Audiobook23 hours
The River of Shadows
Written by Robert V. S. Redick
Narrated by Michael Page
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
After a harrowing escape from their first landfall in the southern lands and worse disasters in the city where they seek refuge, the crew of the Chathrand discover that the worst imaginable thing has happened: Arunis has stolen the Nilstone. Now our heroes face a terrible choice. They can flee with the crew, and leave Arunis to do what he will-or they can pursue him into the wild, abandoning all but the slimmest chance of ever returning home, and travel the River of Shadows, a waterway rumored to be connected to the spirit realm. They are running out of time before Arunis masters the Nilstone-and unleashes the Swarm of Night into the world.
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Chathrand Voyage
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Titles in the series (4)
The Red Wolf Conspiracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ruling Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River of Shadows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Night of the Swarm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The River of Shadows
Rating: 4.142857142857143 out of 5 stars
4/5
7 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'll be honest, I haven't even finished the book yet (bear with me). This is the third of four books and I've had interesting experiences starting out midstream with such series. I've fallen totally in love with this book and Redick's fast and furious style - this work defines the term "page turner." But after reading 100 wonderful pages (out of almost 600) of byzantine plot, fascinating characters, beautifully described landscapes, and an awesome sea battle ... I want to stop and buy the first two books.This book is easily enjoyable by itself, but it's clear that to get the full experience I need to backtrack. Redick doesn't do a lot of explicit rehashing of the previous volumes, so I'm left scrambling to keep track of characters and places. I actually find it kind of fun in a "puzzle person" sort of way. But I'm enjoying the overall read so much I've decided to do this series right.It's obvious that Redick is not writing for a general reading audience. This is a book for regular fans of the sword and sorcery genre. Someone new to the genre should NOT start mid-stream with this series. Aficionados and current fans of fantasy won't have a problem enjoying this specific book read out of order, but you may end up like me wanting to pony up out of your own pocket to get the earlier works.Just call me a newly hooked fan of this author. Note: The reviewer received a free copy (Advance Uncorrected Proof) of this book via the Amazon.com Vine program.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Book three, which when we first saw this trilogy was supposed to be the end. Shame that it is not. The world and the fantasy as it developed in Red Wolf (book one) showed a very complex structure and a great deal going on. The backstory alone seemed very fascinating. Our hero is thrown on the very ship where his betrayer is, where his nemesis is, and so much more. A great premise, and then the worst evil imaginable is also resident as well as lovable characters too. The author then tried to expand on that in the second book where we learn that what we thought were character motivations are stood on their ear and new background detail is revealed.Fine. Now wrap it up. But no. Redick doesn't. He wants to throw in several wrenches and the kitchen sink. Evil, well of course this evil has been around for a long time. But wait, there is worse and others around as well that we forgot to mention in the first two books. And since we are going to have a fourth or more books, why not twist and twist the plot again.That makes the whole seem amateurish. The Editor should have said at this point that the story needs to be dealt with better. To make an analogy, here we are in the midst of WWII, we find that Holocaust exists as news gets to FDR about it, and then the twist (that I am just making up and never happened) that we find that everyone in the Third Reich but Hitler has a heart of gold, or that Himmler secretly is acting like Schindler or Wallenstein. That is where we are with Redick with 180 degree reversals it feels like, or at least that we are being blindsided with new plot elements that we did not need to get us from point A to point B and finish the series.If you are not a completist, reading this should be a low priority. It does add to character development, but sacrifices world building and plot to take us there. The book feels padded, elements added for no reason that makes any sense to me, and not worth the time to read it. Now, despite how much I liked Red Wolf and put up with Ruling Sea, River has ruined any desire to reread any of the series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I got this for review I thought it was going to be a stand alone book in this series. I had not read the earlier two books. I plowed in and read a little over 100 pages when I decided I would not be able to fully enjoy this without first reading the other books. It has a complex story with complex characters living in complex lands. Redick tries to fill in the blanks and bring you up to date, but it's just not possible. There is too much. Therefore, I ordered and read the first two books and started over on this one. It made a world of difference. The story and the characters were fuller, and what was going on was much easier to understand. There are also various races/species and by reading the entire series the descriptions are greater and you will have a better understanding of who is what, where they came from, and where they fit in. Others have written rather long involved reviews of the story itself, so I will not repeat it here. Suffice it to say it is a well written and full epic fantasy. There is probably more description than action, but enough of both, and there are always carrots hanging out there to lead you along, wanting to see what happens next. I do like this series and will definitely read the next volume when it is released next year.