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Lord Tophet (Shadowbridge #2)

by Gregory Frost (Goodreads Author)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 171 ratings · 25 reviews

“A sparkling gem of mythic invention and wonder . . . Frost draws richly detailed human characters and embellishes his multilayered stories with intriguing creatures–benevolent sea dragons, trickster foxes, death-eating snakes and capricious gods.”
–Publishers Weekly, on Shadowbridge

Daughter of the legendary shadow-puppeteer Bardsham, Leodora has inherited her father’s skil...more

Paperback, 222 pages

Published July 29th 2008 by Del Rey

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May 17, 2010 Travis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel by Gregory Frost- This is the last book of a two book adventure. The first book is called Shadowbridge. Gregory Frost's other works include; Attack of the Jazz Giants and Other Short Stories, Fitcher's Bride, The Pure Cold Light, Tain, Remscela, and Lyrec.

WARNING: Spoilers for Shadowbridge will be present.

The story picks up right after what ended Shadowbridge. We find Leodora, a shadow-puppeteer under the stage name of Jax who is growing in fame, passing out aft...more Lord Tophet: A Shadowbridge Novel by Gregory Frost- This is the last book of a two book adventure. The first book is called Shadowbridge. Gregory Frost's other works include; Attack of the Jazz Giants and Other Short Stories, Fitcher's Bride, The Pure Cold Light, Tain, Remscela, and Lyrec.

WARNING: Spoilers for Shadowbridge will be present.

The story picks up right after what ended Shadowbridge. We find Leodora, a shadow-puppeteer under the stage name of Jax who is growing in fame, passing out after stepping into a Dragon Bowl, these are places in which gods grant gifts to the people of the Shadowbridge. She finds herself in Edgeworld, the dimension of the gods, or at least that's the conclusion she's under. While there, she has to make a choice, which is never given or explained to her or the reader. After choosing, she is whisked away back to Shadowbridge and her troupe. The mystical musician, Diverus, and her adviser/ promoter, Soter, hurry to pick up her passed out form and take her away before the people of Colemaigne, the span the troupe is currently on, become nosy and violent to find what was gifted. As they take her away, the troupe come across a theater owner named Orinda who takes them back to her theater for safety. As they make their way there, they noticed that Colemaigne is changing. What it once was, a run down ruin of a span, is changing back into the wonder of a place it used to be. When the troupe arrive at Orinda's theater, Orinda informs Soter and Diverus what happened after Soter's last visit when he was with the famous shadow-puppeteer Bardsham, who is Leodora's father. She tells them that show business acts are banned from the span because of what Bardsham caused after Bardsham's troupe left. But since the span was returned to normal by whatever Leodora did, the ban is lifted and the show business can go on again. When Leodora finally awakes, she finds that she has some sort of amulet she didn't have before and discovers it can talk and give her advice, but only in vague riddles. After performing a few times, she and Diverus explore the town and look for stories of the span. She wants to find out more about what she seen before passing out, a dark city beneath the span. As the troupe performs, Leodora's fame continues to grow enough that the ones who caused Colemaigne's ruin come for Jax, thinking that it's Bardsham.

Negatives:
1) Rushed Scenes. Every once and a while, there seemed to be a rushed sequence of events. Usually mundane things that made some of the story and actions hard to follow. For example, towards the middle of the story, Leodora and Diverus are being 'entertained' by a group of people. Everything is fine and understandable, but it soon goes into confusing territory. The leader of these people starts to go off on some tangent that I honestly could not follow and I still can not understand anything that was said. This is due because it was just rushed and hastily explained. This rushed feeling happens a lot it seemed.
2) Vague Descriptions. What goes hand and hand with some of the rushed sequences are some of the descriptions and explanations. Most of the descriptions are wonderful and vivid, yet at the same time there were things that were hard to grasp and visualize. The best example is almost everything that is described in the inverted span. Yes, it would be a little hard grasp the concept that up is down and the sea is sky and most of it was described and explained fairly well. Yet, there were times that things needed a little more detail added. For instance, the fire puppets. You have a full book and a half that has very few things magical and suddenly we are thrown into a world of magic? It wasn't terrible, just disorienting in how these things were described and explained. The whole inverted span just felt vague, and maybe that's the point.
3) One Book. Honestly, this should not have been a two book adventure. The books themselves only are around two hundred to about two hundred and twenty pages apiece. Seeing as the first book is really just filled with stories and back story, and this book expects you to recall most of the first. It just was a poor way to do it.

