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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this book, but I hard time getting through this book. I liked the parts that dealt with Lysaer and Arithon (mostly the beginning and the end), but I found much of the world building and background to be dense and dull. I wanted to just skim through the context. Then I would be confused and have to go back and slough through. It made for a very slow read. However, I liked the plot enough to give book two a try. (Plus, I bought both at the same time, so I already have it handy.)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
I won't be rating this book. If I were to describe it in 1 word it would be challenging. This is my 3rd or 4th try reading it, and it took me about 4 months to actually read it this time. I'm glad I persevered through it and did it. I hope Janny Wurts gets recognized for her amazing work as a writer because I recognize how good this book is without even managing to grasp it to its fullest. I look forward to coming back to this series and trying it again.
(maybe I'll come back to this and actually try to write some sort of a review since I really did appreciate the reading experience this book gave me.)
(maybe I'll come back to this and actually try to write some sort of a review since I really did appreciate the reading experience this book gave me.)
Repeatedly the Rauven mages had stressed that assumptions were the weakness of the learned. With a vengence.
Two half-brothers at war. Thus begins a tale that travels from one world through a portal to another world where mages hope the brothers working together can heal the plague of the mistwraith.
Misunderstandings, assumptions, wrong choices, overlooked opportunities, prophesies and hatreds abound. Sorcerers, it seems, are just as prone to error as everybody else.
The characters are well drawn and perverse and with minds of their own. The world is complex and the magic strange and confusing. The plot, though it seems fairly simple, confounds with consequences that aren't foreseen and complicate matters horribly.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
Two half-brothers at war. Thus begins a tale that travels from one world through a portal to another world where mages hope the brothers working together can heal the plague of the mistwraith.
Misunderstandings, assumptions, wrong choices, overlooked opportunities, prophesies and hatreds abound. Sorcerers, it seems, are just as prone to error as everybody else.
The characters are well drawn and perverse and with minds of their own. The world is complex and the magic strange and confusing. The plot, though it seems fairly simple, confounds with consequences that aren't foreseen and complicate matters horribly.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series.
5 stars after a second read.
I loved this first book in the Wars of Light and Shadow series. I will definitely re-read the entire series once I'm done with it, and I can imagine that it'll turn into a five star read. There's much between the lines to be discovered, and there are definitely things I missed.
Edit in 2019 after reading it a second time: this is incredibly rewarding to re-read.
This isn't an easy book. It's not a quick read. The prose is dense, beautiful, descriptive, and the author, Janny Wurts, asks the reader to pay attention and to be patient. No word is wasted, no paragraph can be skimmed. It's all there from the very start, and I found it extremely rewarding to put in the time and immerse myself in the world and the characters.
The Curse of the Mistwraith offers a richly detailed world, filled with lore and history. It feels like every word is hand picked, and I must admit I fell in love with Arithon, Master of Shadow, who just wants to play his music and instead gets pulled into an epic conflict.
I recommend this to everyone who enjoys high fantasy, is looking for an epic series, maybe even for a bit of a challenge, and who doesn't mind reading slowly, absorbing the prose and putting in some work.
I loved this first book in the Wars of Light and Shadow series. I will definitely re-read the entire series once I'm done with it, and I can imagine that it'll turn into a five star read. There's much between the lines to be discovered, and there are definitely things I missed.
Edit in 2019 after reading it a second time: this is incredibly rewarding to re-read.
This isn't an easy book. It's not a quick read. The prose is dense, beautiful, descriptive, and the author, Janny Wurts, asks the reader to pay attention and to be patient. No word is wasted, no paragraph can be skimmed. It's all there from the very start, and I found it extremely rewarding to put in the time and immerse myself in the world and the characters.
The Curse of the Mistwraith offers a richly detailed world, filled with lore and history. It feels like every word is hand picked, and I must admit I fell in love with Arithon, Master of Shadow, who just wants to play his music and instead gets pulled into an epic conflict.
I recommend this to everyone who enjoys high fantasy, is looking for an epic series, maybe even for a bit of a challenge, and who doesn't mind reading slowly, absorbing the prose and putting in some work.
2.4
The prose and the premise (as established in the prologue) drew me in: Wurts creates dense atmosphere, and I'm all in when it comes to evil sorcerers that are more than they seem to be. I was willing to accept the fantasy tropes of legendary swords and prophecies for such a character study.
However, the main characters remain pretty flat, and the light wielding brother seems to flop from super nice to super hateful to petulant etc. Side characters remain two dimensional and include a pretty normal acting 'Madman' that is repeatedly reduced to being 'fat'. Women have no relevance, apart from, of course, the obligatory dead mother. Much is told rather heavy-handed instead letting you read between the lines, and the naming conventions made everyone unmemorable.
I genuinely think there was the potential for an intriguing story here, the two brothers slowly overcoming their prejudices, learning to see the world through each others' eyes and to work together. However, the psychological nuance this would have required is missing.
DNF on p. 130
The prose and the premise (as established in the prologue) drew me in: Wurts creates dense atmosphere, and I'm all in when it comes to evil sorcerers that are more than they seem to be. I was willing to accept the fantasy tropes of legendary swords and prophecies for such a character study.
However, the main characters remain pretty flat, and the light wielding brother seems to flop from super nice to super hateful to petulant etc. Side characters remain two dimensional and include a pretty normal acting 'Madman' that is repeatedly reduced to being 'fat'. Women have no relevance, apart from, of course, the obligatory dead mother. Much is told rather heavy-handed instead letting you read between the lines, and the naming conventions made everyone unmemorable.
I genuinely think there was the potential for an intriguing story here, the two brothers slowly overcoming their prejudices, learning to see the world through each others' eyes and to work together. However, the psychological nuance this would have required is missing.
DNF on p. 130
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
This book. One, you know it's going to be epic fantasy when faced with not just a map, but also a 30 page glossary. Two, Janny Wurts does not mess around with her characters. Goodreads tells me it took almost three months to read this, and I believe it. This is actually not the best book for half hour lunch breaks and 7-10 minute walks from the car, as the story required a certain amount of care in my reading. Also it took me about the first third of the book to realise, no I hadn't missed vital details - she was just being mysterious and would cover that gnawing point soon. I think I will continue with this series, but I think I need to put a little bit of fluff in between instalments.
Hey, I have a booktube channel (youtube for book reviews, etc.), and I include Curse in my top 10 fantasy books list here.
The best thing I can come up with to describe this book is that it's the most frustratingly amazing book I've ever read.
I can see why The Curse of the Mistwraith is one of those love it or hate it kind of books. It's been called overly-long, overly-detailed, and overly-descriptive, but I didn't find that to be the case. Instead, I'd go with the word 'immersive,' a word more often used to describe imagery and 3D technology.
What polarizes readers of this book/series comes down to the writing. This is also the reason for the "frustrating" part of my above statement. Not only is it full of details and description, the phrasing itself is complicated and the ideas expressed are, therefore, difficult to grasp the first time through. I can honestly say I've never had to reread passages as often as I have with this book.
At the same time, I couldn't imagine anything different. The writing perfectly fits the story, giving it an epic feeling, making it feel like history in the making.
Sometimes it's just a phrase framed with a negative instead of a positive and while I loved this book, I had a really hard time being forced to reread so often. It's definitely not a book to take to bed with you or for any time when you are remotely sleepy. You need full brainpower for this one.
Wurts is an incredible writer in so many ways, but what I really noticed is her ability to combine the "show don't tell" advice that's the typical writing advice with the moments when it's just better to tell. Character traits will be displayed through action or dialogue, but sometimes it's just better to tell a few things and Wurts is the master at it.
Along with the writing, the structure of the book is unique. After a short prologue, the book follows a pattern with a chapter, followed by two titled sub-chapters and then another prologue (essentially) with three lines that set up the next block of chapter/sub-chapters. The closest thing I can compare this to is Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which has set-up chapters throughout to explore the entire world and begin foreshadowing events.
Probably best compared to The Wheel of Time in terms of complexity of plot and immersion into the world, the Wars of Light and Shadow series is something full of life where if the characters don't feel like good friends, you'll at least know them just as well.
If you want a challenge along the lines of Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, but not quite, that will having you living and breathing in another world altogether, you're in for a treat. I'm looking forward to the next book, Ships of Merior, but if you'd asked me a week or two ago while I was in the middle of Curse, I'd probably have told you I needed a long break before diving back into this series.
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Ps. Janny Wurts is also an amazing artist who's done all the covers (new and old) of this series. Some people just have it all. :)
The best thing I can come up with to describe this book is that it's the most frustratingly amazing book I've ever read.
I can see why The Curse of the Mistwraith is one of those love it or hate it kind of books. It's been called overly-long, overly-detailed, and overly-descriptive, but I didn't find that to be the case. Instead, I'd go with the word 'immersive,' a word more often used to describe imagery and 3D technology.
What polarizes readers of this book/series comes down to the writing. This is also the reason for the "frustrating" part of my above statement. Not only is it full of details and description, the phrasing itself is complicated and the ideas expressed are, therefore, difficult to grasp the first time through. I can honestly say I've never had to reread passages as often as I have with this book.
At the same time, I couldn't imagine anything different. The writing perfectly fits the story, giving it an epic feeling, making it feel like history in the making.
Sometimes it's just a phrase framed with a negative instead of a positive and while I loved this book, I had a really hard time being forced to reread so often. It's definitely not a book to take to bed with you or for any time when you are remotely sleepy. You need full brainpower for this one.
Wurts is an incredible writer in so many ways, but what I really noticed is her ability to combine the "show don't tell" advice that's the typical writing advice with the moments when it's just better to tell. Character traits will be displayed through action or dialogue, but sometimes it's just better to tell a few things and Wurts is the master at it.
Along with the writing, the structure of the book is unique. After a short prologue, the book follows a pattern with a chapter, followed by two titled sub-chapters and then another prologue (essentially) with three lines that set up the next block of chapter/sub-chapters. The closest thing I can compare this to is Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which has set-up chapters throughout to explore the entire world and begin foreshadowing events.
Probably best compared to The Wheel of Time in terms of complexity of plot and immersion into the world, the Wars of Light and Shadow series is something full of life where if the characters don't feel like good friends, you'll at least know them just as well.
If you want a challenge along the lines of Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, but not quite, that will having you living and breathing in another world altogether, you're in for a treat. I'm looking forward to the next book, Ships of Merior, but if you'd asked me a week or two ago while I was in the middle of Curse, I'd probably have told you I needed a long break before diving back into this series.
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Ps. Janny Wurts is also an amazing artist who's done all the covers (new and old) of this series. Some people just have it all. :)
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced