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Shader #2
Best Laid Plans
Events in Sahul continue to spiral out of control as many people (both good and evil) try to get their hands on all 5 magical pieces of the Eingana statue. The story centers around our hero Deacon Shader who goes from being dead, to being resurrected...allowing him to continue to try to save the world from the tyrantical despot Sektis Gandaw.
- GenresFantasySword and Sorcery
368 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2011
7 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Derek Prior
79 books211 followersInternationally bestselling and award winning author Derek Prior excels in fast-paced, high stakes epic fantasy adventure stories in which good ultimately triumphs, but always at a cost.
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 16, 2015
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
Best Laid Plans picks up right where the first book in the Shader series ended: everyone is scrambling to retrieve the five pieces of the statue of Eingana, winged snake goddess of magic in petrified form. Some people want the statue to protect it; others want it to save themselves; and one wishes its possession to “uncreate” the universe. But whatever the reason, war is brewing on this post-apocalyptic Earth.
To me, the star of this show is the intriguing post-apocalyptic world that Mr. Prior began building in Sword of the Archon. This alternative Earth is a wondrous thing to behold, filled with interesting lore, mysteries galore, vile plots, ancient gods and goddesses, and old world technology. Throughout the narrative, tidbits of its history and lore are slowly revealed, and a reader begins to fathom the world and all the fascinating people it has spawned. However, at no time does the world building seem like info dumping, but rather the author deftly integrates everything into the ongoing plot so that it never slows down the story. I personally haven’t read a better post-apocalyptic world other than The Dark Towerby Stephen King.
But this isn’t a novel about only world building. Nope, the characters are the main highlights, and there are lots of them: each with his own chapters, relaying the story through his or her own individual perspective.
The protagonist here is clearly Deacon Shader, a warrior-monk who metes out death to those he views as evil, and attempts to prevent the “bad guys” from retrieving the statue. Shader’s constant struggles with his waning faith, disillusion with his mentors, and unhappiness with his choices in life are each brilliantly penned, fleshing out this fighting man of faith as more than just a death dealing robot.
Coming in a close second in my favorite character list was the lich lord Dr. Cadman. Sure, he is a flesh-eating vampire-type who has killed and plotted to gain two of the pieces of Eingana, but his emotional disconnect with his own lifestyle and his desire to use the statue to free himself from his sickening life was very compelling. Hell, by the end of the story, I liked reading about Cadman almost as much as I did Shader.
Rounding out my top four favorites were Shadrak the Unseen and Sektis Gandaw. Shadrak is the resident thief and assassin of this story. (Every fantasy has to have one of these, right?) He might be small in stature, but he is big on the attitude and the casual bloodletting. After it was revealed that he is far more than first perceived, this homunculus from the Aether stole more than a few chapters from our hero. And finally, there was Sektis Gandaw: the Sauron of this series. He is the evil dude, living in his technologically created mountain with his scientific toys, determined to destroy the universe because it isn’t perfect enough for his logical mind. Initially, he seems to be your classic bad guy, but soon, Mr. Prior turns Sektis into a multi dimensional character painted all in gray, driven by his desire to “fix” the universe but haunted by feelings that he has been tricked and manipulated into his millennium long quest by powers that he doesn’t believe in.
In many ways, Best Laid Plans is even better that Sword of the Archon. Definitely, the pacing of the story is much quicker with nonstop action; the combat scenes with the mawgs and the final battle between the Imperial Army of Sahul, the Templum, and Cadman’s undead were all riveting affairs; and the ending of the book is completely unexpected in this type of epic fantasy fare, turning the standard trope on its head. However, while all that is true, the book was not quite as “fun” to me as book one, mainly because the build up to the ending was a bit rushed. Certain events seemingly forced to carry a character to a set destination rather than the journey inevitable taking them there freely.
