Siege of Shadows

by Lynn Abbey

Aristocratic twin siblings--Kyle, a young Hart-lord, and his sister Kiera, haunted by a dream of Rapture--set out to solve the mystery of the Siege of Shadows, a golden throne rumored to hide the mystery of life. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

462 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Lynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson.

In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.

Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.

Reviews

[Myridian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world this book was set in was well crafted, and it was an altogether believable and engrossing tale. The only problem was that the heroine was an unlikable, spoiled brat. I had absolutely no sympathy for her whatsoever. Although she wasn't a malicious person, and she had peripheral concerns for the wellbeing of people she "cared" about, all of this took a significant backseat to her own desires and shortsighted wishes. I think it was interesting to read about a character like her, and I can readily believe that many a medieval princess actually had similar flaws. However, there is a good reason for the reluctance of most authors to let unlikable characters take center stage. It nearly ruined the story for me. In addition to this nearly fatal flaw, the story had the most abrupt and dissatisfying ending of any stand-alone novel I've ever read. From my digging on the internet, it appears that this book was intended to be the first in a trilogy that has never been completed. I must admit, that despite the book's many flaws, I would go out and buy the sequels if they were available just to find out how the story ends.

[Caroline Berg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must say, I completed agree with a few of the other comments - the heroine is completely unlikeable. I could not stand reading the parts of the book dealing with Kiera - which is my main reason for hating the book so much. Her brother is an awesome character, but even he cannot save the book from his sister's personality. The other reason I can't stand this book is the that end... makes no sense. Finding out this was intended to be a series explains so much! I mean, new characters are introduced in the LAST PARAGRAPH with no previous explanation of them at all - which leads me to believe they would have been fleshed out in later books. But as it stands, I'd skip this book and read Daughter of the Bright Moon instead - now there is a Lynn Abbey book that won't leave you dissatisfied.

[Will Whatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the viewpoint characters tough to care about at times, particularly the self absorbed, manipulative girl twin, but the novel left me wanting more.

[Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story won't teach you much about human character, it's fairly entertaining, it's well-written, it has a slightly different mechanic of wizardry, and except for a few bits it was a fun ride.