The 3rd book of 4 from a little know fantasy writer. Needless to say, more people should read his books.

Redick has taken me on a fantasy adventure that I am loving. So many twists and turns, good VS. bad, mages, animals that are "woken" meaning they can speak to you, small humans (think the borrowers). Normally when an author stacks the deck like this, I get confused and angry with them for not knowing when to stop. This was the exception. And to top it all off Redick adds a sense of humor to the story like no other fantasy author I have read.

In a nut shell: I loved it! Anticipating the finale, but know I will be sad when it is over. ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: The River of Shadows Series: The Chathrand Voyage Author: Robert Redick Rating: 2 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 593 Format: Kindle Synopsis: The crew of the Chathrand are pretty much captured, lots of things happen, Arunis pretty much wins even while being killed. My Thoughts: You know what? I like the overall story. But I can't stand the palpable despair and hopelessness that permeates every action, every thought of every character. It seems like they are racing ahead of a tsunami, once step ahead of being completely swept away. I am not a fan of hopelessness. " ( )

Robert VS Riddick River Of Shadows. The Charthrand finally reaches the south only to find, well, all manner of horrible things. This is the third book in a fun, well written series that combines an epic scale with lots of pacey adventure and excitement and twists and setbacks and peril and darkest hours for our heroes. Seeing as we're obsessively comparing everything to Martin (I DO SWEAR THESE CORNFLAKES ARE FIT FOR A KING'S LANDING WEDDING FEAST), then the young age of the book's main protagonists gives the book a YA feel, though clearly aimed at an older audience (I suspect teen fantasy fans will eat this up, though) which, I think, is how both books maintain the sense of pacey adventure and epic scale. It does repeat one plot from the previous book, albeit reversed, and while it comes across as justified, one can see the author finessing things a bit to get his required outcome. It's weak, but it's over soon enough and doesn't detract inordinately. ( )

The River of Shadows is not so strong as previous entries in this series, but then again - the bar is set so high, it's understandable.

The crew of the Chathrand continue their voyage to far-flung foreign shores, but conspiracy, fallibility and struggle remain a constant companion. As they venture through new worlds, can they keep their ultimate goal - the destruction of the sorcerer Arunis and safekeeping of the nilstone - in mind?

Please don't misunderstand - this was a fine enough book, and a solid entry as book 3 in a four book series. But the pace flags somewhat. Reddick is still introducing new settings, characters and twists, and the duel between Arunis and the Red Wolf conspirators starts to feel a little rote.

I suppose the book devolves a little (just a little) into a more standard, travel-quest-epic fantasy, and after the depth and nuance of the first two books, it left me a little unsure if Reddick would be able to pull together for a conclusion.

This is compounded by the climax of the book, which feels rushed, and curiously unsatisfying.

That all said, I still enjoyed it, just not as much. ( )

My first impression of this series is that it was a jumble of too many fantasy and fiction themes. However, as it progressed, while all of those same tropes still exist, that jumble has faded into the background and the story is proceeding along. However, the author keeps finding ways of drawing the story out in standard fantasy fashion. The world and the beings that populate it are driving the story, not the plot. That said, this still may be the best epic length fantasy being written at this time, if you don't count Game of Thrones, which is in between books. If nothing else, the story is inventive, the world is unique and very well described, and the characters are engaging. ( )