Shadowmarch by Tad Williams : Review

A kingdom on the brink of war, the king held captive in a distant land and the ransom must be paid.
Now, the Eddon children must lead their people in a time of chaos where even their home isn’t safe. With darkness engulfing them, Briory and Barrick; the two youngest Eddon children who have no one else but each other – and even that bond is quickly becoming jeopardized. They must do what they can to save their land, their people, their king and defend it all against humanities oldest enemy – the mysterious Qar from across the Shadowline.

The Shadowline; a boundary between the lands of men and the lands of their enemies, the Qar is moving. Sweeping across the land of men, threatening to engulf the northern lands in which humans still live. The ageless race has come to claim what is rightfully theirs – the lands they had for eons before the humans had come. Now, as they spread the domain the foggy distorted world of Qar, an army marches; an army that may well mean the end of humanity.

Tad William’s SHADOWMARCH is a good read for epic fantasy lovers. With multiple point of views; those ranging from the Qar, Funderlings, the Eddons, and a few others, readers aren’t likely to get too bored with any characters in this 796 paged book. There are plots within plots, and even those who seem to be the only honest people may well be the ones who harbor the darkest secrets of them all.

I have a problem with this book though, don’t get me wrong – I’m a fan of Tad Williams, and I do think that many people will love this book. There are sessions in the book where chapter after chapter nothing really happens. The characters just reflect on their situation (over and over again) or go into great detail examining things. This was extraneous at times, so I’ll be taking a bit of a break before I read the next one. But it’s on the shelf, and I’m sure it will be a great read.

For all the slow parts though, there are mysteries and surprises along the way which award the readers for their patience. With court intrigue and mythical races, readers do get the well-recognized elements of fantasy.

–

Tad’s website : http://www.tadwilliams.com/
Follow Tad on Twitter:  @tadwilliams