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heikieesmaa's review
3.0
An excellent, melodramatic fantasy romp brought down by bad pacing and overwrought prose. A really big part of the book is a slog and went really slow -- I notice other reviewers mentioning it as well. But the endgame has battles and magic and more melodrama. While a doubted for a long time, I think I'll continue reading. The series has just wrapped up in May 2024 as I read, as well. Many books to read.
shadesof_fiction's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
combativeroboguy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Curse of the Mistwraith feels like a Prologue to a fantastic series. The first three-quarters of the book felt like I was reading Lord of The Rings again. It felt slow as we unveiled the extremely beautiful world around us.
I loved the tale of these two brothers. The prologue was excellently written in about two or three paragraphs, it hints as to how this all ends and what this story is going to be about. This entire book feels as if a bard sat down in front of me and began to tell me an epic tale of pain. A tale which encompasses empathy and justice and how perspective changes the lens of a situation.
We follow Lysaer, the Prince and Lord of Light, and his brother Arithon, the Master of Shadows. Arithon is the bastard brother of Lysaer, his older brother. We watch the relationship between these two brothers become built up, but we know from the beginning that their tale is a tragedy.
Spoilers for Curse of the Mistwraith, Book one Of the Wars of Light and Shadow
Subversion: I loved how we immediately get a twist on the Portal-Fantasy trope/subgenre. Dascen Elur is a secondary world that fits within the lore of Atherra. We also have the subversion of the title. At first we believe that the Curse of the Mistwraith is that it blots out the sky, but that is not really the case. The Mistwraith is more mysterious than that since the Fellowship of Seven say that the Mistwraith was made by mortal hands. It makes me wonder how it was made and why it blots out the sky, because the Mistwraith's true curse the eternal enmity which the two brothers are forever doomed to.
Lysaer: I watched Dr. Phillip Chase's discussion of Curse of the Mistwraith and, in general, it seems as if people really love to shit on Lysaer but I am here to stand by him a bit. Lysaer may generally be in the wrong but I don't think that he is either completely irrational or heinous. I feel that the only part of his actions that feels extremely terrible is the one that began his war against Arithon in Etarra. When he goes out to fight the Clansmen, I can completely understand why he believes the clansmen should be killed. The Clansmen murder, raid, and pillage the townsmen for flimsy reasoning. The townsmen are only really trying to preserve their way of life. Lysaer sees these people and is able to relate to them, but because of his enmity towards Lysaer his judgment is clouded. I don't think that Lysaer believes that these people traffic children because Arithon said it and he doesn't trust Arithon at all. I also understand why he was willing to kill the children on the battlefield, THIS IS WAR! I do not condone these actions, but he is literally going to war and if people who he believes are going to be a future threat to him, which he does believe this because he believes that Arithon is a threat and if they are harboring Arithon, somebody who Lysaer believes to be the most evil and vile person he has ever met, then of course he is going to kill children if they stand in his way. Lysaer believes that if he lets the clansmen live and harbor Arithon then the men, women, and children of the towns will be destroyed. It is a situation where nobody is truly in the right. The townsmen and the clansmen have been harming each other for five centuries and we can't really track this back to a particular point in time where this all started. While Lysaer does some heinous shit, he also does stand up for his morals in the midst of this war like when he uses his powers of light to stop the rape of the women being attacked by the townsmen. I do not agree that there is a good side and bad side in this conflict so far but maybe Janny Wurts will change this somewhere along the line.
Arithon: Yes, I like Lysaer, but that does not mean I dislike Arithon. I love his struggle to become a bard, or rather to resist becoming a bard so that he may bring about the return of the Paravians. I think it's time I started to talk about the Paravians. I love how these creatures left such an impact upon the world and how the impact they left was this sort of somber tune which Arithon can sense since he is a magician, but he also a musician which makes me imagine him hearing the extremely sad piano permeating through the air. Wurts's description of everything throughout this novel are just so vivid and I could feel the dead air where the Paravians had once roamed the Earth in the abandoned city where the two brothers fought the Mistwraith. I loved Arithon's struggle against duty in this novel, how he is compelled through his empathy and desire to do good to become king and to help the people around him while all he truly wants is to play music. It is a very relatable struggle that I think most people can understand, should you work for a job where you are paid well or a job that gives you more joy and fulfilment? Arithon is like a monk who is forced to give up the pleasures that he desires, like how he seems to have a budding love for Elaira yet doesn't quite have the ability to express since he doesn't know her too well and because he does not want to drag her into all of the madness that will be his life as a politician, not that that matters all too much now since he is an outcast. I loved that glimmer of hope for his future at the end of this book, where Halliron makes him and apprentice and because of his promise to Falliron he has to accept. It was such a wonderful scene, and it might be my favorite.
The Fellowship of Seven: Whew, these fuckers are interesting. I liked how some of them are discorporeal and do not have a body. I always love creatures like that, it makes me wonder if there is an afterlife system in play in Atherra and if these guys are affected. Another thing I wonder is if the Fellowship are just extremely skilled, like could any sorcerer become as great as them? Or is there something about what exactly they are that makes them so different from other mages? I haven't had this many questions since Half-Life, this is fun. I loved their interactions with Elaira. In particular, the other contender for my favorite scene in this book was the scene on the beach where one of the mages, I can't remember his name but I know it starts with a "T", is talking to Elaira about how the organization of enchantresses may control her, but they do not control her mind and the entirety of what she does. I am so invested in how her relationship with Arithon will develop and I hope we get to see the paravians one day because one of the final paragraphs of a chapter discussed how a unicorn was sitting next to a cave where something ominous remained sealed (I'll have to go back and find that passage because it had this fantastic contrast between ominous and hopeful for the future of Atherra). Another character who interested me deeply was Asandir. he kind of reminds me of a character from Joe Abercrombie's books (I won't say who for fear of spoiling those). Asandir has this grand vision of the future where everything he does is just so calculated to brace for the impact. It really brings into question what is more important, saving more people in the long run or doing what is right in every instance even if it leads to the deaths of many more. But my favorite mage of them all was Dakar, The Mad Prophet himself just shined brighter than the rest. I loved how he was always getting drunk but my favorite part about him was also my biggest criticism for the novel, his relationship with the brothers of Light and Shadow. I loved how he deeply respected Lysaer and when Asandir sacrifices Lysaer, Dakar condemns him for it. I feel as if Dakar did not have enough interactions with Lysaer to really have such a close bond with him to the point where Lysaer would be mourned in the way that he was by Dakar. But Dakar's hatred and malice towards Arithon was very well built and makes me incredibly interested as to what role the mad prophet will play in the rest of this story.
In Conclusion, this book just had such a fantastic dynamic between the opposing sides, but the first three quarters felt so slow that I was not really able to get hooked on it for a while, but the depth of the world that Janny Wurts has crafted is so brilliant that I was able to just get lost in it as we went on our Fantasy Quest. The highlight of this book was that the conflict didn't feel like it had begun until the older conflict had ended. I cannot wait to continue this series in a few months.
I loved the tale of these two brothers. The prologue was excellently written in about two or three paragraphs, it hints as to how this all ends and what this story is going to be about. This entire book feels as if a bard sat down in front of me and began to tell me an epic tale of pain. A tale which encompasses empathy and justice and how perspective changes the lens of a situation.
We follow Lysaer, the Prince and Lord of Light, and his brother Arithon, the Master of Shadows. Arithon is the bastard brother of Lysaer, his older brother. We watch the relationship between these two brothers become built up, but we know from the beginning that their tale is a tragedy.
Spoilers for Curse of the Mistwraith, Book one Of the Wars of Light and Shadow
Lysaer: I watched Dr. Phillip Chase's discussion of Curse of the Mistwraith and, in general, it seems as if people really love to shit on Lysaer but I am here to stand by him a bit. Lysaer may generally be in the wrong but I don't think that he is either completely irrational or heinous. I feel that the only part of his actions that feels extremely terrible is the one that began his war against Arithon in Etarra. When he goes out to fight the Clansmen, I can completely understand why he believes the clansmen should be killed. The Clansmen murder, raid, and pillage the townsmen for flimsy reasoning. The townsmen are only really trying to preserve their way of life. Lysaer sees these people and is able to relate to them, but because of his enmity towards Lysaer his judgment is clouded. I don't think that Lysaer believes that these people traffic children because Arithon said it and he doesn't trust Arithon at all. I also understand why he was willing to kill the children on the battlefield, THIS IS WAR! I do not condone these actions, but he is literally going to war and if people who he believes are going to be a future threat to him, which he does believe this because he believes that Arithon is a threat and if they are harboring Arithon, somebody who Lysaer believes to be the most evil and vile person he has ever met, then of course he is going to kill children if they stand in his way. Lysaer believes that if he lets the clansmen live and harbor Arithon then the men, women, and children of the towns will be destroyed. It is a situation where nobody is truly in the right. The townsmen and the clansmen have been harming each other for five centuries and we can't really track this back to a particular point in time where this all started. While Lysaer does some heinous shit, he also does stand up for his morals in the midst of this war like when he uses his powers of light to stop the rape of the women being attacked by the townsmen. I do not agree that there is a good side and bad side in this conflict so far but maybe Janny Wurts will change this somewhere along the line.
Arithon: Yes, I like Lysaer, but that does not mean I dislike Arithon. I love his struggle to become a bard, or rather to resist becoming a bard so that he may bring about the return of the Paravians. I think it's time I started to talk about the Paravians. I love how these creatures left such an impact upon the world and how the impact they left was this sort of somber tune which Arithon can sense since he is a magician, but he also a musician which makes me imagine him hearing the extremely sad piano permeating through the air. Wurts's description of everything throughout this novel are just so vivid and I could feel the dead air where the Paravians had once roamed the Earth in the abandoned city where the two brothers fought the Mistwraith. I loved Arithon's struggle against duty in this novel, how he is compelled through his empathy and desire to do good to become king and to help the people around him while all he truly wants is to play music. It is a very relatable struggle that I think most people can understand, should you work for a job where you are paid well or a job that gives you more joy and fulfilment? Arithon is like a monk who is forced to give up the pleasures that he desires, like how he seems to have a budding love for Elaira yet doesn't quite have the ability to express since he doesn't know her too well and because he does not want to drag her into all of the madness that will be his life as a politician, not that that matters all too much now since he is an outcast. I loved that glimmer of hope for his future at the end of this book, where Halliron makes him and apprentice and because of his promise to Falliron he has to accept. It was such a wonderful scene, and it might be my favorite.
The Fellowship of Seven: Whew, these fuckers are interesting. I liked how some of them are discorporeal and do not have a body. I always love creatures like that, it makes me wonder if there is an afterlife system in play in Atherra and if these guys are affected. Another thing I wonder is if the Fellowship are just extremely skilled, like could any sorcerer become as great as them? Or is there something about what exactly they are that makes them so different from other mages? I haven't had this many questions since Half-Life, this is fun. I loved their interactions with Elaira. In particular, the other contender for my favorite scene in this book was the scene on the beach where one of the mages, I can't remember his name but I know it starts with a "T", is talking to Elaira about how the organization of enchantresses may control her, but they do not control her mind and the entirety of what she does. I am so invested in how her relationship with Arithon will develop and I hope we get to see the paravians one day because one of the final paragraphs of a chapter discussed how a unicorn was sitting next to a cave where something ominous remained sealed (I'll have to go back and find that passage because it had this fantastic contrast between ominous and hopeful for the future of Atherra). Another character who interested me deeply was Asandir. he kind of reminds me of a character from Joe Abercrombie's books (I won't say who for fear of spoiling those). Asandir has this grand vision of the future where everything he does is just so calculated to brace for the impact. It really brings into question what is more important, saving more people in the long run or doing what is right in every instance even if it leads to the deaths of many more. But my favorite mage of them all was Dakar, The Mad Prophet himself just shined brighter than the rest. I loved how he was always getting drunk but my favorite part about him was also my biggest criticism for the novel, his relationship with the brothers of Light and Shadow. I loved how he deeply respected Lysaer and when Asandir sacrifices Lysaer, Dakar condemns him for it. I feel as if Dakar did not have enough interactions with Lysaer to really have such a close bond with him to the point where Lysaer would be mourned in the way that he was by Dakar. But Dakar's hatred and malice towards Arithon was very well built and makes me incredibly interested as to what role the mad prophet will play in the rest of this story.
In Conclusion, this book just had such a fantastic dynamic between the opposing sides, but the first three quarters felt so slow that I was not really able to get hooked on it for a while, but the depth of the world that Janny Wurts has crafted is so brilliant that I was able to just get lost in it as we went on our Fantasy Quest. The highlight of this book was that the conflict didn't feel like it had begun until the older conflict had ended. I cannot wait to continue this series in a few months.
Content Warnings
Minor: Trafficking and Rape
kathydavie's review
4.0
First in the Wars of Light and Shadows fantasy series revolving around a twist in how we perceive the Light and the Dark.
My Take
This is a conflict. The story is amazing. Wurts did a great job in creating an alternate world with excellent characters---especially in creating the "bad guy" whose point of view is perfectly reasonable. Considering what's been done to him! The difficulty---and the reason I downgraded it to a "4" is the sentence construction.
Wurts builds the most incredible sentences using big words and being rather poetic in their use. I've had to read many of them over and over trying to figure out what he's saying...and I still don't get most of 'em. [I think Patricia McKillip creates a more understandable sentence with her jewel-like lyricism.] My best recommendation is to not worry about the information the individual sentences are trying to impart lest you beat yourself up and fry your brain. As you read, the gist of what's going on will sink in. At least it did for me! Eventually, either the sentences got easier the further into the story I read, or I got in the swing of Wurts' rhythm.
I wish Wurts had provided a more in-depth background on why the enmity between Amroth and Karthan exists (there is one other kingdom, Rauven, in the splinter world of Dascen Elura). Of course, that would have taken us way past 800 pages… I also wish we could have gotten a reaction on how Lysaer's father felt when he found out his son had disappeared!
Wurts gave us a very realistic look at human decision making when the sorcerers of this alternate world---Athera---are trying to choose the best way that provides the best chance of everyone's survival and the most ideal fulfillment of the prophecy...one of those lessons in how it never works to try an end run.
It's odd how 500 years go by and the Seven never figure out the truth behind the mist. As for all the foreknowledge the sorcerers had about Etarra, I don't understand why backup plans were nonexistent!
I do like the snippets of information at the start of each chapter. They're tweets with a quick introduction to this new world. Wurts also sets the scene so well that you feel the hunger, the cold, the miserable conditions the companions undergo. You can almost smell and taste his world. Snicker...I do love how the sorcerers and Arithon get around the current rulers of Etarra.
It's rather scary how easily Lysaera gets around his experiences at the end.
The Story
In the Prologue, we're led to believe that we will be reading of events that began 500 years ago. The next bit sets up the conflict between the half-brothers and the result of Rauven's terms when Arithon is sentenced to be sent through the Gate on the isle of Worldsend. Oopsie.
And a true nightmare for Lysaer when he finds himself trapped with Arithon in a desert in a world from which he can never leave. Along with the discovery that the two princes are the only way to restore the sunlight that has been missing from Athera for the past 500 years.
Prophecy initially says the princes are needed to beat back the mistwraith which has stolen sunlight from their world for over 500 years. The war that led to this blight has divided the country, the world into "barbarians" (the former nobility) against the townspeople. Magicians of either sex are hated and destroyed in the towns.
But it's a prophecy that continually evolves new threads, new tangents, new difficulties. And one can't help but feel for Lysaer when his innate sense of justice is twisted by an outside force.
The Characters
This is one of those cast of thousands so I'll try to keep this part brief...don't hold your breath, though!
Crown Prince Lysaer s'Illessid is the king's son with the power of Light. Literally. Raised to rule, the stark conditions of this new world cause him to realize what he took for granted and what were his expectations. In this new world, Athera, he has no marketable skills until he learns he is a scion of the high kings of Tysan and their liege lord if the Fellowship blesses him.
Arithon s'Ffalenn is the Master of Shadows and the bastard son of Talera, Queen of Amroth, and Avar, the pirate-king of Karthan. And half-brother to Lysaer. Both are grandsons of the High Mage of their old world. No matter which world, he wants nothing to do with being a king. He wants only to be allowed his music. But in Athera, he is the last living heir to the High Kingship of Rathain. In Athera, they are both the mistwraith's bane.
The Fellowship of Seven is based in Althain Tower and consists of six sorcerers: Sethvir is the Warden of Althain; Asandir the Kingmaker who spends the most time with the princes (and why Wurts couldn't give him a name that was more distinct from Arithon's!!); Verrain is a spellbinder and the Guardian of Mirthlvain; Traithe is the sorcerer who suffered closing the original Gate through which the mistwraith invaded; Kharadmon; and, Luhaine. These last two become discorporate after performing heroic rescues. All are sworn to uphold balance and enlightened thought.
Dakar is the Mad Prophet who seems to act as servant to Arithon. He's a lazy drunkard who never shuts up and I just want to off the jerk. Think of him as the comic relief.
The fellowship seems to be the ruling group, at least magically, on this world with the Koriathain in a sort of friendly opposition. Kind of like the CIA and the FBI...I think.
The Koriathain is an intolerant order of enchantresses/witches with Lirenda the First Enchantress to the Prime of the Koriani Senior Circle, Morriel. Lirenda is a rather nasty woman with a passion to rule and that seems to be her only emotion. Morriel has a more judicious approach. Elaira is one of their enchantresses with the usual rank-and-file tasks except she has a rebellious nature and she contrives to meet Arithon. The order's intolerance will create problems.
Felirin the Scarlet is a minstrel the brothers come across early in the book; I suspect his sole purpose is to provide Athiron with his purpose at the end of this particular installment. Halliron is the Masterbard. Maenalle s'Gannley has held the throne as Steward of the Land until a king shall come again. The Earls of Camris are one of the noble families who have preserved the royal line's treasures. Stieven s'Valerient is the earl of the north, Warden of Ithamon and Regent for the Prince of Rathian. Lady Dania is his wife; Jieret is his son and heir. Caolle is the war captain for Lord Stieven as well as the man who raised him when his father died. Good thing he's had the practice.
Lord Governor Morfett of Etarra is furious at being told a king will be crowned and take his place over them. Diegan is the lord commander of the Etarra guard and teams up with Lysaer. Lady Talith is Diegan's sister. While she is attracted to Lysaer, I think she has a preference for Arithon. Gnudsog is a field captain under Lord Diegan. Pesquil commands the headhunters with their peculiar brand of horror.
The Paravians are a group of well, I'll call them "supernaturals": centaurs, unicorns, and sunchildren. They are in a sort of exile and will not be able to return if the mistwraith is not defeated. Soon. The King of Amroth is a major asshole and father to Lysaer. His wife, Queen Talera, refused to present him with another child if he intended to use and abuse Lysaer. Ath is the deity both sides of both worlds call on...much like we call on God in "our" world.
The Cover and Title
The background is lilac and pale, pale pinks of clouds and a Celtic-knotted archway guarded by a pair of demon-like creatures on carved pedestals with a circular inset of a haloed mountain with a sword bisecting the circle. It's appropriate for the story with all the details that don't really say anything.
The title is true enough...it's The Curse of the Mistwraith that has created all the problems in this alternate world.
My Take
This is a conflict. The story is amazing. Wurts did a great job in creating an alternate world with excellent characters---especially in creating the "bad guy" whose point of view is perfectly reasonable. Considering what's been done to him! The difficulty---and the reason I downgraded it to a "4" is the sentence construction.
Wurts builds the most incredible sentences using big words and being rather poetic in their use. I've had to read many of them over and over trying to figure out what he's saying...and I still don't get most of 'em. [I think Patricia McKillip creates a more understandable sentence with her jewel-like lyricism.] My best recommendation is to not worry about the information the individual sentences are trying to impart lest you beat yourself up and fry your brain. As you read, the gist of what's going on will sink in. At least it did for me! Eventually, either the sentences got easier the further into the story I read, or I got in the swing of Wurts' rhythm.
I wish Wurts had provided a more in-depth background on why the enmity between Amroth and Karthan exists (there is one other kingdom, Rauven, in the splinter world of Dascen Elura). Of course, that would have taken us way past 800 pages… I also wish we could have gotten a reaction on how Lysaer's father felt when he found out his son had disappeared!
Wurts gave us a very realistic look at human decision making when the sorcerers of this alternate world---Athera---are trying to choose the best way that provides the best chance of everyone's survival and the most ideal fulfillment of the prophecy...one of those lessons in how it never works to try an end run.
It's odd how 500 years go by and the Seven never figure out the truth behind the mist. As for all the foreknowledge the sorcerers had about Etarra, I don't understand why backup plans were nonexistent!
I do like the snippets of information at the start of each chapter. They're tweets with a quick introduction to this new world. Wurts also sets the scene so well that you feel the hunger, the cold, the miserable conditions the companions undergo. You can almost smell and taste his world. Snicker...I do love how the sorcerers and Arithon get around the current rulers of Etarra.
It's rather scary how easily Lysaera gets around his experiences at the end.
The Story
In the Prologue, we're led to believe that we will be reading of events that began 500 years ago. The next bit sets up the conflict between the half-brothers and the result of Rauven's terms when Arithon is sentenced to be sent through the Gate on the isle of Worldsend. Oopsie.
And a true nightmare for Lysaer when he finds himself trapped with Arithon in a desert in a world from which he can never leave. Along with the discovery that the two princes are the only way to restore the sunlight that has been missing from Athera for the past 500 years.
Prophecy initially says the princes are needed to beat back the mistwraith which has stolen sunlight from their world for over 500 years. The war that led to this blight has divided the country, the world into "barbarians" (the former nobility) against the townspeople. Magicians of either sex are hated and destroyed in the towns.
But it's a prophecy that continually evolves new threads, new tangents, new difficulties. And one can't help but feel for Lysaer when his innate sense of justice is twisted by an outside force.
The Characters
This is one of those cast of thousands so I'll try to keep this part brief...don't hold your breath, though!
Crown Prince Lysaer s'Illessid is the king's son with the power of Light. Literally. Raised to rule, the stark conditions of this new world cause him to realize what he took for granted and what were his expectations. In this new world, Athera, he has no marketable skills until he learns he is a scion of the high kings of Tysan and their liege lord if the Fellowship blesses him.
Arithon s'Ffalenn is the Master of Shadows and the bastard son of Talera, Queen of Amroth, and Avar, the pirate-king of Karthan. And half-brother to Lysaer. Both are grandsons of the High Mage of their old world. No matter which world, he wants nothing to do with being a king. He wants only to be allowed his music. But in Athera, he is the last living heir to the High Kingship of Rathain. In Athera, they are both the mistwraith's bane.
The Fellowship of Seven is based in Althain Tower and consists of six sorcerers: Sethvir is the Warden of Althain; Asandir the Kingmaker who spends the most time with the princes (and why Wurts couldn't give him a name that was more distinct from Arithon's!!); Verrain is a spellbinder and the Guardian of Mirthlvain; Traithe is the sorcerer who suffered closing the original Gate through which the mistwraith invaded; Kharadmon; and, Luhaine. These last two become discorporate after performing heroic rescues. All are sworn to uphold balance and enlightened thought.
Dakar is the Mad Prophet who seems to act as servant to Arithon. He's a lazy drunkard who never shuts up and I just want to off the jerk. Think of him as the comic relief.
The fellowship seems to be the ruling group, at least magically, on this world with the Koriathain in a sort of friendly opposition. Kind of like the CIA and the FBI...I think.
The Koriathain is an intolerant order of enchantresses/witches with Lirenda the First Enchantress to the Prime of the Koriani Senior Circle, Morriel. Lirenda is a rather nasty woman with a passion to rule and that seems to be her only emotion. Morriel has a more judicious approach. Elaira is one of their enchantresses with the usual rank-and-file tasks except she has a rebellious nature and she contrives to meet Arithon. The order's intolerance will create problems.
Felirin the Scarlet is a minstrel the brothers come across early in the book; I suspect his sole purpose is to provide Athiron with his purpose at the end of this particular installment. Halliron is the Masterbard. Maenalle s'Gannley has held the throne as Steward of the Land until a king shall come again. The Earls of Camris are one of the noble families who have preserved the royal line's treasures. Stieven s'Valerient is the earl of the north, Warden of Ithamon and Regent for the Prince of Rathian. Lady Dania is his wife; Jieret is his son and heir. Caolle is the war captain for Lord Stieven as well as the man who raised him when his father died. Good thing he's had the practice.
Lord Governor Morfett of Etarra is furious at being told a king will be crowned and take his place over them. Diegan is the lord commander of the Etarra guard and teams up with Lysaer. Lady Talith is Diegan's sister. While she is attracted to Lysaer, I think she has a preference for Arithon. Gnudsog is a field captain under Lord Diegan. Pesquil commands the headhunters with their peculiar brand of horror.
The Paravians are a group of well, I'll call them "supernaturals": centaurs, unicorns, and sunchildren. They are in a sort of exile and will not be able to return if the mistwraith is not defeated. Soon. The King of Amroth is a major asshole and father to Lysaer. His wife, Queen Talera, refused to present him with another child if he intended to use and abuse Lysaer. Ath is the deity both sides of both worlds call on...much like we call on God in "our" world.
The Cover and Title
The background is lilac and pale, pale pinks of clouds and a Celtic-knotted archway guarded by a pair of demon-like creatures on carved pedestals with a circular inset of a haloed mountain with a sword bisecting the circle. It's appropriate for the story with all the details that don't really say anything.
The title is true enough...it's The Curse of the Mistwraith that has created all the problems in this alternate world.
illusie's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't get into the story and put it away without finishing
lucky859's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jhelani's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
arcanepoet's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
maredw's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vivienne11's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first half of the book was a slog and I'm not a fan of the mixed metaphor and adjective heavy prose. It simply doesn't flow. Once the action gets going in the latter half however, the pace really picks up. I like the universe enough to pick up book two though I already have misgivings about getting invested in the tragic hero's (certain) tragic life trajectory and (most probable) ultimate tragic end. Over eleven books, no less.