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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
This might just be my favourite book of 2023.
The Shadow Casket is an exquisite second entry in the series. After I was blown away by "the book that did everything right" with The Ember Blade, The Shadow Casket surpassed my expectations. Chris Wooding's style is a perfect balance of easy reading, yet descriptive and it is so SO immersive.
I have to think about this for a while, let it all cool down for a bit. But I wouldn't be surprised if this was the best Fantasy book I've read so far. There's nothing I would recommend more if you like modern classic fantasy with a hint of grimdark, just perfectly executed. Extremely impressive!
The Shadow Casket is an exquisite second entry in the series. After I was blown away by "the book that did everything right" with The Ember Blade, The Shadow Casket surpassed my expectations. Chris Wooding's style is a perfect balance of easy reading, yet descriptive and it is so SO immersive.
I have to think about this for a while, let it all cool down for a bit. But I wouldn't be surprised if this was the best Fantasy book I've read so far. There's nothing I would recommend more if you like modern classic fantasy with a hint of grimdark, just perfectly executed. Extremely impressive!
The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding is the long-awaited second book in the Darkwater Legacy that have to admit didn't live up to the standards of The Ember Blade, and that was disappointing.
It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.
Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there's only one of her.
But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?
The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.
Picking up from the end of the Ember Blade, our characters have thrust straight into building the blocks of the revolution whilst navigating all the information they found out at the end of book one. I wasn't convinced that three years had passed and would have been happier with a straight line into this. Wooding has written the characters so well in book one and continued in this in book two but it felt like there was no growth or anything in between the timeskip that really mattered. The character progression felt less like natural development and the dynamics of the group felt much the same which given the previous book, should have been changed. I enjoyed being back in this world and the advancement of the history and lore just grabbed me by the legs and pulled me right in. Wooding has opened the story wide open and that was the most impressive part.
The main thematic element of this was heroism. There's a lot of talk surrounding loyalty and trust and whilst I've described the previous book as nostalgic fantasy, the story here has become a complex mash of grey areas and is no longer a conflict of simply good vs evil. We see multiple different perspectives of struggle from all sides and whilst natural progression was dispiriting, some of the character arcs were emotionally powered. Some of the decisions on these arcs were riveting. The choices kept me engaged but some of it felt like shock for shocks value. Some storylines were unsatisfying and the resolution wasn't up to par with my own expectations but they did leave us guessing.
This is a strong return to the Darkwater Legacy but the approx. 900 pages felt like filler at times and I just wanted to rush to the end to see the ending.
It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.
Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there's only one of her.
But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?
The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.
Picking up from the end of the Ember Blade, our characters have thrust straight into building the blocks of the revolution whilst navigating all the information they found out at the end of book one. I wasn't convinced that three years had passed and would have been happier with a straight line into this. Wooding has written the characters so well in book one and continued in this in book two but it felt like there was no growth or anything in between the timeskip that really mattered. The character progression felt less like natural development and the dynamics of the group felt much the same which given the previous book, should have been changed. I enjoyed being back in this world and the advancement of the history and lore just grabbed me by the legs and pulled me right in. Wooding has opened the story wide open and that was the most impressive part.
The main thematic element of this was heroism. There's a lot of talk surrounding loyalty and trust and whilst I've described the previous book as nostalgic fantasy, the story here has become a complex mash of grey areas and is no longer a conflict of simply good vs evil. We see multiple different perspectives of struggle from all sides and whilst natural progression was dispiriting, some of the character arcs were emotionally powered. Some of the decisions on these arcs were riveting. The choices kept me engaged but some of it felt like shock for shocks value. Some storylines were unsatisfying and the resolution wasn't up to par with my own expectations but they did leave us guessing.
This is a strong return to the Darkwater Legacy but the approx. 900 pages felt like filler at times and I just wanted to rush to the end to see the ending.
This book was good, but not as good as The Ember Blade. I think Wooding is at his best bordering between the civilized and darkly fantastical, sitting on the cusp of Lovecraftian horror, dangling his literary legs but never fully jumping in.
Parts of the best-friend-intrigue definitely didn't hit as hard as they should have and delving into the political realm of the world just simply did not grip as much as his previous best writing. In the end, I will continue reading this saga and follow into #3 but hopefully Wooding has used the writing of this novel as a firm lesson to what lends itself best in his writing style.
Parts of the best-friend-intrigue definitely didn't hit as hard as they should have and delving into the political realm of the world just simply did not grip as much as his previous best writing. In the end, I will continue reading this saga and follow into #3 but hopefully Wooding has used the writing of this novel as a firm lesson to what lends itself best in his writing style.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A deep and enjoyable fantasy
The follow up to the epic Ember Blade, this story was a little less epic, a lot more meandering and felt a lot like the book 2 of a trilogy. There's the angst of Aren as he yearns after Fen, but doesn't tell her his feelings and then gets all jealous as she gives other guys her attention. The villain is given a very sympathetic angle and possibly comes across an even bigger villain (TBC?). Nothing goes in the direction you expect it to, which I did appreciate. There were lots of good moments, but they were slightly bogged down by the angst and meanderings of the story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes