Son of the Shadows discussion

When Liadan stumbles upon her sister and discovers her secret love with Ciaran, Sean soon finds out and rushes off the inform the men of the house. Niamh then is summoned before her uncles, father and brother. They reproach her actions and Sean slaps her for being selfish. This really bugged me! I was hoping that later in the book Sean would regret his actions by having something similar befall him where he is denied his own love. He is luckily in love Aisling, a perfect match as they are of fitting status for eachother. At no point in the book did Sean show any penitence for his self righteous behaviour towards his older sister. Liadan atleast had a moment of reflection when her view's changed after experiencing her own love loss. She acknowleged that she once saw what Niamh did as 'selfish' but now she understood. I wish Marillier didn't neglect this point and somewhere along the story had given Sean a taste of Niamh's anguish.

I agree, but also Liadan had no intention of informing any one about it, and tried to hide it from Sean.

It has been a while since I read this book, but doesn't something happen to Aisling or is my brain confusing this story with a completely different book I read?

Liadan had no intention of telling but of course the shared visions made it impossible for her to hide it. She did make a half hearted attempt to stick up for Niamh but clearly the men of the house made the decisions. Later Liadan redeemed herself well enough by saving her sister.
Yes Aisling was distraught because her brother Eamonn trapped her inside their estate and Liadans 'sight' shows us that he revoked their betrothal but Sean was not informed. Liadan kept this from Sean and travelled to Eamonn's and retrieved Aisling and saved the day basically. So Sean was spared the anxiety and heartbreak.

What needs to be remembered is that it is set in a time when men really did rule the world so its not really surprising that the men were in charge

Yes, this novel does seem to emphasise on the contraints of women quite strongly. That's why it is nice to see female protagonists kick butt in period novels written by modern authors. Also why I'm disappointed Sean's character didn't experience a level of grief for his sanctimonious actions.

Kathy - I hated that whole scene when they drag Niamh in front of the men of her family.

The mistakes were all theirs, they were the ones who basically failed to acknowledge Ciaran as part of the family - I'm reasonably sure that if Niamh had known he was her uncle and had been raised with that knowledge, chances were they wouldn't have fallen in love - but they decide to use Niamh as an scape goat and further their own selfish interests.

They were such a bunch of hypocrites - something that I actually kind of expected of Liam, and to an extent Sean, but it really surprised me from Connor and Red - and I hated that Sean never expressed regret. And that Liadan got a pass on her own behavior because Red later felt guilty.

I actually expected more of Liam. There was a part where Niamh comes to Sevenwaters with her husband and Liadan asks her uncle Liam to help and keep Niamh behind so she could spend time with her sister. Liam replies "why would I do anything for Niamh" something along those lines. That really annoyed me! Liadan then weakly pleads and he agrees only because it might work out better not having Niamh there. The audacity! The lack of remorse is disturbing for a character of 'honour.' It put a bad taste in my mouth and I found I cared less for Sevenwaters.
I agree. It was very dissapointing to see Red fall into that same line as the other men. To see his character so weak after such heroism in book 1. And Sorcha, after doing so much for her brothers in her youth I was hoping for more determination from her and maybe more of an involvement in the fate of her own daughter. Anyway. I havn't read the other books yet. Maybe the author made ammends for it somehow with the older Sean.

Kathy wrote: "I actually expected more of Liam. There was a part where Niamh comes to Sevenwaters with her husband and Liadan asks her uncle Liam to help and keep Niamh behind so she could spend time with her si..."

I'm with you, I couldn't really get into the other sevenwaters books afterward. I sort of skimmed the third book but I couldn't get pass how things were in Sevenwaters with Sean as master. For what I remember, he and Aisling had a ton of children but rarely spent time with them because they HAD TO RUN SEVENWATERS.

I did not think Sean were so much to blame as Niamh's parents and uncles. Sean was only the messenger. However the relationship between Niamh and Ciaran had been revealed the results would have been similar because the problem was not the affair but the fact that Ciaran was Niamh's uncle and the son of the witch who had turned the brothers into swans. I thought the way her parents and uncles treated Niamh was barbarous, particularly in not telling her or Sean and Liadan the truth. Also in not letting Ciaran talk to Niamh before he left. Niamh's mental breakdown was a direct result of this deceit. Her husband's treatment of her only confirmed what she thought she had learned of their feelings toward her and what they thought of her behavior. It was not well done of Sean, of course, to rush off and tell what he had learned from Liadan but he did not know what the result would be. However much our ideas have changed on premarital sex, in Sean's day these were very strict and I think his actions were understandable, what were this man's intentions towards his sister? What would it mean for the future of the proposed alliance with the northern chieftains. I think he knew Ciaran and Niamh would be punished but not in that way. I agree that I wish we had seen some awareness from him that Niamh had been treated badly and that he wished he had not said anything. I thought, though, that there was a tacit acknowledgement in the very different way he treated Liadan's pregnancy. One thing, does Sean ever learn the truth? I think he knows by the time of the action in Child of the Prophecy but in this book?

Sean being the messenger was understandable. It was his actions after that nagged, the slap, the lack of remorse, the kinder reception to Sorcha's pregnancy. It was all sadly unjust and a huge let down from all involved family members. I can't get myself to continue the series despite how good it is because of this small botheration. Will the third book relieve this sore? Does Sean regret?

The Child of the Prophecy is told from the viewpoint of Ciaran and Niamh's daughter. No it does not show any awareness from Sean and I was disappointed in the behavior of Liadan and Bran. There is more sadness for Niamh and Ciaran but the resolution on the fate of the islands was wonderful. I actually really enjoyed it although I was in tears for most of it.

When I read the book, I really didnt like Niamh, even when I started the book it was obvious to me that Niamh was a selfish, self obsorbed character. She didnt even know that her mother was sicks when the whole rest of the house hold knew.
In saying that Sean was probably sick of his older sisters actions. I personally thought the slap was a good thing, it showed how over Sean (and probably the rest of the household) was with putting up with Niamhs actions and words.

I am almost finished Child of Prophecy and I agree that Sean makes up for his mistreatment of Niamh in this book. I see his regret and how he tries to make up for it with Niamh's daughter, Fainne.

Thanks for that Samantha. I was hoping to hear someone say that. It gives me motivation to continue the series