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Read The Outstretched Shadow (2003)

The Outstretched Shadow (2003)

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Rating
3.99 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0765302195 (ISBN13: 9780765302199)
Language
English
Publisher
tor books

The Outstretched Shadow (2003) - Plot & Excerpts

Actual rating: 3.5 I originally read this series back in high school and I discovered it in a way that was incredibly similar to how Kellen discovers his magic book. I found them at a book sale and the three books just popped out at me. Recently, I found out that there is a spin-off series to this one. I wanted to read it but I couldn't remember much from this series so I reread it. Admittedly, it's not as good as I remembered. While my enthusiasm for this series as dimmed it hasn't been snuffed out completely and there is a lot of good things going on here. (Side note: this is the first and only Mercedes Lackey series that I've ever read). Part of the reason why I was so sucked into this book the first time is the many gorgeous descriptions of the different cities and cultures. Each race and location in this series is beautifully described and is incredibly unique from the others. I also like the concept of Wild Magic that power isn't free and that actions of the characters have immediate and dramatic consequences.While he's not the main villain, I really love to hate Kellen's father. I think he makes a much better and more compelling villain. I really don't like characters who are evil and scary just because the author says they're evil and scary, like Savilla. I prefer the ones that are more human who are not hated by everyone but say and do things that make you want to clobber them! (Professor Umbridge and King Joffrey for example). Lycaelon fits the bill for me. I'm a girl and he obviously thinks they're inferior. He makes me want to punch him the face which is impressive.Spoilers ahead!However... This book talks too much!! Or more to the point I'm inside the characters' minds far too often. Every though they have is expressed in the form of big long paragraphs. About half of the book could be removed. Not only does it slow down the action but I don't always want to be told what every character is thinking exactly. I would much rather figure it out on my own as I go.The other big problem for me is that there are a lot of themes and scenes that are REALLY familiar. I've noticed that many lesser fantasy authors write stories that resemble The Lord of the Rings, the nerd Bible. This one does too. (SPOILERS!) The climax of this novel features an unlikely hero clutching a talisman and climbing up a cairn to destroy something created by a dark and scary enemy while his friends form a distraction down below all of them fully expecting to die after their efforts are complete but hoping to save a fantasy kingdom full of elves and humans who don't get along. It is REALLY similar to the story of the Lord of the Rings.I do know that the story gets better and is worth sticking with but this one was a little tougher to get through this time around.

Would I call this the best fantasy written? Of course not, it borrows many elements from all over, but what Mallory and Lackey have done with this book, is make it entertaining and captivating, and for that reason I like it very much. This book is the first in what is known as the Obsidian Trilogy and it does make a very good beginning.Kellen is almost your average boy. Except that he's not. He's mageborn and not to just any mage, he is the son of the Arch-Mage Tavadon, leader of all the mages in the city of Armethalieh. He isn't like his father at all however. He longs for freedom and new things (market wares and the people of Armethalieh for that matter are closely controlled by the mage rulers to discourage dissent). He also isn't very good at the High Magic practiced here. That's why, when three strange books find him, he is very susceptible to what they hold. These are outlawed books in his city, books that contain the Wild Magic. He snoops into them and eventually is caught out and banished from the city. With the help of Shalkan, a unicorn sent by the wild magic to protect and guide him, he makes it out of the city's boundaries alive.Fortune smiles on his and he is able to reunite with a sister he never knew about. But nothing stays peaceful forever, His father cannot rest with him having escaped and widens the city's borders to come after him, driving him into Elven lands. Here to are problems. An unnatural drought has taken hold of the Elven lands and they are in danger because of it. With Idalia his sister, the elves are relying on Kellen to help them and defeat whatever is behind this strange drought. With Idalia working magic from home, Kellen takes off with Shalkan and a Knight elf named Jermayan to fulfill his quest despite the dangers along the way.It is easy to like the characters in this book. With the exception of a few, they are well written and you come to truly care for them and what happens to them. There are a few that are written very heavy handed though. Kellen's father, for example, is the biggest misogynist you'll ever read and it definitely makes him unlikeable, which is what the authors wanted.For having been written by two writers, the writing is smooth and flows easily. The very beginning is slow to start but the book soon finds it's pace and the description is well done. There really isn't anything offensive in this book and pre-teens on up could probably read it easily. There are a few instances of adult humour, but the more innocent wouldn't get the joke.I really like this series and eagerly look forward to reading the next in the trilogy. It may be the same old fantasy as a lot of novels, but at least it is interesting.The Outstretched ShadowCopyright 2003711 pagesReview by M. Reynard 2011

What do You think about The Outstretched Shadow (2003)?

I adore high fantasy. Sadly, very few books match up to my wishes. The last significant one I read was the Green Rider series, and I absolutely loved the first book, but then the rest of them plummeted thereafter in terms of quality. And I'm always looking for replacements, and so far, this rather fits the bill.In this story, we meet Kellen, son of an archmage, who starts feeling the consequences of his restricted city life, the pressures put on him, and the strict rules and codes the town's inhabitants live under. Not to mention the questionable magic he has to study. He starts to question the rigid laws, the careful control and the ethics of the ruling mages. So, when he finds some very illegal books on a very different type of magic in the market, he starts studying them. The magic of the three books will seal his fate however, bringing him to people who, like him, question the absolute authority of the mages, making him delve deeper into the secrets of the mages, until finally, he is banished from his home and hunted down. ...and that's only the beginning. From there comes a marvelous adventure of finding one's lost past, finding one's talents, and deciding what's really important in life.This is a very full fantasy world, rich in detail, and with no shortcuts, like I like. The society and environment are both believable.There is one thing that's a bit jarring, however. As Kellen leaves his city for the unknown outer world, he suddenly encounters a lot (a lot) of magical creatures in a very short span of time, and they, only being background characters, are not as well crafted as the rest of the world. True, they're not a big part of the whole, but you notice the, for lack of a better word, sloppiness. Makes me wonder if one of the writers did the world construction and the other the creatures. Also, all of the bestiary entering the story at the same time is a bit overwhelming, with so many new things to take in all at once.The story itself, however, makes up for small things like this. It's always engaging and moves at a quick pace, through many well-crafted environments, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be reading the next installment.
—Janne Varvára

This book was surprisingly good! I shouldn't be so surprised, because I generally adore Mercedes Lackey's work, espescially her Valdemar series. But this was a different type of story, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was long, and it took a little while to get started, so you need to go into it with some patience. In fact, it felt like 65% of the book was exposition. Personally, I enjoyed its slower pace because the world building in this book was nothing short of amazing. The details in this fantasy world were described so painstakingly, they felt so vivid and real. And this book really does have a little bit of everything; magic, elves, unicorns, fighting, romance, etc... I highly recommend this book if you love well-crafted fantasy stories.
—Branwen *Blaidd Drwg*

I liked the story and the characters very much; and I loved the concept of wild magic in this book. But so much of the book was taken up by the mental anguish of its main character, Kellen Tavadon, that it began to feel like filler -- something added to make the book thicker.Granted Kellen has been torn from his insular urban existence and thrown into the wide world of wild magic, and his struggles to find the truth between these conflicting worlds are important to the story. But I have enough of a problem dealing with my own monkey mind without the additional trauma of being told in excruciating detail every doubt, thought, and emotion in the mind of a seventeen year old boy whenever something new happens to him. Not to mention that floating in timelessness feeling I get when authors stop in the middle of a life and death struggle to give me a 15 minute description of what must have passed through the character's mind in a instant.Happily the next two books in this series are unavailable in audio so I don't have to decide whether or not to continue on to book #2.
—Susan

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