Product Description

Janny Wurts's epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity continues in this spectacular second volume, now re-released with a striking new cover. The half-brothers Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, Lord of Light, have defeated the Mistwraith and dispersed the fogs that smothered Athera's skies. But their victory comes at a high price: the Mistwraith has set them at odds under a powerful curse of vengeance. The two princes are locked in deadly enmity, with the fates of nations and the balance of the world's mystical powers entangled in their feud. Arithon, forced out of hiding, finds himself hounded by Lysaer and his mighty army. He must take to his natural element -- the seas -- in order to evade pursuit and steal the initiative. However, his efforts are impeded by outside magical factions, not to mention a drunken prophet sent to safeguard his life, but who seems determined to wreck his cause by misadventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106551 in Books
• Published on: 1995-05-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 738 pages

Review
'Astonishingly original and compelling' Raymond E. Feist 'It ought to be illegal for one person to have so much talent' Stephen Donaldson

About the Author
Janny Wurts is the author of the Cycle of Fire series, co-author of the worldwide bestselling Empire series with Raymond E. Feist, and is currently working on the Wars of Light and Shadow series. She often paints her own covers and is also and expert horsewoman, sailor, musician and archer.

Customer Reviews

Epic Continues It's Rich, Densely Compressed Prose
This is the first mass-market version of a couplet, the "Ships of Merior" and the sequel "Warhost of Vastmark" originally published as a single hardbound volume, too large a work to publish singly in mass-market format, and comprising the second of "The Wars of Light and Shadow" projected pentad. The author continues her rich and multi-faceted story, building upon the struggle between two cursed brothers who represent the salvation of the world into which they have found themselves unwillingly thrown. While a previous reviewer (See US review) has in truth suggested a difficulty choosing between the combative and curse-bound differences that drive a rift between the two main protagonists, there is little doubt, despite a division of the tale between the two brothers' adventures and conflicts, that in terms of his presence and sympathetic treatment, Arithon s'Ffalenn dominates the narrative, a judgment reflected by his singular portrayal on all the author's successive covers (She is, by the way, the artist) following the first book.

Wurt's style of writing is richly detailed, worded and compressed, having a reach of language that is impressive and alliteratively stretched, though at times she strays towards over-writing passages, confounding clarity in an effort to enliven speech where a simple sentence would have sufficed. Further, the first couple hundred pages of this work read suspiciously of fill, as if the author encountered difficulty wrapping up some of the dangling elements left over from the first book and was unable to entirely weave them back coherently into the thread of her primary plot, despite their loose construction upon events to follow. Nonetheless, episodes and characters such as the s'Brydion brothers, regardless of a swashbuckling element that would have done Errol Flynn proud, are delightful despite their over-wrought staging, and Dakar, regardless of his tiresome complaints, infuses elements of buffoonish humor that often succeed. And, after the initial uneven start, the book soon narrows its focus into a stirring and climactic chain of events.

The treatment of Arithon and Elairas' relationship is particularly poignant and deft, and the author has succeeded in creating a cast of characters both diverse and with depth. Additional strengths can be found in the multi-staged complexity of her tale, the depth of her imaginative magical creations, and the richness, when not over-worked, the author lavishes upon her descriptive detail. This is a work deserving of more praise than censure, and has continued to carry my interest. Further, except for instances when the author gets carried away, the scope of descriptive language is both vivid and endlessly varied, with abundant sentencing sure to cause the admiration and envy of many wordsmiths.

Finally, on a side note, I must take the author to task for her comments in her introductory notes regarding her intention not "to produce an unending parade of sequels." The target of this barb is obvious, and the implied criticism seems petty and unworthy of the author's many talents.