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Shadowplay (Shadowmarch #2)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 2,920 ratings · 131 reviews

A year ago, the March Kingdoms were at peace, the Eddon family held the throne, and all was right in Southmarch Castle and the north of the world. Now the family has been shattered. King Olin Eddon is a prisoner in a faraway land. Olin's heir Kendrick is dead - slain by treachery and dark, bloody magic - and Kendric's younger brother and sister have barely escaped several...more A year ago, the March Kingdoms were at peace, the Eddon family held the throne, and all was right in Southmarch Castle and the north of the world. Now the family has been shattered. King Olin Eddon is a prisoner in a faraway land. Olin's heir Kendrick is dead - slain by treachery and dark, bloody magic - and Kendric's younger brother and sister have barely escaped several attempts on their own lives. With their father and brother taken from them, the royal twins Barrick and Briony have done their best to hold the kingdom together, but now Barrick has been captured in a failed war against the immortal Twilight People and Briony has been forced to flee the castle. Everywhere in the north the fierce Twilight People, led by the ageless warrior-witch Yasammez, hold sway. Old magics are stirring beneath the ancient castle and behind the Shadowline, and the machinations of gods, fairies, and mortals threaten to spread devastation across the entire world. Meanwhile, the Autarch, the insane god-king of the southern continent, has set in motion his plan to bring the entire northern world - and most especially Southmarch Castle - under his way. Behind the Shadowline, Prince Barrick Eddon of Southmarch is lost and spellbound in the land of the fairies. Though he has barely begun to uncover the strange secrets of his own past, Barrick must also solve the mystery of his even stranger destiny - a destiny which will lead him to places no man has ever gone and force him to take on a burden even the greatest hero couldn't bear - preserving the lives of all humans and fairy-folk. As she flees Southmarch, Princess Briony finds both allies and deadly enemies in unexpected places far from the land of her birth. In her quest to survive and win back her family's throne she encounters spies and murderers, traveling players and ancient gods. During their desperate journeys the twins discover that even a land's rulers may know little of its true history, and that both families and nations can hide dark and terrible secrets. But even if Barrick and Briony survive learning the astonishing truths at the heart of their own family and of Southmarch itself, they must still find a way to do the impossible - they must reclaim their kingdom and rescue their home and people from a multitude of powerful enemies - from traitors, tyrants, a god-king, and even the angry gods themselves.(less)

Hardcover, 656 pages

Published March 6th 2007 by DAW Hardcover (first published January 1st 2007)

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Jul 21, 2012 William Bentrim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shadowplay by Tad Williams

The book chronicles the clash between Fae and Mortal as well as the machinations of a China like empire. As I mentioned after the first book in the series, Shadowmarch, this book has a bit of the flavor of the last Williams book I read, The War of the Flowers. The story continues where Shadowmarch left off.

Repeating myself from the Shadowmarch review, the complexity of Williams world crafting is just amazing. He provides detail and then he provides details on the detai...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Marilyn Fontane rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes fantasy enough to read at least 4 long, long books.

Shelves: fantasy

Shadowoplay is even more of a second book in a tetrology, rather than in a series, than Shadowmarch was a first novel. Not only are you left hanging, but if I hadn't read the first book, I wouldn't ever be able to guess what was what (even with the synopsis at the beginning). There are many plots which switch back and forth. Just when you are getting somewhere with one and anxious to find out what will happen, you switch to another and the same anxiety for the entirely different set of character...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

A foul raven that talks. A giant demi-god with part of his face missing enslaving manlike beasts in an effort to unearth a massive subterranean gate and punch a hole into the land of the sleeping gods. Tad Williams deepens his story and throws in a few unusual elements (retaining others, such as the human finger-tall Rooftoppers) in the second of his Shadowmarch novels, "Shadowplay." Though he again keeps the proceedings leisurely paced and detailed, the author starts to pull the coverings off h...more A foul raven that talks. A giant demi-god with part of his face missing enslaving manlike beasts in an effort to unearth a massive subterranean gate and punch a hole into the land of the sleeping gods. Tad Williams deepens his story and throws in a few unusual elements (retaining others, such as the human finger-tall Rooftoppers) in the second of his Shadowmarch novels, "Shadowplay." Though he again keeps the proceedings leisurely paced and detailed, the author starts to pull the coverings off his mysteries, makes the story less choppy by staying with plot strands longer and enriches his characters. And, in the end, that's what bumps "Shadowplay" above its predecessor: Williams' meticulous building of these people and their world clearly is a big part of what he's aiming for.

"Shadowplay" is, to an extent, about exiles. Twin teen royals Briony and Barrick Eddon certainly are that, with the near-immortal Qar entrenched outside Southmarch castle and Hendon Tolly, a nefarious relation, having seized power and driven Princess Briony to flee for her life; with Barrick, his protector and a faceless Qar named Gyir on an errand in the misty, shifty shadow realm of the Qar to deliver a powerful mirror to the Qar rulers. If Barrick and company fail, the merciless general Yasammez will attack Southmarch castle. Williams expends many, many pages on Barrick, Gyir and Ferras Vansen's travails and capture, but like most of these plot threads, it pays fantastic dividends by book's end. Briony, meanwhile, takes up with a troop of roving theatrical players, hiding her identity while her subjects back in Southmarch believe her dead. Not very exciting, but Williams invests time in her character.

Then there's the further machinations of the Autarch of Xis, Sulepis, seeking to conquer the known world and mysteriously obsessed with one of his escaped wives, Qinnitan, who is stalked by the Autarch's ruthless mercenary killer. Thankfully, Williams expends fewer pages this time out on one of the weaker parts of the tale, the Funderling Chert and his wife. He also resists creating oodles of new characters to follow, instead expanding on earlier minor characters to the benefit of the story.

Those clamoring for a substantial quickening of pace will be disappointed; Williams is languid and complete in his approach. But his writing is better and the story has more focus, as if he is more involved than in the previous novel. Williams continues somewhat annoying chapter lead-ins, however. "Shadowmarch" has rather stream-of-consciousness literary excerpts; "Shadowplay" gives us many paragraphs of the history of the gods that no one can be expected to remember. These gods are barely hinted at in the opening novel, but obviously are playing larger roles with each succeeding volume. While I'm complaining, the cover art of the four novels (American versions) is blah. Four depictions of castles, several much the same. What does that do for us?

Despite the still-present flaws, Williams' story is getting richer. When focused, he is one of the fantasy genre's best writers. On to "Shadowrise."(less)

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Apr 02, 2011 Margaret Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch trilogy is a guilty pleasure of mine.

The trouble with plain-vanilla high fantasy is that it’s been done so much that none of the new stuff is particularly original anymore, and Shadowmarch is no exception. You’ve got your castle, you’ve got your conniving nobles, you’ve got your twin royals sent into exile, and the army of fairies that would like to take over said castle. Add to that a good sprinkling of battle scenes, women wearing trousers (shocking!) and a black guy...more Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch trilogy is a guilty pleasure of mine.

The trouble with plain-vanilla high fantasy is that it’s been done so much that none of the new stuff is particularly original anymore, and Shadowmarch is no exception. You’ve got your castle, you’ve got your conniving nobles, you’ve got your twin royals sent into exile, and the army of fairies that would like to take over said castle. Add to that a good sprinkling of battle scenes, women wearing trousers (shocking!) and a black guy who comes from Very Far Away and everybody thinks he’s incredibly exotic. Heck, the book’s even got dwarves. He calls them Funderlings but I know what you’re getting at, Mr. Williams.

On top of that, it’s got a sprawling Los Angeles of a plot. If you were planning on reading Shadowmarch and Shadowplay, I hope you weren’t in too much of a hurry because Tad Williams is going to bloody well take as long as he pleases to get where he’s going. The first two books of the expected trilogy, which are really one story split into two volumes to make them possible to lift, are at 1000 pages and counting. He has … let’s see, now … at least twelve POV characters. This is the sort of book that comes supplied with an index at the end.

Conditions like this typically make me want to throw the book across the room. So why can’t I stop reading?

It’s the characters. To tell the truth, Tad Williams is a talented storyteller. About halfway through the first volume I’d had just about enough of Prince Barrick whining about some family curse and I was on the point of throwing the book across the room. But– but– what was going to happen to Chert Blue Quartz? He isn’t some high-strung noble at all, but this, er, dwarf who’s just trying to do his job as a repairman to the vaults under the city. It’s obvious his wife Opal is the light of his life, he’s worried about this human kid he’s semi-adopted, and he’d really rather not get caught up in all the castle’s machinations and probably killed. Was Chert going to be okay?

Williams has such a knack for warm, human, likable characters that you want to forgive him everything. Yes, even the saucy barmaid. And the buffoonish poet. And the princess who’s pretending to be a boy. Even though they sound like stereotypes, they come across as real people.

And did I mention that Gyir is awesome? He’s a fairy. And if you confuse him with the sugar-dust-and-tutu type of fairy it’ll probably be the last thing you do. He’s a badass sword-wielding human-sized dude, one of the Fey Folk, from out of those old folktales where people called fairies the “good people” because they were so terrified of offending them. He doesn’t have any nose or mouth, so he breathes out of slits just behind his ears.

The second volume, Shadowplay, has so much more to offer than the first. The Shadowmarch trilogy is the opposite of those trilogies that sag in the middle; now that Williams has finished introducing us to everybody, which took him 500 pages or so, interesting things are starting to happen. There is something to be said for letting things unfold organically like this. The people in this world start to feel like old friends of yours. The last scene had me pumping the air when a certain highly sympathetic Vuttlander does not get killed off by the plot yet*. The final irony is that nobody knows when the third book in the trilogy, Shadowrise, is going to be published.

Is everybody going to be okay?

* I would bet money that Captain Vansen is going to bite it. It’s like he’s walking around with a bull’s-eye taped to his armor.(less)

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Apr 01, 2011 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Book 2 of the Shadow tetralogy (mmmph...applying such a recondite word to this workmanlike slog of a fantasy series seems silly) picks up the pace a little from the bad parts of the first book, but is still not exactly a brilliant, inspiring masterwork. Let me see. I just read Books 2 and 3 in the course of a transatlantic flight and my first few days in Europe while I've had bronchitis, constipation, and a horrific fever that comes and goes, so it's hard to pull the two books apart in my mind,...more Book 2 of the Shadow tetralogy (mmmph...applying such a recondite word to this workmanlike slog of a fantasy series seems silly) picks up the pace a little from the bad parts of the first book, but is still not exactly a brilliant, inspiring masterwork. Let me see. I just read Books 2 and 3 in the course of a transatlantic flight and my first few days in Europe while I've had bronchitis, constipation, and a horrific fever that comes and goes, so it's hard to pull the two books apart in my mind, but here goes.

Plot: The Wheel of Time, for better and worse, is probably the dominant fantasy series of the last twenty years, and illustrates both towering heights and soul-crushing depths of plotting. Literally thousands of pages occupy each moderately devoted fan's shelves that are COMPLETE WASTES OF FUCKING SPACE, WHERE NO PLOTLINE IS ADVANCED OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE--WHY, O GOD, WHY?...cough, cough...sorry about that. Suffice it to say that I refer to this sin (permitted to established fantasy authors and perhaps others whose reputation intimidates someone into publishing their work without subjecting it to serious editorial critique) as "Perrin slogging through the snow." Perrin slogs through a lot of damn snow in these first two books, and some characters' POVs continue to do so into the third, but let us not get too far afield. The author's dipshit habit of ending a chapter at the climax of a dangerous scene, flipping through ~5 POVs, then coming back to the scene with all the tension dispelled and interest dissipated, continues full force, although you get numb to it (or maybe I'm just self-medicating that heavily).

On the other hand, while there are certainly verisimilitude gaffes, the bloody asinine facer of "the Pact of the Glass" mercifully remains unique to the first book. Indeed, Tad starts pulling up lines of plot/history (bleeding into setting, as fantasy novels by their nature must do) that begin to make the world and the books' plot much more interesting. A lot of time is wasted in the Barrick/Vansen POV, but it has some really interesting revelations about the world and the course of events.

Characters: Let's see...the POV characters are Briony, Barrick/Vansen (together for this book), Chert, Quinnitan, Matty Tinwright, Pinimmon Vash...there's more, but that's enough to go on with. There are definitely too many POV characters for a four book series, but for a hackmanlike piece of standard early 21st century fantasy, the characters are all pretty solid and believable if you add 5-7 years to the teenage characters' ages (MOST of the time, and by the standards of fantasy literature, that is a triumph of characterization, even if the choice to have three teenage POV characters is predictably tiresome).

Setting: The depth of the world gets better. It's not a world I'd ever create or want to write in, but I come to respect it as a piece of fantasy craftsmanship.(less)

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Aug 21, 2011 Aleah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The ruling family of Southmarch has been scattered. King Olin Eddon remains a prisoner of the traitorous Lord Protector of Hierosol while his daughter, the Princess Briony, is chased from her childhood home by the family's power hungry cousins. All the while Briony's beloved twin, Prince Barrick, follows an ill-fated compulsion that's been laid on him by a powerful Qar warrioress. As Barrick blindly and eagerly does her bidding this fierce mistress sits at the front gate of his castle home with...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Newton Tio Nitro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Muito melhor que o primeiro,fantástica descrição dos povos feérico!

O primeiro livro da saga Shadowmarch teve um andamento mais lento, porém fez um bom trabalho para estabelecer o cenário e os personagens principais da trama, mesmo com um final emocionante. Em Shadowrise, Tad Williams melhora muito no andamento, e possui passagens memoráveis. O que era mais sombrio anteriormente fica muito mais sombrio nesse volume. A descrição dos estranhos Qaar, o povo feérico é algo genial, fantástico e bem or...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Desolation Culture rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Truth is like a great mirror shattered by time in to a hundred-thousand pieces, which enables all who possess a small fragment to declare, my religion-truth is the true one." - Sufi Gibrail Khan.

This quote from a Sufi poet, describes I think something of the vision behind William's Epic tale. Far more than in the first volume, you see in Shadowplay how each race and group in this story hold a shattered fragment of the truth of their world. In fact the start of each chapter in the book has quote...more "Truth is like a great mirror shattered by time in to a hundred-thousand pieces, which enables all who possess a small fragment to declare, my religion-truth is the true one." - Sufi Gibrail Khan.

This quote from a Sufi poet, describes I think something of the vision behind William's Epic tale. Far more than in the first volume, you see in Shadowplay how each race and group in this story hold a shattered fragment of the truth of their world. In fact the start of each chapter in the book has quotes and excerpts not dissimilar to this one; from the teachings of the various religious traditions in the world of William's devising.

Each of the characters - be they dark skinned or light skinned humans, of the fairy folk, the dwarf like funderlings or the miniature Tom Thumb-esque rooftoppers - forms part of an intricate web, bringing together not just the characters as individuals, but something of their distinct cultural perspectives as well. As with Shadowmarch, all of this is skilfully done and set to a great backdrop of political manoeuvring and impending warfare.

Events in the lives of the key characters unsurprisingly take a turn for the worse in Shadowplay, and a few new characters are introduced as well, expanding on an already large cast. The threat against the peoples of Eion from the Southern empire of Great Xis and its tyranical ruler, The Autarch Sulepsis III, grows greatly. Much of Shadowplay takes place for the first time in the city of Hierosol, the next prize coveted by the despotic armies of the god-king. As we are introduced to this new setting we also learn about the fate of the kidnapped Southmarch Monarch Olin.

Shadowplay also reveals a lot more about the viewpoint of the fairy Qar, and we see much more of the landscape behind the Shadowline. Along the way we glimpse something of the complexities of this world. The Qar are my favourite characters in the book, and I love the way William's brings this setting to life.

Many of the key characters find themselves in new environments, and for the first time you get the feel of adventuring in the classic fantasy sense. Having said that, I found some of these sections of the book a little distracting, wishing events would move more quickly to the bigger events occurring in the world.

The second book in a fantasy series can often be difficult. After the initial thrust of the opening title, and with perhaps many volumes to go before the story concludes; second volumes often get bogged down in establishing events rather than advancing the story noticeably. This is also true of Shadowplay to a certain extent.

The story does advance, and certainly in the first third of the book events happen fairly quicky, but after a while the book begins to sag just a little. You become much more consciously aware of situations being set-up, background information being doled out and such like. Non-the-less the revelations for the most part feel necessary. The actual vision of the world being created is wonderful. You begin to see for the first time in this volume something of the scope of the story and the nature of the threat looming in front of the protagonists. We also learn a lot more about the gods of this world, even being introduced to a couple of demi-gods.

Despite the slight lull in the middle of this book, I am really enjoying this series. As I read more, I am drawn into the possibilities of where William's may take his tale. The world is rich, the characters diverse and the story embedded with a sense of mystery and intrigue. For such a large and in many ways complex story Shadowplay is remarkably easy to read, containing depth without ever being turgid or overly dense. Shadowplay is an excellent follow-up to Shadowmarch, and does a great job of setting up events for the third volume. By the time Shadowplay concluded I was left eagerly awaiting more of William's epic vision.(less)

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Jul 23, 2011 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Published 2007. My fav character at the moment is Skurn - the talking raven. So many cliff hangers in the last part of the book. I just hope that I remember these when I get Vol 3. Compared to the book before this (Ash), this read went fairly quickly and held my attention all the way through. Gyir is a great character too. Vansen -well, bless, the type of man who courageously follows through on his sense of honour. Barrack - still not fond of although sympathy has arisen more for him in this vol...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Still moving along pretty well, although this one felt a bit more uneven than the first. Ferras, Briony, and Chert remain appealing and sympathetic, and Sulepis (whose name gets stuck in my head, thanks, Tad) is genuinely the most terrifying piece of the book. However, with this many characters and plot threads to deal with, there had to be weaknesses somewhere. The introduction of the gods in book 2 seemed to come out of nowhere, and the formerly-absent King Olin reads as cardboard, with some p...more

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Apr 21, 2009 Tamara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, own

AAAgh!! Now I have to wait for the third one.

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Aug 19, 2012 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent followup to Shadowmarch! I really miss having fantasy elements and adventure in epic fantasy novels these days. So many are political intrigue novels that, while they are enjoyable as well, don't quite live up to my favourite because they simply don't have enough magical elements. My favourites are still the stories that take me to strange new lands, with magical (scary, cute or otherwise) creatures, where characters learn about themselves on a quest-like adventure. The trend these day...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Rich Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: williams-tad

As I expected, Shadowplay, the second book in the Shadowmarch series was a far more entertaining read than the first one. We start to actually see the fairies as more than just a concept and begin to understand more of the world and the people in it. One of the things I like about Tad Williams and is evident here, is his ability to slowly build the entire picture as you work your way through the story. Yes, for those who read my review of Shadowmarch, that can make for a lot of intro without a l...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Justin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, fantasy, own

Shadowplay is the second book in Tad Williams' massive epic fantasy series, Shadowmarch. The plot was just starting to get really interesting when the first book ended, so I was eager to start Shadowplay. Things have gone awry in the March Kingdoms. Book two starts in chaos and things only go downhill from there. I'm not normally a reader of classic epic fantasy, since I often find things like family lineage, court politics and over-dramatic heroic battles boring. This series has all of this, bu...more Shadowplay is the second book in Tad Williams' massive epic fantasy series, Shadowmarch. The plot was just starting to get really interesting when the first book ended, so I was eager to start Shadowplay. Things have gone awry in the March Kingdoms. Book two starts in chaos and things only go downhill from there. I'm not normally a reader of classic epic fantasy, since I often find things like family lineage, court politics and over-dramatic heroic battles boring. This series has all of this, but this time it seems to work for me. I'm being entertained despite the fact that this is territory I've visited many times before.

The story picks up right where Shadowmarch left off. You would think the second book in such a massive series would suffer a bit form middle book syndrome, but Shadowplay does not lull in the least. The point of view switches between several characters as they each deal with the changing world around them, so this keeps the story fresh without getting confusing.

There is a simple purity to Tad Williams' writing that's difficult to put my finger on, but the characters are what really make Shadowplay great. Princess Briony is continually challenged to adapt to new situations. The annoying independent streak she displayed as a noble child is the only thing keeping her alive as she fumbles through the places she now finds herself in. Then there is her twin brother Barak, who is not as likable. In fact, Barak is probably the least likable character in the entire story. The fact that his storyline pairs him with two other very strong characters is the only thing that keeps me from losing interest in him entirely. There are many other characters we follow as well, and all of them have their own enjoyable qualities that add to the overall narrative.

I have often been told that Tad Williams is an amazing writer, and it was that reputation alone that got me started on this series. I'm certainly glad I gave it a chance. I listened to this on audiobook by Brilliance Audio. It was narrated by Dick Hill, who does a wonderful job. Every character has a unique voice (that is very difficult to do when you have so many characters). Mr. Hill makes it a fun and exciting listen. I will be sure to keep my eye out for more books read by Hill.

—Justin Blazier for fatansyliterature.com
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Feb 10, 2012 Scott Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tad Williams remains the most criminally underappreciated writer in fantasy. Shadowplay deepens and enriches the world of Shadowmarch as a good sequel should. The curtain rises on the continent of Eion outside Southmarch and the city of Xis. The theological history is pieced together through chapter headings that offer competing mythical interpretations of the events of creation and what the characters call the Trigonate "Theomachy." And Williams continues to spin a powerful yarn that centers ar...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A great step-up from its prequel Shadowmarch, Shadowplay continues the complex story of the Kingdom of Southmarch and related events. Things that played little to no role in the first book are really at the forefront here. I have to admit that the epigraphs at the start of each chapter were pretty much one of my favorite aspects of this book. Throughout the book, the epigraphs depict the same story of the Godswar of the Onyenai gods and the Surazemai gods, just viewed from three different viewpo...more

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May 13, 2008 John rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fastasy Readers, Historical fiction readers who enjoy fantasy

Shelves: fantasy

This is the second book in Tad Williams's Shadowmarch trilogy, and picks up where Shadowmarch left off. As the second book in a trilogy, it has neither a beginning nor an end, but it does have lots of surprises and twists. The characters go through many changes, as does their world. The fantasy element mixes a very alien, almost Lovecraftian, fey and an epic story of a huge pantheon with many and varied gods. I think it's safe to say if you enjoyed the first book, you will want to read this as...more This is the second book in Tad Williams's Shadowmarch trilogy, and picks up where Shadowmarch left off. As the second book in a trilogy, it has neither a beginning nor an end, but it does have lots of surprises and twists. The characters go through many changes, as does their world. The fantasy element mixes a very alien, almost Lovecraftian, fey and an epic story of a huge pantheon with many and varied gods. I think it's safe to say if you enjoyed the first book, you will want to read this as well. I can't wait for Shadowrise, the third and final book of the trilogy.

Tad Williams has created an epic backstory (in the form of an epic poem) of a long-ago war of the gods, then created a medieval world still reeling from the repercussions of that half remembered event.

This book follow the points of view started in the first volume: the severed twins Prince Barrick lost in the Shadowlands and Princess Briony on the run from usurpers; Chert, the Funderling with the adopted human "son," who was raised in Twilight; Ferras the guard captain who follows Barrick into Shadow; Matty the poet, living in the twins castle now run by the usurpers; Pelaya, a young noble girl in a besieged city who befriends Barrick and Briony's captive father; Qinnitan, ex harem girl on the run from a mad god-king; Sister Utta, Briony's old tutor, left in a castle surrounded by a fey army, Vash, the "paramount minister" to the mad god-king, and Vo, a psychopath sent by a mad god-king to retrieve Qinnitan.

Vo is a new point of view character, the rest continue from the previous book.

Each scene is told from one of these characters points of view, and the reader is brought in very close, getting the feelings and thoughts of each.

Some get more attention than others, but all are drawn together as events bring them into each others orbit. By the end of the book, threads that had no relation to each other in the first book have become tightly interwoven.

This trilogy is often compared to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Both are fantasy retellings of England's War of the Roses with scary magical threats from the north and south (African for Williams, Mongolian for Martin). Both of lots of point of view characters and plenty of high stakes drama. Williams spends more time with alien magic on stage, with Barrick and Ferras in his Lovecraftian-Fey north, while Martin is still (so far) keeping most of it off stage. Williams doesn't kill off his point of view characters so frequently as Martin does. Unlike Martin, Williams doesn't restrict each chapter to a single point of view. I think most readers of one would be interested in the other. I know I'm hooked on both.
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Sep 28, 2012 Ithlilian marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: fantasy

I liked the first book in this series because each chapter ended with a cliffhanger. That kept me going through the abundance of detail and lack of plot progression. The chapters in this book were short just like the first book, but they ended on a bland note instead of an exciting one. After too many pages of characters walking, characters walking, characters talking, characters walking some more, and, surprise, more walking, I couldn't take it any more. It's unfortunate because I really liked...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, 2009

My one big gripe about Williams, having only read this series, is that he wraps up some of the largest mysteries in the books with solutions that come out of nowhere. I was left going "Where in the heck did that come from??" Perhaps I speak too soon as the 3rd book has not been released yet - but it just frustrated me that there didn't seem to be a trail of clues leading up to these resolutions that would lead me to marvel about how it was all under my nose.

Nevertheless, these were fun books and...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Brandon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well... that'll teach me to yack about a book series' quality before I've read enough to know what I'm talking about.

This book really picks up the pace, and changes the game entirely. More characters are given "screen time," the story arcs become more entangled, and mysteries are introduced that look to be extremely entertaining in the near future. Starting Book 3 right about now.

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May 03, 2011 Potter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, high-fantasy

This novel built on events and characters introduced in Shadowmarch and like many of Tad Williams novels peeled back a couple layers to reveal that much of what we thought was a little different in reality.

I found that it moved a little slower than the first novel, but it was still engaging and so far I'm finding the series to be more enjoyable that Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.

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Jan 19, 2011 Cornelia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One digs deeper and deeper into this world, and one learns bit by bit, that all official teaching about the different gods seems to be wrong. The main characters are seperated from eachother now and need to find their own ways, some characters are already dead, and even the bad ones are not that bad as one thought before, whereas some of the supposed good ones are definitely bad. The future will show a clash between mankind, Quar and gods for sure.

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Feb 06, 2013 Aaron Eriksson rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book continues the tale started in Shadowmarch, and does an admirable job of building the mystery of the world, and setting the characters on their journey. What needs to be known, however, is that the pace of the book is haphazard at best. This is the "Two Towers" of Shadowmarch, a second book with second-book syndrome, but without a major battle to keep reader's interest. The cast is growing (The king is alive!) and the villains are fleshed out (The traitorous cousin was a name in a list...more

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Aug 17, 2011 vanyll rated it 3 of 5 stars

About half in the book I abandoned the series. The book and series are fine, but it was just a tad too tedious in my opinion. I have no problem with fantasy being epic, but I fear Williams has overdone with this one. I certainly don't like waiting for a story line to be continued after some hundred pages of interruption by not quite as gripping other parts of the huge epic tale. Maybe I'll give it another chance some day.

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Jun 21, 2010 Legsoffury rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Well,
my mind has not changed from the first book. I still think 3 stars are in order. I hope the last book changes my mind. I am having difficulty seeing how everything will be wrapped up plausibly in the last book.

I can't put my finger on it but for some reason this book did not reach out and grab me like other Tad Williams books have.

This may be a premature assessment based on how the last book is written.

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Jan 03, 2013 Agibson rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was ponderous. Even building on the momentum from the first book, it took me a good while to get really invested in the story. And then, when I did, I found myself wishing for more than one chapter in a row per arc.

But, the scope of the cosmology and mythology is impressive. And, the book has a very good, dark, bleak, tragic feel. Oh, so bleak. It would really be nice if something positive happened to a character now and then (OK, it occasionally does, but, still!).

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Dec 10, 2009 Asferdinand rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, could Barrick be any whinier? He's whinier than Hamlet, and I really thought Hamlet was pretty much the bar when it came to whiny characters. Okay, okay, towards the end of the book he starts to (slowly, painfully) grow a spine, but it's just taken way too long by that point. And Briony! You used to be interesting! I enjoyed the first one much more, but won't be finishing this series.

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Mar 09, 2010 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Tad Williams fans

Shelves: 2007, 2010

Sigh. When does the third book come out? I need to read the next book NOW...not a year from now. I'm going to go nuts...

Williams is a masterful writer. I love how he brings in a lot of Shakespearean allusions into his works. It makes me happy. The first book in any series that he writes usually contains a lot of setup, which includes a lot of different plot lines that sometimes looks like they have absolutely nothing to do with one another. But don't let him fool you. Everything always comes tog...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

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

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Mar 08, 2009 Alexandra Relias rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read the first book in this trilogy several years ago and didn't like it too much. I found the second book in a local library and read it during a recent trip to San Francisco. I was pleasantly surprises and am looking forward to the final book in the trilogy. Not as good as Williams' dragonbone chair series, but definitely a good read.

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About Tad Williams

Tad Williams has held more jobs than any sane person should admit to—singing in a band, selling shoes, managing a financial institution, throwing newspapers, and designing military manuals, to name just a few. He also hosted a syndicated radio show for ten years, worked in theater and television production, taught both grade-school and college classes, and worked in multimedia for a major computer...more

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Books by Tad Williams

The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)

Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2)

To Green Angel Tower (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3)

To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2)

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Quotes from Shadowplay

“You are only a prisoner when you surrender.” — 7 people liked it

“I'm tired of being lost and I'm tired of dying, so I'm going to try something different this time.” — 4 people liked it

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Shadowplay (Shadowmarch #2)

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