Cast in Shadow

I really enjoyed this book. Sagara has created a really unusual world, with a lot of back story and a lot going on, and done it without one single info-dump! If you read as much alternate world stuff as I do, you realize that this is really unusual, and high praise indeed.

It's the characters that really make this book work. Kayla is more of less a cop, and she has a history. She is put in a situation where she is facing down monsters, of what shape isn't clear, to her or to the reader. But she doesn't give up.

I liked the fact that she has skills, and she has allies. She's not dumb enough to try to do everything on her own, but she's willing to put herself out there for other people (of whatever species) and they reciprocate. She's not show more super smart, and not everyone likes her. She's not beautiful, and doesn't use sex to lure in the bad guys. She's funny, and faces consequences, and cares. She's a girl well worth spending time with.

The writing is good, although the big confrontation at the end wasn't. This is a book that has been all about show, not tell. In that scene, it all fell apart. I got what Sagara was trying to do, but it wasn't done well. On the other hand, the dialogue is excellent. She is able to do whole pages without tags, simply because each character has such a clearly distinct voice that they aren't needed.

I will definitely be following this series. show less

I love the concept of this and this book had me in equal parts intrigued and confused. Intrigued, because of the different species and dynamics and plots at play. Confused, because Kaylin is searching for answers, and her limited knowledge bleeds through the written work to leave the reader equally unnerved and equally longing for answers.

Be prepared to wonder and question most things but love the story.

Definately an interesting read. I'm on to the next installment.

It was really hard for me to decide, once I finished this book, if I really liked the story or not. There were things about the novel that were good, but many that got on my nerves. I came to the conclusion, after some deliberation, that there were two things that irked me about this book.

One was that I had a hard time with the way the main character, Kaylin Neya, acted. She's twenty years old, but through her actions, thoughts, and words, I felt like she was thirteen, which was also a time in her life when traumatic things happened to her. It irritated me how immature she seemed for her age. I'm still not sure if the author did that on purpose or if that's just what the author thinks 20 year olds act and think like. My suspicion is show more that it was done on purpose, trying to show how much the past effects Kaylin, but having said that, it could have been written so much better. Kaylin didn't have to act like a thirteen year old to show that she was still partially stuck in the past. I felt like Kaylin was acting like one of those kids that, after being reprimanded, sticks her tongue out at her disciplinarian when their back is turned.

I also really didn't like the constant mystery and alluding to events that happened in Kaylin's past. The author took way too long to explain the way Kaylin acts towards Severn, a boy she once knew in the "fiefs" (what could be compared to slums), who becomes her partner in a branch of "law enforcers" called the Hawks. During their first encounter after 7 years, she tries to kill him. More than half of the book leaves you wondering what Severn could have done to warrant this type of reaction, and her subsequent treatment of him. This thread of the plot is dragged out much longer than necessary. The reader doesn't find out until well through the 2nd half of the book. The "event" is constantly being referred to without the reader being "allowed" to know what the actual event was.

Other than those two things, the story wasn't half bad. Her other characters were more likeable than Kaylin. The world and types of races that Sagara creates are really rather intriguing, and the actual story line isn't half bad. I just wish that Sagara had taken a different approach to revealing Kaylin's past in the fiefs, as well as making Kaylin a more mature woman. show less

My Review: 6 - Worth Reading, with Reservations

I've been wanting to read this book for quite a long time now. I was familiar with the author through LJ, and when this came out, it seemed like it'd be right up my alley. But I never got it. I waited forever, kept it on my wishlist, but never got around to picking it up. But a couple of years ago, the Christmas fairy delivered it to my doorstep, and it's been waiting on my attentions ever since. Thanks to all of YOU, dear readers, I've finally gotten the motivation to give it a go.

The world-building is fascinating, and the crafting of characters is very well done. Each of the characters stand as individuals, with their own demons driving them. Even if I don't know entirely where they're show more coming from, I don't get the characters confused with one another, not even the minor ones. That's impressive, because the book is told predominantly from a single POV, so there's a lot of secondary, tertiary, and very minor characters to keep track of. And as I said before, the world-building is fascinating. I was quite impressed with the way the world and its magic and races were crafted, and I can see why this book has garnered quite a lot of praise.

However, and you knew this was coming due to the rating, I can't say I ever really connected to the material emotionally. Or intellectually. It took me a while to warm up to the book. I recognized that this is well written, and Sagara doesn't bother spoon-feeding her readers: she makes you wait for your revelations, and furthermore, she forces you to figure things out for yourself. Whereas some writers would come out and just explain what's happening and why, Sagara uses character-building moments that build the tension, so that when the information is given that reveals what's happening, you really feel like you've earned it. My trouble is I felt like I was kept as such a distance the entire book that I really wanted, at some point, was for someone or something to give me a quick pat on the head and confirm what I thought was revealed. I don't need it info-dumped or spelled out in neon lights: just some kind of little confirmation in certain cases would've been great. This may be a me-thing, but it's weird when I finally think I figure out what's going on but feel unsatisfied because the author's been so deft, and so coy with the revelations that it's not like a light bulb turning on with all its dazzling brightness; instead, it's like one of those florescent bulbs that slowly brightens, but flickers while doing so and you're not sure if it's going to die or not.

But there are moments of great beauty in this book: the description of the Dragons (and they're not what you think they are) was utterly fantastic. Then there's the hard-earned relationships that Kaylin has with her co-workers: I really feel those relationships, and the end rang on a fantastic note. So while I'm not rushing out to buy the next installment, I am sufficiently engaged to consider glomming onto this series when that mythical day of my conquering my TBR passes. For those looking for a unique take in the epic fantasy sense, you should consider this. show less

I ended up reading this whole series in one ...well, weeks-long sitting. I had book two sitting on my to-read shelf at home, and just decided to dive right in. Little did I know it wouldn't let me up for breath.

I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the fact that the books are set one right after the other, not with several months in between. I enjoyed the fact that Kaylin just couldn't seem to catch a break, and that even though she had GREAT COSMIC POWERS they were still greatly flawed. She's stubborn, hard-headed, temperamental and insecure. And I enjoyed the fact that Kaylin seems to have to confront her prejudices and insecurities and fold them into herself, and that even after she learns better she's not entirely "fixed."

Anyway. Cool.

The first book in the Chronicles of Elantra introduces Kaylin Neya. She is the youngest member of the Hawks - one of three branches of law enforcement in the city of Elantra. She was born and raised in the lawless fiefs but escaped them as a young teen ager. She bears strange and potentially dangerous marks on her arms and thighs.

She left the fiefs after her protector. an older boy named Severn, killed the two younger children who lived with them. He believed that their deaths were necessary to save Kaylin from being found and sacrificed because of those strange marks.

Kaylin has made a new life for herself among the Hawks. She has learned to read and write. She has learned the two languages she needs for her job as a Hawk. She has show more learned weapons. She has also learned to use her magical ability to heal even though she doesn't understand it. What she hasn't learned is magic or politics or anything else that she doesn't believe has a practical use in her work as a Hawk.

But now the murders of children have begun again in the fief of Nightshade and Kaylin is sent back in with a dragon named Tiamaris and that boy she ran from now grown and also a member of the Hawks. She has to deal with the Barrani outcaste who is Lord Nightshade and she has to track down the ones who are killing children.

To do her job, she has to confront her own magic and learn more about it when little more is known by anyone currently alive.

This was an excellent start to a new fantasy series. I combined reading this one and listening to the Audible recording of the book. Khristine Hvam did an excellent job with the narration. I liked her distinctive voices for the characters. The pacing was also excellent. show less

Kaylin fled Nightshade years ago and found herself a home with the Hawks. She helps police the city of Elantra. However her past has come to haunt her, the past that she tried to run away from.

Slow to start and as it assumes the mileu before starting it is slightly confusing but after a while it did come together in my head and I really enjoyed it, there were occasions where I'm not sure that the author knew exactly where the story was going but once it got going it got there well.