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Exoneration
The second installment of Drew Wagar's Shadeward Saga, Shadeward: Exoneration continues charting the adventures of Kiri, Zoella and the priestesses of Drayden along with the grand and terrifying tasks of Meru all under the watchful, changing eye of Lacaille...
A people exiled, begin to unravel myth and legend, unearthing clues to their tempestuous past.
Pioneers rediscover technology from ancient artefacts.
Priestesses with remarkable powers turn their devastating abilities on those they see who offend their god, the star that blazes unchanging in the skies above.
But when that star unleashes devastation, it shows no favour and no mercy.
Drew is donating 10% of the proceeds of this book to the March Wood Project, whose work involves rehabilitating teenagers among the beautiful woodlands of Kent.
A people exiled, begin to unravel myth and legend, unearthing clues to their tempestuous past.
Pioneers rediscover technology from ancient artefacts.
Priestesses with remarkable powers turn their devastating abilities on those they see who offend their god, the star that blazes unchanging in the skies above.
But when that star unleashes devastation, it shows no favour and no mercy.
Drew is donating 10% of the proceeds of this book to the March Wood Project, whose work involves rehabilitating teenagers among the beautiful woodlands of Kent.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2016
3 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Drew Wagar
40 books62 followersDrew Wagar is a science fiction and fantasy author, living in the UK. He is the author of the Hegira Series, the Shadeward Saga, The Midnight Chronicles, the Elect Saga and the official Elite Dangerous novelisations.
You can join a mailing list and discover more about Drew's books at his website.
www.drewwagar.com
You can join a mailing list and discover more about Drew's books at his website.
www.drewwagar.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 17, 2017
Shadeward: Exoneration, by imaginative science fiction writer, Drew Wagar, is a continuation of the story begun in ‘Shadeward: Emanation’. If you haven’t read that book, I advise you to do so first, as it sets the scene and introduces the characters and the location whilst telling an engaging and compelling story.
Continuing the saga, set on a tidally locked planet of a distant Red Dwarf sun, Exoneration follows the further adventures of old friends, and some new ones.
Again, there’s the fluent mix of fantasy style with science fiction, with mind control and telepathy the most obvious elements that might be seen as fantasy. The world itself, its climate and the technologies developed are all, however, real science fiction.
The tale moves us into the inevitable conflict of reason with religious myth and legend, with the hypocrisy of those who seek to use such unreliable stories as the foundation of their control over others rising as a major theme.
There’s much adventure, tension, action and event in this book, with the threat of real harm affecting all the players as the realisation that an ancient ‘legend’ might just be based on fact, though not the selective aspects chosen by some factions of society.
The cast of characters continues to engage the reader, leading him through a series of events and perils where character guides action for better or for worse.
There’s a fascinating allegory here; the manner in which fear of the unexplained and sometimes inexplicable can be welded to a constructed history that can then be used as justification for one class to rule over the gullible and ignorant. Something we’ve seen so frequently in our own history on Earth.
It’s a tremendous tale that maintains the spirit and pace of the first book, and I look forward to the next in the series.
Continuing the saga, set on a tidally locked planet of a distant Red Dwarf sun, Exoneration follows the further adventures of old friends, and some new ones.
Again, there’s the fluent mix of fantasy style with science fiction, with mind control and telepathy the most obvious elements that might be seen as fantasy. The world itself, its climate and the technologies developed are all, however, real science fiction.
The tale moves us into the inevitable conflict of reason with religious myth and legend, with the hypocrisy of those who seek to use such unreliable stories as the foundation of their control over others rising as a major theme.
There’s much adventure, tension, action and event in this book, with the threat of real harm affecting all the players as the realisation that an ancient ‘legend’ might just be based on fact, though not the selective aspects chosen by some factions of society.
The cast of characters continues to engage the reader, leading him through a series of events and perils where character guides action for better or for worse.
There’s a fascinating allegory here; the manner in which fear of the unexplained and sometimes inexplicable can be welded to a constructed history that can then be used as justification for one class to rule over the gullible and ignorant. Something we’ve seen so frequently in our own history on Earth.
It’s a tremendous tale that maintains the spirit and pace of the first book, and I look forward to the next in the series.
June 22, 2022
An Engaging and Believable Page-Turner
What a story! No need to reiterate the intriguing story lines described in the blurbs. Suffice to say it takes a special kind of genius to conceive of, and then write, a saga of this magnitude and complexity and do it this well. I am not a fan of fantasy where the stories are not grounded in facts and have no consistent rules for the reader to rely on (Even ancient myths had rules, didn’t they?), but the Shadeward series by Drew Wagar is science fiction and fantasy at its best because the “fantasy” is actually grounded in science. Unfortunately for the characters, the scientific basis for their experiences and their powers is largely unknown to them, having been lost to the ages, and they are left to speculate or assume, or worse, ascribe them to a sun-worshipping religion. However, some do embark on a quest to learn the truth of their history, and the slowly impending collision of their still-developing worldviews is the overarching driver of the larger story. Through it all, the main characters are vivid and easy to relate to and empathize with, so much so that I found myself rooting for many of them in turn even though some are sworn enemies. The “good guys” in this chapter may be the “bad guys” in the next. Their stories are arresting and easy to follow, and the saga is well-written and fun to read. I especially liked the device of what amounts to thought balloons in italics at key points as characters silently express their questions, observations, and epiphanies. It’s a nice touch and keeps the action going without the narrator interrupting with “He thought” or “She mused” every time. Each of the four books stands on its own, but it is more fulfilling to read them all in order.
What a story! No need to reiterate the intriguing story lines described in the blurbs. Suffice to say it takes a special kind of genius to conceive of, and then write, a saga of this magnitude and complexity and do it this well. I am not a fan of fantasy where the stories are not grounded in facts and have no consistent rules for the reader to rely on (Even ancient myths had rules, didn’t they?), but the Shadeward series by Drew Wagar is science fiction and fantasy at its best because the “fantasy” is actually grounded in science. Unfortunately for the characters, the scientific basis for their experiences and their powers is largely unknown to them, having been lost to the ages, and they are left to speculate or assume, or worse, ascribe them to a sun-worshipping religion. However, some do embark on a quest to learn the truth of their history, and the slowly impending collision of their still-developing worldviews is the overarching driver of the larger story. Through it all, the main characters are vivid and easy to relate to and empathize with, so much so that I found myself rooting for many of them in turn even though some are sworn enemies. The “good guys” in this chapter may be the “bad guys” in the next. Their stories are arresting and easy to follow, and the saga is well-written and fun to read. I especially liked the device of what amounts to thought balloons in italics at key points as characters silently express their questions, observations, and epiphanies. It’s a nice touch and keeps the action going without the narrator interrupting with “He thought” or “She mused” every time. Each of the four books stands on its own, but it is more fulfilling to read them all in order.
June 28, 2021
Strong second book within the series (I read all 4 back to back). Great characters and storylines and plenty of heart in mouth moments.
June 10, 2020
Exoneration continues the story from Emanation and you'll need to have read Emanation for lots of this to make sense or have much significance. It focuses almost entirely on Meru, Zoella and Kiri who seem to be becoming the main focus of the series, with the other characters almost incidental to the story (some are very incidental...). A little more of the history is revealed and few new locations are briefly explored, but mostly it seems to focus on getting the characters from A to B.
Next time I'm going to write down the units of time on a post-it, some of them are a little non-intuitive and it makes a few parts a little vague. They are included in a glossary at the end, which is probably OK in a paperback, but less useful on a kindle.
Anyway the story is compelling enough that I'm looking forward to the next one, but I didn't think this one was as good as the first.
Next time I'm going to write down the units of time on a post-it, some of them are a little non-intuitive and it makes a few parts a little vague. They are included in a glossary at the end, which is probably OK in a paperback, but less useful on a kindle.
Anyway the story is compelling enough that I'm looking forward to the next one, but I didn't think this one was as good as the first.
December 15, 2022
Well what a seamless move into the second book. Absolutely loved it. The main characters are forever growing, but in a way that doesn't confuse the reader. I was gripped from start to finish, and cant wait for book 3.
The way the story and characters are unfolding is gripping, and leaves you wanting more.
You must get involved in this series.
The way the story and characters are unfolding is gripping, and leaves you wanting more.
You must get involved in this series.
October 22, 2020
This is the second book in the Shadeward Series. I loved the characters and the setting of the story very much in the first book and jumped right into this one. The storyline is engaging. Drew keeps multiple story arcs working simultaneously that all come together toward the end of the book with an interesting setup for the third book. At this point the characters are well established and definite emotional opinions, fears and hopes are attached to all of them. This volume had some exciting new parts of the world and overall mystery to show us.
May 3, 2017
Exoneration is the second book in the four-part Shadeward Saga by Drew Wagar. It mainly follows three main characters - Meru, a Timekeeper from Amur; Kiri, an "only" - an orphan - girl from the slums now one of the Priestesses of Drayden and Zoella, a young girl orphaned and left and abused at a farm before running away and being saved by Prince Ioric.
At the end of the first book, Meru sets off in a flying metal machine to warn the people of Scallia about a catastrophe that is about to befall the planet. His friends, Mel and Coran take a floating metal machine that runs on 'tricity to another area to warn people.
Of course, not everything goes the way it is supposed to, and a few more people are thrown into the mix for good or ill. Sometimes it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. It reminds me of a quote from a film - "I have seen good men do bad things, and I have seen bad men do good things".
There is plenty of action and intrigue in the book with many twists. You find yourself hoping for some characters to survive only to start hoping they die later. And the other way round - you hope some people and then find yourself glad they didn't. Wagar builds characters well and makes them believable with their views and scheming.
The creatures, measurements and times in the books are unique with no description needed as to what they mean, although there is a glossary in the back if you want confirmation. Creatures like flits, which, from the brief description, you know are butterfly-like creatures and marsips which in my eyes, are rabbits or something similar.
The only problem I have found with the book is the length of time I have to wait until book three comes out. At the moment, that is looking like 2018. So you have plenty of time to grab the first two books and read them.
Exoneration is a must for any library of fantasy lovers.
At the end of the first book, Meru sets off in a flying metal machine to warn the people of Scallia about a catastrophe that is about to befall the planet. His friends, Mel and Coran take a floating metal machine that runs on 'tricity to another area to warn people.
Of course, not everything goes the way it is supposed to, and a few more people are thrown into the mix for good or ill. Sometimes it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. It reminds me of a quote from a film - "I have seen good men do bad things, and I have seen bad men do good things".
There is plenty of action and intrigue in the book with many twists. You find yourself hoping for some characters to survive only to start hoping they die later. And the other way round - you hope some people and then find yourself glad they didn't. Wagar builds characters well and makes them believable with their views and scheming.
The creatures, measurements and times in the books are unique with no description needed as to what they mean, although there is a glossary in the back if you want confirmation. Creatures like flits, which, from the brief description, you know are butterfly-like creatures and marsips which in my eyes, are rabbits or something similar.
The only problem I have found with the book is the length of time I have to wait until book three comes out. At the moment, that is looking like 2018. So you have plenty of time to grab the first two books and read them.
Exoneration is a must for any library of fantasy lovers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews