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A review by willrefuge
Calling of Light by Lori M. Lee
5.0
9 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2024/04/13/calling-of-light-by-lori-m-lee-review/
Beware spoilers for the first two books in the Shamanborn trilogy, and/or check out my reviews of Book 1, Forest of Souls, and Book 2, Broken Web, here!
With the death of Queen Meliyr, Prince Meleik is set to ascend the throne, ushering Evewyn into a more peaceful age. Yet there is still evil in the world, and problems to his rule. One is the Dead Wood. With the Soulless released from his prison, the Wood stands as a greater threat than ever before, and one that is still growing, slowly but surely encroaching on the Empire’s borders. The Soulless himself is another. One soulrender would be bad enough, but the Empire harbors one more, this one still fresh to her powers, but seen as more dangerous than anything—even the Soulless—to the peace.
Sirscha.
Sirscha stands at the right-hand of the throne, as the King’s Shadow, a position she always wanted, always dreamt of, until she achieved it. But with every other kingdom calling for her head, and no free time to see her friends and loved ones, Sirscha is questioning the power of the position, power she never even wanted.
While the entire world (outside the King, whose position shields her) thinks her a monster, Sirscha knows where the real danger lies: at the feet of the Soulless, and the Dead Wood. Two things she’ll do anything to destroy, even if it kills her.
The Soulless, for his part, doesn’t seem to share the feeling. Rather than wanting Sirscha dead, he seeks to recruit her, to mentor her, and to usher in a new world, with the two of them at its forefront.
As the lines blur and the way forward dips deeper and deeper into shadow, the whereabouts of right and wrong grow indistinct. With power within her grasp and everything on the line, Sirscha must face the two questions that really matter—how can she see her friends through the chaos safely, and what is she willing to do to see it happen?
—
Calling of Light marks conclusion to the Shamanborn trilogy, a series where each successive entry delivered more than the one before it. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, especially that the lack of romance doesn’t seem forced or absent, nor does it detract from becoming immersed in the tale or enjoying its conclusion. Now, I personally really enjoyed the lack of discernible romance in this series, but I’ve found a lot of readers and a lot of reviews struggling with it, as it’s not exactly typical of YA. Still, people can read between the lines. Through the first two books, there has been much debate over who Sirscha will end up with. And, following the conclusion of this one, I’ve read several reviews that think they have it pegged, despite there again being no clear romance at any point (again, at least half the early reviews I read referenced the lack of romance, but also what exactly the implied romance WAS, lol). One of the characters even addresses it at one point and Sirscha pretty much ignores it.
So, if the lack of romance is a problem for you, I guess maybe you should skip this one. Personally, I really enjoyed the series: the character building especially—relationships, friendships, how they’re forged and tested throughout, again, even without any sexual hints of any kind. While I really enjoyed the setting and the magic, I think both could’ve been established a bit more, to really help the immersion. But then again, since I read Book #3 in a day, maybe it came together well enough at the close.
Do read this if you like fantasy and character development told through deep and tested ties. Something a bit darker than the norm, where the lines of good and evil blur a bit at the edges, and politics have a clear undercurrent that hints at a much greater complexity. I’d say it’s a great jumping-off point for something like V.E. Schwab, Joe Abercrombie, or N.K. Jemisin. Something slightly dark to start with, but with a deep dive coming later on.
TL;DR
An improvement in every way over each of the two before it, Calling of Light deepens character development—especially through interactions and (non-sexual) relationships—improves immersion, and completes the story it set out to tell in both an entertaining and impactful manner. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, sadly more so than the journey to reach it (that is, I enjoyed CoL more than the previous two books put together). I’ll certainly miss the world, though I’m glad I came along (and stayed on) for the ride. While its lack of discernible romance might ruin Calling of Light for some, others can find more than enough beneath the surface if they look hard enough. A good, entertaining series that won’t break the bank, with a good narrator should one choose to go that route.
Audio Note: I loved Cindy Kay’s performance in this, feeling like she finally got enough into the role to capture the essence of all of the key characters. While Sirscha and Saengo have always been strong, up til now any male characters have just sounded brooding no matter the instance. In this book, however, Theyen actually sported a range of emotions, ranging from anger to boredom to spite AND BACK to brooding. Now that might sound like sarcasm, but it’s pretty much Theyen’s character; there is more than just brooding, but it’s mostly all angst-adjacent. But until this third book, all the “adjacent” spheres sounded exactly the same. I’ll have to look out for her in the future, as now I know she can deliver a solid read no matter the circumstances.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2024/04/13/calling-of-light-by-lori-m-lee-review/
Beware spoilers for the first two books in the Shamanborn trilogy, and/or check out my reviews of Book 1, Forest of Souls, and Book 2, Broken Web, here!
With the death of Queen Meliyr, Prince Meleik is set to ascend the throne, ushering Evewyn into a more peaceful age. Yet there is still evil in the world, and problems to his rule. One is the Dead Wood. With the Soulless released from his prison, the Wood stands as a greater threat than ever before, and one that is still growing, slowly but surely encroaching on the Empire’s borders. The Soulless himself is another. One soulrender would be bad enough, but the Empire harbors one more, this one still fresh to her powers, but seen as more dangerous than anything—even the Soulless—to the peace.
Sirscha.
Sirscha stands at the right-hand of the throne, as the King’s Shadow, a position she always wanted, always dreamt of, until she achieved it. But with every other kingdom calling for her head, and no free time to see her friends and loved ones, Sirscha is questioning the power of the position, power she never even wanted.
While the entire world (outside the King, whose position shields her) thinks her a monster, Sirscha knows where the real danger lies: at the feet of the Soulless, and the Dead Wood. Two things she’ll do anything to destroy, even if it kills her.
The Soulless, for his part, doesn’t seem to share the feeling. Rather than wanting Sirscha dead, he seeks to recruit her, to mentor her, and to usher in a new world, with the two of them at its forefront.
As the lines blur and the way forward dips deeper and deeper into shadow, the whereabouts of right and wrong grow indistinct. With power within her grasp and everything on the line, Sirscha must face the two questions that really matter—how can she see her friends through the chaos safely, and what is she willing to do to see it happen?
—
Calling of Light marks conclusion to the Shamanborn trilogy, a series where each successive entry delivered more than the one before it. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, especially that the lack of romance doesn’t seem forced or absent, nor does it detract from becoming immersed in the tale or enjoying its conclusion. Now, I personally really enjoyed the lack of discernible romance in this series, but I’ve found a lot of readers and a lot of reviews struggling with it, as it’s not exactly typical of YA. Still, people can read between the lines. Through the first two books, there has been much debate over who Sirscha will end up with. And, following the conclusion of this one, I’ve read several reviews that think they have it pegged, despite there again being no clear romance at any point (again, at least half the early reviews I read referenced the lack of romance, but also what exactly the implied romance WAS, lol). One of the characters even addresses it at one point and Sirscha pretty much ignores it.
So, if the lack of romance is a problem for you, I guess maybe you should skip this one. Personally, I really enjoyed the series: the character building especially—relationships, friendships, how they’re forged and tested throughout, again, even without any sexual hints of any kind. While I really enjoyed the setting and the magic, I think both could’ve been established a bit more, to really help the immersion. But then again, since I read Book #3 in a day, maybe it came together well enough at the close.
Do read this if you like fantasy and character development told through deep and tested ties. Something a bit darker than the norm, where the lines of good and evil blur a bit at the edges, and politics have a clear undercurrent that hints at a much greater complexity. I’d say it’s a great jumping-off point for something like V.E. Schwab, Joe Abercrombie, or N.K. Jemisin. Something slightly dark to start with, but with a deep dive coming later on.
TL;DR
An improvement in every way over each of the two before it, Calling of Light deepens character development—especially through interactions and (non-sexual) relationships—improves immersion, and completes the story it set out to tell in both an entertaining and impactful manner. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, sadly more so than the journey to reach it (that is, I enjoyed CoL more than the previous two books put together). I’ll certainly miss the world, though I’m glad I came along (and stayed on) for the ride. While its lack of discernible romance might ruin Calling of Light for some, others can find more than enough beneath the surface if they look hard enough. A good, entertaining series that won’t break the bank, with a good narrator should one choose to go that route.
Audio Note: I loved Cindy Kay’s performance in this, feeling like she finally got enough into the role to capture the essence of all of the key characters. While Sirscha and Saengo have always been strong, up til now any male characters have just sounded brooding no matter the instance. In this book, however, Theyen actually sported a range of emotions, ranging from anger to boredom to spite AND BACK to brooding. Now that might sound like sarcasm, but it’s pretty much Theyen’s character; there is more than just brooding, but it’s mostly all angst-adjacent. But until this third book, all the “adjacent” spheres sounded exactly the same. I’ll have to look out for her in the future, as now I know she can deliver a solid read no matter the circumstances.