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High Elf Novels #2
Sons of Ellyrion
The sequel to Defenders of Ulthuan Ulthuan is a land at the verge of destruction. At Lothern, a fell army marches against the elven defenders of Prince Imrik and Prince Tyrion. In Averlorn, two brothers fight for forgiveness and their right to defend their people. But at Tor Elyr, the conflict will be lost and won. The druchii army, led by Morathi and Issyk Kul, battles the gathered might of the high elves in a vast, destructive conflict. But Morathi has even grander plans than this – to destroy the vortex that holds Ulthuan together, plunging the island into a nightmare domain of Chaos. The noble elves must overcome their dark cousins, or else face the end of their race.
- GenresFantasy
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 30, 2011
14 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Graham McNeill
341 books937 followersHailing from Scotland, Graham McNeill narrowly escaped a career in surveying to work for Games Workshop as a games designer. He has a strong following with his novels Nightbringer, Warriors of Ultramar, Dead Sky, Black Sun and Storm of Iron.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 17, 2021
This second book is an Warhammer fantasy series that relates the epic Dark Elf invasion and defense of Ulthuan, the Island Nation of the High Elves. Compared to the first novel, *Defenders of Ulthuan,* this one treats events on an epic, even cosmic scale. There are so many interesting subplots: the continued internecine drama of Caelir and Eldain; the scheme of the Hag Sorceress Morathi to unmake the world; the bloody and profligate campaign of Issyk Kul, the Chaos Torturer of Naggarond; the death and resurrection of the undying Alarielle the Everqueen. There are magical duels between sorcerers and demons, hydras and dark elves, barbarians and treemen. There is an enchanted horse herd, a magical vortex, a conversation with Death incarnate; there are reversals and betrayals, tragic defeats, and page-turning duels. But why four stars? Alas, the sustained epic intensity of this novel made it hard to avoid desensitization to spectacle at about the third quarter point. If you push through this part, though, the last quarter delivers. This is the third book in a "high elf," trilogy, but I can't imagine the third book extending this narrative. *Defenders of Ulthuan* and *Sons of Ellyrion* combined reads as a contained, complete story. McNeill is a talented, ambitious writer, and his love for this material is on display, so I'm looking forward to the third book.
June 13, 2023
So. Much. Fighting.
Battle after violent, bloody battle, though expertly described, flowed from one seemingly endless chapter into another. Graham McNeill astounds me with his writing and I truly could SEE what was taking place in the Elven world of Ulthuan, but it was…too much. There came a point for me where there were just way too many battles described in such visceral details that I found myself not enjoying the story and not looking forward to the next chapter of another warrior fighting for his life or seeing his comrades gored on the battlefield. Just as the beautiful moments, characters, and scenes were exquisitely crafted and described, so too were the raw and gore-filled happenings on the battlefield. I was also not fond of the cliffhanger changes from one scene of the war to another in the author’s attempts to, I guess, create suspense and tension as the scene shifted to check in on other characters he left in limbo.
Yes, the state of Ulthuan was dire and, yes, the scope of the despair was vast….I definitely felt that was made abundantly clear because nothing was left out of this story: the greatest of the Elven leaders and kings and mages and witches, of course, but also the Great Herd of wild horses from Ellyrion, the tree kin and dryads of Avelorn fought, the Great Eagles, the DRAGONS, the Black Arks, hydra, and beastmen and beasts alike, the Maiden Guard, the Reavers, the Silver Helms, the Phoenix Guard, etc. Just when I thought all the cards had been played, more would be introduced. But such is the way of Warhammer lore and it’s pretty impressive that Graham wove such a great story with all its cast and players.
I am really fond of his writing, just maybe less so with this book in particular given how much more time I took to finish reading it than other titles he’s penned.
There was one or two quotes that I found contemplative I’ll have to come back and add to my review, however. Without giving away any spoilers, I really liked some of the introspection between some of the characters toward the end of the book.
I think I would have liked more dialogue and less descriptive scenes, overall; hence my rating of 3 for this book, but I’m always happy to return to any book about the Asur and the world of Ulthuan.
Battle after violent, bloody battle, though expertly described, flowed from one seemingly endless chapter into another. Graham McNeill astounds me with his writing and I truly could SEE what was taking place in the Elven world of Ulthuan, but it was…too much. There came a point for me where there were just way too many battles described in such visceral details that I found myself not enjoying the story and not looking forward to the next chapter of another warrior fighting for his life or seeing his comrades gored on the battlefield. Just as the beautiful moments, characters, and scenes were exquisitely crafted and described, so too were the raw and gore-filled happenings on the battlefield. I was also not fond of the cliffhanger changes from one scene of the war to another in the author’s attempts to, I guess, create suspense and tension as the scene shifted to check in on other characters he left in limbo.
Yes, the state of Ulthuan was dire and, yes, the scope of the despair was vast….I definitely felt that was made abundantly clear because nothing was left out of this story: the greatest of the Elven leaders and kings and mages and witches, of course, but also the Great Herd of wild horses from Ellyrion, the tree kin and dryads of Avelorn fought, the Great Eagles, the DRAGONS, the Black Arks, hydra, and beastmen and beasts alike, the Maiden Guard, the Reavers, the Silver Helms, the Phoenix Guard, etc. Just when I thought all the cards had been played, more would be introduced. But such is the way of Warhammer lore and it’s pretty impressive that Graham wove such a great story with all its cast and players.
I am really fond of his writing, just maybe less so with this book in particular given how much more time I took to finish reading it than other titles he’s penned.
There was one or two quotes that I found contemplative I’ll have to come back and add to my review, however. Without giving away any spoilers, I really liked some of the introspection between some of the characters toward the end of the book.
I think I would have liked more dialogue and less descriptive scenes, overall; hence my rating of 3 for this book, but I’m always happy to return to any book about the Asur and the world of Ulthuan.
March 27, 2015
If you like descriptive books with lots of action (and you are able to look past the darkness of the druchii and their allies), you will likely enjoy The High Elf Duology. Shallow characters are offset well by beautiful scenery, exciting battles, and strong world-building.
Full Christian Review Here: http://www.geeksundergrace.com/books/...
Full Christian Review Here: http://www.geeksundergrace.com/books/...
June 2, 2022
The writing is competent and if you're into fantasy battles, you'll probably enjoy this (especially if you're a simp for Helfs). For me personally though, there was simply too much action and too little plot. Not to mention, I've already seen the high elves and dark elves duking it out before with literally the same outcome. The book even acknowledges the fact that this has happened before and nothing has really changed.
Worst of all, what was supposed to be the major game-changer and the cliff hanger that the previous book ended on, turned out to have zero consequence on the events of the story in the end.
Moreover, if you asked me, the only reason the high elves keep winning against the dark elves is because the writers of these books want them to. Otherwise the war would be over and there'd be no more story to tell. Logically, the dark elves are stronger, more cunning, have more weapons and more allies at their disposal. Their lives are centered around combat. If they were to meet with the high elves in pitched combat, logically, there should be no doubt they would be the victor.
Worst of all, what was supposed to be the major game-changer and the cliff hanger that the previous book ended on, turned out to have zero consequence on the events of the story in the end.
Moreover, if you asked me, the only reason the high elves keep winning against the dark elves is because the writers of these books want them to. Otherwise the war would be over and there'd be no more story to tell. Logically, the dark elves are stronger, more cunning, have more weapons and more allies at their disposal. Their lives are centered around combat. If they were to meet with the high elves in pitched combat, logically, there should be no doubt they would be the victor.
February 23, 2020
Bittersweet conclusion of the story started in Defenders of Ulthuan. Emotional . gripping and stunning, though maybe rushed in the ending, still is worth reading story.
November 22, 2020
Epic. Epic. Epic.
September 7, 2025
A bit too much fighting, some of the major characters could've had "more", but overall this book shows a deep writers understanding of the world and delivers an beautifully heart wrenching ending.
April 6, 2014
I really enjoyed 'Defenders of Ulthuan', the first novel in this two-parter. As you'd expect from a sequel by the same author, Graham McNiell mimics the style he established in the preceding novel. Hence, most of my praise for 'Defenders of Ulthuan' carries over to 'Sons of Ellyrion'; vivd descriptions, emotive language, intriguing plot.