Positives:
1) Story. Finally, there is a point. I said above that Shadowbridge is basically tales and back story, and everything related to an adventure in that book could have been the prologue of this book, it's nice to see something happen. Don't get me wrong, I loved the tales and back stories in Shadowbridge, but it was missing something. The plot itself is way to simple. Basically, Bardsham made a fool out of a 'god' and that 'god' went after him, and only recently learned of the daughter, Leodora. To put it simply, it's satisfying to actually have something happen other than tales. What I'm trying to say is that it was nice to have a plot.
2) Soter. In the first book, I honestly could really care less about him. He was just a drunk that thought things were out to get him, a one note character. In here he's more defined and a lot more interesting. His tale, towards the end was just wonderful and added a meaning to the story. He's the more memorable of the characters.
3) Left Unsaid. What wasn't said just felt right. The whole time that Leodora and Diverus were in the invert span, what happened in their absence was mostly left up to the reader. The scenes that took place in their absence just set up everything that was going on in Colemaigne. It just felt right. Even the ending felt right. The story felt like one of Jax's tales, where what happens next is a different story.

Side Notes:
1) Characters. Leodora and Diverus as characters fell flat it seemed. Nothing, except a love interest, was adding to them at all. At times, it seemed like they would grow and develop more, but it never went through.
2) Shadowbridge. I really love this setting. It's exciting and I really hope there would be more stories about it someday.
3) Cover Art. It's just like the first, but grittier and darker. I like the general lack of bright colors and it's a stark contrast to Shadowbridge's cover.

Overall: 3/5
Final Thoughts:
Truth be told, this is more of a 3.5 out of 5. This isn't a bad novel by any means, it's just generic. While I liked the fact there was a plot, it was simple and honestly kind of boring. It just was nice to have a point. The characters weren't all that engaging as they were in Shadowbridge. They just were missing everything that made them unique. However, Soter did become more of a character that I like. I do like the feel of the book and how it left you wondering what happens next. Because of that, it kept the spirit of Jax's short tales and how they ended. But the thing that bothers me the most is that it's two books. If it was one full length novel, it would have been wonderful and better. And at times, it felt like it was meant to be one novel. Simply put, it's just average.(less)

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May 08, 2009 Clay rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Lord Tophet" (Del Rey, $14, 216 pages) is a worthy conclusion to the Shadowbridge duology, but since it's billed as "A Shadowbridge Novel," Gregory
Frost may be only beginning his exploration of a world that consists of
spiraling bridges on an ocean planet, bridges that go nowhere but to other bridges and the occasional small island.

There are gods and magic and, of course, it's a pre-industrial society, but
Frost does quite a bit with the familiar setup, and his two-book saga is a
fascinating and...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Kater Cheek rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the sequel to Gregory Frost's book SHADOWBRIDGE, and while you don't necessarily have to read the first one before this one, you ought to. In fact, you ought to have both of them in hand, because the first novel ends on a cliffhanger.

This is a fantasy story for people who love fantasy, and for people who love stories. The world of Shadowbridge is multicultural and multivaried land where gods-created spans criscross the seas between islands. Each span has a dragon bowl, a shallow vessel e...more This is the sequel to Gregory Frost's book SHADOWBRIDGE, and while you don't necessarily have to read the first one before this one, you ought to. In fact, you ought to have both of them in hand, because the first novel ends on a cliffhanger.

This is a fantasy story for people who love fantasy, and for people who love stories. The world of Shadowbridge is multicultural and multivaried land where gods-created spans criscross the seas between islands. Each span has a dragon bowl, a shallow vessel extending out over the edge. Sometimes, the gods will come and give blessings to anyone who happens to be standing in the bowl. The gods also curse, however, and that's the main focus of this novel.

Leodara, performing under the name Jax, is a shadow puppeteer whose fame has been growing as people compare her to her talented father Bardsham. Bardsham and Leodara's mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and Leodara thinks she's come to the root of those circumstances when she and Diverus (the troupe's musician) come to a ruined temple, now made whole again when Leodara--okay, I'd better stop here, because it's going to spoil the plot for anyone who's read the first one and wanted to know what happened.

The story of Jax is not the best part of this novel. Sure, Jax has love and adventure and death and tragedy and escape and all that, but I feel that the real strength of the novel is in the folktales that dot the novel like raisins in pudding. How you feel about this novel will depend largely upon how much you like folktales. They do feel like folktales more than anything else, bare bones plot with caricature-like figures and implausible events. It feels like reading the mythology of a foreign culture. If you like folktales, you'll probably love this aspect of the novel. I don't care for folktales, so this was kind of a drawback for me.

I adore the fact that the heroine is a puppeteer. I've read oodles of stories about talented musicians, whose music is somehow good enough to alter reality, but I've never heard of a puppeteer's art being lauded in comparable terms. I also enjoyed the multivaried sort of monsters. Mermaid-like creatures have mouths full of fish-teeth, sphinx-like creatures entrance you into pleasure and then suck out your soul. Dark gods turn people to stone. I also liked the relation to the people and their stories, the way that stories contain a grain of truth which Jax uses to--but I won't spoil that part for you. Find out for yourself.
(less)

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Nov 19, 2008 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lord Tophet is the second and last book in the Shadow Bridge setting. This novel finishes telling the tale of Leodora and her past. I have to say I enjoyed the second book more than the first. In this novel there are not as many short stories told in the main tale, which means that there are not as many pause in the main story. The tale moves at a faster pace and has more action. I found myself enjoying how Leodora story and her parents past unfold in the novel. My only big disappointment is tha...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Wm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

Lyrical and haunting and a fairly decent conclusion to the (two-book) series (and is more like three and a half stars than three). As with the first volume, my complaint is that the stories-within-the-story are more interesting than the main narrative. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this one more, though -- it really is a fascinating world. I would have liked it to have been sketched a little bit more transparently, and the ending is somewhat anti-climactic and rushed, but on the whole it hits that...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, books-i-own

(review originally posted on my livejournal account: http://intoyourlungs.livejournal.com)

Back in February, I read Shadowbridge for calico_reaction's February Dare and really liked it. Before I even finished Shadowbridge I went out and bought Lord Tophet. I had originally intended to read Lord Tophet as soon as I finished Shadowbridge, but March got super hectic with school and then April was even worse. I suppose I could have read it a bit sooner than now, but oh well, it doesn't really matter,...more (review originally posted on my livejournal account: http://intoyourlungs.livejournal.com)

Back in February, I read Shadowbridge for calico_reaction's February Dare and really liked it. Before I even finished Shadowbridge I went out and bought Lord Tophet. I had originally intended to read Lord Tophet as soon as I finished Shadowbridge, but March got super hectic with school and then April was even worse. I suppose I could have read it a bit sooner than now, but oh well, it doesn't really matter, because I finally got to it! I'm glad I didn't wait much longer to read this, because Lord Tophet picks up *right* where Shadowbridge left off (which was a huge cliffhanger by the way.)

My number one favorite thing about this duology is its focus on stories, and how stories/fables/tales/whathaveyou can shape a people and a culture, and how stories change over time because of culture. It also helps that these stories are some of the most beautifully realized fairy tales I've ever read. They're all imbued with this magical quality that I found mesmerizing. Leodora's story, while not written in quite the same way, feels very much like these tales that she conveys to the people through her puppets -- it's full of magic. The only story I found kind of odd was the story of Meersh and his talking penis. That ... uhh.. caught me off guard? Still a great tale, I've just never read a story with so much focus on a talking male member.

Leodora has definitely made it on my list of "Favorite Literary Heroines". She's headstrong and resourceful without having to fall into that "female badass" mold. No wonder Diverus had such a crush on her -- she is quite the lady. Soter drove me crazy with how mean he was to Diverus, who did nothing to deserve it, and with his overall surliness. He did however redeem himself quite a bit by the end when he finally spills the beans to Leodora about her parents' demise and his relationship to them both.

There's a bit of romance between Leodora and Diverus, and while I do think they'd make a very cute couple, I'm glad Frost didn't focus on it TOO much. I'm not sure why I feel that way, but I do, and I think Frost handled it perfectly.

And the ending. How I love the ending. It was seriously perfect. :)

Final Verdict: This is a very short review, but I'm really not too sure what else to say. Most of my feelings for this book were said in my review of Shadowbridge, and really, this feels like I'm reading the same book, seeing as its a very, VERY direct sequel. Frost has created a unique vein of fantasy with these two novels that highlight the magic behind stories and their malleability. The world-building, like the first volume, is stellar and has all kinds of magic and wonder at every turn that I absolutely loved. Like Pullman, Frost blows me away with his imaginativeness. This duology also boasts a cast of memorable characters, especially Leodora, whom I love quite dearly. I definitely recommend everyone to check this series out; it's just too bad it was published as a duology when it really could've been one volume. That being said, for the love of god, do NOT read Lord Tophet without having read Shadowbridge first. You'll be very, VERY confused if you do. (less)

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Mar 26, 2013 TalonWyrm rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've met Greg Frost and in person, he's a fun and interesting fellow. But I simply can't read his work with any enjoyment. It's like reading a treatise by an academic on what writing should do. There are obviously too many levels of self-imposed symbolism and allegory. The prose is dense and deep, requiring intense concentration to decipher sentences. I've tried many times over the past several years to finish this book. I restarted and slugged my way through the first book, Shadowbridge, in ord...more

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Sep 11, 2008 Juushika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: status-borrowed

Continuing where Shadowbridge left off, Lord Tophet follows Leodora and her companions as they begin on a new spiral, storytelling and rebuilding Leodora's reputation. But this time, Leodora is marked by the gods and tracked by Lord Tophet himself, who seeks to destroy Leodora and will bring entire spans to ruin just to reach her. This sequel (more accurately, the second half of a single story) puts less emphasis on premise and world building and greater emphasis on plot and themes. As a result,...more Continuing where Shadowbridge left off, Lord Tophet follows Leodora and her companions as they begin on a new spiral, storytelling and rebuilding Leodora's reputation. But this time, Leodora is marked by the gods and tracked by Lord Tophet himself, who seeks to destroy Leodora and will bring entire spans to ruin just to reach her. This sequel (more accurately, the second half of a single story) puts less emphasis on premise and world building and greater emphasis on plot and themes. As a result, it lacks some of the magic conjured by the world of Shadowbridge, but it tells a stronger story. That story didn't quite capture me, but it's good overall and an enjoyable conclusion to the Shadowbridge duology. I recommend both books.

It's a rare day when I prefer world building to storytelling, but today I do. The world of Shadowbridge, so vividly created in the first book, is remarkable, imaginative, and truly magical. Lord Tophet expands that world with new settings and backstory, but for the most part it leaves world building behind to focus on the plot. This is a necessary change, of course, but still a sad one. I miss discovering the world of Shadowbridge, and I wish that its new aspects uncovered in this sequel were a better fit to prior exploration. Much of the world building that exists concentrates not on Shadowbridge but on its mythical underworld, skewing the story in an unexpected and, sadly, less interesting direction. Meanwhile, the plot that fills and finishes the book walks directly into the territory of history (and Leodora's father) and magic, gods, and underworlds. As a result, the plot is vast and meaningfulbut it also strays a bit too far from Leodora. Finally, the book ends abruptly, nearly abandoning Leodora and instead emphasizing the themes which (although strong) aren't as interesting as a character would be.

While Shadowbridge, despite being all concept and no execution, captured me in its rich and imaginative world building, the plot of Lord Tophet, despite its wonderful themes and overall strength, failed to have the same effect. It didn't capture and delight meto the same extent, anyway. It's still quite good, though: it's a welcome second half to the story, the emphasis on plot develops into some truly admirable themes about the powers of creation, destruction, and the ability to chose between the two, and the world of Shadowbridge remains, if in less detail, still magical and engaging. I wish that the story had of this second book had remained closer to the premise of the first (and I wish that the two books had been published in one volume), but I still enjoyed Lord Tophet and the Shadowbridge duology as a whole. I recommend both books, because the world building is simply too wonderful to pass up and they deserve a wider audience.(less)

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Jul 29, 2009 lynne naranek rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

The second of the Shadowbridge "duology"; here we finally find out - sorta - what happened in the past that caused the assumed death of Lea/Jax's parents. I found myself being rather impatient with this book ("just get to the punchline already!"). Again 2 stars.

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Jan 02, 2010 Isk rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ugh. Absolutely no reason for the two books to have been split in two. Ugh.
The romance between Diverus and Leodora was absolutely awful.
The mirror city was stupid.
The evil chasing after them was dumb.
A lot worse than the first book.

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Apr 13, 2009 Jocelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

The sequel to Shadowbridge. This book ties up the ends of the first novel and had more of a focus than the first. The settings of the world is great, but the ending is rather abrupt.

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Aug 08, 2011 Craig rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm still not entirely certain how I feel about this series. On the one hand, I love the world it's set in - on the other hand, I'm fairly ambivalent about the story. It seemed rushed at times, and I didn't feel quite satisfied by the ending. I feel like my opinion might change after a reread, though...

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Jul 26, 2010 Mary Robinette Kowal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ebook

Very enjoyable. What I'm enjoying most about this series is the way Frost uses the embedded stories to tell us more about the world. Plus, it's nice to see a puppeteer protagonist with a fairly decent understanding of how puppetry works.

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Feb 18, 2009 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/08...

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Jan 20, 2009 Jackson rated it 5 of 5 stars

The ending was very sudden, but it was an amazing book still. I love the little romance between Leodora and Diverus, it's very sweet. Too bad we didn't get to see them expand that relationship.

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Feb 02, 2009 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

For all the build up and twists, it just didn't satisfy my interest.

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Jun 04, 2010 Valerie marked it as to-read Recommends it for: Holly, Vicki, Deborah, Cassi, Jeannette

I want to read this but my library doesn't own it. The first in the series was very good. Hmmm, Holly?

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Apr 03, 2009 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Not for young readers. Some sexual content.

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May 25, 2012 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Book 2. Threw in the Wild Hunt....

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Apr 29, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

an excellent book. even better than the first one.

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Sep 19, 2008 Kelly B rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

This is the second book of the Shadowbridge series, and apparently, the final one, which is kind of annoying. Why couldn't this have just been all one book? It seems dumb to make it two. Anyway, it was good, consistent with the first one. Nothing crazy or outstanding, just pleasantly entertaining.

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Oct 01, 2009 Ann Wilkes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Full review at Mostly Fiction: Mostly Fiction

Author interview at Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot...

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Jun 20, 2009 Raja rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The ending fits, but it feels like about 3/4 of the way through this one Frost realized he had to wrap it up and gave us an infodump followed by an immediate conclusion. The pacing at the end was very different from the rest of the book.

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Oct 03, 2010 Toby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, own

I really enjoyed these novels, though I think they could have been one single book.

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Sep 03, 2008 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 01, 2008 courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

so far, i am enjoying this as much as shadowbridge...

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May 17, 2013 Isaac marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Charlotte English marked it as to-read

May 13, 2013 Legodigo marked it as to-read

May 11, 2013 Bryce rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Gregory Frost

Gregory Frost is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and thrillers. He directs the fiction writing workshop at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Workshop, he has taught at Clarion several times, including the first session following its move to the University of California at Sa...more

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Lord Tophet (Shadowbridge #2)

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