Thursday, May 10, 2012

Kernel's Library: Of Betrayal, Invasion and Enemies

Shadowmarch by Tad Williams Book 0005: Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Title:
- Shadowmarch

First Publication:
- 2 November 2004 for hardcover and 1 November 2005 for paperback


Trivia:
- Tad Williams conceived Shadowmarch as an idea for a fantasy movie and later a fantasy tv series but the idea was not pursued
- Shadowmarch was an online serial before it was published as a book


Awards:
- SF Site Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2004: Readers' Choice
- Locus Magazine 2004 Recommending Reading List
- Nominated for the 2006 for the Phantastik Preis Award
- Nominated for the Quill Award and the British Fantasy Award




High Fantasy has been one of my favorites aside from classical, mystery and etc. Obviously the book gives me the compulsion whenever I see an appetizing book to read. Reading, for me, is like devouring every information and living up the story offered by the four corners of the page. And this book is not an exception.

The complexity of the story gives me more excitement as before. The fate that befell the characters evokes wonders that a High Fantasy reader could really hope for. Many of the events described in the story is highly entertaining like the hunt for the wyvern (dragon-like creature) in the opening.

I haven't heard of Tad Williams before, but this book that I read from him first pushed me to complete all his books. Unfortunately not all his books were available to be able to read it. That's is why for the moment I promised my self to complete the Shadowmarch series. Here is it's synopsis:



Shadowmarch lies directly on the edge of the mysterious Shadowline, a shroud of endless mist that marks the entrance to the realm of the fairy-folk, the Qar. Crossing the Shadowline is said to drive any human mad, but, as far as anyone knows, the line has not moved any further south for centuries. Now, inexplicably, it has begun to creep slowly but surely deeper into the lands of Southmarch, bringing an unknown menace with it.

The king of the Kingdom has gone missing and strange things started to happen as the mist that marks the borders slowly claims the kingdom. Many people were lost and almost all of them were not found again. The mankind struggled to face the dangers although every decision made were uncertain as there are enemies and malice from every side of the kingdom. And the story gets darker as the kingdom prepares to face the Fae enemies on an unearthly war.

The book has a satisfying conclusion that it will excite you for the next book in the series. If ever I could find the paperback of Shadowplay and Shadowrise (formerly Shadowfall, upcoming) I wouldn't hesitate to buy them, for sure.

Grade: A+

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