Grand Conspiracy

Wars of Light and Shadow #5

by Janny Wurts

Janny Wurts's justifiably skilful and lovingly composed Wars of Light and Shadow series joins the ranks of Robert Jordan's protracted Wheel of Time series, et al., as either--depending on which camp you hail from--the height of high fantasy or the deeply frustrating (yet persistent) problem with the genre.

All that said, Wurts has wooed many fans to her series with compelling characters, a tremendously complex (and painstakingly developed) web of plot lines, and distinctively lush and lyric storytelling. Grand Conspiracy represents part two of part three of a five-part epic--to her credit, Wurts broke the series' third story arc (Alliance of Light) into three parts only reluctantly. The action in this instalment surrounds Arithon's Ffalenn, the fugitive Master of Shadow and the victim of the title's grand conspiracy. Everyone's got it in for him these days, and even his beloved, Elaira, has been shanghaied by her Koriani cronies into playing a role in his betrayal--she must transform an innocent, Fionn Areth, into Arithon's double to draw him out. Grand Conspiracy delivers more of the same, perhaps lacking a bit of the action of previous instalments; check out Curse of the Mistwraith if you're new to the series. --Paul Hughes, Amazon.com

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic

614 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Janny Wurts is the author of War of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. Her eighteen published titles include a trilogy in audio, a short story collection, as well as the internationally best selling Empire trilogy, co authored with Raymond E. Feist, with works translated into fifteen languages worldwide. Her latest title in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Destiny's Conflict, culminates more than thirty years of carefully evolved ideas. The cover images on the books, both in the US and abroad, are her own paintings, depicting her vision of characters and setting.

Through her combined talents as a writer/illustrator, Janny has immersed herself in a lifelong ambition: to create a seamless interface between words and pictures that will lead reader and viewer into the imagination. Her lavish use of language invites the mind into a crafted realm of experience, with characters and events woven into a complex tapestry, and drawn with an intensity to inspire active fuel for thought. Her research includes a range of direct experience, lending her fantasy a gritty realism, and her scenes involving magic crafted with intricate continuity. A self-taught painter, she draws directly from the imagination, creating scenes in a representational style that blurs the edges between dream and reality. She makes few preliminary sketches, but envisions her characters and the scenes that contain them, then executes the final directly from the initial pencil drawing.

The seed idea for the Wars of Light and Shadow series occurred, when, in the course of researching tactic and weapons, she viewed a documentary film on the Battle of Culloden Moor. This was the first time she had encountered that historical context of that brutal event, with the embroidery of romance stripped from it. The experience gave rise to an awakening, which became anger, that so often, our education, literature and entertainment slant history in a manner that equates winners and losers with moral right and wrong, and the prevalent attitude, that killing wars can be seen as justifiable solutions when only one side of the picture is presented.

Her series takes the stance that there are two sides to every question, and follows two characters who are half brothers. One a bard trained as a master of magecraft, and the other a born ruler with a charismatic passion for justice, have become cursed to lifelong enmity. As one sibling raises a devoted mass following, the other tries desperately to stave off defeat through solitary discipline and cleverness. The conflict sweeps across an imaginary world, dividing land and people through an intricate play of politics and the inborn prejudices of polarized factions already set at odds. Readers are led on a journey that embraces both viewpoints. The story explores the ironies of morality which often confound our own human condition - that what appears right and just, by one side, becomes reprehensible when seen from the opposite angle. What is apparently good for the many, too often causes devastating suffering to the nonconformist minority. Through the interactions between the characters themselves, the reader is left to their own discretion to interpret the moral impact of events.

Says Janny of her work, "I chose to frame this story against a backdrop of fantasy because I could handle even the most sensitive issues with the gloves off - explore the myriad angles of our troubled times with the least risk of offending anyone's personal sensibilities. The result, I can hope, is an expanding journey of the spirit that explores the grand depths, and rises to the challenge of mapping the ethereal potential of an evolving planetary consciousness... explore free thought and compassionate understanding."

Beyond writing, Janny's award winning paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork, among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planet

Reviews

[Choko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is like my drug - I am addicted and happy that I have plenty of more books to read after this one! I love it and hopefully will be able to write a real review once I get my new computer!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is unlike any other I have ever read. It is High Fantasy at its highest. It’s challenging and demanding; it will ask for your undivided attention, for patience and willingness to read in between the lines. And in return it will give you a hell of a ride! It will dare you to make assumptions on top of assumptions, only to have them completely shattered by the end.
It will make you question everything. Right or wrong, ethical or unethical, moral or immoral! How far is a person allowed to go to achieve a goal? Where should the line be drawn? - that invisible line which, when crossed, turns a human being into a monster.

Hell! It will even make you question your own judgement! And above all, it will make you FEEL!!!
There are very few books I have actually FELT FOR among everything that I've read till now. Very few books that made me angry or sad or made me get so involved with the story and the characters' life that I started to cry or rant or laugh like crazy. And this book, this whole series, tops that list.
That’s why now, I’m gonna show you just how it made me feel while going through it, chapter by chapter, and by the end, perhaps you’ll get to understand why I love it with a fiery passion. :)

Chapter 1

starts with a bang because, from the very first pages, I got so very pissed!! There is that That horrid slimy BITCH who stoops so low!! And I sooo want to punch her in the face!!!


And let’s not forget The Prince Exalted!! He is getting a little too high and mighty and just a bit large for his breeches. The ‘self-righteous, arrogant ignoramus!'
What he plans to do …again?! To hear it, I was like... What?! Are you insane?


In Chapter 2
a certain someone wants a 'biddable broodmare' for his wife. And I find myself hoping he’ll get royally kicked in the balls by his prize.


Chapters 3 and 4
are building up the tension – we get a master manipulator turned monster and more than a few sorry excuses for human beings. And I wanna take them all and dump them into the


Then Chapter 5
comes and I’m like


Because I can’t believe that just happened!!
I mean… GOOD GOD! For crying out loud! Why did they have to do that!!!?

Right at the beginning of Chapter 6
I badly needed to blow off some steam because …

That slimy slithering pathetic excuse for a human being, who thinks himself above everyone else!!! A solid slap is nothing compared to the trashing he deserves!!!

And then he whines because his poor heart is wounded?!

Go drown yourself you heartless prick!!!

Chapter 7
gets me even more worked up. Because the guy’s sense of justice is utterly fucked up!


Chapter 8
brings in the little tough granny. And I fell in love! :D Because she absolutely rocks!!! Any man foolish enough to cross her must flee when assailed by the little old lady in a temper! :)

Why? Well, take for instance the little advice she has to give a friend:
'Your rat-faced little steward seems to have an unpleasantly prying personality. Someone should slap his face for listening at doorways, or at least break his slippered foot. With a limp he couldn't slink.'
And now imagine a little old grandmother making that happen!

Grandame Dawr


In Chapter 9
'Well, things just woke up and got interesting.'
And a big High 5 for Grandame Dawr – again - cause she kept me chuckling for a long time there.


Chapters 10 and 11
almost make me blow a gasket!

Because… But... but...but... WTF just happened?!
That crazy old dried up stick of a female just tried to….??!! OMG

'May her black heart char for eternity, and her spirit twist in the lightless pits at the negative pole of creation.'


Chapters 12 and 13
make me become more than a little disgusted at humanity in general.

“Hate has no ears.” And sometimes you have to wonder to what extent human beings can actually go and to what level they can stoop.


Now Chapter 14
made me sigh. Because of such an unexpected gentle kindness… Because it is the little gestures in life that sometimes count the most.


And Chapter 15
Now that was classy! Because the prissy princess got what she deserved!

And I ended up doing a little happy dance because despite of all the shit it has been put through, true love still prevails!


Note: there is no way to express how much I love this series as I'm by far not as good with words as so many of my other friends. So I'm letting the emotional rollercoaster it put me through to describe it. :)

The prose is so beautiful! The characters are amazing. The plot is so complex and astounding!
Wars of Light and Shadow is a series like no other. One that will make the reader put some effort into reading it as it doesn't allow you to skip or fast forward. It makes you read between the lines and makes you think and pay attention.

But if you decide to put in that effort, if you decide to give it a chance, you will not get to regret it.
Cause this is one hell of a ride!!

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more books I read in the Wars of Light & Shadow series, the less I can say in my reviews without spoiling, and the more I'm convinced I will immediately re-read all of these books as soon as I'm done.

This is a captivating series, built like an onion, with layers upon layers upon layers of material to discover between the lines. It's complex, beautiful, and I highly recommend it to any high fantasy fan.

[Mayim de Vries]

At this point, I am reading only to see Lysaer suffer a long and painful death.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am completely captivated by the Wars of Light and Shadow series.

And if I were not quite convinced, this second book of the Alliance of Light reaffirms once again all the elements that mark for me an encompassing adult fantasy experience: gorgeous writing, rounded, consistent characters, solid world-building, clashes and blood (oh yes), plots and counterplots, political intrigue, calculated endgames, pleasing unpredictability, witty dialogues, though-provoking themes and a cartload of entertainment. The ending, with all of its tight wrap up of all of the strings and characters, with the humor and the double-cross twists of fate I absolutely cherish in the series as usual caught me unawares, but with the following book, Peril's Gate, timely at hand.

The key to this part of the story is the title, Grand Conspiracy: the book’s thriving, intertwining coils of conspiracy immerse the reader, along with all the characters involved (ever developing, ever intense in their flawed, passionate and human way) in a complicated and politically changing situation, where the established boundaries of right and wrong blur, yesterday’s enemies become today’s allies and vice-versa, ambivalence rules and the main players’ known and hidden agendas come to fruition or shift in failure with interdependent resolution. If revelations and conspiracies –and the implications beneath- take the main stage, the book is far from lacking in hammering action. The bedlam of the last chapters is priceless with its superb mix of humor and tragedy, and the mid-book focus on the s’Brydion strategies immersive and wily fast-paced.

"Two accursed princes hold the world’s fate between them".

Arithon keeps sailing the blue-waters seeking the vanished Paravians and finds his only solace in the maturing powers of his art. “Unable to lie for convenience” or “to break from the sound tenets of his character”, he heavily relies on his “sharp penchant for cleverness” to avoid disaster. Aided by Dakar, the clanborn and his secretive network of allies, he holds on his integrity struggling to maintain his sanity against the compulsion of the Mistwraith’s hate-geas. Yet his stolen reprieve may draw to a close, threatened by the Koriani plotting to exploit “his royal-born tie to compassion” to bring about his downfall and the Alliance, weaving its “growing tapestry of power linking cities east to west on the continent”, exacerbating the crusade against darkness and sorcery.

Lysaer, "dangerous beyond compare since no one alive can guess his preferred agenda", casts his net wider claiming divine inspiration and carefully tends his inner circle of powerful advisers. All exalted leadership and cool calculation, ever the consummate politician, he bides his time answering the nurtured fear of the masses with his “war-bent call to religion” and “steering Alliance interests to bind terrified trade guilds into a strangling dependency”. However, when the dictates of “cold bullion” and unexpected setbacks threaten mire his strategy “to key the next stage of his empire”, not only Lysaer keeps rallying mage talent to his cause, but he starts to court the advantages of the very same dark practices he pledged to uproot…

The factions and individuals involved (knowingly or not) in the feud between the royal half-brothers are driven by different interests and loyalties which may logically change over time, sport very subjective moral grounds, and play the game with their own sets of rules, often to the result of avalanching consequences for the world of Athera.

The Koriani Prime enchantress Morriel, nearing the end of her prolonged life, who patiently conspires and deftly sets her long-range intent to thwart the Fellowship authority. Lirenda, all citybred elegance and disowned groomed successor to the pinnacle of Koriani power, driven by blind ambition and conflicting passions, obsessed and compelled to capture Arithon for the purpose of reinstatement and personal vengeance. Elaira, oath-bound to Koriani obedience, yet inseparably linked to the Prince of Rathain, shining example of willpower and humility. Fionn Areth, plagued by a preordained fate and unwary pawn of a greater scheme. The charter law-abiding clans, bane of the town trade guilds, convenient scapegoats relentlessly hunted by Alliance soldiers and fleeing to neutral Havish or hiding in order to survive. The ever-present threat of the Mistwraith from the dead planet of Marak and the Rockfell prison. The s’Brydion family of Alestron, fiercely protective of its freedom and cunningly refusing to be anyone’s game piece. Cerebeld, First High Priest to the Prince of the Light, and the growing number of his gifted collaborators, whose born talents are drawn to Lysaer’s cause under the full awareness of his s’Ahelas farsight. The Fellowship Sorcerers, bound “to ensure Paravian survival no matter the cost of the sacrifice” and whose reserves are stretched painfully thin, have “no license to use power to influence mortal destinies” and “can act only by the Law of the Major Balance, inside a prescribed set of limits”, which leave them and their charges in a most precarious position.

One of the aspects I love of this series is how carefully the details are woven in the “world's broadscale tapestry of events”. Grand Conspiracy shows again deep and careful planning; particularly the denouement is testimony of the incredible craft of Janny Wurts, who manages to balance all the layers and levels of the story and to offer timely answers to the questions of the reader; what’s more, with each title in the series the delivery builds tighter and faster. She never fails to impress with her rare gift for words, delightful in humour, descriptions, dialogue and action.

[P.L. Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The wheels of due process ground on unchecked, until a struck look of terror transfixed his green eyes, and an arraignment for black sorcery was read out by a nasal secretary. Then that scene ripped away, replaced by another: of the accused, chained to a scaffold, stripped for a ritual execution. The sharpened sword waited, and the bundled, oiled faggots. Nearby, a cowled headsman mounted the stair, while a mob shook raised fists and clamored for redress in blood against the Master of Shadow.”

Half-way point nigh achieved in my reading of my favourite fantasy novels of all time, “The Wars of Light and Shadow”, by the marvellous Janny Wurts! Book five, “Grand Conspiracy”, was another amazing installment in a series that has truly raised the bar in terms of what epic fantasy can be.

**Please note**this review touches on events that occurred in previous books in the series – thus potential SPOILERS for the previous four books.**

Following the tumultuous events of “Fugitive Prince”, this book focuses, as the title indicates, on the long percolating plot by the Koriathain sorceresses, to lure our protagonist Arithon – reputed Master of Shadow – into a snare that will secure him in their clutches once and for all. At the centre of this scheme is the unwitting dupe, the brave but simple young shepherd Fionn Areth, chosen at birth to be a helpless pawn in the Koriathain designs, and groomed since then to be the bait that draws Arithon to his capture, and demise.

Meanwhile Lysaer – Arithon’s half-brother and full-time arch-nemesis, heralded as “Lord of Light” – is still bent on destroying Arithon at all costs. To consolidate his power base, Lysaer uses his considerable charm, natural leadership and diplomacy skills, and the fervor of those who hail him as a saviour and the only hope against Shadow, to procure a new wife in order to ensure the continuity of his house, beguile the wealthy trade guilds and nobles to continue to fund his war against Arithon, and solidify his future rule as a king.

However, things take an exceptionally sinister turn, as Lysaer, who claims to have rejected all sorcery, has seemingly – hypocritically - turned to dark occult, in his rabid pursuit of Arithon. Lysaer essentially begins to wield the power and influence of a deity, and his besotted followers begin to revere him as such.

“The Cabal of Light” is emerging, and readers may begin to wonder, what cost (if “Light” is to prevail, and humans will have sway in the world, and magic is destroyed save the power of Light, as opposed to Shadow successfully bringing the immortal races who founded the world back to ensure magic is sustained) is Lysaer willing to pay to triumph? And how many will suffer for the cause of Light, as Lysaer’s troops seem to be becoming more and more expendable.

Reference characterization, once more, Wurts provides the reader with some of fantasy’s most meticulously and realistically drawn characters. The two main opposing players, the two half-brothers, of course are still the essence of the plot. Larger than life, heroic, but victim to the curse that makes them hated foes, their humanity seems to be collapsing under the weight of both the Mistwraith’s curse and their royal-born traits of compassion versus justice.

They cannot help who and what they are, and cannot help being set against each other, to the death. More and more casualties escalate, as ominously, there is mounting evidence that everyone caught up in the war, could potentially fall, in cause of Light against Shadow.

Arithon features more prominently in the narrative than Lysaer. That does not mean the Lysaer does not make an impact when he does appear.

Smoothly seducing nobleman and common-born alike, forging alliances, leading by example inspiring troops by participating in battle exercises, getting down in the muck and grime when he could repose in splendour, convincing or coercing even those who initially don’t believe in him to cleave to the Light, and drawing anyone within reach of his aura like moths to the flame of his charismatic personality, Lysaer is a force that can’t be withstood.

Except he continues to be thwarted by Arithon, and seems to be becoming more and more fanatical in his pursuit, and more self aggrandizing in his mannerisms, while in inviolable fashion, married to his core trait of justice. But it becomes more and more evident that Lysaer’s brand of justice, and chivalry, is devoid of compassion.

On the other hand, Arithon is infirm, tortured, haunted by nightmares due to his guilt at those he has been forced to kill, and those who have been killed, caught up in the war between he and Lysaer. His innate traits of foresight and compassion are crippling him. Spending more than a decade at sea, on the run from Lysaer, but also seeking the Paravians, there is a quiet desperation to Arithon that made me want to weep for him at so many junctures in this book, and this series.

Auxiliary characters that stood out for me in this book, besides Elaria, were Sulfin, Raeitt, Ellaine, Cattrick, Parrien and Mearn and the rest of all the S’Byrdions. More on the new character of Dawr below. Raeitt especially is deliciously complex, intelligent, and devious, and as such it’s minacious to see a schemer of that calibre be inveigled by the “Lord of Light”.

Dawr S’Brydion, grandmother of the S’Brydion brothers, was by far my favourite character in the book. She is just the kind of snarky, crabby, cantankerous, quick-witted and sharp-tongued, plain-speaking, clever, and past the age of caring what others think (or what she says to whom regardless of rank) that I absolutely adore.

Her tenacity surrounding her suspicions about the fate of Talith, her dressing-down of the Lord of Light’s acolyte, her upbraiding of the younger, fiery S’Brydion males and putting them firmly in their place, was a joy to watch. She might be diminutive in stature, but her presence is enormous. She was my scene-stealing character of the novel, whom I very much hope to see more of.

Of special note, Ellaine turns into the exact opposite of what Lysaer intends, by his treatment of her, and I really enjoyed her character arc, though I fear for her greatly. There’s little room for a wife of Lysaer to assert her will in such a marriage, and it does not bode well for her that she’s unwilling to be just a brood mare and stand docile while Lysaer keeps himself distant and estranged from her, to prevent her from becoming an Achilles heel.

The sophisticated Lirenda is all fire, underneath the cold, calculating, and cunning exterior, and her ambition is the flame burning ceaselessly within her. But that fire could be doused, and replaced by another raging inferno – her secret passion for Arithon, the man she hates, and yet achingly desires, against her will.

Lirenda has done everything she can to put herself in the position of First Senior, and succeed the ancient Morriel, but has yet proven herself unworthy in the Prime's eyes. Yet Lirenda’s obstinacy and her weakness for Arithon is her greatest exposure, and she is compromised in ways that she could never predict, even with her enchantress tools of prescience.

Power, and how it’s used, was a major theme that stood out for me in “Grand Conspiracy”. What does it mean to use power judiciously, and what does it mean to use it for malice.

In thinking about this theme, at this point in the series, the Koriathain have clearly, for me, of the two main sorcerous factions, become the villainous ones.

Their original mandate of using compassion (ironically, the main trait that Arithon, their enemy, embodies) and forgiveness to help shape humankind, and guide them towards a better future, seems to have been twisted and perverted, towards malice, deception, and self-preservation of the relevance of their order, and attaining their Prime’s ends, at all costs.

It appears the Koriathain are unwittingly allying (though for Lysaer they are his enemy as they are “evil” magic wielders) with Lysaer, because they place their enmity with their rivals of the Fellowship, goodness, and maintenance of the best elements of human nature (i.e. mercy).

The Koriathain are willing to attack the very land of Athera they claim to love, and put it in grave jeopardy, in order to thwart the Fellowship. I can only conclude, by this point, that the Koriathain, and their ruthless leader Morriel, have lost their way, and become nefarious, and are endangering not only Arithon, but Athera itself.

The unyielding Morriel’s clinging to life, bent on longevity, clinging to power, refusing to relinquish it to any successor she deems unworthy biding her time beyond reason, and her solution to the succession planning, was chilling and thought-provoking.

Speaking of the rivals of the Koriathain, what completely stunned me in “Grand Conspiracy”, was that I finally, unavoidably, began to grasp the true power of the Fellowship of Seven sorcerers.

While Wurts has long before (since the first book in the series “Curse of the Mistwraith”) outlined that the Fellowship held immense powers at their disposal, there can be absolutely NO doubt left after reading “Grand Conspiracy” what the Fellowship could wreak upon the world of Athera, should they chose. When Asandir speaks to fishermen and clanborn scouts early in the book, there are passages there that sent an icy chill up my spine. Among them:

“Only this time, they would be compelled to the act of mass slaughter in full cognizance, causation set into a lens of awareness refined by then thousand years for arcane wisdom.”

Fortunately, and sometimes frustratingly in terms of saving bloodshed, the Fellowship are bound by the Law of Major Balance (which reminds me of something akin to “Star Trek”, where the “Prime Directive” is the principal tenant of Starfleet).

Non-interference, consent, free will, and an unbreakable pact, govern the Fellowship actions. It’s plain, the Fellowship have the power to avert any catastrophe, but are bound by their own agreements with the mythical Paravian races that founded the world, not to use that awesome power.

Compared to the Koriathain, the Fellowship look far more benevolent, caring, and perhaps the only hope to help save Arithon, who in turn may be the only hope to restore order to the world, if he can utilize his talents to locate and return the Paravians to the world.

I will sound like a broken record here, but for me, among all the things I love about reading a Janny Wurts book, her priceless gift for prose is something I will never be able to get enough of.

Stunning magic, dizzying plots, countermoves and betrayals, blistering fights, stirring nautical scenes, rising tension to a fever pitch, desperate flight, an unrelenting thirst for vengeance, loyalty, sacrifice, guilt and depression, joy in service, the beauty of music, and more, this book is yet another in a series that will have your emotions bobbing like a boat on stormy waters.

As per Wurts’ calling card, be prepared for a heart-wrenching ending which will have you grasping for the tissue box.

I don’t see anyway how, one is this deep in the series, that one has not been able to recognize and appreciate just how stupefying talented Janny Wurts is.

From the depth and scope of her worldbuilding and her keen eye for detail and stunning realism, to her poetic, lush, mesmerizing prose, to her witty and poignant dialogue, and masterful ability to compare and contrast her characters, and bring them to vivid life on the pages, for me her place can be only amongst the most esteemed fantasy writers of her generation, such as Martin, Jordan, Erikson, Le Guin, Hobb, and that ilk.

My enthusiasm to finish this miraculous series in 2023 is sky-high, and I will consider it perhaps the greatest accomplishment of my reading life. Bring on “Peril’s Gate”!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did it! I finished!

Phew, what an ending, that moment with Arithon and Elaira. Elaira really does remind me of a woman in a toxic relationship who needs to get out. I hope a way if found soon for her to do so.

This doesn't really feel like the end of a book, just a moment of change. It highlights that fact that really, it is the 5-book arc that is a single story, rather than each individual book. I'm going straight on to Peril's Gate because the end of this book really isn't a place to stop.

I so love this series. I'm very glad that I started reading at a point where this arc was complete so I will get to the end of this part of the story. But I'm starting to wish the whole series was complete because how am I going to wait to find out how everything resolves?

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/12/14 reread #? Have lost count of the number of retreads. I'm always caught up once again in the story. The ending of this one is remarkable. Poor pitiful Lirenda.

Mistwraith is an incredibly compelling, action filled, gut wrenching, heart stopping adventure with one of the most incredible love stories I've read in a long time.

In this one, the Koriani emerge as a truly evil force, as they manipulate spirit and matter to create a double for Arithon and continue to plot his capture or death. Arithon and Elaira build their relationship even stronger. Lirenda is shown the way to love and compassion but shuts herself off in hatred and envy.

Every character continues to develop and change, events come to cataclysmic climaxes, and Arithon continues to be one of the most riveting and fascinating heroes in literature. Music weaves its way into the elemental forces of nature. Crystals are used to force power in soul killing ways. The Paravians continue to exert their magical power that leaves men bereft in their absence.

I can't say enough about this series.

1/29/13 Still feel the same. Noticed many threads not picked up in previous readings that lend clarity to later events. And such sadness is throughout the story, although there is humor as well.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is major classical fantasy vibes with prophecies coming back into play.
This time about a sheep farmer who is used by the Koriani Order to make him Arthion’s look-alike. The threatened execution of an innocent is planned to lure the Teir’s’Ffalenn back ashore.

The alliance of Light now uses the sunwheel banner for a rallying cry of religion. Scary fanatics, power, and misguided hatred.

Elaira is a key player: does she betray her values, her order, her love?
Honestly, she kind of took a step down in my esteem in this book. I did end up understanding her actions, yet it still frustrated me and I feel like her only character trait is her longing but purposeful separation from Arthion.

We have a new bride for Prince Lysaer, but she is literally used a brood mare. I had hoped for Lysaer redemption, but his actions are making me more and more disgusted by him.
Will this new bride be a Talith 2.0 despite Lysaer’s efforts?

There was a focus on nature in the prose which was delectable:

Beneath the layering of the tree’s individuality ran the currents that interlinked its being with its neighbors; and theirs, to their neighbors, until the forest’s webbed consciousness extended its reach to encompass the far borders of the wood. Asandir rode that tranquil sea of soft whispers, loomed from the speech of blown leaves in the wind, and braided amid the gossamer filaments of root hairs. He sensed flowing water, and the tidal pull of the moon; the warm, flooding canopy of sunlight.

What did annoy me was Fionn Areth (the farmer lookalike). You’re telling me no one noticed he looked exactly like Arthion right up until it was convenient for the plot???? WHAT?!

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[Blaise · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I have reached the half way point in this epic saga written by Janny Wurts. Grand Conspiracy is the start of the series taking on a much larger scope and events from the previous 4 entries will be flipped on its head. Malazan fans know this feeling all to well when new information is introduced that will completely change your perspective of prior scenes (House of Chains anyone?). What is even more amazing is this Grand Conspiracy against the prince of shadow is the culmination of a fifteen year plan and the execution is flawless. The book does end rather suddenly as the events of Grand Conspiracy and the next book Peril’s Gate are very closely connected. All the more reason to jump head first into the next novel! This will be a spoiler free review but I will be touching on certain scenes from previous books.

As the title suggests, Grand Conspiracy is a plan put in place by the Koriani and the Morriel Prime to destroy Arithon. Long time readers of the series will see hints of this plan towards the end of Fugitive Prince and then boom, the first chapter hits like a sixteen wheeler truck. The plan revolves around Fionn Areth being used as a pawn by the Koriani with Elaira being forced to partake in this betrayal. The emotional pain, stress, and sense of dread Elaira has to go through in helping the people she is in service too while feeling a longing desire and love for Arithon that seems like it will never come to fruition is heartbreaking and Arithon feels the same towards Elaira. Their hearts are constantly being shattered while outside forces seek to use them against each other. Halfway through this we get a time jump and the Conspiracy kicks into hyperdrive with so many exciting and intense moments including two shocking revelations in back to back chapters. Lysaer takes more of a back seat in this novel and I won’t get into his plot line as it is riddled with spoilers, but plenty of meat left on the bone for the next entry. The desire for revenge in more than just one facet is the core theme of this story and it may be more complex than you have ever imagined.

Janny writes these books with such care and perfect description that it took me several books to fully understand the subtle hints and clues that are present in the text, sometimes in plain sight. This is a testament to the beautiful prose and mastery of the English language Janny possesses. One small sentence may seem simple enough if you are just glancing over it, but connections are always made to the previous entries and your mind will race trying to figure out what was missed. Janny has assured me that it is almost impossible to understand every nuance and connection on the first readthrough and each reading will give the viewer a different perspective. Throughout my life, I have watched dozens of movies where a revelation at the end will change the outlook for the entire film all together. Those movies become instant rematches but do readers have the same feeling about novels? The obvious difference is the time commitment and people going about their daily lives, but what I found out over this past year is the resiliency of people to double down on the things they love and the book community has expanded greatly because of it.

There is a home for this series among the SFF community and I would put War of Light and Shadow up against pretty much any big Epic Fantasy series you can think of. War of Light and Shadow has quickly jumped into my Top 5 series of all time and I haven’t even made it to the best books in the series yet (according to the die hard fans!). I have many book friends who have said I don’t really want to work for my enjoyment of a book and I just want to be absorbed into a world. That is a fair mindset and I was once in those shoes until Erikson and Janny opened me up to something even bigger. I’m the type of reader who enjoys big twists and being fooled into believing one thing when something else is in the works. The best is yet to come with this series and the payoff is worth the investment. All you have to do is take that first step.

Cheers!

[chibipoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Wars of Light and Shadow by author Janny Wurts, is an sorely under-rated gem. While I have talked in the past about the issues plaguing this series with regard to marketing in past reviews, this time, I'll attempt to describe this book itself without going into spoilers.

Which is a difficult task. The series deepens and getting into the details of why the books are so good is complicated by fear of spoilers.

Suffice to say, if Fugitive Prince is, as some other reviewers have said, the understated gem of the series, Grand Conspiracy is the spark that sets everything in this arc ablaze. The continuing fallout of the events that took place across Fugitive Prince plays out first, and then we're treated to a shift as time steps forward a bit and players position themselves, the seeds of far-reaching plans taking root.

And then the spark strikes home, igniting a frankly staggering series of events. None of the setup previous is boring or plodding, as it unveils facets that, if you had not gleaned them yet, are frankly staggering. The explicit details of the burden laid upon the Fellowship of Seven is frankly stated, and through the last five-six chapters, as everything falls into place and the roller coaster starts inching up the hill, preparing to start a rollicking series of dips and rises at high speed, you will be absolutely stunned. Drama, hilarity, high emotional stakes as Koriani machinations draw Arithon into jeopardy while other forces strike.

A lot of fantasy promises world-shattering stakes, but all too often, fails to deliver or just seems to be nothing more than a clash of armies in a region. What happens in Grand Conspiracy to kick off the climax and lead into the next book, Peril's Gate is on a scale that truly hits world-shattering. I can honestly say nothing else I have read comes close. You will be riveted and won't want to take a break or read something else at all. Straight from this book's conclusion into Peril's Gate, I guarantee!

Don't sleep on this series! The fifth book is a gem and it only gets better!

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets harder and harder to review each subsequent novel in Janny Wurts’ excellent epic fantasy series THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW without either repeating yourself or including spoilers for earlier volumes. My previous reviews have highlighted the series’ complexity, level of detail, deep characterization, gorgeous prose, and inventive descriptions of magic. All of those positives can again be found in Grand Conspiracy, the fifth book in the overall series and second in the Alliance of Light arc.
So, what’s left to say? Grand Conspiracy will not disappoint anyone who has read the previous 4 novels in the series. As a matter of fact, if (like me) you felt that the previous installment, Fugitive Prince, moved more slowly than the first 3 books in the series, because as the first book of this 5 book arc it contains more set-up than usual, you’ll probably be happy to hear that, despite some ebbs in the plot, Grand Conspiracy moves things along at a more solid pace again.
As always, you’ll also encounter a mid-novel peak in the action, followed by a relentless rush to an exciting resolution that, at the same time, sets things up effectively for Peril’s Gate, the next novel in the series. Since that’s also the middle book in the overall series (book 6 of a projected 11 novels), I’m 100% sure that it’ll be yet another memorable novel.
So, to avoid spoilers and repetition, I’ll keep this review short and simple, and leave it at that: this is another great book in what’s quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy series. Now all the books are available and in print again, and with the ninth book in its final stages of completion, you’re seriously missing out if you’re not reading what’s sure to become a classic of epic fantasy.

[Miggins (Hobbit Hole Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite work of Wurts, who cements herself here as a mistress of sheer genius.

The layers and depth to this world and its characters is as expected absolutely barnstormingly brilliant. But it's the plotting here that takes centre stage for me. Everything so far has been leading up to THIS moment at the end, and its gonna blow your mind apart (don't worry you can piece it together in time just for Peril's Gate to obliterate it again!)

The politicking and factionalism going on here makes for a fantastically entertaining delight as everyone is out to play f0r their own side's interests. This book more than anything is a fast paced political thriller in the fantastical realm of Athera and I for one absolutely loved it

Which faction wins out?....

Well you're just gonna have to read and find out because the lines aren't always so clear!

We also get some brilliant moments of reflectiveness which will always be seared into the memory of this series for me. In particular one scene set in one of the woodlands of Athera really makes for a gamechanger, where you begin to understand the *true* scope of this series. It's never JUST been fantasy. It's always been something different, and this book is where we really start to get a sense for just how different it is.

5 stars to the max

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each novel peels back layer upon layer, revealing more of the motivations between several key players and philosophies, making it nigh impossible to summarize any plot points, including the myriad conspiracies plaguing Paravia, without spoiling what was, what is and what is yet to come. The last three chapters' pace proved unrelenting, even unto the final triplet.

I'll be picking up the next novel (Peril's Gate) to continue this outstanding series.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grand Conspiracy (Wars of Light & Shadow) sends the reader on an intriguing and epic journey and is a fantastic read. I am addicted to this authors work.
Jannys’ work invites readers to unravel its intricacies layer by layer. It challenges them to confront the darkness within the narrative, suggesting that those who venture into this world will want to remain amongst the pages. She masterfully weaves together a tapestry of suspenseful storytelling. The narrative unfolds through edge-of-your-seat plots and chilling enigmas that ensnare readers from the very first page.
This story seamlessly blends supernatural and paranormal elements. I am addicted! This series is gripping and exciting. It is a tangled web that leaves you breathless and craving more. It is filled with loss and hope, magic and danger, suspense and tension, humour and action within a world where nothing is what it seems.

[David Cornelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, Janny offers a complex set of competing story lines, beautiful prose, and high drama, some of which is clouded by reticent characters. Those opposing Arithon begin to withhold information that leads to shocking revelations. In the end there are winners and losers and it's the way Janny ties things up and ends Grand Conspiracy that makes it an excellent book.

The makeup of Lysaer's religion begins to identify itself in frightening ways and you see how powerful people can abuse religion for their own benefit.

There's a lot of dark humor in this book in the way Arithon interacts with other characters, especially the challenge setup by the Koriani.

Of course this book leads directly into the next book so get ready to continue immediately on with Peril's Gate.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a complex plot to this one. Although that could be said about each book in the series, now that I think about it. One practically trips over conspiracies! This was a re-read, and I again caught things that I had missed the first time. But I guess that shouldn't surprise me due to the sheer density of this series. She certainly packs a lot into her pages, but it never feels like TMI. Small and seemingly incidental details tend to have profound repercussions later on. Terrific book!!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you think it can't get any Darker.....

[Nirkatze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoo this was a fun ride! The title is extremely apt, there are Grand Conspiracies popping up all over. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but there is definitely more than one Conspiracy, and the Grandest one came as a surprise with several different hooks and a LOT of repercussions that are going to ripple into the future books.

It was nice to get more Elaira this book--and to finally see the Fionn Areth storyline come into fruition, after it being introduced so long ago. Wait, was it really only one book ago? Damn, it really was only one book ago. In balance, we have almost no Arithon until the latter half--instead, we see much of the webs Lysaer's Alliance casts across the continent, and the small ways left for the clansfolk to defy it. Lysaer truly earned my hatred in this book. I despised him as a hypocrite before, though with a grain of pity for his perversion by the curse. There are some things he does in this book that I cannot forgive, and which were entirely his choice. I'm really hopeful that some of the new characters and plots introduced will throw his righteousness right back in his smug-ass face.

We get a much deeper look at the Fellowship and the Koriani, and learn still more about the Fellowship's stewardship of the land and the thin lines they walk in the name of guarding free will. Altogether a very satisfying and exciting read, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

[Wolf (Alpha) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally on to book 5. This book was amazing!!! Koriani is pure evil in this one. It is interesting how they make a double for Arithon to use as a decoy. I hate how Arithon and Elaira team up and continue to build their relationship. The author just keeps on building up the tension between the brothers and making the story more interesting. 10/10 stars. I love it.

[arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"you are as my life, lady. never forget that"
600 pages of pure longing... devastatingly torturous.

took a tiny break from the series because i couldn't bother reading objectively in 40°c weather... i couldn't bring myself to do that to the fantasy gods, especially not janny wurts. but then the winds turned and brought on thunderstorms in the middle of may. so here i am picking up where i left off. call it global warming all you want, i prefer to think of it as a divine push to lose myself in the magnificence of wurts' writing.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I have read this book before, in paperback (which I own), but many of the finer details escape my memory. So, I got to enjoy it again with relatively fresh eyes.
The main action here revolves around Moriel Prime and Lirenda’s plot to ensnare Arithon using his look-alike Fionn Areth as bait. Moriel wants to spite the Fellowship, Lirenda wants revenge for Arithon stirring her emotions. Elaira is forced to assist and to betray Arithon by her Koriani oath of service, or have her mind wiped.
The plan becomes ever more convoluted, with Moriel actively trying to make Lirenda fail. Moriel’s grand conjury, using all the Koriani sisterhood threatens to break not only the Fellowship, but the planet itself. However, that is not her greatest crime. Moriel is a nasty, evil sorceress, whom we hope will die before too much is irrevocably damaged.
Mearn has been called home, to be replaced by his brother Parrien. As Mearn is leaving, he visits the shipyards where Lysaer’s new fleet is being built by Catterick, who has been forced to work for Lysaer by a Koriani oath he once swore in return for healing his child. Mearn notices that the ships have been designed to sink on their maiden voyage. He alerts Parrien, who goes to rescue the shipwrights once their job is done. But, Lysaer no longer trusts the s’Brydion clan. So, to show ‘loyalty’, Parrien shows Lysaer the corpses of the shipwrights hanging from his galleon’s masts.

With Mearn gone, I have a new favourite s’Brydion: Dame Dawr. Mearn tells Catterick:

“Dame Dawr, my maternal grandmother, once scaled the east wall for a tryst with my grandfather. The revetments there are now mortared over and embedded with crushed glass, as much to deny her fool’s route to an enemy as for the fact that her love match galled my great-grandfather to fits.’ … ‘For Dame Dawr, crushed glass only sweetened the challenge. She just climbed the façade of the adjacent tower, then used a rope and grapple slung across to the roof gutter. The story goes that she conceived my late father through the hour the new mortar was curing. As proof of her child’s paternity, she left handprints. They’re still hardened solid in the battlement under my grandfather’s window.’”

We meet her at the celebration of Lysaer’s wedding to his new wife, Ellaine. Lysaer had hoped to replace Talith with a much more submissive brood mare, the daughter of Erdane’s mayor, with commensurate dowry:

“Tysan’s writ of invitation had pointedly requested that a female blood relation of the duke should attend the solstice festivities at Avenor. Lord Bransian s’Brydion had recast the request at his whim, had in fact ignored the salutation addressed to the name of his eminently marriageable youngest daughter. In the girl’s stead, he had dispatched his acid-witted grandame; or perhaps not. Now confounded by the formidable collected presence of the woman, Ellaine wondered if the state voyage to Avenor had been Dawr’s idea from the outset.”
“‘Go away, foolish man,’ she snapped at Gace Steward. ‘If you don’t, I shall certainly get annoyed.’ The stick spun in her grasp with a speed to whistle air, and just missed the steward’s tucked groin. Gace fled, as any man must when assailed by Grandame Dawr in a temper.”
“‘How like a man, to carry his pea brain in his scrotum and not realize when overbearing male company’s unwanted.’ That waspish, crone’s scorn came packaged in clanborn accents that sheared like wire through the soothing harmonies of the strings.”

Sadly, once her job is done, she sails back home. I really hope we see more of Dame Dawr in later books.
Ellaine does bear a son, Kevor, whom Lysaer removes from her influence, so as to raise him ‘properly’. Nonetheless, Kevor grows into the prince that Lysaer should have become, which he shows in a crisis at Avenor, when his father is on a wild goose chase after Arithon:

“On that fated hour, Kevor displayed the untarnished potential of his s’Ilessid ancestry, bright as the flame in his hand. Humanity had supplanted the presence of divine promise. Salvation had come through the example of a boy’s steel-clad courage and the ordinary kindness he had shown to a craftsman’s tearful strayed child.
We do hope that Kevor is able to retain these qualities, and not go down the increasingly delusional path of pseudo-divinity and self-righteous bigotry of his father.
Six books to go. Will Elaira and Arithon ever be together? Will the Fellowship survive? The Koriani Sisterhood? Will the Paravians ever return? How about the Mistwraith? Arithon and Lysaer have to live until (at least near) the end – but what state will the world be in?
An amazing series, that I unreservedly recommend.

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reread of WOLAS book 5.

"Grand Conspiracy" picks up right after "Fugitive Prince." The Koriani attempt to trap Arithon using a double as bait. They use magic to change the appearance of a child and then toss him in the way of Arithons enemies. This novel focuses on the pissing contest between the Koriani more than anything else.

The first 400 pages of this book is basically set up for other novels in the series. Again, a more judicious editor would have made this book better. There is an entire chapter where the Fellowship attempt to see into the future that could have been entirely omitted- spoiler alert, they learn nothing of importance. Every 5th page has one character commenting on how dangerous things will be now that Lysaer is recruiting mage talent. The entire first section of this novel has 'this meeting could have been an email' vibes.

There is a point in this novel where some of the uselessness of the Fellowship gets explained in a way that isn't very satisfying or convincing and directly contradicts things that happened in the first three books. And the Fellowships staffing issues I'm just throwing down as further proof of their incompetence. They've had a manpower shortage for 500 years. That's not misfortune, that's just poor planning. The fate of the entire human race is in the hands of 5 guys who couldn't figure out how a help wanted ad works.

There is the introduction of Lady Ellaine, who is arguably the most interesting female character in this entire series, in that she actually develops as a character as the story progresses. And trigger warning- Lysaer effectively rapes her after their wedding night making him even more unlikable than he was before.

All the growth and character development Arithon underwent in the last novel gets thrown out the window for the sake of the plot. Ya Boi seemingly forgets that he is a ruler, responsible of a group of people facing genocide and fucks off to some city to rescue his double. There is some contrived excuse for this involving integrity and enduring the Mistwraith's curse that had my eyes rolled so far back into my head I could see my uvula. That's all well and good for you Arithon, but once again, your selfishness has put your followers in danger.

The ending was so stupid and contrived I had to laugh at it. Elaira and Arithon have the most unconvincing romance in all of fantasy. I am not even convinced these two really like each other much less have romantic feelings for one another. If they were a real life couple I would be convinced they were living together for the tax write off.

The scene where Arithon outmaneuvers Lirenda was so out of character and ridiculous I had to reread it to make sure I read it right the first time. Arithon basically uses his slutty bard powers to reawaken the dormant horniness in a centuries old sorceress while his current girlfriend sits in the background and watches. Somehow this is less awesome than it sounds.

Overall, this book was a slog to get through. The pacing was terrible, the characterization was bad. The plot had holes you could drive a truck through.

[CombativeRoboReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janny Wurts doesn't miss. Grand Conspiracy is another piece of brilliance that delves deeper into the themes of violence and arrogant ignorance.

This book asks you to be empathetic to those forced into conflict. How do we, as people need to act when something that we take pride in, like our nation, is doing something that goes fundamentally against our moral values. How much are you willing to bend for that greater entity that you are a part of? And it is brilliant. It also asks what kinds of effects exist for those who are used and manipulated by others.

Another 5/5

[Alec Voin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A phenomenal first half followed by a shaky second half.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally! I've finished Peril's Gate. I want to like these books. I like the writing. I like the world and worldbuilding. But I can't stand the decisions the characters make and the emotional exposition that the author uses to beat my head in about what emotions I should be feeling.

This book open with Fion Areth and Arithon having just escaped Jaelot. But we're not able to continue with the overall plot because Arithon just absolutely must make a stupid decision to indulge Fionn's need to fight him right that instant, before they get to a safe distance from Jaelot(because they're being hunted).

Of course they're discovered and Arithon has to now spend the entire duration of the book running away from various factions attempting to pin him in and kill him. The only saving grace of 600 pages of pointless pursuit is that some long-running issues Arithon had been having get cleared up or become manageable because of a location he winds up in. Thank goodness, maybe the next book will contain some good decisions made by the otherwise interesting people in the books.

The best part of Peril's Gate is Dakar being ravaged by magic because of something the Koriani Prime did(Here's hoping this actually causes some real character growth). The repercussions of her actions and the Fellowship's scrambling to fix it is the highlight of the novel. Not to mention the additional insight you gain on Ath's Brotherhood - those folks are awesome.

Moving on to Traitor's Knot. And oh dear, within the first 20 pages, I'm already dealing with another ridiculous bar fight that Dakar incites because every character has to make stupid decisions over and over again, apparently.

[L.Y. Levand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. That is all.

Okay, okay...not all.

Just like with her other books, Janny Wurts waxes eloquent, perhaps a bit more than necessary. It does, however, give you a very vivid picture, if you take the time to read everything and imagine it as right in front of you.

The story was many-layered, complex, and well-done. The characters were likeable, even the villains, surprisingly enough. I got rather attached to a few of them. I felt sorry for Lirenda, especially. Also, the s'Brydion family is pretty amazing. I do believe they are my favorite characters, despite the fact I'd probably strongly dislike them in real life.

The stakes of the story get higher and higher, and while it kept my attention riveted through the whole, it does seem as though some things are repeating themselves. They aren't, in reality, it just seemed that way to me, probably because things just keep getting worse and worse, and never really get any better until the end of the book, where it's the good guys win, or they have to end their part in the story.

I could probably say a lot more about it, but the bottom line is that I really, really liked it, and I'm very glad I have the next book already.

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-titled as one conspiracy after another is either set in motion, grows in complexity, or races to fulfillment. Fellow readers have called this book somewhat bleak, and there were many times I agreed. And yet, there are pinpricks of hope strewn throughout and I will cling to them as the series moves forward.

Lysaer and Talith were a tragic couple in some ways, but Arithon and Elaira have to be the one of the most heart-breaking couples in fiction. True soulmates, truly selfless in their love, so bittersweet...

The characters surrounding the two key players got more "page time" in this entry to the Alliance of Light/Wars of Light and Shadow series, and I certainly enjoyed getting to know them better. The circle of characters keeps expanding and, knowing that each has their part to play, I'm trying to keep them fixed in my mind.

[Xanxa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb instalment of this epic saga.

All the elements I've enjoyed in the previous four novels are present in this one. The story is full of intrigue, plotting and betrayals.

The characters are well-developed and credible. The majority of them are thoroughly despicable but portrayed in such a way to make them interesting. Even the supposed good guys are shaded morally grey and have to do some rather unsavoury things.

My only criticism is the ending. After a tale which spanned over a decade, involving the titular grand conspiracy, the end seems weak and unconvincing. I won't spoil it here, but I simply can't believe that an experienced sorceress would fall for such a simple and cliched trick.

I still loved the book and I won't let the weak ending put me off reading the rest of the series.