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.
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.
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.
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
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
Janny Wurts: The Wars of Light and Shadow. Rebekah's reread.
25/04/2010 10:11:41 AM
- 1104 Views
Book One: The Curse of the Mistwraith.
25/04/2010 10:22:03 AM
- 621 Views
Eh it didn't really capture my interest. Her prose is difficult to read
25/04/2010 04:29:08 PM
- 564 Views
My brother found that initially but soon got used to it.
25/04/2010 04:30:13 PM
- 597 Views
See, I like these books, but looking back at it, the first book seems... underdeveloped.
25/04/2010 08:45:27 PM
- 607 Views
About that flying below the radar of most readers...
25/04/2010 05:10:40 PM
- 778 Views
That's interesting.
25/04/2010 08:27:40 PM
- 642 Views
That seems unlikely, she is American after all...
25/04/2010 08:56:53 PM
- 564 Views
It is possible for an American not to sell well in her own country. *NM*
25/04/2010 09:12:36 PM
- 250 Views
Just finished reading Stormed Fortress, after waiting YEARS for it to come out in the US
05/05/2010 06:17:58 PM
- 801 Views
I bought that a couple of weeks ago, hence the reread. I hope it's better than Traitor's Knot *NM*
18/05/2010 01:12:08 PM
- 270 Views
Book Two: The Ships of Merior.
18/05/2010 01:13:43 PM
- 581 Views
Finished this today.
21/05/2010 12:44:58 AM
- 596 Views
This doesn't have anything to do with the Ships of Merior, but...
21/05/2010 01:36:54 AM
- 572 Views
Book 4: Fugitive Prince. (Or: Book 1 of the Alliance of the Light)
07/06/2010 08:13:08 PM
- 681 Views
Book 5: Grand Conspiracy (Book 2 of the Alliance of the Light). Little thoughts.
24/06/2010 07:56:36 PM
- 611 Views
Re: Book 5: Grand Conspiracy (Book 2 of the Alliance of the Light). Little thoughts.
26/06/2010 11:27:57 AM
- 604 Views
Re: Book 5: Grand Conspiracy (Book 2 of the Alliance of the Light). Little thoughts.
27/06/2010 10:59:17 PM
- 600 Views
Re: Book 5: Grand Conspiracy (Book 2 of the Alliance of the Light). Little thoughts.
30/06/2010 08:06:37 AM
- 622 Views
Also: is it just me, or is Wurts really rubbish at writing about sex?
24/06/2010 08:03:46 PM
- 585 Views
She writes about sex??
24/06/2010 10:50:20 PM
- 572 Views
Occasionally.
24/06/2010 11:00:27 PM
- 648 Views
Book 7: Traitor's Knot - The crappiest near ending in the world. Perhaps.
18/08/2010 06:43:04 PM
- 552 Views