For those of you who have heard of the Shader series by Mr. Prior but never tried it, hopefully this review will pique your interest enough that you will go download it already. For those who have read book one, all I want to know is “Why haven’t you started this one yet?” And for anyone interested in solid, post-apocalyptic fantasy, I’d recommend that you take a look at my review of the first book in the series and read some others, because I truly think this is an indie fantasy series you’d rather nor miss.
Best Laid Plans picks up right where the first book in the Shader series ended: everyone is scrambling to retrieve the five pieces of the statue of Eingana, winged snake goddess of magic in petrified form. Some people want the statue to protect it; others want it to save themselves; and one wishes its possession to “uncreate” the universe. But whatever the reason, war is brewing on this post-apocalyptic Earth.
To me, the star of this show is the intriguing post-apocalyptic world that Mr. Prior began building in Sword of the Archon. This alternative Earth is a wondrous thing to behold, filled with interesting lore, mysteries galore, vile plots, ancient gods and goddesses, and old world technology. Throughout the narrative, tidbits of its history and lore are slowly revealed, and a reader begins to fathom the world and all the fascinating people it has spawned. However, at no time does the world building seem like info dumping, but rather the author deftly integrates everything into the ongoing plot so that it never slows down the story. I personally haven’t read a better post-apocalyptic world other than The Dark Towerby Stephen King.
But this isn’t a novel about only world building. Nope, the characters are the main highlights, and there are lots of them: each with his own chapters, relaying the story through his or her own individual perspective.
The protagonist here is clearly Deacon Shader, a warrior-monk who metes out death to those he views as evil, and attempts to prevent the “bad guys” from retrieving the statue. Shader’s constant struggles with his waning faith, disillusion with his mentors, and unhappiness with his choices in life are each brilliantly penned, fleshing out this fighting man of faith as more than just a death dealing robot.
Coming in a close second in my favorite character list was the lich lord Dr. Cadman. Sure, he is a flesh-eating vampire-type who has killed and plotted to gain two of the pieces of Eingana, but his emotional disconnect with his own lifestyle and his desire to use the statue to free himself from his sickening life was very compelling. Hell, by the end of the story, I liked reading about Cadman almost as much as I did Shader.
Rounding out my top four favorites were Shadrak the Unseen and Sektis Gandaw. Shadrak is the resident thief and assassin of this story. (Every fantasy has to have one of these, right?) He might be small in stature, but he is big on the attitude and the casual bloodletting. After it was revealed that he is far more than first perceived, this homunculus from the Aether stole more than a few chapters from our hero. And finally, there was Sektis Gandaw: the Sauron of this series. He is the evil dude, living in his technologically created mountain with his scientific toys, determined to destroy the universe because it isn’t perfect enough for his logical mind. Initially, he seems to be your classic bad guy, but soon, Mr. Prior turns Sektis into a multi dimensional character painted all in gray, driven by his desire to “fix” the universe but haunted by feelings that he has been tricked and manipulated into his millennium long quest by powers that he doesn’t believe in.
In many ways, Best Laid Plans is even better that Sword of the Archon. Definitely, the pacing of the story is much quicker with nonstop action; the combat scenes with the mawgs and the final battle between the Imperial Army of Sahul, the Templum, and Cadman’s undead were all riveting affairs; and the ending of the book is completely unexpected in this type of epic fantasy fare, turning the standard trope on its head. However, while all that is true, the book was not quite as “fun” to me as book one, mainly because the build up to the ending was a bit rushed. Certain events seemingly forced to carry a character to a set destination rather than the journey inevitable taking them there freely.
For those of you who have heard of the Shader series by Mr. Prior but never tried it, hopefully this review will pique your interest enough that you will go download it already. For those who have read book one, all I want to know is “Why haven’t you started this one yet?” And for anyone interested in solid, post-apocalyptic fantasy, I’d recommend that you take a look at my review of the first book in the series and read some others, because I truly think this is an indie fantasy series you’d rather nor miss.
April 14, 2012
Does it get any better than this? Best Laid Plans is the second book in incredible series by D. P. Prior, Cadman's Gambit being the first. It promises to be a 5 book series and all I can say is Wahoo! There is no second book slump here - the story just keeps getting better and better. It is hard to believe because the first book was so intelligently and beautifully written that the author could tell a story that was better - more lush characterization, human foibles, plot twists and turns, rich use of language and amazing battles - but he did it. My favorite characters, and there are many, are Deacon Shader, a conflicted postulate and knight who fights for good over evil, Captain Podesta, a smuggler with a heart of gold who loves his crew like family, Shadrak, a homunculus assassin trying to do the right thing because of his Mother, Sammy, a 10 year old boy who has lost much of his family and becomes a Dreamer who talks to Gods and their offspring. There are too many to list here.
The story continues surrounding the statue of Eingana - everyone wants it because it has the power to either unweave the world and recreate it, or protect it. It depends on your perspective. The statute was broken into 5 pieces to make it harder to reassemble. Then the pieces were hidden across the world with trusted men to insure survival. As the story opens, war is brewing and two of the statue pieces have been stolen by an evil liche named Cadman who owes a soul to a demon and is being tracked by Sektis Gandaw - the most powerful tecnochrat in all the known worlds. Cadman wants the statue for himself so he can rule the world and be immortal cleanly without resorting to feeding on humans to sustain himself. This would make him happy. Sektis Gandaw wants to unweave the worlds and recreate them in his image. He has been living since the 1500's and has created life through genetic crossing, so he just wants to start over again - Gods included. Sektis thinks he knows best. The Huntsman, Deacon Shader, the Ipssissimus and the rest of the Elect want to stop them, Shadtak too. If the liche or Sandis Gandaw get the statue then life would be over. War ensues, strange bedfellows are made and the outcome is astonishing to say the least.
All I can say is that if you like a good thumping read I recommend this book and the one before it. It doesn't matter whether you like fantasy or science fiction, this is simply reading at its finest. You would be losing out if you miss this. Derek Prior, you are a master storyteller. Thank you !
The story continues surrounding the statue of Eingana - everyone wants it because it has the power to either unweave the world and recreate it, or protect it. It depends on your perspective. The statute was broken into 5 pieces to make it harder to reassemble. Then the pieces were hidden across the world with trusted men to insure survival. As the story opens, war is brewing and two of the statue pieces have been stolen by an evil liche named Cadman who owes a soul to a demon and is being tracked by Sektis Gandaw - the most powerful tecnochrat in all the known worlds. Cadman wants the statue for himself so he can rule the world and be immortal cleanly without resorting to feeding on humans to sustain himself. This would make him happy. Sektis Gandaw wants to unweave the worlds and recreate them in his image. He has been living since the 1500's and has created life through genetic crossing, so he just wants to start over again - Gods included. Sektis thinks he knows best. The Huntsman, Deacon Shader, the Ipssissimus and the rest of the Elect want to stop them, Shadtak too. If the liche or Sandis Gandaw get the statue then life would be over. War ensues, strange bedfellows are made and the outcome is astonishing to say the least.
All I can say is that if you like a good thumping read I recommend this book and the one before it. It doesn't matter whether you like fantasy or science fiction, this is simply reading at its finest. You would be losing out if you miss this. Derek Prior, you are a master storyteller. Thank you !
October 16, 2011
Great battle scenes with the mawgs and also the huge fights with the imperial army, the Templum, and the undead. Terrific, believable characters with lots of depth and a massive build of tension towards a great ending. Even more action than in book 1. Very well written - a real page turner. Probably my favourite new fantasy at the moment.
October 21, 2015
Since I read the first book, you know I had to read Part Two. This book picks up exactly where number one left off. There are more characters, more developed back story/storyline, and characters that you loved to hate. This is a great companion to Part One.
July 8, 2012
The. author. sets a frantic pace. and has an aptitude for creating vivid and intriguing characters.
October 29, 2014
I found that I enjoyed this book more than the first. I am looking forward to more of this series. I feel that in this book the author's writing was far more captivating.
June 9, 2019
Review for Shader: Against the Unweaving Trilogy (1-3)
1- four stars
2-four stars
3-three stars
I have almost all of D.P Prior's books and a while back I dropped him a message and asked for his suggested reading order for his works. He suggested starting with Shader, so that's what I did. Now, I wish I had started with the Nameless Dwarf series. I'll tackle that one next then come back and read Shader #4.
This was a difficult rating to apply because Prior is an excellent Epic Fantasy writer and I love the intermingling of science, references to modern day tech and implications across multiple worlds. The series is really solid with the exception of some character flaws and failure of the author to make them endearing enough to have their flaws just be part of their character development toward the end of the trilogy.
**Mild Spoilers**
The writing is wonderful. The storyline robust and intriguing, though I found myself struggling with world-building elements that weren't explained. Perhaps they are covered in the previous works, perhaps that's his style. The characters are also complex and endearing, with the exception that they are very, very flawed. I feel Prior could do a better job making them unlikable, and yet likable by giving a little more attention to their complexity. So, you're kinda left with bad feelings toward Rhiannon and Shader. He's so confused that he just stands slack-jawed at crucial moments. And Rhiannon is just mean and whiney. The constant bickering between Rhiannon and Shadrak really got on my nerves and Shader was wussy for a hero. Would have loved to have more of Elias, too.
I will read the rest of his works to see how they play out. I find the storyline fascinating and look forward to learning more of Nameless' past.
1- four stars
2-four stars
3-three stars
I have almost all of D.P Prior's books and a while back I dropped him a message and asked for his suggested reading order for his works. He suggested starting with Shader, so that's what I did. Now, I wish I had started with the Nameless Dwarf series. I'll tackle that one next then come back and read Shader #4.
This was a difficult rating to apply because Prior is an excellent Epic Fantasy writer and I love the intermingling of science, references to modern day tech and implications across multiple worlds. The series is really solid with the exception of some character flaws and failure of the author to make them endearing enough to have their flaws just be part of their character development toward the end of the trilogy.
**Mild Spoilers**
The writing is wonderful. The storyline robust and intriguing, though I found myself struggling with world-building elements that weren't explained. Perhaps they are covered in the previous works, perhaps that's his style. The characters are also complex and endearing, with the exception that they are very, very flawed. I feel Prior could do a better job making them unlikable, and yet likable by giving a little more attention to their complexity. So, you're kinda left with bad feelings toward Rhiannon and Shader. He's so confused that he just stands slack-jawed at crucial moments. And Rhiannon is just mean and whiney. The constant bickering between Rhiannon and Shadrak really got on my nerves and Shader was wussy for a hero. Would have loved to have more of Elias, too.
I will read the rest of his works to see how they play out. I find the storyline fascinating and look forward to learning more of Nameless' past.
May 28, 2017
Well written, full of action, with heroes, emperors, assassins, swords, soldiers, magic, religion, a complex world full of history that matters and is very obscure to the characters, raising questions of faith and philosophy, with one of the best villains of all time (Dr. Cadman fan here, in for a penny in for a pound!), this sequence is one of those books you get to start to read and then forget everything around you.
The worldbuilding is fantastic, and it is presented in little pieces at a time, with some obscure events having changed the world some centuries before, making me wonder about the past of this world.
The characters are very human, with questions that they don't have answers for, questions of faith and duty, justice and forgiveness. Dr. Cadman is the best of then
Highly recommended for sword and sorcery fans
The worldbuilding is fantastic, and it is presented in little pieces at a time, with some obscure events having changed the world some centuries before, making me wonder about the past of this world.
The characters are very human, with questions that they don't have answers for, questions of faith and duty, justice and forgiveness. Dr. Cadman is the best of then
Highly recommended for sword and sorcery fans
May 31, 2012
4.5 stars
Best Laid Plans is the second book in the Shader series and I felt there were some major improvements from the first book. The world that Derek uses has a massive backstory and covers a huge amount of ground. This lead to a lot of explanation in the first book that gave it a bit slower of a plot. In this book you have a basic understanding of the world and characters already so the story is free to flow. There is still some background revealed about some of the characters, but it is in small sections that directly link to a current situation leading to a much more even flow.
I really am starting to enjoy Deacon Shader as a person. He is a man conflicted, living his life as a warrior, while trying to hold onto religious ideals of peace. This conflict leads to some inner turmoil which help to reveal the depth of the character, but unlike some Derek doesn't harp on it trying to drive home how conflicted Deacon is.
The story being told is complex (I believe there are 6 planned volumes for the series) and follows several viewpoints. If done incorrectly this can lead to passages of extreme boredom for me, but Derek manages to avoid that by keeping the action moving. The fight scenes are fantastic, my favorite take place against the mawgs while at sea, and beautifully written. This series is one that I will be following all the way to the end. The end is the only thing that I didn't really like, as there is a huge action sequence in which the book ends with things being left pretty wide open. I'm not a huge fan of cliff hangers as I'm not patient and don't like to wait for the next book in the series, but honestly that's a pretty minor complaint.
Review copy provided by the author.
Best Laid Plans is the second book in the Shader series and I felt there were some major improvements from the first book. The world that Derek uses has a massive backstory and covers a huge amount of ground. This lead to a lot of explanation in the first book that gave it a bit slower of a plot. In this book you have a basic understanding of the world and characters already so the story is free to flow. There is still some background revealed about some of the characters, but it is in small sections that directly link to a current situation leading to a much more even flow.
I really am starting to enjoy Deacon Shader as a person. He is a man conflicted, living his life as a warrior, while trying to hold onto religious ideals of peace. This conflict leads to some inner turmoil which help to reveal the depth of the character, but unlike some Derek doesn't harp on it trying to drive home how conflicted Deacon is.
The story being told is complex (I believe there are 6 planned volumes for the series) and follows several viewpoints. If done incorrectly this can lead to passages of extreme boredom for me, but Derek manages to avoid that by keeping the action moving. The fight scenes are fantastic, my favorite take place against the mawgs while at sea, and beautifully written. This series is one that I will be following all the way to the end. The end is the only thing that I didn't really like, as there is a huge action sequence in which the book ends with things being left pretty wide open. I'm not a huge fan of cliff hangers as I'm not patient and don't like to wait for the next book in the series, but honestly that's a pretty minor complaint.
Review copy provided by the author.
February 4, 2017
In my review of the first installment I neglected to mention the cast of amazing characters that populate these pages. From Deacon Shader, who struggles to reconcile his natural proclivities with combat and his understanding that violence is sometimes necessary, with the strict pacifism of his faith, to Shadrak the Unseen, a dwarfish assassin both deadly and sardonic. Perhaps the most intriguing is the philosopher Aristodeus, who has set plans into motion in an effort to fight the forces of evil, but for all his brilliance, his manipulations may cause more problems than they solve. Even the villains are human at heart, and the reader comprehends how human evil can be, and how evil humans can be.
There are a few blips where one character or another must do a heel turn to keep the story going, but the complexity of the characters and the world being revealed continues to suck you in.
There are a few blips where one character or another must do a heel turn to keep the story going, but the complexity of the characters and the world being revealed continues to suck you in.
October 14, 2011
Book 2 of the Shader series.
"Shader is a triumph of fantasy." - Journal of Always
"Shader is a triumph of fantasy." - Journal of Always
November 10, 2016
Jumped about a bit, slowly getting to grips with all the characters. Roll on book two.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews