Janny Wurts

Wow. This is truly epic fantasy at it's most epic. 50 years in the writing, yes the stunning conclusion to is totally worth the wait. Like the entire 10 book preceding series, it is not 'easy' reading, it is not light fantasy, you have to remember a lot of details and understand the implications of (sometimes very short) scenes which will impact much later. Even at 900 pages, not all the details are given to you, events skip forward in long gaps of time, but prophecies may come true - if everyone has the courage to make bold choices. Needless to say, you do really have to have read the whole series (or at least re-read from Initiate's trial), and be prepared to commit to chunks of intense reading to savour the intricacy.

Song picks up fairly shortly after Destiny's Conflict, Arithon sees the Fellowship's choice of allowing his sanctioned heir to die on the Temple's pyre, as a betrayal - it circumvented the Korinthian plots and saved other complications, but he would have found another course. Once recovered he devotes his considerable abilities to shearing all ties, debts and coercions so that he can pursue his own course according to his Own free will. This causes consternation among his allies and all the powers who would support him, but he will not be swayed. But Arithorn is not the only force in the world, and the dragons (some of the best fantasy dragons ever written, truly unconstrained power) are enticed to consider the concept of not-dragon! and where this might place their Compact. the Fellowship sorcerers are over-stretched again, but the faint hopes of restoration to full power and return of the Pavarians' they are sworn to safeguard, are not yet extinguished, even though more dire choices are left - sometime humanity will have to stand on it's own merits, against the risk of being banished from the world forever.

The final stakes are indeed world-shaping, and didn't go in the direct I was expecting. There is quite a protracted period of time, much of the last quarter or so, when you genuinely don't know how it's all going to play out, which after 10 books is incredible writing. It does all wrap up, the ending is absolutely perfect, there are no loose strands, every character meets their destiny one way or the other. That said, I haven't given it 5* which the earliest books did achieve. Even at 900 pages it sometimes feels, well not rushed, but significant events skipped through. I would have liked more details in some places, and perhaps less focus elsewhere. I never really did buy into the harmonic frequency uplifts which is the premise behind much of the 'magic' in the world.

It's an amazing series, one of the best epic fantasy I've ever read, it does genuinely have depth, history and backstory to be compared to Tolkein, which is not something I've ever said before. It is very long, very committing reading, but utterly engrossing with amazing characters performing amazing deeds against an amazing world.… (mehr)