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jdsutter's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
The series continues to plod along. I'm losing hope that it will get better, but I'm stubbornly sticking with it only because I just want to know where the whole thing is going.
ctiner7's review against another edition
4.0
I was not a huge fan of this last edition to the series. There is one more after this, that is due to release this year (September 2014), and I am hoping that the last and final book of the series is better than this one was. I have genuinely enjoyed the series as a whole, but this one just got drawn out and slow for me.
juliebihn's review against another edition
4.0
Solid read, though I thought it started slowly and there are some surprisingly distressing theological ideas. Full review at http://kinynchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-shadow-lamp-by-stephen-r-lawhead.html
botsyd's review against another edition
2.0
I'm removing a star for the page long description of a tea pot shattering. The generally meh review for an excessively large cast which did not allow the plot to move far enough.
bernieanderson's review against another edition
4.0
The inter-dimensional romp continues. This has some absolutely beautiful prose at the end.
There’re some bits that feel a little contrived ... but all in all I’m enjoying this story.
Also be sure read Lawhead’s essay at the end. Fascinating.
Ready to begin the final installment.
There’re some bits that feel a little contrived ... but all in all I’m enjoying this story.
Also be sure read Lawhead’s essay at the end. Fascinating.
Ready to begin the final installment.
myfrogmonster's review against another edition
4.0
So the story gets a bit weirder and weirder but of course I need to know where this all ends so I have already started book 5. We shall see.
wolfinthestars's review against another edition
4.0
The books in the Bright Empires series center around the themes of ley lines, travel across space and time, and a search for a legendary map that leads to a great, mysterious treasure. The Shadow Lamp adds to these the race to save reality, giving even more epic proportions to the entire story.
The Shadow Lamp is my favorite book in the series so far. Everything's gaining momentum as the series nears its end, and all of the characters are deepening with their newest experiences or with revelations about their past. I like the new characters that have been introduced or expanded upon, especially Cass. I also appreciate that Lawhead is not afraid to have his characters talk about huge, philosophical and scientific ideas without dumbing it down. I enjoyed reading those sections.
What has always excited me most about this series is how many historical places it explores. I love history, so it's fun to get to visit so many different times and places in one book. Lawhead brings each one to life with his vivid descriptions. I recently saw a picture of Old Town Square in Prague and discovered that it looked very close to how I'd pictured it while reading these books. I get excited every time the characters travel to a new place because I can't wait to be transported to yet another beautiful, fascinating time or world.
The only complaint I can make about the book is that sometimes there'd be a recap of information that I'd just read a chapter or two before. The time this most stood out to me was near the end of the book, where a chapter in Kit's perspective spent at least a page reviewing what had happened and been discovered very recently. There hadn't been enough time between the sections of that thread of the story to forget what had last happened, so I found the recap tedious. That was the only thing that bothered me in the book, though, and thankfully it only happened a handful of times.
Lawhead's treatment of time travel has given me a lot of respect for him. He has been careful to make sure that all the events in the story work together and that there are no weird, circular timelines. I'd normally be apprehensive about the resolution of what has been revealed to be a big problem near the end of The Shadow Lamp, but Lawhead has earned my trust. I think he has the ability to bring the series to a satisfying end that makes sense in the next book, The Fatal Tree, and I can't wait to see how he does it.
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The Shadow Lamp is my favorite book in the series so far. Everything's gaining momentum as the series nears its end, and all of the characters are deepening with their newest experiences or with revelations about their past. I like the new characters that have been introduced or expanded upon, especially Cass. I also appreciate that Lawhead is not afraid to have his characters talk about huge, philosophical and scientific ideas without dumbing it down. I enjoyed reading those sections.
What has always excited me most about this series is how many historical places it explores. I love history, so it's fun to get to visit so many different times and places in one book. Lawhead brings each one to life with his vivid descriptions. I recently saw a picture of Old Town Square in Prague and discovered that it looked very close to how I'd pictured it while reading these books. I get excited every time the characters travel to a new place because I can't wait to be transported to yet another beautiful, fascinating time or world.
The only complaint I can make about the book is that sometimes there'd be a recap of information that I'd just read a chapter or two before. The time this most stood out to me was near the end of the book, where a chapter in Kit's perspective spent at least a page reviewing what had happened and been discovered very recently. There hadn't been enough time between the sections of that thread of the story to forget what had last happened, so I found the recap tedious. That was the only thing that bothered me in the book, though, and thankfully it only happened a handful of times.
Lawhead's treatment of time travel has given me a lot of respect for him. He has been careful to make sure that all the events in the story work together and that there are no weird, circular timelines. I'd normally be apprehensive about the resolution of what has been revealed to be a big problem near the end of The Shadow Lamp, but Lawhead has earned my trust. I think he has the ability to bring the series to a satisfying end that makes sense in the next book, The Fatal Tree, and I can't wait to see how he does it.
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
letstalkaboutbooksbaybee's review against another edition
1.0
Well. I thought this was the last book in the series. Apparently the fifth one comes out this coming September, and that will be the last book.
I only forced myself to finish this series because I thought I would at least get to find out what happened in the end, but i was wrong. Sadly.
The characters are two dimensional at best, and there is absolutely no character development from anyone at any point in the series. Plus there are more characters and plot lines going on than the author can seem to keep track of.
The covers are beautiful and intriguing, and a friend of mine recommended the author. I guess he typically writes Arthurian-time stories and perhaps this was an experimental type of series? Who knows, I'm going to give him another fair chance in the future and read another book by him, however I cannot force myself to any time soon.
All in all, if you're thinking of starting this series, I advise you to please save yourself and do not.
I only forced myself to finish this series because I thought I would at least get to find out what happened in the end, but i was wrong. Sadly.
The characters are two dimensional at best, and there is absolutely no character development from anyone at any point in the series. Plus there are more characters and plot lines going on than the author can seem to keep track of.
The covers are beautiful and intriguing, and a friend of mine recommended the author. I guess he typically writes Arthurian-time stories and perhaps this was an experimental type of series? Who knows, I'm going to give him another fair chance in the future and read another book by him, however I cannot force myself to any time soon.
All in all, if you're thinking of starting this series, I advise you to please save yourself and do not.
rosenectur's review against another edition
4.0
So far the weakest entry in the Bright Empires series by Stephen R. Lawhead. This entire book felt like unneeded filler to me. I kept going, “come on, come on, get to the point. Stop adding new characters and confusing the plot. Just go somewhere with this story.” I have purchased “The Fatal Tree” and hope that the last book pays off.
**Spoiler** What happens to Engelbert is wrong, wrong, wrong! How could he put the nicest (and most innocent) character through that kind of pain? There better be a good pay off in the next book.
**Spoiler** What happens to Engelbert is wrong, wrong, wrong! How could he put the nicest (and most innocent) character through that kind of pain? There better be a good pay off in the next book.