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A review by patchworkculture
Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book made me realize that I like the reluctant hero trope. Well, I can only think of this book and RotE (Fitz) as examples right now. It’s intriguing because the reader sees Arithon’s internal battle with the life he is compelled to lead versus the one he wants. On the other hand, events put his brother in a corner and make him seem flat. Towards the end, Lysaer is boring and annoying and I hope he gets more nuance in future books (which seems promising considering the dynamism of other cast members). I understand why this is the case but that doesn’t keep me from rolling my eyes. I plan to continue the series slowly after I read some other books. I look forward to seeing what happens next, although I worry about 10 more books where the brothers are pitted against each other. That would get old. I know there are arcs within the series, so I hope there are other conflicts and the story explores new elements, as there appears to be plenty to expand on. The magic is pretty cool. I always appreciate when there are consequences for its use. There are rules, although I am skeptical that the sorcerers often knew how to respond to unprecedented circumstances, even if they were centuries old and powerful! Foresight is a relatively common talent. I find it interesting but also a little iffy in fantasy in case it reveals the plot too soon or conveniently resolves situations. We’ll see how it goes. Lastly, the prose is pretty unique and not something I could read if tired, anxious, or otherwise distracted. I’m not super well-versed in grammar or style terminology, but ample description and unique sentence structure/order than I commonly read give the effect of passive voice or dangling modifiers. I had to focus to maintain clarity. Another interesting experience is that I would mentally note that something had happened, and then half a page later see the thing I thought had already transpired be explicitly stated. That makes me wonder if I just jumped to conclusions while reading or if the prose regularly reinforces its points. Prepare for an active reading experience if you pick this up, but note that there are still many striking passages. 
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