Fugitive Prince (Wars of Light & Shadow #4; Arc 3 - Alliance of Light, #1) in Beyond Reality

Apr 01, 2017 seak rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-to-read, 2017, on-deck

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more gut-punching, Fugitive Prince comes along and destroys me. And that's a good thing.

Things are bad coming into Fugitive Prince. The things Prince Arithon has had to do in his attempts to reduce the amount of lives lost are soul-searing. And yet his brother, the mistwraith-controlled Prince Lysaer continues to hound him. And now, Lysaer makes things thousands of times worse. He's threatened to turn those who support Arithon, the clans, into slaves. And ...more

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Dec 06, 2010 Bill rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

I am less than half way through The War of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts, have not reviewed the prior books, but feel a need to say something on finishing Fugitive Prince

The War of Light and Shadow has been the second best epic fantasy I have ever read. (For more on what I mean by that, see Spider Robinson's introduction to The Middle of Nowhere by David Gerrold.)

Fugitive Prince is the 3rd or 4th book in this series depending on whether you are reading hardcovers or paperbacks. I strongly rec ...more

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Oct 02, 2009 Stefan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Fugitive Prince is the fourth novel in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW by Janny Wurts, but because of the series' unique structure, it's actually the start of a brand new "arc" inside the overall story: book 1 comprises the first arc, books 2 and 3 together are the second arc, and the third arc consists of books 4 through 8 (the first of which is Fugitive Prince). Looking forward, the forthcoming 9th novel, Initiate's Trial, will be the first of 2 books in the 4th arc, and the 11th and final novel Fugitive Prince is the fourth novel in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW by Janny Wurts, but because of the series' unique structure, it's actually the start of a brand new "arc" inside the overall story: book 1 comprises the first arc, books 2 and 3 together are the second arc, and the third arc consists of books 4 through 8 (the first of which is Fugitive Prince). Looking forward, the forthcoming 9th novel, Initiate's Trial, will be the first of 2 books in the 4th arc, and the 11th and final novel will also be the final arc.

If you're keeping track, all of this means that the series' 5 arcs have a nicely symmetrical 1-2-5-2-1 structure, and also that, just in case you're not familiar with this truly excellent series yet, you still have the amazing opportunity to read the first 3 arcs, which are recently all in print again, before Janny Wurts' next novel hits the shelves.

Just one of the wonderful aspects of THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW is that Janny Wurts always makes it easy to get back into the story, even if it's been a while since you've read the last novel. She does this by recapping the events from previous novels, not in a "The story so far" section at the front of the book, but much more elegantly, by including those events into the narrative, often from a different perspective, so your understanding of the series deepens at the same time. (However, if your memory is as bad as mine, and you prefer a more traditional chronological recap, this can be found in a later novel, and there's also a book by book time line available on the author's excellent website).

Fugitive Prince picks up close to the end of Warhost of Vastmark, and for fear of spoiling even the slightest bit of enjoyment for new readers, this review won't cover much in the way of plot summary. Suffice it to say that the conflict between the the half-brothers Arithon and Lysaer continues unabated. The "Alliance of Light" mentioned in the title of this third arc refers to Lysaer's coalition of mostly townborn loyalists, built around a religion and a true cult of personality centered on him, with the goal of ridding the world of Athera of both his half-brother and the last remnants of the clan-born.

Many familiar characters from earlier novels return, and several new and fascinating ones are introduced. This being the start of a new arc, the plot logically includes a bit more set-up than the previous 3 novels did, making the first half of this novel probably the weakest section of the series so far — which isn't saying much, as it still sticks head and shoulders above almost everything else in the genre. However, in the style I've more or less come to expect by now, the midway point of the novel presents a tipping point, leading to a truly excellent, hard-to-put-down second half and an exciting finale that will leave you eager to get to the next book in the series.

Janny Wurts also continues to reveal secrets and layers in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW's improbably complex fantasy universe, this time maybe not of the truly mind-bending kind (although, that grimward scene...) but still enough to keep you on your toes — especially some casually mentioned tidbits about the Koriani enchantresses that'll add a whole new perspective to your understanding of this series. Every book in THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW will have you reconsider the previous ones in an entirely new light.

One aspect of Fugitive Prince — and the entire series — that bears emphasizing is its unique descriptions of magic. In fantasy, magic is sometimes portrayed as an almost scientifically rational process complete with systems and charts (a la Brandon Sanderson), or, at the other extreme of the scale, as unexplained and vaguely described hand-waving. To be fair, Arithon's powers sometimes lean towards the second of those options, but in Fugitive Prince you'll find a description of an elaborate spell construct by Morriel Prime that hits the perfect middle ground between the two: it's so carefully described and (for want of a better word) rational that you can practically see it in front of you, but at the same time it manages to keep the true mystery and wonder of its nature. It's simply one of the most memorable descriptions of magic I've ever encountered in fantasy. Then again, Janny Wurts' prose almost constantly hits that same level, with some of the most carefully worded and nuanced writing you'll find in the genre. While her style can be demanding on the reader, it's equally rewarding if you're willing to adjust to a level of detail and depth that's unparalleled in fantasy.

Fugitive Prince is another excellent installment in one of the best fantasy series out there. If you're not on board yet, seriously — go find a copy of The Curse of the Mistwraith now!

This review was also published on the Fantasy Literature website (where I'm a reviewer/editor). Come check us out: www.fantasyliterature.com. ...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Susan rated it it was amazing

I've loved Janny's writing since a first discovered one of her books years ago. I usually go for voice first of all and her voice is one that as a reader I can easily fall into. The other thing I like is a complex character, and Janny certainly manages this.

"Fugitive Prince" of course, is only one of a whole series which puts Arithon and Lysaer through the proverbial ringer, but the reasons behind their actions, including the smarmy Lysaer, are always feasible. Often heart breaking, but understa ...more

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Jun 29, 2022 Duffy Pratt rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Haven't reviewed the first three books, but I liked them pretty well. This one is the beginning of a third story arc in this long series, and for me, it pretty much seemed to be spinning its wheels. There's an awful lot of verbiage expended for not that much of a payout. There's something off-putting about Wurts' style. In short bursts, her writing can be quite beautiful. But for any extended length and the convoluted sentence constructions just start to wear on me. I particularly dislike how of ...more

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Jan 25, 2008 Jeffrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

These books are well written withinteresting characters, but her story is too huge, there is endless time between books and there is no way to keep track of the books. She had a single set of books then she devolves into a mini series in between the other series adn its just too much

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Aug 05, 2014 Cody rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Before I started the Wars and Light and Shadow series, I thought I was perfectly content reading dense writing, but that was before.

These books are not simple to read and are not making me want to burn through them to find out what happens next. I find that the author's language gets in the way of understanding what exactly is going on in each scene - and this is made especially worse in scenes when subtle emotional impacts are meant to be conveyed.

My major problem revolves around Arithon. I can Before I started the Wars and Light and Shadow series, I thought I was perfectly content reading dense writing, but that was before.

These books are not simple to read and are not making me want to burn through them to find out what happens next. I find that the author's language gets in the way of understanding what exactly is going on in each scene - and this is made especially worse in scenes when subtle emotional impacts are meant to be conveyed.

My major problem revolves around Arithon. I can understand that his family line was magically imbued with compassion and far-sight, but I have never heard of someone's compassion tearing them apart like Arithon's does. Perhaps I'm too callous, myself. Perhaps there is further elucidation of these magically imbued traits that I don't know yet that will eventually make Arithon's cry-baby-ness make more sense. As it stands, the entire book is people trying to keep Arithon alive while his over-the-top compassion and guilt continually tries to kill him.

At this point I don't understand how so many people would lay down their lives to save such a whiny guy. I don't understand why Jieret(a blood-oathed, brother-like figure to Arithon) is so emotional about Arithon. His relation to Arithon would seem to be the explanation, but when you read how the blood-oath originally happened, it just comes off as Arithon being over dramatic again. But maybe oaths have actual effects on someone's psyche in this world? Either way, unless Arithon turns around and takes control of his life again, I suspect I will continue just slowly wading through the books. At this point, I can't wait until/if Arithon has a kid and hope the kid turns out better than his father so the plot can move.

Overall, I feel like the reader is told how they should be feeling when the text rarely allows you to feel any of the supposed emotional gut-punches because of its density.

That said, it -is- solid writing and the books feel like the kind where you know it is all building to something amazing. It's just very slow building.

p.s. - Part of my problem is how infuriating it is to watch Lysaer turn everyone against Arithon because he's too un-gifted in magic to understand the curse he has. arg. ...more

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