Shadowland

First off, it is worth pointing out that this is book three of five and according to Rhiannon Lassiter herself “The books make the most sense if you read them in order” which I haven’t. It should also be noted that I do not fall into the “TEEN” category that Oxford University Press has so usefully placed next to the barcode on the back. As a result I think that this review may well have been very different if I had read the books in order or travelled back twenty years in time.

As for reading the books in order I was quite confused at the beginning. This is definitely not a book that can stand on its own and it took me a few pages before I started to get a vague idea about what had gone before. Some Earth children had found show more doors to other planets; so there I was safely in a portal fantasy much like Narnia or the Thomas Covenant books just with more worlds. It also became clear all door connected to a library, that some other characters had come from other worlds and that a city may have been attacked and a trial held in which one character had been frozen and another blinded all of which makes the first two books sound like they had quite a lot going on in them. I am also assuming that there will probably be a lot going on in the next two books as well as all the different plot lines need to be tied up and hopefully there will be a little bit more action to finish it all up with. In terms of book three however there is not a great deal going on. Shadowland is only 200 pages long but I have read 600 page books that have felt quicker to read. Apart from a tiny bit of action at the end of the book, if you can call being chased up a cliff by mist action, there is almost nothing going on here although perhaps I am being a little harsh and to be fair I should mention that there is a lot of talking and walking.

The book is not without its merits, I do like the world and I especially love the fact that a library is a gateway to many worlds and the fact that the library is full of factions, just as I like the fact that there is an organisation called the Wheel that seems intent on taking what it can from the other worlds. There just wasn’t enough said about all of this for my tastes, but then maybe there was plenty in the previous two books. The Characterisation is also pretty good although I did find most of the attitudes a little immature but then this a book about teenagers for teenagers and I am a miserable old sod so what do I know.

I think I would be interested in getting hold of the first book just to see if there is a bit more action and in the hope that things start making a bit more sense but if it drags as much as this one has I don’t think I will be reading book two. show less

I've tried to think of this book from two different perspectives when formulating my opinions: as part of a series I'm familiar with and; as part of a series I'm new to. The conclusion I keep coming back to is that it doesn't quite work as either. Nearly the whole of the first half of this book is recapping the events of the previous two. I know how I feel when a series does this and I already know the characters and back stories - I find it a little bit annoying so I can say with some confidence that this recap would be a little too exhaustive. Now looking from the perspective of someone who was new to the series (as I actually was), the recap was still a tad too much - I found that because it took up so much of the book, I couldn't show more get into the story or characters as much and the 'action' was stalled for too long.

That said, what I did see of the characters I liked and the worlds in which our lead characters are stuck are interesting. The worlds all centre around the 'Great Library' where Doors lead off to different worlds controlled by different factions - personal favourites of mine were the faction who believed in idolising books but NEVER reading them and the faction who was obsessed with making lists and cataloguing books!

There is a nice mixture of politics and magic - Morgan, who was a 'Goth' on Earth is now a powerful witch and Laura aspires to be a manipulative politician (and that isn't an indictment on politicians but on Laura!). The contrast makes for a good range of interpretations of the same characters. I really liked the premise of the book but felt that, as soon as I started to get invested in the story, it was over...

Overall: This would be suited to a younger reader looking for a mild-mannered introduction to fantasy fiction with some 'mild peril' or possibly to someone looking to try out science fiction without investing too much time. show less

Beginning in the Great Library, something of a hub between worlds, SHADOWLAND follows the continuing adventures of four teenagers from Earth and their various non-Earth allies. Most of the action takes place on two very different worlds, Chalice and Fenrisnacht, splitting the main characters into two groups with plots which don't interconnect, but which advance what characters and readers alike know of a group called the Wheel and the threat it poses.

As an author's note at the back of the book warns, SHADOWLAND is not a book with a clear-cut beginning or end. It's abundantly obvious that a great deal has happened to the main characters prior to this book, and that there's a lot more to come. Still, even without having read the previous show more two books in the series, there are enough hints about backstory for SHADOWLAND to be both enjoyable and understandable.

There's certainly a lot to enjoy here, too. The two very different worlds, as well as the Library, are described sparingly but are easy to visual. There's plenty of in the way of action and plot revelations too, with very little unnecessary exposition to slow down the rapid pace. However, it's the characters and their interactions that are at the heart of the book, with Laura's deviousness and Morgan breaking out of her fugue providing the two most fascinating viewpoints.

There are some frustrations, though. Alex's story, in particular, feels like a bit of a placeholder, giving him something to do while he waits for a chance to meet up with the other main characters again. A convincing antagonist is also lacking, as the Wheel are a fairly vague threat and their leader proves too easy to escape from.

Still, there's a lot to recommend SHADOWLAND, particularly for readers who want a believable YA fantasy that doesn't revolve around an unconvincing romance or indeed any fantasy that doesn't take place in a pseudo-Medieval world. I would take the advice of the author's note though and start with the first two books in the series, as I feel SHADOWLAND would be even more satisfying after reading those. show less

After reading Shadowland I reconsidered the title as a possible clue to what was going on in this, the third novel in a linked narrative sequence. Because, at first sight, this is a walking-and-talking tale, with only a couple of action-filled episodes traditionally associated with this genre: the first a rather sudden and unexpected burst of violence, the second the more usual swords and sorcery climax. Shadowland feels transitional in that most of the protagonists, with back-stories in the first two titles, are going through a process of re-evaluation, re-assessing themselves, their colleagues and their relationships. This state of uncertainty may hint at the choice of title; as it stands, I find I'm being slowly drawn into their show more worlds by wondering what will become of them.

