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Shadowplay: Shadowmarch: Volume II
Shadowplay: Shadowmarch: Volume II
Shadowplay: Shadowmarch: Volume II
Audiobook30 hours

Shadowplay: Shadowmarch: Volume II

Written by Tad Williams

Narrated by Dick Hill

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

A year ago, the March Kingdoms were at peace, and the Eddon family held the throne. King Olin Eddon is a prisoner in a faraway land, and Olin's heir Kendrick is dead—slain by treachery and dark, bloody magic.

With their father and brother taken from them, the royal twins Barrick and Briony have done their best to hold the kingdom together, but now Barrick has been captured in a failed war against the immortal Twilight People and Briony has been forced to flee.

Behind the Shadowline, Prince Barrick is lost and spellbound in the land of the fairies, while Princess Briony finds both allies and deadly enemies in unexpected places far from the land of her birth.

During their desperate journeys the twins discover that even a land's rulers may know little of it's true history, and that both families and nations can hide dark and terrible secrets.

But even if Barrick and Briony survive learning the astonishing truths at the heart of their own family and of Southmarch itself, they must still find a way to do the impossible: they must reclaim their kingdom and rescue their home and people from the multitude of powerful enemies—from traitors, tyrants, a god-king, and even the angry gods themselves.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 2, 2010
ISBN9781441891129
Shadowplay: Shadowmarch: Volume II
Author

Tad Williams

Tad Williams is a New York Times and London Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, with novels translated into more than twenty languages and a global readership. He hosted a syndicated radio show for over a decade, co-created the first completely interactive television program, and is currently involved in film, television, comic books, computer games and other multimedia projects. He and his family live in California.

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Reviews for Shadowplay

Rating: 3.93235290117647 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The second book continues where the first let off. I live how in the beginning, you get a synopsis of the previous book to refresh your memory. I obviously didn't need this, since immediately started this boos as soon as I was done with first one. Where the first book pretty much introduced you to everyone, this book continues their tale. Strong story lines are starting to cross together, and just when you think things are about to get better for the select protagonist, all hell breaks loose and keeps you in the edge of your seat.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The second in the Shadowmarch series, Shadowplay follows the royal twins on their respective journeys through the kingdom. Like the first, it is dense with both characters and the mythology of the world and diverges to little side plots often. I like this; others may not.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I must say I'm disappointed. I had expected more from Tad Williams. There are some interesting parts, but mainly I'm not impressed at all. It's also hard to feel sympathy for the characters, with one or two exceptions. Ferras Vansen, the young soldier who is in love with Princess Briony. Briony is another relatively sympathetic character and there are a few others, but most people leave me indifferent.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So continuing on with the 2nd of the series which I had read before but had not completed. MST is one of my favourite series but I am struggling at times with Shadowmarch. There is a lot of travelling without achieving a lot. The two main human characters Barrick and Briony are not particularly likeable either. There are fortunately side characters who are more so. So it's a bit of a slog often.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This second volume's opening rides the crest of mysteries and tension produced by the first book's climax. It soon loses momentum, however, as the pace slackens to its former leisure and I found it a bit hard to remain engaged. Briony was my favourite character coming into this, but it's regrettable she's thrust into a more passive role. The Barrick-Vansen pairing may not have been wise, dividing the same scenes across two perspectives that places Barrick in the worse light: you know why he's being a jerk to Vansen, but it's still annoying. Quinnitan's role in this unfolding story is a bit less murky, so I care a bit more. Chert and Chaven provide the most answers. The other characters whose views we spend time with don't leave much impression. The Autarch is outshining the Twilight People as villains, and I'm beginning to predict an eventual Southmarch-Twilight alliance as we learn more about the Qar. Tad Williams writes this series more confidently after the first book's rough origins, and I like the well-described world he's created, but his worst fault as an author (i.e. pacing) is sorely evident. There's little forward momentum when characters are trapped in jail cells for chapters at a time or travelling almost aimlessly, and it's difficult to see the through-line. Much of the interval is spent on their inner worlds of speculation and worrying over the same bones. When action occurs it's often no surprise because the characters have been preparing. But as with the first volume that action comes faster and heavier towards the end, and it builds enough excitement that it almost erased my memory of the plodding it took to get there.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tad Williams is a master. Before starting this series I had only read two of his shorter works "Child of an Ancient City" which I didn't like and "Caliban's Hour" which I liked a lot. This made me reluctant to try this epic series, but it was on audio and I figured if I get 30% of the way in and don't like it I'll just move on.To start the narrator on the audio books is fantastic. He really sticks out as one of the best narrators I've heard (and I've listened to 100's of audiobooks). The first book started out kind of slow but things picked up after a while. The thing is that these books are huge but they don't feel like they're inflated. I think the style of jumping from character to character (like Game of Thrones) helps, but also e doesn't waste words and the words he chooses all seem to fit perfectly together. Nothing is ever confusing or extraneous. I'm never taken "out of the story" and my sense of belief is never strained. This kind of writing is something to aspire to (if your a writer) or just to aspire to read (if you're not into writing your own stories). The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars is that the overall plot/characters don't seem all that original/cool. I read some reviews that said this was very "dark fantasy" but it really just seems pretty standard to me. It's good and I'm really starting to fall in love with it but it's not ground breaking. I fully expect to give the next books 5 stars.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is definitely a "filler" book. No questions are answered; we just move towards the ending. My one complaint about this series is that nobody is close with anybody else. They all have their own thoughts but never really share them intimately with others.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I must say I'm disappointed. I had expected more from Tad Williams. There are some interesting parts, but mainly I'm not impressed at all. It's also hard to feel sympathy for the characters, with one or two exceptions. Ferras Vansen, the young soldier who is in love with Princess Briony. Briony is another relatively sympathetic character and there are a few others, but most people leave me indifferent.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I normally love books by Tad Williams but this series is making me constantly fall asleep. I don't care about the characters and don't look forward to my daily reading time. Time to find something else to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the second book of the Shadowmarch series the events are getting even more dense and worse... The fate of the twins and the whole continent (in fact the whole human world) became uncertain...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The ruling family of Southmarch has been scattered. King Olin Eddon remains a prisoner of the traitorous Lord Protector of Hierosol while his daughter, the Princess Briony, is chased from her childhood home by the family's power hungry cousins. All the while Briony's beloved twin, Prince Barrick, follows an ill-fated compulsion that's been laid on him by a powerful Qar warrioress. As Barrick blindly and eagerly does her bidding this fierce mistress sits at the front gate of his castle home with an army of blood thirsty fairy folk, her eagerness pulled taut as a bow string. Twilight, it seems, has finally descended on the Eddons.Shadowplay is the second book in the most recent tetralogy from Master Williams. His intense and (what I consider) highly skilled world building offers plenty of substance for even the most die-hard fantasy reader. The story is told from many perspectives in alternating chapters so that what might otherwise be an overwhelming tome is very readable. I've read Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy and his Otherland sci-fi tetralogy and can't help but notice that recognizable themes and characters are being rewoven in Shadowmarch to create a different but familiar tale. While this should seem repetitious there are enough new ideas to make the well known bits very comfortable and enjoyable. I can't wait to get my hands on book three!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the volume where the story opens up and the reader finally gets to see what the story is really about, or at least what some of the main themes are. The first book sets up the story (as it should) but mostly provides a familiarity and intimacy with the characters and places. Volume two ties several of the disparate strands together and gets the interest level up even more. Great characters and some very evil villains. The only thing is that you assume they will be overthrown in the end somehow. Unlike many fantasy stories the characters are believeable and not some trumped up superhero. Not much more to say right now as I consider this to be one very long book broken up into four parts for publishing.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The second in the Shadowmarch series, Shadowplay follows the royal twins on their respective journeys through the kingdom. Like the first, it is dense with both characters and the mythology of the world and diverges to little side plots often. I like this; others may not.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I actually liked this book better than the first in series...there was more action, and it didn't seem to drag on as much (though there were still sections where the plot dragged a bit). I especially came to love the character Gyir. And the ending (and cliffhanger ending!), Gil's identity and where Vansen ended up, I was very surprised! I haven't picked up the third book, but I'm really looking forward to it!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The first volume, Shadowmarch, established a diverse set of characters spread across continents, each with their own story arcs. In Shadowplay these storylines continue their own paths, with a few being connected at the end of the book. This rapid switching between these disparate plots makes for tough reading at times, hindered further by the myriad of new characters added to the mix. Two of the main stories switch from the standard, and expected, genre of high fantasy in to a more chaotic fantasy setting, more akin to Clive Barker than Williams. Readers may find this stretch of disbelief somewhat disconcerting. Unfortunately, one of the main plots is rather dull, with little action occurring after the initial few chapters. Overall Shadowplay bends the series away from traditional fantasy, which most people won't expect. There is still a great start and finish, however the middle is far too long to keep up the interest.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I feel a bit suckered into this series; I hadn't realised that 'Shadowmarch' wasn't a stand-alone book, and this is exactly the kind of doorstop multi-volume fantasy I try to avoid. Life's too short to be dragged into endless Lord of the Rings wannabes. parts of the story are interesting enough, and Tad keeps a lot of balls in the air, but it does feel like a huge paid-by-the-word 'epic' that's painful to slog through without really getting anywhere.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the follow on to Shadowmarch, the first book in Tad's latest series. It reveals a bit more behind the reasons for the invasion by the fey, though nothing like a true explanation comes out yet. The characters are just as mch in the dark about what's going on as we are, though the forces behind the plot are slowly being revealed. This is interesting, complex and compelling, as good as Tad's other works. This has the feel that it is right on the edge of disaster, but there is always hope, somewhere.