The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny WurtsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This may have been one of the best books I've read. It certainly has one of the most complex, intrigueing, and intense, brilliant, and enchanting main characters I've come across in a long, long time. I am so glad there are more books because I'm not ready to let go of Arithon.
It took some time for me to get oriented in the complex world that Janny has created. But once I did, it was hang on because the action is exciting and potentially deadly, the evil is truly scary, and the two half brothers are fascinating. Essentially the book is about what the title says - wars of light and shadow. One brother commands light, the other shadow. In a sense, it's the old war of good and evil, or of consciousness and unconsciousness; but the complexity and ambiguity of good/bad, light/dark are not so easy to discern.
The one character that I fell in love with is Arithon in all his intensity, his deep understanding of the consequences of action/non-action, love/hate, good/bad are so painful at times that it brought tears to my eyes. And even though events take place in a fantasy world, the conflicts, tensions, and emotions are very real and pertinent to today.
For a really good review, see Stefan's. He is much more analytical than I. His review can be found at
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/wurtsjanny.html
Janny Wurts Fantasy Literature
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