Shadowlands

The Mirror Prince #2

by Violette Malan

The long-awaited sequel to Violette Malan's acclaimed debut novel, The Mirror Prince .

The war in the Land of the Faerie has finally ended. Prince Cassandra dispatches Stormwolf, formerly a Hound but cured by his prince's magic and restored to the Rider he once was, to the Shadowlands to call home the People who remain refugees there. But Stormwolf finds the Hounds of the Wild Hunt now prey upon the souls of the humans, draining them of the magic which is the very lifeblood of the People. With the help of Valory Martin, a mortal psychic, Stormwolf must find the magic needed to defeat the Hunt before it's too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Adult

403 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2012

About the author

Violette Malan lives in a nineteenth-century limestone farmhouse in southeastern Ontario with her husband. Born in Canada, Violette’s cultural background is half Spanish and half Polish, which makes it interesting at meal times. She has worked as a teacher of creative writing, English as a second language, Spanish, beginner’s French, and choreography for strippers. On occasion she’s been an administrative assistant and a carpenter’s helper. Her most unusual job was translating letters between lovers, one of whom spoke only English, the other only Spanish. She can be found at violettemalan.com.

Reviews

[Dianne Trautmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the follow up to The Mirror Prince, a book I really enjoyed. While Shadowlands has its moments, I did not enjoy it as much and found it a slower read. Too many points of view perhaps, although it was roughly following a classic questing format where the group meets up, divides up and regroups at the end, which I have a lot of experience reading and enjoy on the whole. There are some absolutely brilliant ideas thrown in to the story in the last four chapters (perhaps setting up a third book set in a prior time cycle in The Lands (aka Faerie), they are almost a throwaway in the wrap up of the final chapter, which seems truncated/rushed as if the author had a deadline to meet or a page limit she was afraid to exceed.
Overall, if you go into this book with low expectations and patience with the pacing it’s an ok read. (Did I mention I really loved the first book? I will probably try to read something else by this author in the future, she definitely has talent.)

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the Mirror Prince, so I read this one. It was super good too.

[Jessica Strider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros: fantastic worldbuilding, several interwoven plots, interesting characters

Cons: little emotional punch, a few times character motivations are unclear

The newly healed former Hound Stormwolf is sent to the Shadowlands to proclaim the new High Prince to those living outside the Lands. He's set himself another task though, to see that his former Pack is also healed and given new lives.

Valory Martin is a human psychic with astonishing abilities, able to see the truth of people and things by touching them. Alejandro, long an inhabitant of the Shadowlands rescued her from the Collector and now considers it his duty to protect and help her. Though he trusts her ability to read truth, he doubts her assertions regarding Stormwolf and the truth of the Rider's message.

The Hunt is still abroad in the Shadowlands, feeding on the dra'aj of humans, an act that has, over time, created a group of humans who call themselves Outsiders. Without dra'aj of their own, these humans require the dra'aj of others and have created a system for aquiring it. A system that the new Hound attacks, and subsequent influx of needy humans, threatens to destroy. The leader of the Outsiders in Toronto, Nikolas, asks Valory and Alejandro to help them deal with the threat of the Hounds.

Meanwhile, the High Prince is caught up in the healing of the Lands, a task more time consuming and difficult than expected, when the Basilisk's followers refuse to yield.

A direct sequel to her first novel, Mirror Prince, Shadowlands will not disappoint those who have long awaited seeing what happened to the High Prince. While the book takes place primarily on Earth (the Shadowlands), enough happens in the Lands to satisfy curiosity of what Max and Cassandra did after the events of Mirror Prince.

Anyone who's forgotten what happened in Mirror Prince - or who hasn't read it - will find the first few chapters seemlessly include enough of the backstory, as well as the necessary terminology, to understand what's going on. Still, it is a direct sequel and readers will definitely get more out of this book, especially with regards to minor characters like Lightborn, if they've read the first book.

The world building is fantastic. Malan's attention to detail really brings the different settings to life. Many questions about the Hunt, the Horn and the Shadowlands are answered. It's shown that even with a High Prince and an attempt at more harmony between the races in the Lands (the People, the Solitaries and the Naturals), there is racism and subsequent tensions among the People (those we would call the 'fairy folk'). Even without the Basilisk Prince's followers to contend with, issues between Wards (Sunward, Moonward and Starward) become problematic. It's easy to understand how humans, considered myths by many in the Lands, wouldn't rate any concern for the People struggling to put their own world to rights.

Valory's power is really interesting, and Malan makes sure her protagonist is no Mary Sue. She's learned to keep secrets (since no one can keep them from her) and suffers upon entering the Lands, which limits her usefulness to her companions, and her options.

The other characters are equally compelling, with both good and bad traits and their own motivations for their actions. A few times, generally with minor characters, the motives of the characters are left unclear (like Nik's waffling on whether Alejandro's help is necessary). And though I liked most of the characters, I didn't feel a deep connection with any of them, making several deaths less dramatic - and impactful - than I like.

This is a worthy successor to Mirror Prince, with a series of interconnecting plot threads weaving through the Lands and Shadowlands and ending with a conclusion that ties most things together neatly while still leaving room for another novel.

[E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Shadowlands” by Violette Malan is the wonderful sequel to the creative book “The Mirror Prince” and returns the reader to a world where there are wonderful and imaginative beings who are continuing to deal with the aftermath of a horrific civil war that caused an upheaval in the Lands of Faerie. The conflicted being, Stormwolf, tries to rise above the criticisms and judgements being passed on him in order to fulfill both his duties and the dictates of his heart. His path crosses that of the psychic Valory Martin who is trying to find her own place in either the place known as the Shadowlands or the Lands themselves. Unfortunately, the price to stabilize their respective societies may be more than either is willing to pay.

A word of advice, one should read the prequel to “Shadowlands” before delving into this intriguing fantasy. The author weaves an intricate tapestry featuring the modern world impacted by beings who are familiar yet alien and provides a lens that alters the perception of standard legends such as the Wild Hunt and its ‘Hounds’. It took me a few chapters to readjust to being immersed in this intriguing society while I puzzled through the psychic Valory and her relationship with the Outsiders and the other Riders but I rapidly became invested in the struggle even as I sympathized with Stormwolf and his conflicts. A rather mind-boggling explanation for the relationship between the two worlds and an enjoyable glimpse into the progress of developments after the events detailed in “The Mirror Prince”. One can only hope that there will be more tales featuring these fantastical beings and their remarkable abilities.

© Night Owl Reviews


I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, as Shadowlands is the follow up to The Mirror Prince I would recommend you read that one first. That being said, I quite enjoyed Shadowlands. It was very different from the Mirror Prince, as it followed the newly healed Hound, Stormwolf (Wolf) rather than Max and Cassandra. Don't fret, Max and Cassandra are still in the book, but we primarily follow Wolf, the Human "Truthreader" Valory Martin and her protector and friend Alejandro back in our world (the Shadowlands). As always, Ms. Malan's characters are wonderfully drawn and realistic. I especially liked Wolf, and Valory grew on me quite quickly. It was very interesting to be confronted with the Hunt for a much larger portion of the book than in Mirror Prince. I really liked how she developed the Hunt and what they actually turned out to be.
Shadowlands is not a typical Fantasy novel, it is actually classified as Urban Fantasy as the majority of the book takes place in our world. However if you're not an Urban Fantasy reader I would highly recommend her other novels of Dhulyn and Parno. Whichever type of Fantasy you prefer, Violette Malan is a must read!

[Kidraid Kidraid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadowland from Violette Malan is a direct followup to the mirror prince. I on purpouse did not say sequel because while I would recommend that you read the mirror Prince first it does not follow the same charaters as main protagonists. Cassandra and Max are really secondary characters.

In this book we follow mainly Wolf the hound that Cassandra healed and Valory a human truthreader. Most of the intrigue takes place on earth rather than in the Lands therefore the name of the book .

I will not give a synopsis of the book because I really think you should dicover it on your own. But it is interesting in that it does clarify a lot that was in the first book neetly tiing off threads. it is also nice to see the world from the point of view of the riders.

It was a book that let itself be read. there were no slow points.

I would strongly recommend it to anyone who read the first book.

[Julie Czerneda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read the prequel, THE MIRROR PRINCE, before diving into SHADOWLANDS, but that wasn't a problem. The characters and problems were well introduced and the action flew along. I particularly enjoyed the author's ability to move between the various points of view. That's not easily done, and Malan showed a seamless mastery that really added to my enjoyment of the book. Stormwolf, I'll admit, quickly became a favourite. Such a unique and interesting (and yummy) character!
Malan also has an enviable skill with action and setting. So much so, I could believe I was seeing, rather than reading. This would make an excellent movie.
I've given SHADOWLANDS 4 rather than 5 stars because I sincerely hope there's a sequel to resolve several of the threads. I want MORE!!!!

[Dr susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like Shadowlands. The characters and worlds are so interesting, but too many main characters died. I started skimming halfway through the book, although my interest would be caught, and I would begin reading everything again. The multiple points of view did not help. One first person narrator with too many other POVs to count was very distracting. The ending suggested another book. I like Valory enough to read the book if it happens. A story set with Valory and Wolf using their gifts to live in our world without the complications of the other world would be very interesting.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swear Violette Malan writes the best characters ever. I really love her worlds and I always get completely sucked in.

But dammit, that ending... I need more from this world. I don't feel like it's completely over yet. :(

[Estara]

http://users.xplornet.com/~vmalan/Cha...
I really enjoyed the first book in this urban fantasy/portal fantasy and here's a strong start to the second book