The concept of the Doors leading to many worlds is not new of course, but the idea of a Library providing some of the gateways to these worlds is neat if not poetic, while the differing strength of magic in the various worlds must owe much to Diana Wynne Jones, one of Lassiter's favourite authors. It's hard to judge a series by just one link in the chain, but assuming that Shadowland reflects a deliberately insubstantial and transitory section of the whole narrative I would ignore the relatively slow pace and incomplete characterisations and give the remainder of the promising series a chance to develop fully before passing absolute judgement. But after that slow start I warmed to the characters and became intrigued by the worlds they found themselves in.

A final word: Lassiter enjoys words, and names and titles are clearly not chosen at random. Protagonists like Alex and Morgan and places like Fenrisnacht have their roots in ancient history and mythology, and while the reader can enjoy the story without being an etymologist such considerations add immeasurably the pleasure of the experience; I often find that, in affirmation of Life imitating Art, individuals consciously or unconsciously start to live up to their given names. show less

I received this book through the Early Reviewers Programme. I began the book, and quickly found myself at sea in unfamiliar places, characters, and rules. Actually as the book continues there is just about enough to make this work as recap to enable new readers to join an existing series, and for the plot as a whole to more-or-less work as a standalone novel.

However, I put down the book in order to get hold of, and read, the two books that preceded this one, and that made this book much more satisfying, and made it easier to appreciate who everyone was, the various factions in the Library that we know about so far (and what they are, or may be, up to), and where this particular set of plotlines fits in. The first book took place on show more Earth and in the Library (where there are various Doors leading to other worlds), the second in Shattershard, and this one is now in the Libray, Chalice and Fenrisnacht.

The protagonists at the start of the series are: Alex and Laura (siblings, studious on Earth, power hungry and manipulative elsewhere), Morgan (a Goth on Earth, and magic user elsewhere), Zoe (an army child out to make friends on Earth, caught in the machinations of others), Jhezra (rebel from outside of Shattershard), and Kal (the former archon of Shattershard).

By book three there have already been quite a few alliances and splits in this group, and things change yet again in this book. Two agents of Vespertine Chalcedony from Wheel faction become much more fleshed out in this book, and begin to have stories of their own, not just those of their patron or their prisoners - Charm (a mind-reader), and Ciren.

Lisle Weft, currently of the Jurist faction, but formerly many things, becomes involved with the protagonists after their appearance in the Converse Court and their trial. Alex, Morgan, Laura, and Kal receive various kinds of sentences. Ciren and Charm emerge as shadowy guides for Alex and Morgan after their sentence, whilst Laura, Zoe, and Kal speak to Lisle Weft....

I think this book is where the stories start to get really interesting, many things and people are not what they seem, and our main characters have to reassess who they are, what they are doing, and how they are dealing with being trapped in a strange set of worlds with no obvious route back to Earth, and the problems of being involved in wider political schemes . Various factions and worlds want more space and power than they have, and some are more subtle than others about how the get it, whether they break the Library's rules, and whether they are punished for it. Some Library factions are very much in denial about this, which is thoroughly unhelpful.

A thoroughly enjoyable, convoluted read, well written and worth the effort. I look forward to the final two volumes. show less

At first I felt a little disappointed by this book. There was lots of promise built into the beginning although the first half of the novel only seems interested in reintroducing all the characters, worlds and societies. Although it does this well it wasn’t gripping to read.

And then I got into it. The characterisation is strong so that even though they are many characters, I felt as if I knew them all so well. This is probably the biggest strength of the book. I would definitely rate the quality of writing high too apart from the occasional over use of the word ‘and’.

What dragged my rating down was that I didn’t feel like this was a completed book on its own, but more of the first half of a sequel, if that makes sense. I know show more its part three of five in a series, but it felt like a link from the second book to the fourth, with no main even or big twist. The plot is intriguing and if there had been more pages I would have kept reading. I’m considering buying the sequel when it comes out but I don’t feel any need to read the prequels – the first half of this book seems to have summed them up pretty well. Still, I’m thinking of giving this to the school library as I’m sure someone else will enjoy reading this, maybe more than I did.

I didn’t fall in love with this book, but if it was a little longer, I think I probably would have. show less

Shadowland is the third book of the Borderland sequence and consequently not easy to read as a stand-alone story. So many characters are introduced in the opening chapters that I struggled to follow the thread and frequently found myself turning back and re-reading. But I'm glad I perservered. Gradually the characters grew in familiarity and the swift pace and clear descriptive passages opened up a world of magic, curses, danger and mystery. I began to root for the four teenagers, originally from Earth, now trapped in bewildering worlds inter-connected by equally strange doors and passages. I can't help thinking, though, that instead of the planned five books, this series might be better as a trilogy. Shadowland is short, but complex show more and yet not much happens. I might wait until all five are published, begin at the start and see it through to the end. I suspect that there is depth to this story that is not immediately apparent by reading only the middle of the series, so I look forward to a return to it at a future date. show less