Lord of the Fading Lands
Lady of Light and Shadows
By C.L. Wilson
These are the first two books in a fantasy romance series called Tairen Soul. Supposedly they are about the Fey. Fey usually meaning Fairies, the Tuatha de Dannan, Titiana and Oberon, etc. Well, not in these books. The author tacks the name Fey onto a “magical” race that is entirely of her own creation, with no real connection to the rich folklore of our fantastical creatures.
I wish I could say this mix of two genres produced something new and fresh, but it didn’t. In part, because the author used generic plots and characters from both genres in a mostly generic manner. Set in a pseudo medieval fantasy world, handsome, powerful, but with a tortured past, king of the Fey finds his truemate in a pretty, good hearted, but possessed by demons, woodcarver’s daughter. Except, of course, she’s not really of such humble origins. Dark times are on the horizon, as the Eld, evil magic users, are secretly gathering their forces to strike at a human kingdom that doesn’t want to believe the threat is all that bad.
There were some interesting characterizations that were never followed up. For example, our hero lost his first wife in a war with the Eld, and literally went crazy with grief. Ostensibly, his feelings still remain, but now he’s truemated to someone he knows nothing of. This gets mentioned a couple of times, but usually as an excuse for the heroine to beat herself up for not being worthy, instead of exploring the hero’s emotional changes and this new relationship.
And I found any number of the secondary characters more interesting. One of the heroine’s Fey guards, Belliard vel Jelani, who is one step away from going over to the dark side. Gaelen vel Serranis, a legendary Fey warrior who’s gone over to the dark side. Granted, the dark side isn’t all that dark, as it’s more about banishment, than doing evil deeds. The few human border lords siding with the Fae against the Eld. Or the poor Fey who finds his truemate, only to find she’s married to someone else.
But then there are the Tairen. Another magical race, which are somehow bonded? with the Fey to the point that some of the Fey have Tairen souls? and can shapeshift into these creatures. Yes, I find them confusing. And despite reading two books, I still can’t figure out WHY they are in the books at all. Other than the author thought giant winged cats would be cool.
All that said, I did read both books. They aren’t bad; they just didn’t live up to my expectations. If you like Christine Feehan or Sherrilyn Kenyon (aka Kinley MacGregor), or romance books about soulmates, and want to branch out to books with more world building of the fantasy nature, you will probably enjoy these books.
Lady of Light and Shadows
By C.L. Wilson
These are the first two books in a fantasy romance series called Tairen Soul. Supposedly they are about the Fey. Fey usually meaning Fairies, the Tuatha de Dannan, Titiana and Oberon, etc. Well, not in these books. The author tacks the name Fey onto a “magical” race that is entirely of her own creation, with no real connection to the rich folklore of our fantastical creatures.
I wish I could say this mix of two genres produced something new and fresh, but it didn’t. In part, because the author used generic plots and characters from both genres in a mostly generic manner. Set in a pseudo medieval fantasy world, handsome, powerful, but with a tortured past, king of the Fey finds his truemate in a pretty, good hearted, but possessed by demons, woodcarver’s daughter. Except, of course, she’s not really of such humble origins. Dark times are on the horizon, as the Eld, evil magic users, are secretly gathering their forces to strike at a human kingdom that doesn’t want to believe the threat is all that bad.
There were some interesting characterizations that were never followed up. For example, our hero lost his first wife in a war with the Eld, and literally went crazy with grief. Ostensibly, his feelings still remain, but now he’s truemated to someone he knows nothing of. This gets mentioned a couple of times, but usually as an excuse for the heroine to beat herself up for not being worthy, instead of exploring the hero’s emotional changes and this new relationship.
And I found any number of the secondary characters more interesting. One of the heroine’s Fey guards, Belliard vel Jelani, who is one step away from going over to the dark side. Gaelen vel Serranis, a legendary Fey warrior who’s gone over to the dark side. Granted, the dark side isn’t all that dark, as it’s more about banishment, than doing evil deeds. The few human border lords siding with the Fae against the Eld. Or the poor Fey who finds his truemate, only to find she’s married to someone else.
But then there are the Tairen. Another magical race, which are somehow bonded? with the Fey to the point that some of the Fey have Tairen souls? and can shapeshift into these creatures. Yes, I find them confusing. And despite reading two books, I still can’t figure out WHY they are in the books at all. Other than the author thought giant winged cats would be cool.
All that said, I did read both books. They aren’t bad; they just didn’t live up to my expectations. If you like Christine Feehan or Sherrilyn Kenyon (aka Kinley MacGregor), or romance books about soulmates, and want to branch out to books with more world building of the fantasy nature, you will probably enjoy these books.
2 comments:
Sandra if you of read the book more closely you would of understand a bit more. The reason why the fae can shapeshift is cause of the chrystals that they bare. in the fae legend of fellana. it tells the story of majaes and the fae the first ever tarien soul. There is a lot more to the books than what meets the eye.
Thank you for commenting! I vaguely recall the legend of Fellana and Sevander, and I did like how Wilson gave her world history. My understanding, such as it is, was that only the Tairen Soul Fae could shape shift. Even though other Fae have soul crystals, they can't shape shift. But I have to agree. There's clearly more the author has yet to reveal about the world and the characters. I think the third book, King of Sword and Sky will be out in September 2008 and I'm sure will give us some answers ... and more questions.
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