A lot is left to be answered with the cliffhanger "conclusion" (I deliberately use that term to invoke a little irony) to 'Defenders of Ulthuan'. It all gets answered, but I felt nothing was as shocking as I expected. Sure, most of the revelations in the fist novel were predictable, but I think they were more interesting that the answers given here.
The majority of the positive aspect of the plot come when I view both novels as a whole story, which they are. The homeland of the Elves is explored in enough depths that you get a feel for the varying landscapes and, to a lesser degree, the varying cultures. The characters are well developed and I feel the major ones have unique personalities. I like meeting the villains and getting to know them a little. The descriptions of battle are solid.
The big let down is the ending. There is a Latin term, Deus Ex Machina, that translates to "god from the machine". It is a literary term used to describe when a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved, with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object (I stole that explanation from the Deus Ex Machina entry in Wikipedia). It's a bit of a cop out. McNiell does exactly that in 'Sons of Ellyrion'. It's probably worse because two whole novels worth of investing in characters and situations comes down to a "by the way, it's all suddenly solved by..." type of ending. I should have known. The battles were still being fought when the pages left to read were getting very light on. It almost amounts to what I like to call an "Adam Sandler ending", because in all his films everything it happily resolved in the end. Bad guys are punished and good guys are rewarded. This wasn't exactly the case in 'Sons of Ellyrion', but I would have liked to see more costly sacrifices.
Another minor gripe is the lack of time spent with the famous characters. They feel like supporting characters, which they are, but I enjoyed their scenes and wanted more of them.
Overall, the experience was pleasant, soured only by the terrible ending.
A lot is left to be answered with the cliffhanger "conclusion" (I deliberately use that term to invoke a little irony) to 'Defenders of Ulthuan'. It all gets answered, but I felt nothing was as shocking as I expected. Sure, most of the revelations in the fist novel were predictable, but I think they were more interesting that the answers given here.
The majority of the positive aspect of the plot come when I view both novels as a whole story, which they are. The homeland of the Elves is explored in enough depths that you get a feel for the varying landscapes and, to a lesser degree, the varying cultures. The characters are well developed and I feel the major ones have unique personalities. I like meeting the villains and getting to know them a little. The descriptions of battle are solid.
The big let down is the ending. There is a Latin term, Deus Ex Machina, that translates to "god from the machine". It is a literary term used to describe when a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved, with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object (I stole that explanation from the Deus Ex Machina entry in Wikipedia). It's a bit of a cop out. McNiell does exactly that in 'Sons of Ellyrion'. It's probably worse because two whole novels worth of investing in characters and situations comes down to a "by the way, it's all suddenly solved by..." type of ending. I should have known. The battles were still being fought when the pages left to read were getting very light on. It almost amounts to what I like to call an "Adam Sandler ending", because in all his films everything it happily resolved in the end. Bad guys are punished and good guys are rewarded. This wasn't exactly the case in 'Sons of Ellyrion', but I would have liked to see more costly sacrifices.
Another minor gripe is the lack of time spent with the famous characters. They feel like supporting characters, which they are, but I enjoyed their scenes and wanted more of them.
Overall, the experience was pleasant, soured only by the terrible ending.
February 5, 2014
"Sons of Ellyrion" is a strong second book in the High Elves duology and a truly epic conclusion to another war between the High and the Dark Elves. As the Witch King attacks from one side, Tyrion, the mightiest hero of the High Elves must resist the temptation of the Sword of Khaine, the dreaded artefact which indirectly corrupted the kin of the Dark Elves. In the same time two brothers must reuinte after dark betrayal from one of them in order to stop the advance of Morathi, the Hag Sorceress, who, united with barbaric devoteers of Slaansesh is advancing in Ulthuan and aims to basically destroy the world. These plots are itnerwined with truly titanic struggles between armies of first class warriors and immensely powerful sorcerers and it truly captures the epic feel of the Warhammer series. The writing, however, sometimes seems clumsy as repetitions are used often and compared the the magninficent Sundering trilogy by Gav Thorpe this seems to be an inferior effort. Still, it is a great tale of swords and sorcery and will enthrall fans of fantasy battles between Good and Evil.
November 11, 2016
Good story. Standard Warhammer fantasy fare. =)
January 7, 2017
Definitely a book that will make a lot more sense if you're immersed in the war hammer world. Well written.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews