The Pathless Way

Whiteblade Universe #II

by Adam Nichols

Set in the same world as War of the Lords Veil, this novel tells a parallel story of ordinary men struggling against oppression and sorcery, but two generations have lived and died since the earlier events.

Genres: Fantasy

416 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 1996

Reviews

[S M H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely obscure fantasy book, which I was lucky enough to find in a second hand bookstore in the hills. But despite that, the quality of the novel is up there with the best of the best in fantasy stories. An interesting world, an amazing system of power and philosophy. Interesting main characters and good writing. Really, my main problem is that there isn't more.

[styx · Rating 4 out of 5]

really cool to see a fantasy tackle spiritualism like this

[Nikhilā · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not often that a book manages to surprise me, but this one did, especially with the ending.

A refreshingly different take on the written-to-death fantasy story of elves, warring armies, a bratty hero and an unusual and angry heroine. With a nice mix of adventure, spirituality, philosophy and wonder, if you can get past what a slime-ball the hero is, this is a very enjoyable read.

That said, the hero really is not likeable, and his personality and the way the story seems to be panning out became grating at times. I also think that leaving out one of the twists at the end of the book would have made it a lot better.
As well, the writing style of the author is not entirely to my liking. I would have liked to have seen more variation between the ‘voices’ of the two heroes, and more description of the characters. And I felt like at one minute, a particular detail about a character - say a wound - was really important, constantly hurting, etc. and then the next minute it was completely and utterly forgotten. And there are SO many loose ends! Holy cow, so many!

3.5 stars all up.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this after picking it up at a bookfair. Some interesting philosophy/spirituality, but a great journey to see the main characters develop. Wasn't quite convinced by some of the very end, so I didn't give it 5 stars, but an enjoyable read. I hadn't read the books that come before it, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything much.