Shadowrise by Tad Williams (Shadowmarch Quartet: Book 3)

10/10

Shadowrise is the third book in a four part series so I shouldn’t need to say don’t read this book before the other two as you will not understand what is happening here. I also do not want to write something that might spoil it for someone who hasn’t read what comes before.

As shadows threaten to consume the kingdom of Southmarch, Barrick Eddon, heir to March throne, battles his way across the sinister Shadowlands. He must journey through this dangerous, inhuman realm to fulfil a pact ? as this may be all that can prevent the atrocities of a full-scale war with the Twilight people of Qul-na-Qar. Princess Briony, Barrick's twin sister, finds herself in no less danger at the court of Tessis in Syan. When those close to her fall dead from poisoning, she is to learn the true extent of the betrayal surrounding her. Her only option is to flee, as all those in Tessis turn against her ? all, that is, except for one important ally. Meanwhile, the assault upon Southmarch has truly begun. Yasammez, the formidable head of the Qar army, has ordered the attack, believing that the pact between humans and Qar has been broken. Unless Ferras Vansen, Captain of the Southmarch Royal Guard, can convince her otherwise, the humans are sure to meet the dark end that has been promised to them…

This book continues where we left off, with the characters all seeming to be at a midpoint on their journey to discovering who they are/where they fit in this rapidly changing world. We learn in this book through various sources why the humans and Qar are fighting as well as why Southmarch is so important to so many different people. The different strands start to make a lot more sense and give more purpose to some of the characters that we weren’t so certain how they interacted with the rest of the story.

This is an epic story which has many twists and turns, which put the characters in peril time and time again and yet is so gripping you have to continue reading just to know if they will survive. We learn more about the treachery that has been so well orchestrated by different sides that it is still affecting the lives of other characters who may not have been directly involved in the first place.

The main characters of this story all seem to be making their way to Southmarch which is about to be further besieged from all sides. There have been big decisions from characters who have grown further than imaginable from the first book. Although we are now heading in the directions of endings which are still not foreseen, I do not believe I will be disappointed by how this series will end.