unacceptable given today's technology.

I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

Good book lots of intrigue and war. Felt almost like I was in the battles. Looking forward eagerly to the next book.

I loved this book as I did all the others in the series. I can't wait to read Weavers of War.

If you are already to this book, you know this is a great series. I have read everything that David Coe has written and I'm not disappointed with this volume. I can't wait for the conclusion to find out which weaver wins!

More good stuff from Coe. With the close of each book in this series I anxiously await the arrival of the next. This time fortunately I didn't have to wait too long---2 books in 1 year, simply awesome. I can hardly wait for the conclusion of this awesome series!