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The Wars of Light and Shadow (1) - Curse of the Mistwraith
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Review
‘Astonishingly original and compelling’ Raymond E. Feist
‘It ought to be illegal for one person to have so much talent’ Stephen Donaldson
Product Description
The stunning first volume in Janny Wurts’s epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity, now re-released with a striking new cover.
The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith’s stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light.
Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book on the strength of Janny Wurts' collaboration with Raymond Feist on the Empire Trilogy, a series which I greatly enjoyed as an enrichment of Feist's Riftwar Saga. Having never heard of Wurts before I was pleasantly surprised to find her an author of such a weighty tome as Curse of the Mistwraith, being the sort of person that considers a story of less than 500 pages to be a mere novella. Once I'd got past the difficult opening chapters I found myself swept away with the story.
On first impressions Curse seems like a fairly typical tale of a band of unlikely heroes in a quest to beat the bad bad mistraith, known as Deshthiere. But it gradually becomes clear that the necessity to clear the skys of Athera of a sentient fog is only the start of a vast and complex story. The true tale lies in the feud between the half brothers, Lysaer - the Lord of Light - and Arithon - the Master of Shadow.
The Wars of Light and Shadow series really is one of the best conceived series in modern fantasy. Janny claims to have spent about 20 years planning the series before she even started it, and it shows. Her Cycle of Fire series, while good, reads like a practice work compared to this. Some readers have described her as too wordy and at times, perhaps, she does use a more complex word where a simpler one would do, but I think her use of advanced vocabulary just enriches the experience of the reader.
You will experience the agonies of Arithon as he tries to come to terms with a fate that he abhors. You will also develop sympathies with Lysaer, the unwitting tool of Deshthiere - Janny does her best to make you appreciate how much a tool his is and also how great a ruler he could have become had he not been enmeshed in Deshthiere's curse.
This book forms a prelude to the Wars of Light and Shadow series and sets the scene by describing the origins of the mistraith, how it might be undone, and the consequences of trying to defeat it. The following books - Ships of Merior, Warhost of Vastmark, and the Alliance of Light triogy fully explore the consequences of the events in this book. I dare you to read Curse and not want to rush out and buy the rest of the series.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I went into a local bookstore with the honest intention of buying the new John Grisham thriller. For some inexplicable (but highly fortunate) reason, I went over to the sci-fi and fantasy rack and picked up Curse of the Mistwraith. I didn't particularly like the cover, and I wasn't especially thrilled by the synopsis on the back of the book. But I bought it, took it home, began to read it and finished it the next day. I then proceeded to read it again. When I realised it was part of a series, I went back to the bookstore and bought the rest in a rather glassy-eyed daze. All I can say is that it's absolutely beautiful. The language is rich and flowing (though I sometimes feel Ms Wurts studies too hard for words of four syllables) and the characters are complex, three dimensional and interesting. There are so many sub-plots and dramas going on alongside the main story that it's impossible to become bored and the format and layout of the book with the little tasters in between main chapters keeps the reader's attention completely hooked throughout. I cannot congratulate the author enough on this excellent piece of work.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's the first book in her wars of light and shadows, it's in my opinion essential to read this book before any others in the series (there are 6!^o^) as this book gives background history to what follows - maybe not the best book in the series, but nevertheless excellent, well worth the read and well worth buying, as without it you can be a little 'left in the dark' about some of the more sutbler references in the other books!!I should know I read the second book - ships of merior - first!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dull dull dull
The kindle sample was great but I'm now about 40% through and God it's dull. Thin characterisation, surprisingly stilted writing style and a total failure to drive the plot. Read more
Published 14 months ago by M. Cooper
Long does not equal Epic!
Starts well, good initial premise, then very quickly looses itself. It is similar to Saving Private Ryan, a good start but then too much wandering around the countryside. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Wavo
Brilliant
I thought this book was brilliant and look forward to reading the following books of the series.
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by dmh
The Curse of the Mistwraith - Janny Wurts
Brilliant - can't wait to read the next book in the series! Have been a bit lost since the demise of Robert Jordon... Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by JJ
Simply Brilliant!
"On the splinter world of Dascen Elur, two kingdoms have been at war for generations. The heirs to the thrones of these kingdoms, half-brothers by chance, are carrying on the... Read more
Published on 4 April 2008 by Jeffrey L. Watson
About 200 pages to long...
I am reading this book now and finding it really hard going. Nothing seems to happen for 40 or 50 pages at a time. All that is keeping me going are the well realised characters. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2008 by Dr. M. R. Olsen
Brilliant
What can I say? I have yet to read a novel by Janny Wurts that has left me disappointed. The "Empire" series co-authored with Feist are excellent and firmly recommended. Read more
Published on 20 July 2007 by MKJ
fantastic
The above reviews explain what happens in the book and yes I needed a dictionary at hand but what a fantastic and original story. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2007 by J. Talbot
Boring
After reading Master of Whitestorm, I was eager to give more of Janny Wurts' writing a try, but sadly, Curse of the Mistwraith left me very dissapointed. And bored. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by xenofan
An epic adventure (and an epic reading undertaking!)
THE STORY:
Two half-brothers, gifted with the powers of Light and Shadow, are forced from their home to another dimension. Read more
Two half-brothers, gifted with the powers of Light and Shadow, are forced from their home to another dimension. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2003 by Ian Tapley
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