Le Combat des innocents

Winds of the Forelands #4

by David B. Coe

Après la mort du roi, la jeune princesse Kalyi et le royaume d’Aneira sont placés entre les mains de deux hommes prêts à tout pour s’emparer du pouvoir : Numar, le régent, avide d’assurer la suprématie de la maison de Solkara et Pronjed, le premier ministre Qirsi, à la solde de la conspiration. La gloire du peuple Qirsi va enfin rayonner sur l’ensemble des Terres du Devant. Tout ne semble plus qu’une question de temps.
Toutefois, en Eibithar comme en Aneira, les prémices d’une contre-offensive s’annoncent. Si la lutte contre la conspiration s’organise, elle reste cependant éparpillée… Les manigances du Tisserand, bien plus destructrices que les guerres civiles qu’il tente de fomenter, doivent être contrées. Grinsa est le seul à pouvoir s’opposer à Dusaan. Mais avant le combat décisif entre deux magiciens que tout oppose, le destin des Terres du Devant repose sur une des quatre femmes engagées dans l’action. Comme dans la légende, l’une d’entre elles aura un rôle déterminant pour la gloire du peuple Qirsi ou… pour sa perte.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Heroic Fantasy, High Fantasy

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 13, 2005

About the author

David B. Coe is an author of fantasy novels and short stories. He lives with his wife, Nancy Berner, and their two daughters on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.
He has begun writing a new historical fantasy series under the pen name D.B. Jackson. The first one is titled Thieftaker, published in 2012.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coe continues to weave his story utilizing several rotating POVs and developing numerous political intrigues. Who can you trust? is the central theme here, although he does manage to move the story along at a faster pace than the third installment of the series. Things are rapidly coming to a head. The Weaver continues to suborn Qirsi in the major courts and the war hinted at for several installments finally seems to be getting started.

The plan of the Weaver is for the major houses/kingdoms to engage in a brutal war to weaken them when the triumphant Weaver army of Qirsi take to the field. Nonetheless, many major players are beset by internal political intrigue and cannot commit one way or another. Lots of romances also complicate the political terrain.

If you are a fan of Webber's work, you may really like this. Political intrigue in a largely feudal landscape complicated by the Qirsi ministers advising various kings and such make a good political dynamic. You really have to be vested in the major players, however, and this series could/should have been much shorter. Nonetheless, I am vested enough to read the final volume/showdown. 3 stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars.

Wonderful plot and character development, this is a very productive installment of the series. However, as with any series that has the epic scope this series does, the many povs tends to dilute the engagement I feel toward each story line.

Regardless, I’m looking forward to the final book of this series.

Safety There is a rape on page in this book. It’s not drawn out, but it is graphic. However, it’s not done physically but rather through a Weaver dream, which is the only reason I could stomach it.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shapers of Darkness by David B. Coe is the fourth book in the Winds of the Forelands series. After being disappointed with Bonds of Vengeance, I am happy to say that Shapers of Darkness provided the redemption I was hoping for. This was the book I was actually expecting in book three. Everything from the events taking place to plunge the Forelands into disarray to the increase in action have been met satisfactorily. Oh and equally important is keeping up with the political aspect of all things concerned.

With Shapers of Darkness, I still found myself wanting to know more about Dusaan. We know why he wants to rid the Forelands of the Eandi courts and nobles but aside from a tid bit of background information given throughout the series, we still don't really get to know just "who" he is. I guess I was always hoping for a flashback of some sort to tell the tale of the movement's leader. I only say this because if for some reason the Weaver does perish in book five, I'll just remember him as another tyrant or "baddie" and think nothing much of it. If more time and effort was spent on fleshing Dusaan out throughout the series, I would probably feel more attached to his character and therefore, would be a little more interested in terms of finding out whether he will triumph or meet his demise in the end.

I just realized that up until now, I don't recall many plot twists that made my eyes go wide. I actually don't find myself minding at all. This series started off the way it did and it has kept true to that pace throughout. Shapers of Darkness definitely has the most action oriented scenes so far in the series and it's what you'd normally expect where swordplay and castle sieges are concerned. Nothing really new here. I expect things to turn up in intensity for the final fight and conclusion.

With book four out of the way, I can say that I am very glad to have made it thus far in the series. Book five will provide the conclusion to such an awesome series that I'm honestly a little happy it's finally ending because I can then move on to reading other books!

[Erin Crane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the 3rd one, which is odd, because more happens in this one. There is more dramatic plot progress here. But I think the 3rd book may have been stronger on character beats, and that’s what I really love.

This is when the series finally gets a character chart! That’s been needed since book 2, so that was good. Though to be honest this is the point when I need it less!

Fetnalla and Evanthya are definitely a highlight here. Their arc feels headed for tragedy at the moment, so I’m nervous 😬

Aindreas also remains interesting for me. He is backed in a corner and continues to try to make impossible decisions.

The first book makes it feel like Tavis is *so* important and then puts him on the back burner which feels so odd. But I feel like the last book is going to be a real time to shine for Tavis and Grinsa. There are also other specific characters whose stories I’m so curious to see play out. I don’t have a good sense of where it will all land, so I do look forward to the conclusion.

[Hildie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book FINALLY had a character list! That really helps the reader keep track of who is who and where they are from!

This book was darker than the previous ones. I felt that some perturbing actions happened in this book that didn't need to be part of the story. At this point in the series, we already know that Dusaan, The Weaver, is an evil Qirsi, and some actions didn't need to be filled in to know him more. Also, from the first book out, one thinks that Tavis and Grinsa are the most important characters, but they really take a back seat in this book. I hope that the final book in this series gives them time to shine and completes their story arcs well.

This was still an interesting read, though I almost feel that one could skip this book (book 4) and slide right into book 5. I'm onto book 5 myself, so we'll see what all happens next!

[Otto Munoz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty disappointed with this book. I had to DNF it. I absolutely loved the first 2 in the series. The 3rd book had lots of politicking and building up for the coming Qirsi war. The entire 1st half of this book just repeats the 3rd with all this building up, more politicking, and backroom deals. I was expecting straight up war, battles, sieges, mass combat, etc. Instead, I received more scheming and politicking. I tried to push myself to continue the book, hoping the next page or chapter would be the one that delivered the goods, but no. I didn't like how Tavis and Grinsa get put on the back burner when they were the main focus of the first 3 books.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is interesting and captivating to keep this non-series reader reading four books into the series. However, when Coe decides that he wants suspense and starts dialogue without stating who is saying what, I end up seriously confused and having to backtrack a whole page to read it again.

[Yasryl (Amélia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un tome dans lequel commence à aboutir tout ce qu'on a vu se mettre en place petit à petit. La tension est à son comble, on observe les conséquences des jeux politiques menés durant les tomes précédents. Vraiment une chouette lecture avec un rythme qui va crescendo

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good as the others shere, close to the final now.
Why does some characters being such stupid asses!

[Jeff S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The over arching story flows well and the final book is getting set up while a complete story is told. Each book seems to improve over the previous one.

[Fran Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end took awhile...but this book is great!!!

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shapers of Darkness is the fourth volume in David Coe's engaging Winds of the Forelands series.

Where the previous installment (Bonds of Vengeance: Book 3 of The Winds of the Forelands) focused almost entirely on the political intrigue, Shapers of Darkness is non-stop action from cover to cover. At this point, the Qirsi Weaver's behind-the-scenes machinations have all come to fruition and the entire realm is at war, and there are as many internal threats as there are external. As the penultimate volume in the series, Shapers of Darkness does a great job of pulling plotlines together and building anticipation for the series conclusion Weavers of War.

The series suffers a bit from the sheer volume of characters, nations, plots, and subplots, and to his credit the author seems to realize this. Coe provides a helpful "who's who" list of characters at the beginning of the book, which is a nice way to get reacquainted with the cast before jumping into chapter 1. There's still a sense of repetition or perhaps homogenization, in that the various nations seem interchangeable. This is especially noticeable in comparison to George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin gives each people their own culture, mannerisms, customs, and speech patterns. Coe does this to a far lesser extent, almost as if it were an afterthought. Still, this is a relatively minor complaint against an otherwise very enjoyable series.

Shapers of Darkness is so action packed it's almost exhausting, and it will definitely leave you panting for more. Fortunately the end is near. Weavers of War will be the series' final volume.

[Micaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

These last two books are definitely not at the same level as the first three. Partly it is because the pacing suddenly speeds way up, but this would be acceptable if Dusaan, our bad guy weren't such an underwhelming villain. He is a bit of a spoiled brat and more irritating to read about than anything else, mostly because of his interactions with the supporting characters become increasingly unpleasant and unbelievable. He is basically a schoolyard bully with a gaggle of mean girls, and he wouldn't be worthy of Grinsa's time if he wasn't a Weaver. His cleverness as written does not match the cleverness needed to organize the conspiracy in my opinion.

[Tim Pollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Shapers of Darkness to be the weakest of the five but I can't quite place why. The pace moves along rather quickly but I found myself thoroughly uninterested in certain plot lines (most predominantly the goings on in Galdasten)--so much that I took a nearly three month hiatus from reading halfway through and just recently finished it up. That isn't to say that this book isn't entertaining because it is, I just found it less so than the others, including Weavers of War (the fifth book in the series.)

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, The Winds of the Forelands has been so massive that stories and characters after often given one or two chapters per book making it extremely difficult to remember the inactive stories as the currently active ones continue on. That being said, the main plots themselves have good pacing and general layout stop the book from becoming one long battle or discussion by mixing the two.

[Barthélémy Beau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un quatrième volume se plaçant encore une fois sous l'égide de machinations politiques, mais cette fois-ci évoluant vers plus de chapitres d'action et de guerres enfin enclanchées. On voit qu'on se dirige vers une résolution qui pourrait autant être triomphante qu'amère dans le dernier livre. Malheureusement, les libraires d'ici étant en rupture de stock, je me devrai d'attendre quelques semaines au minimum avant d'apprécier le point culminant de cette série.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am now 4/5'ths of the way through this series and I have really enjoyed it. The only complaints it is the number of characters and sometimes the plot gets really intricate. Overall it has been a great series. I am looking forward to the final book.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still going good in the series! Can't wait for the wrap up in the last book.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

See first book for review of entire series =)

[Jaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good continuation of the series that sets the stage for the final volume of the series.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first book. More conflict, conflict resolution, confessions, etc. Quite dramatic overall.

[Jacquelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war is staring to ramp up in earnest now and things are getting really exciting. I flew through this book faster than I thought possible, always a good sign.

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book marked the beginning of the boring part of the series for me :(

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I made myself read this one, it's enjoyable, but not my favorite from Coe.

[Keith]

It seems an odd place for the novel to stop, but the plot kept moving quickly throughout the book. Starting the last one now.