Shadowmarch: Shadowmarch Trilogy Book One (Shadowmarch Quartet) [Paperback]

 

 

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In Shadowmarch, though, unlike MS&T, the menace is ratcheted up until you almost feel you're reading a ghost story. Williams knows how to build an uncomfortable atmosphere until you're scared - but not quite sure what of - now THAT's brilliance.

Williams' talent isn't so much about inventing new things to go into high fantasy, it's in the quality of his writing - he's writing high fantasy in a different manner. He can really write, and I can see how he's improved (which doesn't make me a whit less enamoured of his earlier works). If Williams wrote in any other genre he'd win the Booker prize, or something equally prestigious, for Shadowmarch.

But don't let that put you off if you hate contemporary literature! Williams' writing isn't contrived or showy, just quietly brilliant. He's always focused on telling the story and, I'm sorry, I disagree that he switches viewpoints too often - I think my fellow reviewer just is snatching too-small pieces of time for reading, and though I sympathise, you really have to give an author a chance. You wouldn't intermittently listen to your mp3 player at the theatre, would you? That's why Williams 'caught' him later than other readers would be caught - because he WILL catch you.

I think this would be a good book to read as your first ever fantasy novel, which is the highest praise I can think of. Other than that, just read it, people! (NB the first book in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is 'The Dragonbone Chair' - and don't forget Tad Williams' stand-alone book 'The War of the Flowers', or his more sci-fi-y 'Otherland' series - all are more than worth your time).

Tensions wrack the court of Southmarch Castle. King Olin has been captured by the bandit rulers of Hierosol in the distant south and is being held for ransom, but raising the money is beggaring the kingdom. Olin's heir Prince Kendrick is trying to hold the country together whilst his younger twin siblings, Barrick and Briony, have their own problems to face.

Meanwhile, in the far north, beyond the enigmatic Shadowline, the Twilight People are raising fresh armies to return to the March Kingdoms and avenge their defeat in a war three centuries ago. Far to the south, on the continent of Xand, a common girl is taken to wife by the Autarch, the god-emperor of Xis, for reasons utterly unknown to anyone. And far below Southmarch Castle, ancient secrets wait to be discovered...

Shadowmarch is the first book in the four-volume series of the same name, and is epic fantasy at its most straightforward. Tad Williams made his name with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, a big series which arguably helped establish the modern fantasy paradigm (Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire followed in the trail it blazed) before switching to the far more original SF cyberfable Otherland. With Shadowmarch, Williams has returned to his roots, going once again for that big fat fantasy sweet spot.

This is a questionable choice for those who are familiar with the genre, since there are elements of Shadowmarch which recall not only other big fantasy series, but Williams' own prior work. With the best will in the world, it's hard not to feel that Shadowmarch Castle is a rebuilt Hayholt, a feeling enhanced by the presence in both works of sinister faerie folk and a race of diminutive good guys. Echoes of A Song of Ice and Fire can also be detected, from the barrier stretching across the northern border of the kingdom to the misadventures of a princess (well, almost) on another continent, although the details are rather different.

Oddly, despite being pretty traditional, Shadowmarch remains an engrossing read. Williams is an accomplished-enough writer that in his hands even the most familiar of plot twists feels fresh and interesting. His ability to juggle moments of genuine menace alongside ones of amusing whimsy (the Funderlings and Rooftoppers initially feel incongruous but become a more intriguing subplot as the book develops) adds a sparkle to the sometimes plodding political intrigue and the somewhat vague menace from the Twilight People (whose motivations and goals are not so much under-developed as left completely unexplained). The vast Shadowmarch Castle may feel a bit close to the similarly Gormenghastian edifice of the Hayholt (from Memory, Sorrow and Thorn), but it's also an atmospheric and rich setting for the story.

The characters are an interesting bunch, although again we are treading familiar waters here, with Briony as the tomboy-princess-who-wants-to-mix-it-up-with-the-boys and Barrick as the crippled-prince-who-harbours-a-dark-secret, not to mention the innocent-young-girl-who-becomes-a-major-power-unexpectedly and the soldier-on-a-mission-to-prove-himself. Again, Williams uses some nice elements of characterisation to bring these archetypal figures to life and make the reader care about what happens to them, but their familiarity may be an issue to some readers. The most interesting character is probably Chert, simply because dwarves get short shrift in most fantasy (to the point why you wonder authors bother to include them) and it's good to see one not only at the centre of the action, but also as the most well-developed character in the book. Unfortunately, a few side-characters are less complex, and a few are downright cliches (particularly some of the "Get this peasant out of my sight!" nobles).

Ultimately, Shadowmarch (***½) is the epic fantasy novel as remade by Blizzard Entertainment: totally unoriginal, very comfortable and somewhat predictable, but polished to a terrific sheen and enjoyable for all its familiarity. At the same time, that familiarity does make it impossible to recommend unreservedly. The foundations are solid, however, and certainly I'll be checking out the next book. The novel is available in the UK and USA now, along with its sequels Shadowplay, Shadowrise and Shadowheart.

This book screams quality. The author has created a believable world and populated it with interesting, well rounded characters. The story is slow to get going, but stick with it and you will be rewarded with a tale that promises to make an excellent trilogy.

My one complaint about this book is that, particularly at the start, it skips between characters so fast it is difficult to develop a rapport with them. I don't think the number of characters is a problem, as it is good to have a large cast for an epic fantasy series - it is just a bit frustrating to read only a few pages at a time on each character before being whipped off to a different one. This doesn't by any means ruin the book, but it prevents it being as good as it could have been.

On the whole, an excellent novel that I hope is the start of an excellent series.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Faerie like never before
I just finished the final book of this series - Shadowheart and absolutely loved it. I'm writing my review here as Shadowmarch is where it all starts. Read more

Published 22 days ago by E. Glass

4.0 out of 5 stars hard to get into but good
I really liked Tad Williams books but I've found this hard to get into. Knowing this series has 4 books in it I'm going to persevre 'cos i enjoyed the Otherland series so much.

Published 1 month ago by hotburns

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new and too long
If you were expecting another 'Memory' - bad news. This isn't in the same ballpark. The characters are two -dimensional, the plot laboured and the prose pretty tedious. Read more

Published 6 months ago by P. Hammond

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid fantasy epic...but nothing new here
After having Shadowmarch sitting on the shelf for a few years and realising that 3 of the 4 books are released, I thought it high time I gave this a read. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Smurfin

4.0 out of 5 stars Like it / love it but it's a Tad too long
I love Tad William's work and I think I've read everything he's ever published.
The story of the Shadowmarch series is involving and the characters are, as ever, brilliantly... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Avid Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars New epic fantasy from a master
Shadowmarch is another Tad Williams foray onto epic fantasy. It stands in the daunting shadow of the Otherland Books but is a more solid and compelling milieu than the Dragonbone... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Mr. Kevin P. Futers

3.0 out of 5 stars A slow burner that just needs a touch more sparkle
All the usual elements of a decent book are there some good characters the prince and prinecess are both interesting in there own ways and the world of southmarch and its... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Chris

2.0 out of 5 stars Pure Fantasy-by-Numbers but an adequate page-turner
Having already sacrificed several rainforests' worth of paper to his previous fantasy epics, this time Tad Williams churns out a rather disappointing fantasy-by-numbers tome. Read more

Published 22 months ago by R. HOW

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark Fey & Human Folly
The Faeries, The Fey Folk, The Sidhe, call them what you will - Tad Williams calls them Qar - they are an enduring and ever present part of North West European Culture. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Kamvision

4.0 out of 5 stars For Lovers of Traditional Fantasy.
I started reading fantasy novels because of the lack (at the time) of historical fiction and still prefer the Medieval settings of traditional fantasy to this day. Read more

Published on 12 Jan 2010 by J. Cook

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