I finally managed to get around to reading The Light of Burning Shadows by Chris Evans on the trip to Melbourne on Thursday. Yes, a book I ordered especially in from Amazon/America because I wasn’t sure if I could get it yet in Ballarat, which had been sitting on my bedside table for a couple of weeks as I kept finding myself otherwise occupied. Go figure.
Anyway, I’ve read the book and it successfully continues the tale started in A Darkness Forged in Fire – a military tale set in a fantasy world. It’s got all the hallmarks of epic fantasy, just with a military force providing the setting for the main characters. Lots of interesting things going on, but, frustratingly, it’s a book 2 of a fantasy series (possibly a trilogy, though I haven’t double-checked), and it has the basic problem that middle books of trilogies have, especially when the entire trilogy isn’t out yet: it doesn’t actually end the tale.
The Light of Burning Shadows does feel part of a bigger tale, but it’s not really standalone. The first book felt a lot more complete in itself. Of course, Light does end on a cliffhanger, which doesn’t really help it feel complete – but the tale it tells doesn’t quite feel to have the significance needed to be complete unto itself. (Read one of Steven Erikson’s Malazan books. Yes, they’re a lot weightier, but although they’re all part of a series, each builds to a massive climax that makes each book significant). There’s a climax here, but it doesn’t feel quite as important.
What makes Light good, though, is the world it’s set in, more of which is revealed in this book. There’s a lovely moment when a character who thought he was one of the villains realises that he actually isn’t. That’s not quite an accurate description of what happens, but the theme is something that’s turned up a couple of times in this series. I’m still not convinced the Shadow Monarch is actually evil. Honestly, I could do with some more time spent with the characters; the character of the Prince, in particular, holds a lot of potential that you don’t really get to see because most of the viewpoint characters don’t like him.
The book would probably benefit from a summary of who the characters are at its start or end, mainly due to the fact that they get referred to by first or last name (and sometimes rank), which proved confusing from time to time. OTOH, there aren’t really that many characters, so maybe I just need a better memory (and more sleep before reading it!)
I enjoyed reading the book, and I’m hoping it won’t be that long before the next one appears!