The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

On September 20, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books5 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz (Audiobook – 16 February 2023)

Series: The Darkwater Legacy – Book Two

Length: 32 hours and 37 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Chris Wooding continues The Darkwater Legacy in a big way with his second awesome and massive entry in this great fantasy series, The Shadow Casket.

I was recently in the mood for more epic fantasy reads, so I finally got around to checking out The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding, which has been on my to-read list for most of the year. The Shadow Casket is the sequel to Wooding’s exceptional 2018 novel, The Ember Blade, which I had a ton of fun reading back when it originally came out. The Ember Blade followed a band of revolutionaries, including two young teens caught up in the carnage, as they fought to free their country from an evil empire that had conquered it a generation before. Featuring a classic fantasy adventure plot with some awesome real-life overtones and loaded with a ton of great characters, a powerful story, and a fantastic new world, The Ember Blade was such a great read, and it got an easy five-star read from me. I have been eagerly awaiting a sequel for some time now, and Wooding finally delivered his second Darkwater Legacy book this year with The Shadow Casket, which took the reader on another dark and captivating journey.

It has been three years since the destructive events at Hammerholt, when the ragtag band of revolutionaries, known as the Dawnwardens, managed to steal back the sacred Ember Blade and kill the Krodan Emperor’s son, seemingly lighting the fires of revolution. However, despite the Dawnwardens’ hope that recovering the Ember Blade would encourage their people to rise in revolt, the powerful Krodan empire still reigns over Ossia, bringing new levels of terror in their occupation. With revolution still as far away as ever, the Dawnwardens, and the Ember Blade’s champion, young Aren of Shoal Point, are forced to take a risk that could turn the tide of war.

Taking the Ember Blade out of hiding, the Dawnwardens travel to the Reaches in the far north of Osia, where the wild and rebellious clans of the Fell Folk fight amongst themselves. Hoping to recruit the fractious clans to their cause, the Dawnwardens soon find themselves once again under attack from the Krodans and their deadliest weapons, the malevolent dreadknights. Forced to flee with new allies and returning friends, the Dawnwardens embark on mission to find out what the Krodans are truly doing in Osia and just how far they are willing to go to maintain order.

Finding their first successes since the events of Hammerholt, the Dawnwardens form a new plan to finally strike back at the Krodans and start the revolution they have long hoped for. However, no matter how hard they fight, the Dawnwardens constantly find themselves outmatched by the dreadknights and their foul magic. To survive this insidious threat, the Dawnwardens hope to call upon the ancient magic of a lost artefact, the Shadow Casket, which has the potential to either save them or doom the world. But with deadly foes facing them at every corner, and traitors within their own ranks, can the heroes succeed, or will their revolution finally be cut down?

Wooding continues his epic series in a big way with The Shadow Casket, producing an exceptional and captivating novel that was quite a treat to read. Expertly following the existing storylines from the first book while also providing an awesome new adventure, The Shadow Casket was a gripping and powerful novel that I had an absolute blast reading.

I really loved the amazing story that Wooding came up with for The Shadow Casket, which is massive in every sense of the word. Told from many different perspectives, The Shadow Casket has a very powerful character-driven plot that really gets you involved in the lives of all the protagonists while advancing the compelling main plot. The transition to three years after the events of The Ember Blade was a very interesting overarching choice for this new book, but it was one that works very well, and I loved the realistic detail that the protagonist’s previous adventures didn’t magically save the day as they had hoped. Wooding starts events off at a somewhat slow pace, which was definitely necessary as he had to re-establish all the key story elements, while also introducing the new setting of Northern Ossia and the Fell Folk. This does mean that the initial chapters of the book might drag a little for some readers, especially those who did not read The Ember Blade first, although I appreciated the refresher on all the protagonists after all this time. This early part of the book also sets up many plot points for the rest of The Shadow Casket, and Wooding did an outstanding job laying down a lot of groundwork here.

Things do speed up quickly after the reintroductions are done, as all hell breaks loose around the protagonists in some amazing scenes. This early part of the book also brings back Cade and Klyssen, who were seemingly killed off at the end of The Ember Blade. This honestly isn’t that much of a spoiler as both come back very early in the plot, and frankly it wasn’t too surprising considering the deliberate ambiguity of their “deaths” in the previous book. Their return sets up some great character-driven plots which are very well explored in the first half of the book and have some major impacts on the overall story. The protagonists soon find themselves involved in several distinctive character-focused quests, including the liberation of a prison camp, the machinations of a traitor, and an intriguing dive into a magical organisation that was only lightly featured in the first book. These various storylines blend into one cohesive plot, and I liked the early focus on world building and character growth in the aftermath of the first book. Wooding works in an interesting blend of intrigue, action, adventure, and even some horror elements, which really enhanced the classic adventure quest vibe he was trying to replicate. I did have issues with an ungainly love triangle that got a lot of attention in the first half of The Shadow Casket, which sapped my enjoyment in places. However, the other complex storylines that were occurring simultaneously did make up for this, and it thankfully does not last the entire length of the book.

The second half of The Shadow Casket is where things really picked up, and it features all the awesome story moments that the author had been expertly building up. This includes a deadly adventure quest to a lethal island, which amped up the intensity of the plot, especially as secrets are revealed and tragedy awaits several characters. These storylines and more, all lead up to epic final quarter of the novel, where the protagonists have their long-awaited mass confrontation with the enemy. Wooding really set up everything leading up to this final quarter perfectly, and I was very excited going into it, especially as it featured a massive siege. While there is a focus on the action in this final part of the book, Wooding also amps up the intrigue, as various parties make their moves to betray or mislead either side of the conflict. The author plays this plot line about betrayal and intrigue perfectly, and there were times when you honestly didn’t know who was betraying who, which was so much fun to see. This last quarter honestly has a bit of something for everyone, and I loved the inherent tragedy, the gritty battles, and the awesome resolution to so many different plotlines and character arcs. I also really enjoyed the multitude of clever twists and reveals that Wooding layered in this part of the book, especially as I did not see several of them coming despite the great setup surrounding them. The final play of the protagonists was particularly brilliant, and the unique siege tactics were quite inventive. While I did think a few things were wrapped up a little too easily or positively at the end, this was honestly a very strong conclusion for this second entry, and it sets up many great storylines for the rest of the series. I really came away from The Shadow Casket feeling very satisfied, and I cannot wait to see how my heart will get broken in the next book.

I felt that Wooding did a rather wonderful job of presenting his elaborate narrative to the reader, and his fantastic style definitely drew me into the story. While there are a lot of positives to the author’s writing, the main thing that I was mostly grateful for was how easy he set everything up so that I could dive back into this series. As I mentioned above, it has been over four years since I read The Ember Blade, itself a hefty read, so I was initially worried that I wouldn’t remember all the key details and get a little lost. However, Wooding expertly led readers, both new and old, into his new book and those well-thought-out and slower paced introductory chapters really filled in all the gaps for me. As such, there wasn’t a single moment that I was lost about what was going on, which considering how elaborate The Shadow Casket gets, is pretty damn impressive.

While The Shadow Casket is a great continuation of The Ember Blade, it also has a bit of a different tone to it. The focus on failure, regret and fighting losing battles was quite interesting and reflected the continued failed rebellion nicely. The book itself also comes across as more of an adventure novel, with the protagonists constantly moving and taking on new quests and journeys, rather than the more heist focused revenge plot of the first book. This ensured that The Shadow Casket stood out a lot more than I was expecting, and it really didn’t feel like a sequel or a tired middle book. Wooding has a great sense for pacing, and the fantastic mixture of action, character growth and betrayal and intrigue helped to turn this into quite an impressive read. I have so much love for the multiple elaborate espionage storylines that emerged, and Wooding ensured that the reader never knew what was coming. The excellent use of multiple character perspectives really helped with this, and it was compelling and often very moving to see the various internal struggles, history and biases that drove the characters to do what they do. The clever alternate views of the same events also helped to create a much more expansive and captivating plot, and I think that Wooding did a great job of splitting the story up, ensuring that all the key characters got their time to shine. There was the occasional rough chapter transition that added a touch of confusion at times, but this was usually pretty harmless, and I found the overall narrative to be very powerful and bound together excellently. Throw in a ton of brilliant and brutal action sequences, including the extended battle at the end, and The Shadow Casket has so much going for it that you will find it very hard to put down.

One of the things I liked most about The Ember Blade was the elaborate and complex world that the book was set in. In particular, the focal nation of Ossia was such an interesting main setting, especially as it was occupied by its stronger neighbour, who had ruled it for years. This portrayal of Ossia had a lot of similarities to occupied France during World War II, especially as the invading Krodans were an obvious stand-in for Nazis/fascism. This occupied fantasy nation had a certain realism to it that deeply enhanced the story, especially as the characters interacted with collaborators, rebels and locals who believed the Krodans were helping them, all while witnessing examples of Krodan cruelty. These issues were further compounded by the fact that Ossia was already a rather fractious nation, and their lack of cooperation and unity helped the Krodan conquest years before. Wooding continued to expand on this examination of occupied Ossia in The Shadow Casket, especially as revolution and uprisings were such an important part of the plot. I loved the intriguing plot point about how, despite the protagonist’s actions in the first book, most of Ossia was still too cowed or wracked with infighting to join in the rebellion, making the sacrifices in the first book seem pointless. This ensured that occupied Ossia continued to be a dangerous and compelling setting for much of the story, and Wooding doubled down on the Krodan comparisons to Nazis, especially as the Krodan’s engaged in massive retaliation strikes against the Ossian populace while also rounding up a minority group into concentration camps. These intriguing details add a lot to the plot, and it was interesting to see how they continued from the first book.

Wooding also worked in quite a lot of world building as he sought to explore new areas within the larger fantasy realm. This includes several intriguing and deadly new locations, such as a swamp full of dark spirits and the lethal island of Yaga, where ogres and magical slavers reign supreme. These areas, which serve as cool settings for several key parts of the book, are great to explore, adding in some very distinctive risks, and it served as a compelling expansion of an already great world. However, the most significant new setting is probably the northern area of Ossia known as the Reaches. A hilly area populated by warring tribes, this part of Ossia was culturally segregated from the more urbanised southern setting before the Krogans arrived, and now is even more oppressed. A large chunk of the novel revolves around the complex tribal politics and history of this region as the protagonists attempt to bring them together as allies while also striking back at the forces oppressing them. Several of the best sequences, including the final battle, are set around here, and I loved the craggy and isolated feel that Wooding gave this setting. The author also does a wonderful job expanding on some of the fantasy aspects of his series. While there were quite a number of great and freaky magical and fantasy elements in the first book, The Shadow Casket really dives into this further, showing several different batches of magic. This includes a fascinating examination of the Ossian druids, whose magical conclave in the first half of the novel serves as a major plot setting. There is also a fantastic and dark examination of the magic being used by the Krogans to create their more elaborate weapons. This look at Krogan mysticism is pretty fascinating and serves as a great contrast to their usual anti-magic dogma. It also leads to some of the darker scenes in the book, including the exploration of a corrupted prison camp, which honestly bordered more on horror than anything else. There are some fantastic and complex hints at the dangers to come, and I cannot wait to see how dark and compelling Wooding makes his setting in the future.

However, the most impressive and memorable part of The Shadow Casket has to be the outstanding and elaborate character work that Wooding expertly inserted into the story. The Shadow Casket has an exceptional and memorable cast, which includes a great combination of characters from The Ember Blade, as well as several intriguing new figures. All the characters are damaged and complex, especially after the events of The Ember Blade, and thanks to the author’s excellent use of alternating perspectives, you get to see into their minds and find out what drives them and what their intentions are. I deeply appreciated how well the character stories altered and drove the main narrative and Wooding’s excellent character work really gets you invested in everyone’s personal journey.

As with The Ember Blade, the main character of The Shadow Casket is Aren of Shoal Point. A teenager drafted into the rebellion by circumstances, Aren is trying to live up to his own legend after masterminding the Ember Blade heist and being declared champion. Now a figurehead leader chafing under the responsibilities and expectations of everyone around him, Aren starts the book with a lot of his usual certainty and confidence gone, especially as the disappointments of the last three years are hanging over him. Most of his arc involves him trying to decide whether he deserves all the fame and trust people are putting into him, as well as wondering what his destiny is. I really liked this compelling character arc that Wooding came up with for Aren, especially as it is totally understandable that he would feel these doubts with his complex history. While Aren probably was a more passive protagonist than some readers were hoping for, I felt his early mindset of following others fit nicely into the uncertainty he felt, and Wooding did a great job of portraying this and his eventual regained confidence. Aren also proves to be a linchpin character for The Shadow Casket, mainly because so many other character arcs are defined by the relationships that Aren has formed over the years. While a couple of these relationships do have some flaws in them, the rest are exceedingly emotionally rich and Aren’s connections help the other characters to grow and develop alongside him. Aren continued to be an outstanding and complex protagonist for this second Darkwater Legacy novel and I look forward to seeing how he develops in the future.

One of the other major characters I need to highlight is Cade, Aren’s childhood friend who was forced into the adventures in the last book before heroically sacrificing himself at the end of The Ember Blade. Cade returns quite early in The Shadow Casket, having spent three years away from his friends. However, he is now carrying some dark secrets and a new hidden history that defines most of his actions throughout The Shadow Casket. Cade had one of the best and most powerful character arcs in the entire novel, which I will not elaborate on too much here to avoid spoilers. However, it was extremely well written and added some much-needed emotional depth to Cade’s character. Wooding does an outstanding job of expanding on Cade’s character arc and story from the first book and the examination of the complex relationship between Aren and Cade resulted in some of the most moving moments in the book.

There are several great antagonistic characters in The Shadow Casket, including sinister Krodan officials and several hidden traitors, but my favourite villainous figure has to be the great character Klyssen. A member of the Krodan secret police, Klyssen was the primary villain of The Ember Blade, and Wooding takes the opportunity to develop him further in some fantastic ways in the sequel. Not only does he provide an alternative viewpoint to the Krodans but Wooding manages to make Klyssen into a surprisingly sympathetic character in The Shadow Casket. Thanks to the events of The Ember Blade, Klyssen starts this new book scarred, disgraced, demoted and divorced, and is now at something of a moral and emotional crossroads. Now driven by personal reasons, Klyssen has a bit of a redemption arc in The Shadow Casket, and it is honestly a sign of just how good Wooding is at writing characters that you actually feel sorry for this previously despicable villain. Klyssen ends up being one of the more complex and damaged figures in the entirety of this second book, and I loved his more nuanced mindset and desperate motivations, which make his chapters particularly compelling and emotionally charged. You really begin to feel for Klyssen, even if you don’t want to, and I really appreciated the complex additional development Wooding worked into him for this sequel.

Of course, I cannot talk about characters in The Shadow Casket without mentioning Grub, who honestly might be one of the most entertaining and hilarious figures I have ever had the pleasure to read. Gruff, crude and inappropriate in every way imaginable, Grub is a slippery and self-obsessed figure who never fails to get a laugh thanks to his jokes, selfish mindset, fun observations on the people around him, and pure disinterest in what is actually happening. Thanks to this humour, Grub has some of the best chapters in the entire book, and you always know you are in for a good time. However, Wooding also creates a particularly complex and intriguing story arc around Grub that really resonates with the reader. Coming from a culture that venerates heroic actions and tales, Grub was exiled from his people after claiming another person’s deeds. As such, a lot of Grub’s sVVavsdtoryline involves him trying to redeem himself by become a hero, which really does not come naturally to him due to his selfish nature and upbringing. This honesty proves to be one of the more complex story arcs in the entire book and you really get invested in his attempts to do the right thing. A lot of this story revolves around his unlikely friendship with Aren, who serves as Grub’s moral compass, and their compelling relationship is one of the most heartwarming parts of the entire book. I cannot emphasise just how much fun Grub is as a character, and it honestly is impossible not to fall in love with him, especially with the fantastic depth Wooding adds to his story. While I would read an entire book about Grub, I think that Wooding did a good job not overusing him in The Shadow Casket, and blending in the other characters extremely well.

Other significant characters include Vika, a powerful druid whose connection with the spirits and the gods offers the only hope against the Krodan dreadknights. Wooding weaves a fantastic narrative around Vika that dives into her unique and desperate personality while also using her as a focus for the more mystical elements of the book. I quite enjoyed seeing Vika develop into more of a powerful magical user, although the emotional cost associated with it turns her into a bit of an unpredictable figure. Wooding really laces Vika’s narrative with some powerful tragedy and distinctive moments, and while I felt that the ending of her arc could have been handled a little better, she was still an outstanding and enjoyable protagonist to follow.

I also need to highlight Mira, the team’s strategist and leader of the Dawnwardens, who comes up with elaborate plans and schemes in the name of liberation. While Mira does not have as many chapters assigned to her as I would have liked, Wooding does a lot with her in a short amount of time, and I liked how dark the character got as the book progressed. The dour knight Harod also proves to be an excellent protagonist, mainly because so much of his arc is based around his grief after losing the woman he loved in the last book. Wooding does a good job expanding a bit on the typically emotionally devoid Harod in this book, especially when a fantastic new secondary character is introduced, and his martial focussed chapters have some heavy personal weight to them. Throw in the team’s hunter, Fen, whose arc mostly survives an unenjoyable love triangle, and several great new characters, including a troubled revolutionary and a mysterious fighter with his own agenda and this proved to be an exceptionally rich novel in terms of outstanding characters. This fantastic mixture of compelling cast members really helped to turn The Shadow Casket into an extremely powerful read and I cannot wait to see how these characters develop in the rest of the series.

Like with many epic fantasy novels, I chose to check out The Shadow Casket on audiobook, which I found to be an awesome experience. Elaborate fantasy novels always come across better in the audiobook format for me, especially when there is a ton of detail and world building, and this was once again the case with The Shadow Casket. Wooding’s deeply impressive setting was so much cooler when it was read out to me, and I definitely absorbed a lot more detail in this format. It also helped that they brought back narrator Simon Bubb for this second audiobook in the series. Bubb does such a good job highlighting all the cool action, fantastic detail, and unique features of this series in The Shadow Casket, and I really liked how effortlessly he moved events along. Bubb also has a very good handle on the massive cast featured with this book, coming up with original and fitting voices and accents for all the characters, and bringing out all their inherent emotion and struggles. Highlights for me include the amazing characters of Klyssen, Aren and Grub, all of who really shine through in this format in the most entertaining ways, and I cannot emphasise enough how well Bubb captures all these elaborate figures. Coming in at over 32.5 hours, The Shadow Casket is a hefty audiobook to get through, and it is one of the longest audiobooks I have ever listened to (coming in at number five on the current list). I did struggle a bit to get through The Shadow Casket quickly due to its length, and there were a few times where I got a bit fatigued and had to take a break for a while. However, the compelling story kept dragging me back in, and I maintain that The Shadow Casket is very much worth checking out on audiobook, especially as this format gives you the very best experience. The great voices, fun depiction of detail, and enhanced story absorption more than make up for the length, and The Shadow Casket audiobook comes very highly recommended as a result.

Overall, this is a very impressive book, and if I did not get it across with the massive review above, I really enjoyed The Shadow Casket. Chris Wooding is really writing something special with his Darkwater Legacy series and The Shadow Casket proved to be an exceptional second entry. While I did have a couple of issues with length and some character elements, the sheer power and complexity of the story ensures that The Shadow Casket gets a full five-star rating from me and I had such an incredible time getting through this amazing book. This is easily one of the best fantasy series currently going and I cannot wait to see how it continues, even if I have to wait a while for the third book to appear. Highly recommended, all fans of epic fantasy need to get into this series.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

On November 16, 2022July 18, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday8 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out one of the most anticipated and epic upcoming fantasy novels of 2023 with, The Shadow Casket, by Chris Wooding.

The Shadow Casket Cover

Amazon

Back in 2018 I was lucky enough to be introduced the amazing writing of an impressive fantasy author, Chris Wooding. Despite his work on several previous fantasy books, including the Braided Path, Malice and Tales of Ketty Jay fantasy series, I hadn’t previously had the opportunity to read anything from Wooding. I also wasn’t initially aware that he had a new fantasy book coming out in 2018 either, so much so that its release completely passed me by. It wasn’t until I started hearing rave reviews about it that I decided to check it out, and boy was I lucky that I did, as it proved to be an exceptional and incredible fantasy read.

That book was The Ember Blade, a massive and elaborate fantasy epic that took a great group of characters on an intense and captivating adventure. The first book in Wooding’s The Darkwater Legacy series, The Ember Blade primarily takes place in the conquered fantasy nation of Ossia, who were invaded and destroyed by the brutal Krodan Empire years before, who now rule Ossia with an iron first. The only Ossians who flourish in the country anymore are those who bow down to the Krodan rulers and allow their children to be brainwashed into believing that the Krodan are saviours. This includes the main protagonist of the series, Aren, who grew up wanting to be a Krodan with all his heart.

However, after his father is killed by the Krodans, Aren and his best friend Cade are taken to a labour camp, where they are expected to die. Realising just how evil the Krodan are, Aren plots to fight them, and is given the chance when a band of freedom fighters free them from the camp. They soon find themselves embroiled in a plot to break into an impregnable fortress and steal the legendary Ember Blade, an ancient sword with the potential to ignite the Ossian people in rebellion. However, while Aren and his comrades are able to pull off the heist, they suffer great losses in process, including the band’s leader and Cade.

I had an extremely awesome time listening to The Ember Blade audiobook, which really filled all my epic fantasy needs. Not only did Wooding introduce a bold new fantasy world, filled with some amazingly complex characters, but The Ember Blade had an exceptional story to it. I loved the combination of fantasy adventure, rebel action, and a heist storyline that formed the main plot, and I was relentlessly entertained the entire way through. I also had a lot of fun listening to The Ember Blade audiobook, which ended up being the eighth longest audiobook I have ever listened to. The Ember Blade got an easy five-star review from me, and I have been eagerly looking forward to the sequel for a few years now.

Well, my wait is finally over, as Wooding is finally releasing the second Darkwater Legacy novel in a couple of months’ time. This sequel to The Ember Blade is The Shadow Casket, which will continue the epic story from the from the first book. Set for release in mid-February 2023, The Shadow Casket has an immense amount of potential and I like the sound of the cool plot synopsis that has been released:

Synopsis:

A BAND OF REBELS.
A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.
A REVOLUTION ABOUT TO BEGIN.

It’s been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.

Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there’s only one of her.

But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?

The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.

There are some very intriguing elements in the synopsis above that have got me even more excited for The Shadow Casket. I love the idea of a bit of a time-skip between The Ember Blade and this sequel, especially as it appears that the protagonist’s dream or uniting the country around the Ember Blade failed. While this does kind of invalidate the events of the first book, I’m sure that Wooding will turn this failure into some impressive personal drama for the protagonist. In addition, there appears to be even more chaos and confusion as the rebels attempt to band together their fractious countrymen into fighting a terrible enemy. Throw in a new fantasy MacGuffin, the Shadow Casket, and I am sure that this will be a great new read with another epic story to it.

Look, there is honestly no way that I will not be enjoying The Shadow Casket when it comes out next year. The Ember Blade was too damn good not for me to look forward to the sequel, and I can’t wait to see how the elaborate story continues. While I am slightly worried that I may have forgotten some of the details since listening to the first book in 2019, I am sure that I will have no trouble diving back into this series. This book has so much damn potential, and I am exceedingly confident that The Shadow Casket is going to be one of the absolute best fantasy books of 2023.

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

On November 25, 2019July 18, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books19 Comments

Publisher: Orion (Audiobook – 20 September 2018)

Series: The Darkwater Legacy – Book 1

Length: 30 hours and 40 minutes

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

If you are looking for an elaborate and exciting fantasy epic to really sink your teeth into look no further than The Ember Blade, the impressive first book in Chris Wooding’s The Darkwater Legacy.

The Ember Blade is a massive fantasy book that was released in late 2018 by veteran author Chris Wooding. I somehow completely failed to realise that this book was coming out until I saw it on the shelves of my local bookshop, and while I thought that it had a lot of potential due to the cool sounding plot, I was unfortunately unable to fit it into my reading schedule last year. However, as it was one of the books I most regret not reading in 2018, I decided to listen to the audiobook format of The Ember Blade, narrated by Simon Bubb, a little while ago. I have to say that I was not disappointed; Wooding, who has previously written such books as the Braided Path, Malice and Tales of the Ketty Jay series, has created a bold and inventive new fantasy tale in this book. Featuring a great story, an amazing group of characters and set in a massive and creative fantasy world, this was an exceptional book that I am really glad I listened to it.

A generation ago, the once proud nation of Ossia was invaded by the brutal Krodan Empire, and not even Ossia’s legendary defenders, the Dawnwardens, could stop them. Now the Krodans rule Ossia with an iron fist, installing their own religion and way of life, and treating the Ossians like second-class citizens in their own land. Any acts of dissent are quickly crushed, and those few that fight for Ossian freedom are quickly being rounded up. The only Ossians who flourish are those who accept Krodan rule and attempt to assimilate into their way of life, like Aren, the son of a wealthy Ossian collaborator. Aren has spent his whole life being told that the Krodans saved his country and that their laws, religion and rule are fair and beneficial for everyone. However, he is about to learn the dark side of Krodan rule.

When his farther is suddenly arrested and executed as a traitor, Aren and his best friend Cade are taken to a forsaken Krodan labour camp where they are expected to work until they die. With his hopes and dreams for the future crushed, Aren decides that it is finally time to rebel and engineers an escape from the camp with Cade and another prisoner. Despite all their planning, their escape seems doomed to fail until a mysterious band of fighters intervene at the last minute. However, their salvation is a double-edged sword, as the leader of this group, Garric, is a vengeful figure from Aren’s father’s past, who bears a terrible grudge against his entire family.

Forced to travel with this band, Aren and Cade discover that they are amongst some of the last Ossian rebels in the entire country. As they flee, pursued by a tenacious member of Krodan’s secret police and his three terrifying minions, they are told of Garric’s ambitious plan to break into an impenetrable fortress and steal the Ember Blade, an ancient artefact of Ossian rule that could be used to rally the country to their cause. However, in order to even have a chance to steal the blade, they must overcome treachery, the indifference of a conquered people, and their own personal demons unless they wish to be overwhelmed by the evil forces arrayed against them.

Wooding has come up with a pretty spectacular plot for this book, and I really enjoyed the places that this compelling story went. While the beginning of the book is a little slow, mainly to establish the setting and the friendship between Aren and Cade, it does not take long for the plot to get really exciting, when the two main characters introduced at that point are thrown into a prison camp. The story continues at an excellent and captivating pace from then on in, as the characters get wrapped up with Garric and his band as they attempt to free Ossia from the Krodans. This whole story is pretty fantastic, as it blends together a bunch of different fantasy adventure storylines into one satisfying narrative. For example, throughout the course of the book, you have an exploration of life within a Krodan prison camp, a complex prison break, a pursuit throughout all of Ossia by the Krodans, an exploration of a long-abandoned and magically haunted palace, treachery and plotting throughout the towns and cities of Ossia, all finished off with an elaborate heist and prison break scenario within an impenetrable castle and the dramatic consequences that result from their actions. While you would imagine that having all of these plot aspects within one novel would be a bit too much, I think that Wooding did an excellent job balancing all these intricate storylines together into one outstanding overall narrative. Sufficient time is spent on all of the various parts of the book, which not only ensures that various plot points are well-constructed and impactful but also allows the various character dynamics and relationships to come into effect while also slotting in some world building. All of this leads to an incredible and truly addictive story which I absolutely loved and which also sets up a number of intriguing plot points for future books in this series.

While The Ember Blade’s story is pretty amazing, the real strength of this book is the fantastic group of characters. The author has come up with several outstanding and complex protagonists, each of whom has an elaborate backstory which the reader learns all about through the course of the story, as many of them are utilised as a point-of-view character for a several chapters. There were some truly fantastic and memorable characters throughout this story, and I really enjoyed their various motivations and the way that they interacted with each other. The further you get into the book, the more you find yourself getting wrapped up in each character’s unique personality and finding out what makes them tick, until you actually start to care for them. However, fair warning in advance, some of these characters that you grow to like will not survive until the end of the book, and Wooding goes on a little bit of a killing spree with some of his creations (although I think there is a good chance one or two might come back in a future book).

The Ember Blade features a number of great characters that I could talk about, but for the sake of brevity I might just focus on the most important characters, Aren and Cade. These two Ossian youths are great central protagonists for this story, and they form a pretty fun and emotional duo for most of the book. Aren and Cade are dragged into the events of this book because of their friendship, and the two of them try to stick together, as they end up being the only person each of them has. However, throughout the course of this book, their friendship is tested by a lack of hope, conflict over ideals, love and feelings of betrayal, which makes for some very emotional reading. Both characters are really interesting, and both bring a lot to the story. While Aren is the central protagonist of the series, Cade is the story’s heart and soul, telling all manner of bad jokes and regaling his companions with the old stories of the land. Aside from the periods of time when he is infected with hopelessness or bitterness, Cade mostly remains the same character throughout the course of the book and does not develop too much. Aren, on the other hand, goes through a great deal of character development throughout the book, as he starts to become more disillusioned with the Krodan regime. Due to his upbringing, Aren is slow to realise the evils of the Krodans, even when his father is murdered and he is thrown into a deathcamp. However, several confrontations with Cade, discussions with Garric and actually seeing all the evil that the Krodans perpetrate help convince him of the benefit of rebelling against them and being a hero. This is not a straight progression; instead, the author creates a much more deviated course to greatness for our hero, as he is forced to betray someone he respects, is betrayed in turn by his own countrymen, must overcome his own prejudices and learn to deal with his sense of entitlement and his resentments, all before he become a better person. All of this makes for some great reading, and these two make a fantastic pairing.

Quite a lot of time is also spent on the character of Garric, who probably shares top billing with Aren as the book’s main protagonist. Garric is a freedom fighter whose own country is no longer willing to fight. Obsessed with victory, no matter the cost, Garric has become a very angry and bitter man over the years, especially due to a past interaction with Aren’s father. Despite this past hurt, his code of honour requires him to rescue Aren, and subsequent events force him to spend time with the son of the man he hated the most in the world. We learn a great deal about Garric throughout the course of the book, and despite his outer veneer of hatred and anger, most of which is directed at Aren, he is shown to be a good man and a hero. However, his need for vengeance against the Krodans slowly consumes him throughout the course of the book, and he begins to risk everything, even the lives of the people who trust him, to achieve his goal. I really liked the character of Garric, mainly because he has such an outstanding and well-written character arc in this book, the course of which goes into some dark and destructive directions and was deeply compelling to witness.

There is no way I can review this book without mentioning my favourite character, Grub, since, according to himself, “Grub is the greatest”. Grub is a Skarl, a warrior whose people journey out from an icy wasteland to do mighty deeds in order to have them tattooed on their body. Joining in on Aren and Cade’s escape plan, Grub spends the majority of the book boasting about the deeds that earned him his tattoos and making himself sound like the greatest warrior of all time. Grub is mostly used as a comic relief, and his jokes, outlandish boasts, coarse behaviour, amusing nicknames for the other characters and habit of constantly talking about himself in the third person make him the funniest protagonists in the book. However, like most of Wooding’s characters, Grub’s life is a lot more complicated than you would expect. Grub is not what he appears to be and bears a secret shame that makes him an outcast from his own people. In order to return, Grub must redeem himself by performing the most heroic or cunning of deeds and remains with the protagonists because he believes that participating in their adventures are exactly what he needs, that and he plans to rob them of the Ember Blade. However, as the book progresses, Grub, who has never known friendship or acceptance, begins to bond with several of the protagonists, especially Aren, which could alter his eventual plans.

As you can see from the examples above, Wooding has done an excellent job inserting complex and appealing characters into his story. Favourites I haven’t yet mentioned include a powerful druid and her dog, who provide much of the book’s magical elements; a fearless female hunter with poor social skills, who is a love interest for both Aren and Cade; an intelligent Ossian woman whose ambitions are thwarted by the inherent sexism of the Krodans, and who gets some of the best revenge against a mansplaining ass by beating him in a strategy game; and more. The author even shows a couple of chapters from the point of view of The Ember Blade’s main antagonist, the Krodan secret police commander Klyssen, which humanises him a little and shows why he is so determined to hunt down our protagonists. All of these characters add a large amount to the story, and it was a real pleasure to follow their adventures and learn all about their lives.

In addition to the fantastic roster of characters that the excellent story followed, I have to say that I was also impressed with the bold new fantasy world that Wooding created. Not only is the primary setting of the nation of Ossia a complex and dangerous location that helps create a thrilling and enjoyable read, but the author spends a lot of time expanding out the entire world, furnishing the reader with some fascinating depictions of some of the other cultures and races that live in the world. Thanks to the fact that one of the point-of-view characters is a bit of a storyteller, we get a really good idea of the history of the world, much of which has some sort of bearing on the current story, or could potentially become an interesting part of a future book. In addition, due to the examination of several of the protagonists, we also get a good basis for some of the other nations that are mentioned throughout the story, all of which sound really fascinating. I particularly liked the sound of the Skarl, Grub’s race, and I would definitely love to read a story set in their frozen necropolises. Wooding also introduces some supernatural elements in this book, including some ancient god-like monsters who are likely to be the major opponents of any future books in the series, as well as a cursed, magical castle which our protagonists find themselves trapped in for a substantial part of the book. I also quite enjoyed the potion-based magical system of the druids that was utilised by one of the primary characters, and I will be intrigued to see more of what sort of magic the Krodans have.

While the rest of the world introduced in The Ember Blade has a lot of potential in future books, I did really like the main location of this book, the conquered nation of Ossia. Ossia has been under Krodan rule for around a generation at the point of this story, and the people are becoming more accustomed to their conquered status. This situation bears some very strong similarities to Nazi-occupied France, with the Krodans infecting the country with their rules and ideals over a conquered nation, and utilising collaborators and violent retaliations to rule with an iron fist. Not only are the Krodans depicted in quite a Teutonic way, but it is clear that they are participating in some form of ethnic cleansing, as the entire population of a gypsy facsimile race in their empire has been rounded up and taken to an unknown location. All of this really helps to up the stakes for the protagonists, as they must not only overcome all the Krodans they come across but also contend with being sold out by members of their own nation. This chance of betrayal from fellow Ossians is quite disheartening to many of the characters, and it makes them wonder at times why they are fighting to free these people, when it is quite obvious that many amongst them do not want to be free. In addition to all of this, I have to mention the dreadknights, the strange, dangerous and seemingly indestructible elite soldiers of the Krodan Empire, who have been unleashed to hunt down and kill the protagonists. These dreadknights are terrifying beings whose unrelenting pursuit of your favourite characters (and indeed they bear responsibility for the deaths of some of these characters) really adds a lot of tension to the story. There was something of the Ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings in their manner and bearing, and there is a lot of mystery surrounding their origins. I am very curious to see if we learn more of these creatures in the rest of the series, and I have a vague feeling that Wooding is going to make them even more horrifying in the future.

As I mentioned above, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of The Ember Blade, which was narrated by Simon Bubb. Considering the physical copy of this book is around 800+ pages, it should come as no surprise that the audiobook format is going to be fairly substantial. It runs for 30 hours and 40 minutes, which actually makes it the eighth-longest audiobook I have ever listened to. As a result, it did take me a pretty long time to get through this book, but once I started getting really into the story, I went out of my way to try and finish it off as quickly as possible. I am actually really glad that I listened to the audiobook version of this book, as I felt that it really helped me absorb the enjoyable story and detailed setting. Bubb had a great, steady narration voice for this book, and his take on the story and the characters really helped to keep my attention glued to the book. As a result, I would strongly recommend the audiobook format of The Ember Blade to those people interested in checking this book out, as you will have a lot of fun listening to it.

The Ember Blade is a modern-day fantasy masterpiece from Chris Wooding, and I am extremely glad that I managed to get a chance to read it this year. Wooding has come up with a detailed and captivating plot which combines exceedingly well with the book’s excellent group of characters and intriguing new fantasy world to create a first-rate story. This was an outstanding read which does a fantastic job introducing The Darkwater Legacy, which, if Wooding continues to write this well, has potential to become a truly great fantasy series. A highly recommended read that gets a full five out of five stars from me, this is essential reading for all fans of the fantasy genre.

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