Russell, Sean Books

The Isle of Battle (The Swans' War, Book 2)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With The Isle of Battle, the second book of the high- fantasy Swan's War trilogy, acclaimed novelist Sean Russell returns to the world of the Wynnd, a great river that does not always follow the maps and has tributaries in other worlds. The Isle of Battle continues the story of the archer Tam, his fellow Valemen Fynnol and Baore, and several other characters from The One Kingdom. The Valemen gain mysterious new allies and enemies as they search through otherworldly swamps and mountains for their fallen friend, the demigodlike Alaan, and seek to elude Alaan's more-than-mortal enemy and brother, the powerful and ruthless warrior-wizard, Hafydd.

Readers should not start the Swans' War with The Isle of Battle. It suffers the common trilogy malady of middle-book-itis: it doesn't greatly advance the overall plotline, and though it spends some time bringing readers up to speed on the backstory, it still swamps newcomers with multiple plotlines and characters. Also, the big cast means characterizations are often sketchy; the Valemen become almost interchangeable, and the powerful and intriguing Alaan rarely demonstrates these virtues, since he spends much of his time senseless from critical wounds. Furthermore, many readers will not be pleased that the book's vast cast includes only four women, with only two of them spending much time onstage (in the same body!). --Cynthia Ward

The Shadow Roads: Book Three of the Swans' War (Swans War)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

After the King of Ayr died without naming an heir, a century of enmity destroyed the one kingdom, as the mighty families of the Renn#233; and the Wills fought to determine the crown in a bitter storm of treachery and blood. But now the decades of hatred have woken the unquiet river spirits from their timeless sleep, andrevived a feud more deadly than any conflict of man.

As alliances shift and loyalties are tested in the harsh civil war between the two great families, each determined to destroy the other, Toren Renn#233; still fights for peace, hoping to stop the age-old war. But betrayals and double crosses rack the Renn#233; and the Wills, even as a larger threat rises. For the dark knight Hafydd has made a sinister alliance that leads him to secrets hidden for eons, including one that could destroy them all.

Only a brave few have managed to stand against Hafydd, and they are scattered throughout the land after a painful defeat: lost, separated, and weakened. Left for dead, the enigmatic wanderer Alaan must find his way through the treacherous, shifting southern lands, accompanied by the courageous Valeman, while Elise Wills, transformed by an eldritch bargain, pursues Hafydd herself as the nagar fight for revenge and the armies of the Renn#233; and the Wills clash for supremacy on the battlefield.

But what began as a struggle for a crown hasbecome a fight far more perilous, for woken by the wars of man and nagar, even Death himself is preparing to leave his fell kingdom and walk the world again. And if the door to his dread domain cannot be shut, the feud between the Renn#233; and the Wills and even the ancient wars of the nagar will be as nothing compared to the coming doom.

Lyrically written, dramatic yet poignant, the eagerly awaited The Shadow Roads concludes at long last the epic tale of the Swans' War, a triumph of literary achievement and the height of Sean Russell's acclaimed career to date.

Gatherer of Clouds (Initiate Brother)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

One of the finest books I have ever read. Make sure to start with the first one first, and then go on the sequel.

Just to warn/entice those who may have read some of Russell's other works first -- these two books are written by a warm inviting Russell, while his other books are written by a cold, cynical, sarcastic person. (Guess which I prefer.) So even if you did not care for Russell's other works, please give these a try.

Best writer I have seen in a long time! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a real treat for those who love to read! The first book, and this one is a great story, the witing style is smooth as silk, and the characters are not only interesting, and likeable, but believable to boot! I actually shed tears in public while reading this book, I couldn't put it down. Wonderful, enchanting, and totally satisfying read!

More with each re-reading 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Along with Initiate Brother, Gatherer of Clouds is a book I regularly re-read. It gives me joy each time. Vivid characters, great story, memorable vignettes and more than a little wisdom make it a great read.

The central religion of Wa, Botahism, is obviously based on Buddhism. The more my knowledge of Buddhism increases, the more soundly based Sean Russell's depiction seems.

Editorial Review:

As a barbarian army prepares to invade the empire of Wa, a single extraordinary monk may be the only person who can prevent catastrophe. Original.

The One Kingdom (The Swans' War, Book 1)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The cataclysm began more than a century earlier, when the King of Ayr died before naming an heir to the throne, and damned his realm to chaos. The cold-blooded conspiracies of the Renne and the Wills -- each family desirous of the prize of rule -- would sunder the one kingdom, and spawn generations of hatred and discord.

Now Toren Renne, leader of his great and troubled house, dreams of peace -- a valiant desire that has spawned hostility among his kinsmen, and vicious internal plots against his life. In the opposing domain, Elise Wills's desire for freedom is to be crushed, as an unwanted marriage to an ambitious and sinister lord looms large. As always, these machinations of nobles are affecting the everyday lives of the common folk -- and feeding a bonfire of animosity that has now trapped an unsuspecting young Valeman Tam and two fortune-hunting friends from the North in its high, killing flames.

But the closer Toren comes to achieving his great goal of uniting two enemy houses, the more treachery flowers. Nobles and mystics alike conspire to keep the realm divided, knowing that only in times of strife can their power grow.

And perhaps the source of an unending misery lies before an old king's passing, beyond the scope of history, somewhere lost in a fog of myth and magic roiling about an ancient enchanter named Wyrr -- who bequeathed to his children terrible gifts that would poison their lives...and their deaths. It is a cursed past and malevolent sorcery that truly hold the land, its people, and its would-be rulers bound. And before the already savaged kingdom can become one again, all Ayr will drown in a sea of blood.

The Initiate Brother Book One

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

outdoorpunk 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was casually recomended this book by a friend and after I started reading it I couldn't believe they had been so casual about it!! This was so much fun to read from beginning to end! At first you don't think you can keep up with the charaters but before long you know all of them intimately and share their struggle! Very fun and worth it!

Fantasy with an Asian seting 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Russell's two-book series is set in Wa, an imaginary empire with a culture primarily based on medieval China, although the names, for some reason, are Japanese. I like fantasies with a non-Western cultural base, although Russell's is not as strong as the excellent novels of Barry Hughart.

In this story, the young monk Shuyun becomes an adviser to the powerful nobleman Lord Shonto. Both become effectively enemies of the corrupt Emperor without being willing to go into open opposition, since Shonto has no desire to ascend the throne himself. Sent to a frontier province, they discover that a new leader has unified the tribes of the desert (Mongols) and is preparing a major invasion of Wa. Various subplots deal with corruption in Shuyun's Botahist (Buddhist) order and the political and romantic intrigues of the imperial Court.

It's an exciting story overall. The numerous characters are done well and the setting is impressively imagined. Readers should be aware that this book doesn't have a real ending; you have to read the sequel to get any resolution.

Editorial Review:

From acclaimed author Sean Russell comes "fantasy at its best" (Quantum)--the prequel to Gatherer of Clouds. Plague and warfare have swept across the the ancient kingdom of Wa, and the peace of the Empire is threatened. Only Initiate Brother Shuyun, a mystically gifted Botahist monk, can save the Empire and his own order from complete annihilation.

Compass of the Soul: River into Darkness #2 (River Into Darkness, 2)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In his quest to destroy all magic in the world, the last great mage, Lord Eldrich, has sent Erasmus Flattery to find and eradicate Anna, the leader of the Tellerites, a group of finatics desperate to preserve the magic--including the key to immortality--Eldrich wants to eliminate. Torn by his resentment of Eldrich's manipulations and his strange loyalty to Anna, Erasmus willl undergo a magical and spiritual journey which will cause him to question all he believes to be true...and rock the foundations of his world!

Praise for The Moontide and Magic Rise duology:

"This is lod-fashioned high adventure, complete with ancient ruins, a mysterious white falscon, a beautiful duchess, her homicidal brother, superstitious sailors, sea battles, miraculous rescues, and eager middshipman, and a sinister doctor."-- Locus

"A spectacular beginning of what is sure to be a successful fantasy series."-- Publishers Weekly

"Russell has wrttten a winner."-- Starlog

Sea without a Shore (Moontide Magic Rise)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

POLITICAL INTRIGUE 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book is full of interesting political intrigue!!!!!! I am 16 years old, and I think politics is boring and stupid, but Sea Without a Shore's old-world-ish politics were fresh, interesting, realistic, and altogether entertaining. The way Russel integrates the old legends of mage lore into the Moontide and Magic Rise series is great because it is very believable, and interesting as you follow the characters, on either side of the Farr court, discovering more and more about the legendary mages. Tristam's part in the book is being the modest hero, whom everything seems to happen to because he is special, no doubt. Russel accomplishes much with the long dialogue of the characters and their subtle movements. Never a dull moment, enough intelligent conversations intertwine with exciting action. In this book, the Swallow finally reaches Varia, a seeming tropical paradise that provides ample culture, tradition, natives, and mysterious places for much adventure into the unknown. The Dutchess is always a source of mystery, her strong yet vulnerable character revealed yet never fully understood. The characters made this book, as does the great ending that involves most of the main characters. A must-read! I can't wait to read their predecessors, the river into darkness series!

Editorial Review:

Sent on a voyage halfway around the world, promising young naturalist Tristram Flattery is led by the spirit familiar of his late mage uncle to a remote island, where it has been foretold that he will open the gateway to a magical world. Original.

World without End (Moontide Magic Rise)

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This Is Fantasy...? 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This work has more in common with the adventures of Horatio Hornblower than Bilbo Baggins. Particularly in this first half of the duology, there's little hint of any fantastic elements whatsoever. The non-fantasy feel is further accented by Russell's creation of a world that is so clear, specific, and well-grounded.

There's politics, travel adventure, and a bit of love(lust?) interest-- this could almost be a costume drama set in 18th century France! If you can relax and let this work take you where it will without waiting for a big furry mgic something to pop up, the work has some rewards-- strong characters, grown-up plot, intrigue, and sailing adventures. Just don't expect full-scale fantastic special effects.

Deeper is better... 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book (and the following book Sea Without a Shore). Russell does an excellent job of building a plausible, detailed and slightly divergent world. I think one of the things I enjoy most is the fact that Russell is adept at telling a story in two books (as opposed to the umteen books certain other fantasy authors require).

Editorial Review:

When naturalist Tristam Flattery is summoned to save a plant species with magical, medicinal properties, he is drawn into a political struggle that spans generations, threatens civilization, and leads him to the ends of the known world. Original.

Shadow Road (Swans' War)

Sean Russell

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Editorial Review:

A century of enmity has ravaged the one kingdom, as the mighty families of the Renne and the Wills have fought for their right to the crown. But now the decades of bloodshed have roused the unquiet river spirits from a timeless sleep, reviving a feud more deadly than any conflict of man. Alliances shift and loyalties are tested in the harsh civil war between the two great families, but a larger threat emerges. For the dark knight Hafydd has made a sinister alliance, leading him to eons old secrets, secrets that should remain hidden lest they destroy all lives they touch. Woken by the wars of man and nagar, even Death himself is preparing to leave his fell kingdom. And if the door to his domain cannot be shut, the feud between men and even the ancient wars of the nagar will be less than nothing besides the coming doom.

Beneath the Vaulted Hills : The River into Darkness

Sean Russell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sean Russell writes for people who prefer books to movies. No snappy dialogue or nonstop action sequences, just a mesmerizing tale, multifaceted characters, and lyrical descriptive prose. Beneath the Vaulted Hills is the first part of Russel's River Into Darkness series, which is itself a two-part prequel to Russell's Moontide and Magic Rise series. Each series stands alone, despite some characters in common.

Both series are set in the first half of an alternative 19th century. In Beneath the Vaulted Hills, Lord Eldrich, the last Mage, seeks to suppress all knowledge of magical powers. Two young men, Hayes and Kehler, and the beautiful Countess of Chilton have discovered clues to a possible trove of magical lore. It's concealed in a labyrinthine cave system behind a mysterious "crypt" linked to Teller, a renegade mage apprentice who founded a society to preserve magic. Erasmus Flattery, once a student in Eldrich's household, knows how dangerous the Mage can be, but finds himself joining the investigation. Both the Tellerites and Lord Eldrich follow, determined to control their discoveries.

Russell has the rare ability to immerse his readers so completely in his tale that reaching the end feels like waking from a particularly vivid dream. Fortunately the second volume of the series, The Compass of the Soul, continues it. --Nona Vero