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Against the Unweaving
Plague strikes the city of Sarum, and the dead rise from their graves.
The liche, Dr. Cadman, has discovered a long-hidden artifact and perverted its power for his own selfish ends.
But an ancient evil from beyond the stars is drawn by its use and turns hungry eyes upon the Earth.
These are the times of Unweaving, the times Deacon Shader has been prepared for since the day he was born.
A man of prayer, deeply troubled by a contradictory faith, he is also the deadliest warrior of his generation.
As events spiral out of control, and Creation itself hangs by a thread, the paradox at the heart of Shader’s life may just be the last desperate hope of all the worlds.
Contains:
Book 1: Sword of the Archon
Book 2: Best Laid Plans
Book 3: The Unweaving
The liche, Dr. Cadman, has discovered a long-hidden artifact and perverted its power for his own selfish ends.
But an ancient evil from beyond the stars is drawn by its use and turns hungry eyes upon the Earth.
These are the times of Unweaving, the times Deacon Shader has been prepared for since the day he was born.
A man of prayer, deeply troubled by a contradictory faith, he is also the deadliest warrior of his generation.
As events spiral out of control, and Creation itself hangs by a thread, the paradox at the heart of Shader’s life may just be the last desperate hope of all the worlds.
Contains:
Book 1: Sword of the Archon
Book 2: Best Laid Plans
Book 3: The Unweaving
- GenresFantasy
684 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 20, 2014
99 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Derek Prior
79 books209 followersInternationally bestselling and award winning author Derek Prior excels in fast-paced, high stakes epic fantasy adventure stories in which good ultimately triumphs, but always at a cost.
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 17, 2021
This is a hard one for me to review. I want to not only share my thoughts on the story, but on Derek Prior's linked series of both Shader and the Nameless Dwarf.
If any series needs a reading order wiki, it is Shader/Nameless Dwarf. I had purchased two omnibuses (this Shader trilogy and the tetralogy, "Annals of the Nameless Dwarf." I started with Nameless' "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" - which was quite enjoyable - but it seemed like I was missing a backstory, which became evident at the end when Shader showed up. At that point, I felt I needed to go back and read earlier books to get filled in. So, I read all three books of this trilogy - but again I felt I was missing additional backstories, as it seemed we were dropped right in the middle of a complex plot. And the third Shader book in this trilogy ("The Unweaving") crosses over to the Nameless Dwarf and picks at the end "Ravine of Blood and Shadow." As I finished it, I then went into research mode on Amazon, Goodreads, and Prior's own website to figure out what book I should read next? My findings reveal two Shader prequels, a rewrite of this Shader trilogy, Legends of the Nameless Dwarf, and Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf as well as the Annals I already had....or did I? It appears the Annals omnibus I already had is in fact Legends - where one of the books is an anthology of the all the Chronicles stories - and "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" (Annals) is also "Carifex" (Legends). And #3 in the Shader series ("The Unweaving") appears to be an expanded rewrite of #2 in the Annals ("Mountain of Madness") where Zaylus is replaced by Shader, Rutha is replaced with Rhiannon, Albrec with Albert, etc. to fit it into the Shader series. However, my Annals tetralogy skips #2 of Annals and has "Geas of the Black Axe" as #2 - because, in fact, it is not Annals but is Legends. I did purchase Annals of the Nameless Dwarf #1-6 bundle on Kindle, even though I already have #1 and #2 through the Annals tetralogy I already had (which is actually Legends) in order to save money on books #3-6. Confused yet????
On to the review of the Shader trilogy: As I stated above, it feels like we are dropped in the middle of an already complex plot moving quickly along. And it is confusing, with many character point of view changes, each with a seemingly unexplained backstory. I slogged through the first two stories ("Sword of Archon" & "Best Laid Plans") without really having a complete understanding of what was going on and considered abandoning it altogether. I am glad I stuck with it, as the third book ("The Unweaving") saved the trilogy. Bring in the Nameless Dwarf and kill off most of the confusing side characters and we are left with the core players in the saga. The story became more focused and streamlined.
Books 1 & 2 = barely 2 stars. Book 3 = 4 stars - all because of the Nameless Dwarf.
If any series needs a reading order wiki, it is Shader/Nameless Dwarf. I had purchased two omnibuses (this Shader trilogy and the tetralogy, "Annals of the Nameless Dwarf." I started with Nameless' "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" - which was quite enjoyable - but it seemed like I was missing a backstory, which became evident at the end when Shader showed up. At that point, I felt I needed to go back and read earlier books to get filled in. So, I read all three books of this trilogy - but again I felt I was missing additional backstories, as it seemed we were dropped right in the middle of a complex plot. And the third Shader book in this trilogy ("The Unweaving") crosses over to the Nameless Dwarf and picks at the end "Ravine of Blood and Shadow." As I finished it, I then went into research mode on Amazon, Goodreads, and Prior's own website to figure out what book I should read next? My findings reveal two Shader prequels, a rewrite of this Shader trilogy, Legends of the Nameless Dwarf, and Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf as well as the Annals I already had....or did I? It appears the Annals omnibus I already had is in fact Legends - where one of the books is an anthology of the all the Chronicles stories - and "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" (Annals) is also "Carifex" (Legends). And #3 in the Shader series ("The Unweaving") appears to be an expanded rewrite of #2 in the Annals ("Mountain of Madness") where Zaylus is replaced by Shader, Rutha is replaced with Rhiannon, Albrec with Albert, etc. to fit it into the Shader series. However, my Annals tetralogy skips #2 of Annals and has "Geas of the Black Axe" as #2 - because, in fact, it is not Annals but is Legends. I did purchase Annals of the Nameless Dwarf #1-6 bundle on Kindle, even though I already have #1 and #2 through the Annals tetralogy I already had (which is actually Legends) in order to save money on books #3-6. Confused yet????
On to the review of the Shader trilogy: As I stated above, it feels like we are dropped in the middle of an already complex plot moving quickly along. And it is confusing, with many character point of view changes, each with a seemingly unexplained backstory. I slogged through the first two stories ("Sword of Archon" & "Best Laid Plans") without really having a complete understanding of what was going on and considered abandoning it altogether. I am glad I stuck with it, as the third book ("The Unweaving") saved the trilogy. Bring in the Nameless Dwarf and kill off most of the confusing side characters and we are left with the core players in the saga. The story became more focused and streamlined.
Books 1 & 2 = barely 2 stars. Book 3 = 4 stars - all because of the Nameless Dwarf.
March 24, 2014
An Amazing Trilogy - Worth the Epic Title
There are creative people who astounded me with the depth and breadth of their imagination. You wonder how they can contain everything inside their head without it erupting into their daily lives, or driving them insane. Robin Williams is an obvious example, with his high speed comedy and huge repertoire of characters. Derek Prior is another. Just this trilogy alone will have you wondering how he keeps all of this amazingly detailed, Byzantine, character-rich extravaganza in his head and still function as a normal human.
He has created an epic fantasy across three books that is wild, fast-paced, has fantastic characters, spreads across countries as well as worlds and religions, and is absolutely one of the best fantasy trilogies in existence.
When you read the Deacon Shader trilogy, you will come to appreciate how epic the scope of Mr. Prior's imagination is as you are highly entertained by his hugely sweeping plots that occur across worlds where each type of character believes the other type is mythological. Just take a moment to think about that... This is High Entertainment in the old school definition, so be prepared for extreme goodness.
There are plots within plots with plots in these three books, and Prior writes with style and crisp dialogue that layers the plot lines smoothly so that the reader can follow what's going on in the multiple intertwining story arcs as long as you are paying attention. These books are intelligent novels requiring an IQ of at least 100, so no luke warm need to give it one or two star reviews because they don't understand. If you don't like books that require brains, don't download this omnibus.
The characters are diverse, in some cases wacky, in others down right evil. There is even a Supreme Technocrat. Who wouldn't love that? Prior pulls out all the stops on character development. You will find sorrow, love, humor, growth, camaraderie, hatred, faith and family. Of course, you will also find the undead, liches, demons, a gargoyle, dwarves, homunculi, man eating plants, and other monsters.
