What do you think?
Rate this book
The Phoenix Legacy #2
Shadow of the Swan
The Lord Alexand DeKoven Woolf was born destined to lead the Concord, the Two System's ultimate empire, but to prevent it from imploding into a Third Dark Age, he surrendered his birthright of power to become Alex Ransom, leader of the outlawed Society of the Phoenix‹and in the process, he surrendered the one woman he has ever loved, the Lady Adrien Eliseer. But the Lady Adrien proves her love for Alexand with unexpected and breathtaking courage.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
13 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
M.K. Wren
34 books52 followersMartha Kay Renfroe was an Oregon writer, author of mystery and science fiction under the penname M.K. Wren. Her work included the "Conan Flagg" mystery series and the post-apocalyptic novel A Gift Upon the Shore, set along the Oregon coast.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 15, 2016
SERIES REVIEW: The Phoenix Legacy
5 Stars
Every once in a while, I will find a book at a used book store, buy it, and decide to bump it to the front of my reading list. See, most of the books on my list were recommended to me, and I like to have the joy of discovery, occasionally reading a book that I come into with no expectations. Books like the Phoenix Legacy trilogy are why I do it! I had never heard of this series or the author, and knew nothing about the books except (A) I could get them for $1.25 apiece, and (B) The covers were the kind of deliciously bad that could only be accomplished in the 80s. What I found is a series that will likely go down in my top 5 sci-fi series of all time. I now need to track down everything M.K.Wren has ever written.
First off, you should know that these books are not perfect. While the prose is excellent throughout, there are some decisions the author makes that I can't imagine ever getting past an editor. There is a trend that pervades the books of skipping key emotional scenes or action scenes and telling about them in flashback. For example, at one point, a character gets captured by the police. Instead of showing that scene though, the story jumps from a rather serene scene in a chapel featuring that character to a scene in a police station where an officer observers a random prisoner brought in. You must infer that the character brought into the station in this scene is the same character you left in the chapel on the last page, and you don't get confirmation until later. The scene of him being arrested is conspicuously left out. Writing decisions like this pop up throughout the series. I found myself wanting the "extended version" of the book that had all of the missing scenes.
So with that, how can I give the series 5 stars, especially when none of the individual books got that rating? The answer is simple: this is a story worth telling about characters that you can respect. Alexand, Rich, Adrien, Jael, Erica... these characters found their way into my heart almost instantly, and I found myself reading for hours past when I should have stopped because I needed to know what happened to them. The overarching story is also great, and asks a question that you could only get away with in Sci-Fi: Can a society be changed by peaceful evolution, rather than violent revolution? The way that theme is woven throughout each page is masterful.The scene-to-scene plot is also excellent, starting in book 2. The story takes surprising twists and turns, and does not worry about "playing it safe". That may not seem revolutionary in post-Game of Thrones fantasy/sci-fi, but what sets this series apart is that it does so without having to resort to being gritty and depressing.
So overall, the series gets 5 stars. I will never sell my copy back; it has earned a permanent place on my shelf. Now, for this particular entry.
SHADOW OF THE SWAN (4.5 Stars)
For all of the things the first book got wrong, this book got nearly everything right. It had drama, romance, action, and a killer plot. The only 2 downsides of this book are the trend that I mentioned above (skipping key action scenes) and the fact that the last section of Book 1 was not the first section of this book.
Spoilers for the rest of this review.
The character development of Alex was excellent. At one point, he goes into a hypnotic amnesia. Prior to this, he lives almost a split personality: his life before the Phoenix, and his life after. When he is brought out of the amnesia, he comes out with both personalities melded into one. This sets up the central tension of the book: Alex Ransom and Alexand DeKoven Woolf are now the same person. Thus, Adrien can no longer be excluded from what he is doing in the Phoenix. This is why Section 2 of Book 1 belonged in The Shadow of the Swan: it set up his personality split, and his repression of memories of Adrien for the sake of creating "Alex Ransom".
Adrien shines as the best character of the novel though. She goes on a journey of mourning her dead betrothed, to being engaged to her hated enemy, to finding out that her betrothed is not dead, to setting up a gambit so simultaneously risky and clever that the readers and all of the characters in the book just stand in awe of her. While I wish I could have read the scene where she fled the wedding (see my main complaint about this series), I am amazed that Wren wrote a book where a woman's pregnancy saves the day.
Other characters, like Jael and Erica, are also excellent, and this book masterfully sets up Ussher as a threat to both the Phoenix and the Concord simultaneously.
5 Stars
Every once in a while, I will find a book at a used book store, buy it, and decide to bump it to the front of my reading list. See, most of the books on my list were recommended to me, and I like to have the joy of discovery, occasionally reading a book that I come into with no expectations. Books like the Phoenix Legacy trilogy are why I do it! I had never heard of this series or the author, and knew nothing about the books except (A) I could get them for $1.25 apiece, and (B) The covers were the kind of deliciously bad that could only be accomplished in the 80s. What I found is a series that will likely go down in my top 5 sci-fi series of all time. I now need to track down everything M.K.Wren has ever written.
First off, you should know that these books are not perfect. While the prose is excellent throughout, there are some decisions the author makes that I can't imagine ever getting past an editor. There is a trend that pervades the books of skipping key emotional scenes or action scenes and telling about them in flashback. For example, at one point, a character gets captured by the police. Instead of showing that scene though, the story jumps from a rather serene scene in a chapel featuring that character to a scene in a police station where an officer observers a random prisoner brought in. You must infer that the character brought into the station in this scene is the same character you left in the chapel on the last page, and you don't get confirmation until later. The scene of him being arrested is conspicuously left out. Writing decisions like this pop up throughout the series. I found myself wanting the "extended version" of the book that had all of the missing scenes.
So with that, how can I give the series 5 stars, especially when none of the individual books got that rating? The answer is simple: this is a story worth telling about characters that you can respect. Alexand, Rich, Adrien, Jael, Erica... these characters found their way into my heart almost instantly, and I found myself reading for hours past when I should have stopped because I needed to know what happened to them. The overarching story is also great, and asks a question that you could only get away with in Sci-Fi: Can a society be changed by peaceful evolution, rather than violent revolution? The way that theme is woven throughout each page is masterful.The scene-to-scene plot is also excellent, starting in book 2. The story takes surprising twists and turns, and does not worry about "playing it safe". That may not seem revolutionary in post-Game of Thrones fantasy/sci-fi, but what sets this series apart is that it does so without having to resort to being gritty and depressing.
So overall, the series gets 5 stars. I will never sell my copy back; it has earned a permanent place on my shelf. Now, for this particular entry.
SHADOW OF THE SWAN (4.5 Stars)
For all of the things the first book got wrong, this book got nearly everything right. It had drama, romance, action, and a killer plot. The only 2 downsides of this book are the trend that I mentioned above (skipping key action scenes) and the fact that the last section of Book 1 was not the first section of this book.
Spoilers for the rest of this review.
The character development of Alex was excellent. At one point, he goes into a hypnotic amnesia. Prior to this, he lives almost a split personality: his life before the Phoenix, and his life after. When he is brought out of the amnesia, he comes out with both personalities melded into one. This sets up the central tension of the book: Alex Ransom and Alexand DeKoven Woolf are now the same person. Thus, Adrien can no longer be excluded from what he is doing in the Phoenix. This is why Section 2 of Book 1 belonged in The Shadow of the Swan: it set up his personality split, and his repression of memories of Adrien for the sake of creating "Alex Ransom".
Adrien shines as the best character of the novel though. She goes on a journey of mourning her dead betrothed, to being engaged to her hated enemy, to finding out that her betrothed is not dead, to setting up a gambit so simultaneously risky and clever that the readers and all of the characters in the book just stand in awe of her. While I wish I could have read the scene where she fled the wedding (see my main complaint about this series), I am amazed that Wren wrote a book where a woman's pregnancy saves the day.
Other characters, like Jael and Erica, are also excellent, and this book masterfully sets up Ussher as a threat to both the Phoenix and the Concord simultaneously.
May 20, 2019
A middle book for sure. Writing something on the level of Foundation or Dune is hard. And this definitely missed that mark. It's just not deep enough. And I don't care enough about the setup or the characters. There are pieces that work, but not enough. Eventually the historical essays did kind of start working though. Definitely didn't buy the way this one ended, but perhaps the next will be better. The Outsiders are definitely the stand outs in this one. The cloisters also had possibility as something where we stayed in the setting with the characters long enough to care.
February 24, 2021
Very happy to have stayed with this series. The second instalment has opened the world up and made it feel real. This is not on the scale of other big sci fi operas, but it has very interesting elements. The SSB and there strict anonymity, the supras and their churches, and the outside with its king of thieves.
Huge improvement on the first book.
The only issue I personally had was the reduction of every term to acronyms that still remains, and is still hard to read, for example - DC (detention centre), MT (matter transmitter) etc. But I have taken to accepting this as just this authors quirkiness.
Huge improvement on the first book.
The only issue I personally had was the reduction of every term to acronyms that still remains, and is still hard to read, for example - DC (detention centre), MT (matter transmitter) etc. But I have taken to accepting this as just this authors quirkiness.
November 14, 2020
It is not always that the second book in a serie is as good as the first book, but this one is. I really liked the way the auteur has deepened the main characters. Can't wait to read the last book of this series!
April 30, 2022
4.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Alex Ransom escaped the rigid world of the Elite, governing class by 'dying' soon after his brother truly did. Now a senior member of the underground Phoenix organization, he also visits working class Bonds, further spreading the word of his newly sainted brother, and counseling non-violence. But there's tension within the Phoenix about whether Alex or another is the best hope for the eventual revolution, and eventually it spills into open conflict, putting the Phoenix's…
Review
The Phoenix Legacy series isn’t so much a true series as one story broken up into separate books. In fact, there’s a good argument that the first book broke off at the wrong place – an earlier split would have suited the book better, but made the books different lengths. These days, I suppose they’d just publish one giant tome. In any case, this second book offers more of the same sweeping, romantic, space opera as the first. And that’s a good thing.
With Richard Lamb dead in this volume, I found that his sociological papers drew my interest less. They’re essentially painting the long backdrop of the series – its political history. They’re great if you you’re in the mood, but that wasn’t always true. The good news is that you can skim or skip them entirely with no great effect on the main narrative; they’re color, not content.
Alex, the protagonist, comes across as a little less developed in this volume; we simply need to take on faith that he’s disciplined and committed, and that others love him. Earlier critiques still apply – the working Bond class are more prop than true participants; this is a story about elites who know best. But the human story holds up regardless. Not perfect, but still great SF romance.
Summary
Alex Ransom escaped the rigid world of the Elite, governing class by 'dying' soon after his brother truly did. Now a senior member of the underground Phoenix organization, he also visits working class Bonds, further spreading the word of his newly sainted brother, and counseling non-violence. But there's tension within the Phoenix about whether Alex or another is the best hope for the eventual revolution, and eventually it spills into open conflict, putting the Phoenix's…
Review
The Phoenix Legacy series isn’t so much a true series as one story broken up into separate books. In fact, there’s a good argument that the first book broke off at the wrong place – an earlier split would have suited the book better, but made the books different lengths. These days, I suppose they’d just publish one giant tome. In any case, this second book offers more of the same sweeping, romantic, space opera as the first. And that’s a good thing.
With Richard Lamb dead in this volume, I found that his sociological papers drew my interest less. They’re essentially painting the long backdrop of the series – its political history. They’re great if you you’re in the mood, but that wasn’t always true. The good news is that you can skim or skip them entirely with no great effect on the main narrative; they’re color, not content.
Alex, the protagonist, comes across as a little less developed in this volume; we simply need to take on faith that he’s disciplined and committed, and that others love him. Earlier critiques still apply – the working Bond class are more prop than true participants; this is a story about elites who know best. But the human story holds up regardless. Not perfect, but still great SF romance.
July 24, 2011
This second book in the Phoenix trilogy had much more action than the first book. I especially liked the empasis on Adrien who is a stronger female lead than one would have expected. Alexand also features prominently. Jael is an interesting supporting character who is Elite by birth from a mother who went into Exile in the Outside. The book leaves you in a cliffhanger with the lives of these two lead characters up in the air. I am delving right into the third one.
July 16, 2012
This is one od the best 'unlnown' trilogies around. I have not seen it listed in articles on great sci fi but that is what this is. Terrific, adult story lines and characters. When I read something like this, I feel sorry for all those people whoavoid sci fi becasue they think is it an inferior genre.
February 28, 2022
A fantastic read.
I'm on my second (current) read of this series now and I'm loving it more than I did when I first read it in my university days. The history lessons interspersed between the main story are amazingly important. Don't skip by them. Great characters. Fabulous, imaginative storyline.
I'm on my second (current) read of this series now and I'm loving it more than I did when I first read it in my university days. The history lessons interspersed between the main story are amazingly important. Don't skip by them. Great characters. Fabulous, imaginative storyline.
July 20, 2022
A fun, fast-paced read with plenty of plot twists/surprises.
Similar in many ways to the original Dune trilogy - science fiction, futuristic feudal system of government with a strong religious element for certain segments of the population.. not as grand in scope but well worth a read (along with the other two books in the trilogy)
Similar in many ways to the original Dune trilogy - science fiction, futuristic feudal system of government with a strong religious element for certain segments of the population.. not as grand in scope but well worth a read (along with the other two books in the trilogy)
June 16, 2014
While the story's compelling, the continual history lessons/lectures that come in between every fourth/fifth chapter are not helping. I understand the conceit, but it functions more as a speed bump than an extra layer of richness to the story.
July 9, 2025
Alexand deKoven Woolf, now known as Alex Ransom, has risen to a position of power in the Phoenix, a revolutionary organisation dedicated to overthrowing or at least changing the ruling Concord. Currently society is split into three categories - Elite (lords who rule), Fesh (plebs and merchant class), and Bonds (serfs and slaves). But a power struggle at the top of the Phoenix has seen Predis Ussher usurp its helm and his bitter rivalry has seen attempts on Alex’s life. At the same time Riis Andreas, inventor of MT (matter transport) has been kidnapped, presumed dead, as part of an action to steal the new long-distance MT from the Phoenix. Adrien Eliseer, once betrothed to Alex who broke it off after joining the Phoenix (in disgrace from his House) is now to wed the cruel Karlis Selassis, rumoured to be impotent and sterile. In protest she gets herself pregnant to Alex and flees the wedding to a nunnery. But things start to heat up as Karlis wants her now dead and Alex may yet find Andreas alive. Much derring-do and romance in this second book of the trilogy from M. K. Wren, and it’s surprisingly entertaining. But some loose threads remain and despite the soap opera feel I look forward to seeing them tied up in the concluding volume.
May 23, 2025
Ending was frustrating as felt like already seen it in this series, the whole book was quite dragged out and again the Richard Lamb segments don’t add that much.
Still interested though and some of the world building is good.
Still interested though and some of the world building is good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2015
I have read the books in this trilogy every few years and have always enjoyed them. There are some standard science fiction tropes in them: corrupt, classist civilisation about to get its come uppance, enslaved volitile populace and cool technology, but Wren shapes these tropes into an emotionally interesting plot with deep character development.
May 7, 2008
The second installment of The Phoenix Legacy Trilogy. Waste no more time reading my reviews. Buy the book and experience it for yourself.
September 11, 2009
Book 2 of the Pheonix trilogy.
October 14, 2013
A true classic series that has yet to get the credit that it deserves.
May 27, 2011
darn glad #3 is ready and waiting to resolve this cliffhanger
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews