The Shadow Roads

The Shadow Roads ‘The Swan’s War Book III’ (2004) Sean Russell

Finally! The book was in the mailbox when we got home, and I devoured it last night.

Good. Very good!

Yet in retrospect this series is quite different from other Sean Russell books I’ve read. There was more direct action. In the past I’ve found his books to be somewhat internal–as about dreams, thoughts, and impressions as action I suppose–which I quite enjoyed. This book had much more action: battles and duels and travel. There was still a great deal of internal politics, which I expected and like, but there was far more bashing about with swords than I’ve come to expect. Not that this was a bad thing, it was just different than I’d expected.

The three nagars have made deals with three people, allowing them to share those bodies, giving the three individuals the memories and powers the nagars had when they were alive. For some, the fear is that the individual will lose their own personality, and be subsumed into the powers of the nagar. For some of the powers that the nagars gained when they were alive, came with a high price. A price that those who shared their bodies with the nagars may not have been willing to pay themselves.

What I enjoyed most about this final book is that many things did not come out as I expected, which is of course a good thing, because I like not knowing for certain what will happen.

So, despite Sean Russell’s betrayal in writing a trilogy, I still highly recommend this series. The characters are good, and the writing and stories running through the book are excellent. Was it worth getting the final book in the series in hardback instead of waiting for paperback to come out?

Most definitely yes.
Rating: 8/10

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