Shadowmarch Comments
Shadowmarch (Tad Williams)
Williams opens another of the intricate, intriguing sagas that are his stock-in-trade. In a once turbulently conflicted land of humans, elves, and dwarves, an old truce is starting to unravel. The frontier called the Shadowline, between the Twilight Lands and those of humans, is being breached. The first Marchlands kingdom in the path of Twilight invaders is in disarray, for its king is a prisoner, and not all accept his elder son's regency. What's more, the cruel empire of the south is moving north. So the Marchlands are caught between two foes while having to deal with internal intrigues and inexperienced rulers. When the prince regent is killed, apparently by one of his closest advisors, the surviving regents are an impetuous princess and a disabled prince. Trust at court and in the kingdom dwindles even as Twilight forces attack, and responsibilities the princess never dreamed of or prepared for fall upon her. A page-turner, if you can keep the who, where, and when straight (the appended lists of people and places help).
A great fantasy series that fans of big fantasy epics like A Game of Thrones and Robert Jordan's A Wheel of Time will enjoy. Williams creates a vast world full of ancient mythology and unknown lands. This is High Fantasy at its best. Really, I mean it.