12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story in the best tradition of Science Fiction/Fantasy, 28 Jun 1998
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shroud of Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)
The best of science fiction/fantasy doesn't just tell old worn familiar stories with new props (dragons instead of horses); it helps us live another vision, another time in history, another point of view. It challenges our thinking, makes us walk in the other persons shoes, and kicks our butts out of the daily rut. It tells us stories that we have to keep thinking about for awhile after the book is finished. Gael Baudino's "Shroud of Shadow" is such a work. The story takes us back to the days of the Inquisition and the death of magic. It leads us through our own history as the last Elf ...passing among humans as a woman harpist...struggles with a world bereft of beauty, and one almost lost to hope. The writing is beautiful, the experience both chilling and disturbing. Let yourself read this book. Let yourself talk a walk through the past that will raise questions about our present...and future.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Warning: Explicit Sexual Violence, 24 Jan 2008
By V Layne - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shroud of Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)
WARNING TO SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS: This book has quite explicit depictions of sexual abuse and is likely triggering.
The author substitutes gratuitously explicit descriptions of torture and sexual abuse for narrative tension, plot advancement, and character development. Not impressed.
This is a book of many flaws: in terms of story, in terms of structure, in terms, even, of simple proofreading. It is tedious, it is populated by almost entirely unsympathetic characters, it has nothing particularly insightful to say about human nature nor has any particularly novel or thoughtful way of putting it. Much of the plot is painfully predictable. It is not utterly without merits: the character of Omelda is well drawn and psychologically realistic, if no pleasure to read. But the only reason I slogged all the way through was because I was stuck home with a cold and had already read the backs of the cereal boxes. I can't imagine recommending it to anyone else.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Last Elf trys to find hope!, 8 Oct 2000
By "sibug" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shroud of Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)
Natil is the last of her peaple and her powers are fading. She still trys to heal even if all she can give is a song. The church is burning anything and any one it can not accept. Is there still room in the world for magic or elves anymore. Gael Baudino's 'Shroud of Shadow' is a dark book as the title might suggest but it is not just about what harm peaple do to each other it is also about redemption.There is light at the end of the tunnel.A compelling read.