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scrappyreadermum's review
4.0
I struggled a bit when Arrant was young but I grew to like him as a character and really feel for him. I think this was a really good book.
ireadthebooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
The Shadow of Tyr is a difficult book to review, partly because it spans a huge time frame (Ligea goes from 5 months pregnant to the mother of a teenage boy in 470 pages!) and partly because it’s jam packed with action.
One of the things I liked best about the Mirage Makers series is that Larke has created a heroine that’s easy to root for but often difficult to like. Ligea is just not a nice person. She’s manipulative, sometimes cold, and often cruel in her pursuits, whether they be revenge or power or justice. Motherhood doesn’t change her, and in fact, only showcases the lack of nurturing instinct. She loves Arrant, her son by Temellin, but it’s his nurse’s arms he runs to when he needs coddling. Yet Larke was careful: Ligea does love her son and tries to protect him in every way that she can, while still not displaying that cooing maternal nature that would be so out of character for her. I thought Larke’s portrayal of Ligea’s motherhood was excellent, and fit completely with the character she’d built. While Ligea reminds me a lot of her lead character in the Isles of Glory series. While Blaze and Ligea are both tough, and both collect allies and friends who love them despite their sometimes hard natures, Ligea is driven not only by revenge but a thirst for power, though she says it’s justice. What’s interesting is that it creates a certain suspicion on the part of the reader: is our heroine about to go evil? Are they going to have to overthrow her in book 3? Sometimes her actions go so far that you really do wonder.
I know that’s a weird thing to explain, but it’s all part of what I’ve decided is the Larke method. Like some of my other favorite authors, Larke isn’t afraid to take chances, hurt her characters, make you dislike them because that’s where the story is going, yet still make you feel like you just read something brilliant when you’re done. Her stories are full of surprises, with enough nods to the genre to be familiar, but enough originality and twists that you’re never quite sure where the story will go. I love being surprised by plot twists, and all of Larke’s series have done that for me so far.
The inclusion of Arrant’s POV in The Shadow of Tyr was unexpected, but welcome by the end. The chapters of his boyhood were fine and helped paint a picture of his relationship with Ligea, but as the novel progressed, he sometimes annoyed me (as probably, he was supposed to). I wasn’t sure I would even like him by the end of the novel, but novelist and mastermind Glenda Larke pulled through. Every bit of his personality and progression was geniously plotted until we get to the end, and everything, EVERYTHING falls apart in the way that books do at the end.
If you love high fantasy and you haven’t picked up a Glenda Larke novel yet, you are SERIOUSLY missing out.
This review for "The Shadow of Tyr" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
The Shadow of Tyr is a difficult book to review, partly because it spans a huge time frame (Ligea goes from 5 months pregnant to the mother of a teenage boy in 470 pages!) and partly because it’s jam packed with action.
One of the things I liked best about the Mirage Makers series is that Larke has created a heroine that’s easy to root for but often difficult to like. Ligea is just not a nice person. She’s manipulative, sometimes cold, and often cruel in her pursuits, whether they be revenge or power or justice. Motherhood doesn’t change her, and in fact, only showcases the lack of nurturing instinct. She loves Arrant, her son by Temellin, but it’s his nurse’s arms he runs to when he needs coddling. Yet Larke was careful: Ligea does love her son and tries to protect him in every way that she can, while still not displaying that cooing maternal nature that would be so out of character for her. I thought Larke’s portrayal of Ligea’s motherhood was excellent, and fit completely with the character she’d built. While Ligea reminds me a lot of her lead character in the Isles of Glory series. While Blaze and Ligea are both tough, and both collect allies and friends who love them despite their sometimes hard natures, Ligea is driven not only by revenge but a thirst for power, though she says it’s justice. What’s interesting is that it creates a certain suspicion on the part of the reader: is our heroine about to go evil? Are they going to have to overthrow her in book 3? Sometimes her actions go so far that you really do wonder.
I know that’s a weird thing to explain, but it’s all part of what I’ve decided is the Larke method. Like some of my other favorite authors, Larke isn’t afraid to take chances, hurt her characters, make you dislike them because that’s where the story is going, yet still make you feel like you just read something brilliant when you’re done. Her stories are full of surprises, with enough nods to the genre to be familiar, but enough originality and twists that you’re never quite sure where the story will go. I love being surprised by plot twists, and all of Larke’s series have done that for me so far.
The inclusion of Arrant’s POV in The Shadow of Tyr was unexpected, but welcome by the end. The chapters of his boyhood were fine and helped paint a picture of his relationship with Ligea, but as the novel progressed, he sometimes annoyed me (as probably, he was supposed to). I wasn’t sure I would even like him by the end of the novel, but novelist and mastermind Glenda Larke pulled through. Every bit of his personality and progression was geniously plotted until we get to the end, and everything, EVERYTHING falls apart in the way that books do at the end.
If you love high fantasy and you haven’t picked up a Glenda Larke novel yet, you are SERIOUSLY missing out.
This review for "The Shadow of Tyr" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
ashybear02's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This book took me a little longer to get into than the first, but once again, I did enjoy it. Something new that intrigued me was the introduction of Arrant, Ligea's son. He was a nice addition to the story and brought on a lot of emotions throughout the story. Mostly it was sadness with his constant determination and always feeling like a failure. I'm sure we've all been there at some stage with one thing or another, but I loved that he never gave up and kept trying, regardless.
I can't say I particularly enjoyed Ligea here either. She really irritated me in the first, but in this she just made me plain angry at times with her disappointment/anger at Arrant. Whilst it is kind of explained, it didn't really justify it in my opinion. The introduction of Gevanen was enjoyable as he had a great sense of humour and really brought some light heartedness to the whole situation.
Despite a few faults in the book, I look forward to the third and final installment and seeing Arrant's development.
I can't say I particularly enjoyed Ligea here either. She really irritated me in the first, but in this she just made me plain angry at times with her disappointment/anger at Arrant. Whilst it is kind of explained, it didn't really justify it in my opinion. The introduction of Gevanen was enjoyable as he had a great sense of humour and really brought some light heartedness to the whole situation.
Despite a few faults in the book, I look forward to the third and final installment and seeing Arrant's development.