The Isle of Battle: Book Two of the Swans' War - Hardcover

Russell, Sean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380974908 ISBN 13: 9780380974900

Publisher: Harper Voyager, 2002

Synopsis

Epic high fantasy this good comes along only once in a while! Standing with the best of the field, Sean Russell's Swans' War series has enchanted readers and critics alike with its fascinating tale of good and evil, romance and violence, magic and mystery.

After years of bitter enmity, the battle for power between the Renné and the Wills families has reached a fever point. Fleeing a forced marriage, young Elise Wills has made a desperate bargain with a dark river spirit to save her own life. It is left to the wanderer Alaan, together with a band of brave companions, to find Elise -- even as the dark knight Hafydd hunts Alaan for the secrets he possesses. But if Alaan cannot free Elise, the entire kingdom will be consumed in a bloody war between unquiet ghosts.

About this title

Review

With The Isle of Battle, the second book of the high- fantasy Swan's War trilogy, acclaimed novelist Sean Russell returns to the world of the Wynnd, a great river that does not always follow the maps and has tributaries in other worlds. The Isle of Battle continues the story of the archer Tam, his fellow Valemen Fynnol and Baore, and several other characters from The One Kingdom. The Valemen gain mysterious new allies and enemies as they search through otherworldly swamps and mountains for their fallen friend, the demigodlike Alaan, and seek to elude Alaan's more-than-mortal enemy and brother, the powerful and ruthless warrior-wizard, Hafydd.

Readers should not start the Swans' War with The Isle of Battle. It suffers the common trilogy malady of middle-book-itis: it doesn't greatly advance the overall plotline, and though it spends some time bringing readers up to speed on the backstory, it still swamps newcomers with multiple plotlines and characters. Also, the big cast means characterizations are often sketchy; the Valemen become almost interchangeable, and the powerful and intriguing Alaan rarely demonstrates these virtues, since he spends much of his time senseless from critical wounds. Furthermore, many readers will not be pleased that the book's vast cast includes only four women, with only two of them spending much time onstage (in the same body!). --Cynthia Ward

About the Author

Sean Russell is the author of The One Kingdom and The Isle of Battle, previous books in the Swans' War trilogy, plus the River into Darkness books: Compass of the Soul and Beneath the Vaulted Hills; the Moontide and Magic Rise books: Sea Without a Shore and World Without End; and Gatherer of Clouds and The Initiate Brother. He lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with his wife and son.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0380974908
• ISBN 13: 9780380974900
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480