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Grand Conspiracy: Alliance of Light (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The hard frost came to the downs of Araethura early, and the rains at their cusp laced crusts of ice through the peat stacks under..." (more)
Key Phrases: crown examiner, lane flux, sunwheel banner, Fionn Areth, Sulfin Evend, Shadow Master (more...)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Janny Wurts's justifiably skillful and lovingly composed Wars of Light and Shadow series joins the ranks of Robert Jordan's protracted Wheel of Time series, et al., as either--depending on which camp you hail from--the height of high fantasy or the deeply frustrating (yet persistent) problem with the genre.

All that said, Wurts has wooed many fans to her series with compelling characters, a tremendously complex (and painstakingly developed) web of plotlines, and distinctively lush and lyric storytelling. Grand Conspiracy represents part two of part three of a five-part epic--to her credit, Wurts broke the series' third story arc (Alliance of Light) into three parts only reluctantly. The action in this installment surrounds Arithon s'Ffalenn, the fugitive Master of Shadow and the victim of the title's grand conspiracy. Everyone's got it in for him these days, and even his beloved, Elaira, has been shanghaied by her Koriani cronies into playing a role in his betrayal--she must transform an innocent, Fionn Areth, into Arithon's double to draw him out. Grand Conspiracy delivers more of the same, perhaps lacking a bit of the action of previous installments; check out Curse of the Mistwraith if you're new to the series. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



From Publishers Weekly

This hefty high fantasy is the fifth volume of the War of Light and Shadow, a saga that represents more than half the author's solo work. It may not immediately please the reader new to the story of the ruthless battle over the future of Athera--will Light prevail and suppress magic, to make the world safe for humans, or will the Shadow preserve magic and the nonhuman races? Even newcomers to the saga, however, will soon recognize fantasy writing of a high level. Both Lysaer of the Light and Arithon of the Shadow are able, charismatic, even heroic figures, but driven by their individual personalities and the demands of their causes to put aside much of their humanity. The focus in this volume is on the conspiracy of the title, in which the ruthless sorceresses of the Koriathain create a double to Arithon, a shepherd boy named Fion Areth, who is to lure the Master of Shadow into the women's trap. The desperate struggle of Arithon and the wizards who help him to rescue Fionn Areth, who believes all the vilest rumors about the cause of Shadow, makes a fine climax to the novel. Wurts is an accomplished builder of worlds, scenes and characters through well-chosen detail, with an ear for dialogue and an eye for realism--her shipboard scenes, the battling street mobs and the reluctantly taxed merchants are exemplary. Though not yet up to Tolkien or Jordan, Wurts is getting there, and fast. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 736 pages
  • Publisher: Eos (January 1, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061054666
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061054662
  • Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,046,291 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
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3.9 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Taking stock: The Wars of Light and Shadow so far, June 11, 2000
Grand Conspiracy is the fifth volume in Janny Wurts's The Wars of Light and Shadow series. It is also the second volume in The Alliance of Light, which in turn is the third "story arc" in the series as a whole.

Confused? I don't blame you. What it boils down to is this. The entire series will consist (according to Wurts) of five so-called "arcs". The first is Curse of the Mistwraith. The second consists of The Ships of Merior and The Warhost of Vastmark. The third is called The Alliance of Light and kicks off with Fugitive Prince, now followed by Grand Conspiracy. There will be two more books to go in the "Alliance" arc, (tentatively?) called Peril's Gate and Stormed Fortress. After that, there are two more arcs to complete. Neither need be (according to Wurts) as long as "Alliance". Still, at a conservative estimate, I'd expect there to be at least five more books to come, and that puts Grand Conspiracy smack in the middle of the series.

A good place to take stock, then. Should you be reading this book or, indeed, the series?

Well, I'm ambivalent. Wurts is clearly an intelligent and knowledgeable writer, but...her style is long-winded and rather pretentious. Worse, it can be awkward, with lots of unnecessary adjectives and convoluted grammar bogging down the story's progression...If Wurts had stuck to her basic story line and kept things sharp and to the point, The Wars of Light and Shadow might have been very wonderful. As things stand now, though, the series is in danger of drowning in its own verbosity.

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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice, but let's get on with it, January 16, 2000
By orp@inter.net.il (Tel Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews
Well, that was some read.

Mrs. Wurts fantasy novel have been a favorite of mine since I first encountered "Curse of the Mistwraith" and this book will not disappoint the fans of the series. Well... almost. Maybe it's the price of paper going down, maybe it's just a trend, but you get a feeling lately that fantasy authors who write series just let themselves go (Wheel of Time, for example). The whole series, and this book in particular, could use a serious tightening.

Because, all in all, while all of the old characters do all of the old things in this novel, nothing much happens. The whole book could be summed up in about 3 paragraphs. and it should have been.

So if you've got some time to kill, have fun. But I'd recommened speed reading it, and waiting for some more monumental things happening in future volumes.

Which I will no doubt buy.

have fun

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another in a magnificant series, May 24, 2000
By Gale Skipworth (Columbus, GA) - See all my reviews
I have been suprised to see the number of non-positive reviews of this book. I received my copy and devoured it in a day. Janny's characterization and storytelling pulled me into the story like an old friend. For those who missed the relentless action of the first two novels, I would advise them to think again. If these stories contained only action, I would think the characters less appealing and believeable, since they would all have collapsed in complete mental breakdowns as a result of their frenetic life-styles. Yes, the 12 year jump fazed me, but I understood the reasoning behind it. Previously, time passed mostly in between books, so it was a bit jarring, but not unpleasant, since waiting for Kevor and Fionn to grow up would have taken forever! Trust that the author knows what they're doing. As for the "Why hasn't this ended in 5 volumes," she didn't say it would. She said there were 5 story arcs. And she did write to the fans to apologise for the necessary splitting of this arc into three. How many authors do that? She's not trying to spin us out for as much as we'll give, like some <Anne MCCaffery comes to mind..>. I'm just along for the ride..it's her story, and my distinct honor to watch it develop. ()
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Takes the fun out of reading for fun
The convoluted sentence structure and strange choice of descriptive words sometimes requires reading a sentence two or three times to understand what is being said. Read more
Published 7 months ago by K. L. Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet :)
If you've read any of my reviews for the other books in this series, you're probably wondering at the number of 5 stars I've been assigning these books, but in all honesty, I... Read more
Published on August 1, 2006 by Luke Waygood

5.0 out of 5 stars Another compelling volume!
Janny Wurts continues her Wars of Light and Shadow series in this engaging book. Although of the best characters (Arithon) does not appear until a little later in the book... Read more
Published on July 12, 2005 by Laura Miller

3.0 out of 5 stars Janny Wurts on the decline.
I'm a big fan of Janny Wurts since her Empire trilogy and I swallowed the first novels of this series in rapid succession so far. Read more
Published on January 9, 2003 by Jan-Thorsten Reszat

5.0 out of 5 stars Actinic
The Wars of Light and Shadow series continues with, in my opinion, by far the best work so far. This series has captivated me from the beginning: this book was one of the most... Read more
Published on March 4, 2002 by aphraxxx

5.0 out of 5 stars Many levels
Wurts has created a work that transcends Fantasy. Her suberbly crafted writing stretches our vocabulary, weaves a brilliant imagery, and gives deep insight into the human spirit... Read more
Published on January 8, 2002 by emerginglight

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was great!
i couldn't put this book down. there are so many twists and turns that are just so unexpected. You can see all the double-agents, but when something actually goes through, it's a... Read more
Published on August 29, 2001 by J. Peterson

4.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasing coninuation of my favourite series!
In this novel, we continue tracking our favourite prince-cum-mage-cum-pariah, Arithon s'Ffalenn, in his quest to keep away from his half brother, the wonderfully charming and... Read more
Published on August 25, 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars How to write an entire chapter when a sentence would do.
Having immensely enjoyed the "Empire" trilogy (in fact, I would rank it second only to "Riftwar Saga") by Wurts and Raymond E. Read more
Published on July 30, 2001 by Phoenix

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathlessly waiting...
Although I must agree with some of the other reviews for this book, that find it slightly below the standard set by the other books, I must attribute that to the author's need to... Read more
Published on June 20, 2001

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