|
|
|
published 1996; paperback 1996, Spectra
There's nothing unusual about Luck in the Shadows, a rather standard fantasy novel in the mold of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, David Eddings' Belgariad books, or C.J. Cherryh's Merovingian Nights anthologies. There are secretive elvish folk, an evil death cult, sensible farmers, and roguish thieves who are really good guys. I recommend it anyway because the writing is solid and the story is fast-paced. It's an excellent example of its category.
Alec of Kerry, an orphan who has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, escapes from prison with the aid of Seregil, a mysterious master-thief. As they travel, Alec gets caught up in Seregil's web of intrigue and eventually joins the Watchers, a spy network sworn to protect the country of Skala and its allies against the evil empire of Plenimar.
I was particularly impressed by a part of the story in which Seregil, who has stolen an evil amulet, slowly becomes possessed and begins seeing a black-cloaked figure that is invisible to other people. Not like this hasn't been done before, but the descriptions of the evil creature were truly chilling:
"A few moments later he looked up to find the thing walking in the road ahead of them. At this range he could see that it was too tall to be a man. And there was too much distance between the shoulders and the head, not enough between shoulders and hips, so that the arms appeared immensely long, its movements graceless but powerful. It looked back over one sloping shoulder and beckoned to him, as if to hurry him toward some destination ... Throughout the remainder of that leaden afternoon his dark tormentor toyed with him, playing an evil game of hide-and-seek. First Seregil would see it far off, spinning madly in the middle of a bare field. A moment later it would appear beside him, striding behind the cart close enough to touch. A troop of Mycenian militia rode by and he saw it lurching along unnoticed in their midst; soon after it rode past in the opposite direction on the back of a farm wagon."Sometimes Luck in the Shadows challenges the reader's suspension of disbelief a little too much. For example, Alec manages to become a passable swordsman after a one-week crash course. Some of the narrow escapes also seemed a little too narrow. On the whole, however, it's a promising start to what could be an entertaining series.
Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed September 30, 1996
ISBN 0-553-57542-2
 |
See other reviews of Luck in the Shadows at Amazon.com |