This book is one of Rusch's first published novels, and it shows. I thought the book had a lot of promise in the beginning--and it wasn't bad--but it got too complicated too quickly, trying to fit too many characters and too many plots into a fairly short book.There are two threads at the beginning of the book, one following the magician Seymour (or really, following the bard Byron, since Seymour is following him after a very short time), and one following the young prince Adric. When they come together, about three-quarters of the way through the book, it's in a way that I never predicted. That sounds like a good thing, but even when I thought back through it with my new knowledge of how they fit together, I could find no clues. It could have been a really cool revelation if there had been a few clues that I could have said on hindsight "oh, that's what that meant," but that didn't happen.As I said, there were too many characters; several even had POV sections only to disappear or at least fade away. I would have loved to have seen more of the faerie-like Enos, and though they did take a greater part toward the end, I never really got to understand the beings. I think there would have been more room for them, and other world-building (I'm not even certain what technology level the country had), with a more judicious choice of characters.The ending was disappointing as well; I won't spoil it, but it seemed rushed and some secrets I hoped would come to light never did.
I bought this book years ago and never got round to reading it then it caught my eye the other day so thought I'd give it a go and was suprised at how much I'm enjoying it. Very easy to read, builds the pace up nicely, there's a feeling that something big is going to happen so it adds tension. I was kind of disappointed by the ending - it was a bit of a damp squib. And it got a bit confusing towards the end until it dawned on me that one part of it was set in the past, then it all became clear. Certainly not one of the best books I've ever read but far from the worst
What do You think about The White Mists Of Power (1991)?
Given that every fantasy writer out there seems to be producing trilogies (at least), it's good to get my hands on a standalone novel every so often!In The White Mists of Power, Rusch initially starts with two storylines, one involving a crazy duke who likes to hunt people with hounds (see cover) and one involving a young prince, the son of a figurehead king, who wants to see the real world for himself. In the former, the duke's latest prey is a bard who manages to outwit the dogs, with a little help, while the prince gets lost in the city and things get decidedly unpleasant for him.All of this is underpinned by a world where the rulers live in uneasy relationship with those who control its natural forces, with the eponymous white mists being a sign of whether someone will become a leader. Where the novel falls down is when the two storylines collide and you discover that Rusch has somewhat pulled the wool over her reader's eyes - one of her main characters is not who he seems to be, but there's also things going on in the space between the storylines that we don't know about until the exposition dump towards the end.I finished it, but I can't say it's a book I would read again, because that whole set-up and authorial sleight of hand vexed me too much.
—Paula
Overall, I really liked it, the real problem lying in the fact that I loved the beginning/middle and started to get bored through the late middle/ending. The plot started to octopus out of control a bit, and the pacing became a little hectic. Also, the romance angle was just completely predictable and blah.Okay, I'm complaining and I liked the book. First off, I liked most of the characters. They weren't good/bad, there was some depth there. The author had no qualms killing likable characters, which is not always the case in fantasy. There was a bit of mystery to it as well, which I'm always up for.I think the book could have been improved by turning it into two books. Also that way I'd have another one to look forward to.
—Ubiquitousbastard