From a story standpoint, we have assassins, knights, God's, bards, magic, a possible extinction event, religious wars, demons, and a high body count. There are so many competing agendas that at times it is virtually impossible to guess what happens next. I dare you to try and guess the ending. My guess was completely wrong. So many plot twists. No one will be bored at any point in this trilogy.
The Bottom Line: If you want to read one of the best epic fantasy trilogies created in the last five years, then READ THIS! Best Thumping Read Around.
I was given a copy of the trilogy to honestly review - and that is what you have just read MLB.
There are creative people who astounded me with the depth and breadth of their imagination. You wonder how they can contain everything inside their head without it erupting into their daily lives, or driving them insane. Robin Williams is an obvious example, with his high speed comedy and huge repertoire of characters. Derek Prior is another. Just this trilogy alone will have you wondering how he keeps all of this amazingly detailed, Byzantine, character-rich extravaganza in his head and still function as a normal human.
He has created an epic fantasy across three books that is wild, fast-paced, has fantastic characters, spreads across countries as well as worlds and religions, and is absolutely one of the best fantasy trilogies in existence.
When you read the Deacon Shader trilogy, you will come to appreciate how epic the scope of Mr. Prior's imagination is as you are highly entertained by his hugely sweeping plots that occur across worlds where each type of character believes the other type is mythological. Just take a moment to think about that... This is High Entertainment in the old school definition, so be prepared for extreme goodness.
There are plots within plots with plots in these three books, and Prior writes with style and crisp dialogue that layers the plot lines smoothly so that the reader can follow what's going on in the multiple intertwining story arcs as long as you are paying attention. These books are intelligent novels requiring an IQ of at least 100, so no luke warm need to give it one or two star reviews because they don't understand. If you don't like books that require brains, don't download this omnibus.
The characters are diverse, in some cases wacky, in others down right evil. There is even a Supreme Technocrat. Who wouldn't love that? Prior pulls out all the stops on character development. You will find sorrow, love, humor, growth, camaraderie, hatred, faith and family. Of course, you will also find the undead, liches, demons, a gargoyle, dwarves, homunculi, man eating plants, and other monsters.
From a story standpoint, we have assassins, knights, God's, bards, magic, a possible extinction event, religious wars, demons, and a high body count. There are so many competing agendas that at times it is virtually impossible to guess what happens next. I dare you to try and guess the ending. My guess was completely wrong. So many plot twists. No one will be bored at any point in this trilogy.
The Bottom Line: If you want to read one of the best epic fantasy trilogies created in the last five years, then READ THIS! Best Thumping Read Around.
I was given a copy of the trilogy to honestly review - and that is what you have just read MLB.
October 21, 2015
The plot was interesting enough for me to invest time in starting to read this book, and I was glad that I did. The author invested time in the development and back story of his characters. He also created a world full of heroes,demons,monsters,and a quest to right the wrongs of the world.
August 13, 2016
Read by Nate (sent to goodreads via his kindle)
March 16, 2025
Definitely spoilers.
Overall I guess I liked it. I enjoy good character development, defined plotting, and wonderful world building, and this had all that. Though I find it weird Aethir had so very little divergence with Earth, at least in the human population, even though they’d been isolated on another planet with crazy different species and numbers of suns and moons and what have you for a thousand years. I loved the Australianness of it too, even though there are a couple phrases that I just didn’t get, but I can now add that to my new slangs from other countries list I got in my head.
I don’t really enjoy Christian allegories and substituting nonsense words for curses (everyone still knows what curse words you’re subbing them with so what’s the point? Is what I ask), but I rolled with it since it was a decent read.
I also don’t like when our main character kinda just lets things happen to him instead of making things happen, but in this case I guess it was all part of the overall idea of the message so I’ll belligerently let it slide. Very belligerently. What I won’t let slide is my annoyance at far too much main character angst and second guessing and soul searching and guilt and blah…. I again recognize it was part of the messaging of the story, but I just really don’t like reading books like that. Pretty much every time once you got a Shader perspective that’s all it was, this internal overthinking everything, other than occasional crazy ass kicking- sometimes even while doing the ass kicking- and it wore on me so so so very much. At the end… Shader wondering if the bad guy being manipulated by the big bad guy exculpated him even a little from any guilt….you kidding me? The answer is a big fuck no and I can’t believe you thought that would matter after all he’s done.
Didn’t like how the only women in the story were brash as hell and they got listened to because of it. Rhiannon was a complex character, the other ladies (I count four altogether if you don’t count dead mom), not so much, but it’s just weird how people (men, really this story is just men) just listened to them because they said stop being stupid in blunt ways. Wish that worked in real life.
Then there was the repetition- one character says something like, THIS is a fact, then later Shader realizes THIS is a fact, like he stumbled upon it himself, and for the life of me I can’t be bothered to go back and figure out if he’s the person who was told that fact in the first place, or that it was told to another character and he really stumbled into it on his own. All I know, as the reader was, yeah, you already said that. Or his perspective of the story knowing what the kyreh are called, even though he shouldn’t know that, unless at some point aristodeus or Nameless told him off screen, bc they’d really be the only people of the group who would know what they’re called other than bat ladies….
I also hate when an author can’t remember what they write. Shadrak had a bullet wound in the chest, and after extricating the bullet, was pretty much fine 24 hours later at the start of this book. At the end he’s still got an arm in a sling from a bullet in the shoulder days after the fact and is reflecting on how he stubbed his toe real bad once and couldn’t walk right for weeks. Did the author just forget he wrote this guy to have amazing healing abilities? Wish he wasn’t the only author I’ve come across that forgets their own writing, whether through inconsistencies like this or through writing a series and giving their characters a deus ex machina to get out of a tough spot in one book just to have them never use it again in subsequent books. Thankfully the latter didn’t really happen in this book.
Another stupid nitpick that made me feel like the end was too happily ever after and quickly written- dude loses his hanky in what is pretty much a desert and finds it in the same place at least a week later, after crazy storms caused by the end of the world thing. Sorry, but as a person who grew up on the plains, that thing would be miles away after that. I know, it’s stupid that it bothers me. I mean, this story has magic and other worlds, why does this hanky bother me?
So yeah, unfortunately I’m better at figuring out and explaining what I dislike than I am at what I like. But still this was an overall good adventure epic and I wouldn’t recommend it but I definitely would encourage others to give it a try. Things that bother me don’t bother others
Overall I guess I liked it. I enjoy good character development, defined plotting, and wonderful world building, and this had all that. Though I find it weird Aethir had so very little divergence with Earth, at least in the human population, even though they’d been isolated on another planet with crazy different species and numbers of suns and moons and what have you for a thousand years. I loved the Australianness of it too, even though there are a couple phrases that I just didn’t get, but I can now add that to my new slangs from other countries list I got in my head.
I don’t really enjoy Christian allegories and substituting nonsense words for curses (everyone still knows what curse words you’re subbing them with so what’s the point? Is what I ask), but I rolled with it since it was a decent read.
I also don’t like when our main character kinda just lets things happen to him instead of making things happen, but in this case I guess it was all part of the overall idea of the message so I’ll belligerently let it slide. Very belligerently. What I won’t let slide is my annoyance at far too much main character angst and second guessing and soul searching and guilt and blah…. I again recognize it was part of the messaging of the story, but I just really don’t like reading books like that. Pretty much every time once you got a Shader perspective that’s all it was, this internal overthinking everything, other than occasional crazy ass kicking- sometimes even while doing the ass kicking- and it wore on me so so so very much. At the end… Shader wondering if the bad guy being manipulated by the big bad guy exculpated him even a little from any guilt….you kidding me? The answer is a big fuck no and I can’t believe you thought that would matter after all he’s done.
Didn’t like how the only women in the story were brash as hell and they got listened to because of it. Rhiannon was a complex character, the other ladies (I count four altogether if you don’t count dead mom), not so much, but it’s just weird how people (men, really this story is just men) just listened to them because they said stop being stupid in blunt ways. Wish that worked in real life.
Then there was the repetition- one character says something like, THIS is a fact, then later Shader realizes THIS is a fact, like he stumbled upon it himself, and for the life of me I can’t be bothered to go back and figure out if he’s the person who was told that fact in the first place, or that it was told to another character and he really stumbled into it on his own. All I know, as the reader was, yeah, you already said that. Or his perspective of the story knowing what the kyreh are called, even though he shouldn’t know that, unless at some point aristodeus or Nameless told him off screen, bc they’d really be the only people of the group who would know what they’re called other than bat ladies….
I also hate when an author can’t remember what they write. Shadrak had a bullet wound in the chest, and after extricating the bullet, was pretty much fine 24 hours later at the start of this book. At the end he’s still got an arm in a sling from a bullet in the shoulder days after the fact and is reflecting on how he stubbed his toe real bad once and couldn’t walk right for weeks. Did the author just forget he wrote this guy to have amazing healing abilities? Wish he wasn’t the only author I’ve come across that forgets their own writing, whether through inconsistencies like this or through writing a series and giving their characters a deus ex machina to get out of a tough spot in one book just to have them never use it again in subsequent books. Thankfully the latter didn’t really happen in this book.
Another stupid nitpick that made me feel like the end was too happily ever after and quickly written- dude loses his hanky in what is pretty much a desert and finds it in the same place at least a week later, after crazy storms caused by the end of the world thing. Sorry, but as a person who grew up on the plains, that thing would be miles away after that. I know, it’s stupid that it bothers me. I mean, this story has magic and other worlds, why does this hanky bother me?
So yeah, unfortunately I’m better at figuring out and explaining what I dislike than I am at what I like. But still this was an overall good adventure epic and I wouldn’t recommend it but I definitely would encourage others to give it a try. Things that bother me don’t bother others
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
couldn-t-finish
January 3, 2025DNF, didn't like the narrator.
October 17, 2016
Exquisite and Intricate: a Masterfully Woven Tale!
Masterfully Woven only begins to describe the story-telling prowess of D. P. Prior as witnessed in this captivating, fully fleshed-out, infinitely enjoyable saga of 'what is,' 'what was,' and 'what may yet be' world of ever-challenged hero Deacon Shader as he triumphs(?) at great cost in the post-apocalyptic world(s) between the defeat of the Great Unweaving and the looming threat of the next. The characters involved are so richly drawn and integrated into the narrative that you'll become emotionally attached to all whether friend or foe! I am already on my third read-through and loving every minute of it! Highly recommended!
Masterfully Woven only begins to describe the story-telling prowess of D. P. Prior as witnessed in this captivating, fully fleshed-out, infinitely enjoyable saga of 'what is,' 'what was,' and 'what may yet be' world of ever-challenged hero Deacon Shader as he triumphs(?) at great cost in the post-apocalyptic world(s) between the defeat of the Great Unweaving and the looming threat of the next. The characters involved are so richly drawn and integrated into the narrative that you'll become emotionally attached to all whether friend or foe! I am already on my third read-through and loving every minute of it! Highly recommended!
February 15, 2015
Confusing and often boring
While claiming to be SciFi, this is pure fantasy that used high tech machines in some way. I love SciFi and found this to be seriously lacking. It's not a bad fantasy story but when the author fill in background or historic narrative it is painfully and mind numbingly boring. Most unfortunately the author fills the first 80 pages with this unnecessary junk and you'll be tempted to toss the book.
The positives are hard to find as the characters are annoying and unlikeable. There is a lot of action but is that really a positive? This may love it for that.
While claiming to be SciFi, this is pure fantasy that used high tech machines in some way. I love SciFi and found this to be seriously lacking. It's not a bad fantasy story but when the author fill in background or historic narrative it is painfully and mind numbingly boring. Most unfortunately the author fills the first 80 pages with this unnecessary junk and you'll be tempted to toss the book.
The positives are hard to find as the characters are annoying and unlikeable. There is a lot of action but is that really a positive? This may love it for that.
November 16, 2016
Great read and so happy there's more
Adventure, monsters, fighting, plots within plots. So much to go through. And it's long! I'm an avid reader and this took me about a week and a half of before bed reading! Highly recommended.
Adventure, monsters, fighting, plots within plots. So much to go through. And it's long! I'm an avid reader and this took me about a week and a half of before bed reading! Highly recommended.
February 15, 2018
Gave up .to difficult to follow the plot. To many weird characters. Failed to keep my interest.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews