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Janny Wurts: The Wars of Light and Shadow. Rebekah's reread. Rebekah Send a noteboard - 25/04/2010 10:11:41 AM
I just started reading this again last night and, spurred on by Larry's post, thought I'd share my reread progress with you.

This is a great series. It's big, it's ambitious (no, it's not finished yet) and it's probably my favourite fantasy series of all the ones I've read. I find it a little odd that it flies below the radar of most readers, but maybe you're all daunted by the size of the books and the fact it's an unfinished series? Hmm.

I'm hoping that this thread will give those people who have read the books a chance to discuss them, and might also serve to get others interested. We'll see. I'm also OK to just sit and talk to myself if that's the way it must be. :P

Not entirely sure how I will do this, but everything will be neatly contained in this one thread. Maybe a subthread for each book, with other thoughts underneath. Yes.

Firstly, however, a little series background.

Wikipedia has this rather nice entry:

The Wars of Light and Shadow is a series of fantasy books by Janny Wurts. When completed it will consist of five story arcs, with the first three arcs complete.

Working as a writer and a painter, Janny Wurts' work on her Wars of Light and Shadow is realizing her ambition of describing and illustrating a world born in her imagination. Her research included experiencing some of the work of her characters, adding a gritty realism to her novels. She included a magic system in which she strives for a continuity and logic that spans the entire series.

The idea for the Wars of Light and Shadow originated while researching tactics and weapons. A documentary film on the brutal Battle of Culloden Moor gave her the historical sense of the fighting stripped of any romantic patina. It also helped her realize that education, written history and entertainment serve to justify the actions of the winners and portray the losers as morally wrong and evil. The series attempts to portray the fictional conflict of Lysaer and Arithon in sympathetic terms, illustrating each side with equal pathos. The story tracks the martial, political and personal conflicts of the characters, and the different tactics used by each - a mass following in one case, and a solitary wandering in the other. Wurts narrates each character from their own perspectives, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about the morality of individual actions.



There you are. Does that get you interested?

Also: one thing I really like about Wurts is that she does so many of the things her characters do. She sails, she's a musician, she rides horses rather well, and more. This means that when her characters do these things in the books there's more of a realism about the actions. You can tell she knows what she's talking about. I think that's often rare in fiction.


So. If you're reading with me, enjoy!

If you're just curious about the series, enjoy too.

*MySmiley*

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
This message last edited by Rebekah on 27/04/2010 at 10:44:17 PM
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Janny Wurts: The Wars of Light and Shadow. Rebekah's reread. - 25/04/2010 10:11:41 AM 1119 Views
Book One: The Curse of the Mistwraith. - 25/04/2010 10:22:03 AM 635 Views
Eh it didn't really capture my interest. Her prose is difficult to read - 25/04/2010 04:29:08 PM 582 Views
My brother found that initially but soon got used to it. - 25/04/2010 04:30:13 PM 616 Views
Re: My brother found that initially but soon got used to it. - 09/06/2010 09:29:56 AM 553 Views
- 09/06/2010 09:32:13 AM 660 Views
See, I like these books, but looking back at it, the first book seems... underdeveloped. - 25/04/2010 08:45:27 PM 624 Views
Fair enough. - 25/04/2010 08:48:53 PM 673 Views
Day 2 of Book 1: Up to page 250 or so. - 27/04/2010 10:43:34 PM 563 Views
Re: Book One: Finished - 02/05/2010 12:42:46 PM 694 Views
About that flying below the radar of most readers... - 25/04/2010 05:10:40 PM 792 Views
That's a good point. - 25/04/2010 06:39:09 PM 672 Views
That's interesting. - 25/04/2010 08:27:40 PM 658 Views
Probably something like that. - 25/04/2010 08:38:42 PM 623 Views
That seems unlikely, she is American after all... - 25/04/2010 08:56:53 PM 585 Views
Nah, there has been something strange with her US publisher. - 25/04/2010 09:24:28 PM 585 Views
Ah, makes sense then. - 25/04/2010 09:34:27 PM 676 Views
Okay, I'll bite. - 26/04/2010 02:03:06 PM 681 Views
- 26/04/2010 06:10:19 PM 544 Views
Janny Wurts is great - 16/05/2010 06:48:43 PM 670 Views
Agree with pretty much everything you wrote here. *NM* - 18/05/2010 01:11:06 PM 292 Views
Book Two: The Ships of Merior. - 18/05/2010 01:13:43 PM 594 Views
Finished this today. - 21/05/2010 12:44:58 AM 609 Views
This doesn't have anything to do with the Ships of Merior, but... - 21/05/2010 01:36:54 AM 585 Views
Book 3: Warhost of Vastmark - 30/05/2010 02:23:31 PM 657 Views
Book 4: Fugitive Prince. (Or: Book 1 of the Alliance of the Light) - 07/06/2010 08:13:08 PM 698 Views
Hm. More. - 08/06/2010 03:16:53 PM 581 Views
Re: Hm. More. - 09/06/2010 09:39:06 AM 604 Views
Well, true. - 09/06/2010 09:40:55 AM 682 Views
Also: is it just me, or is Wurts really rubbish at writing about sex? - 24/06/2010 08:03:46 PM 600 Views
She writes about sex?? - 24/06/2010 10:50:20 PM 587 Views
Occasionally. - 24/06/2010 11:00:27 PM 662 Views
Re: Occasionally. - 26/06/2010 11:33:18 AM 597 Views
Re: Occasionally. - 27/06/2010 10:59:48 PM 691 Views
Book 6: Peril's Gate . (Book 3 of the Alliance of the Light) - 10/07/2010 01:00:23 AM 1100 Views

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