Shadow's Daughter

This is the second 5th Millenium novel that I have read, set in a world devastated by The Fire thousands of years earlier. If Snow Brother is a female Conan in a primitive America, Shadow's Daughter is a female Oliver Twist in medieval Russia. The books could not be more different except for their shared harshness. Sweet 4 year old Megan lives in a happy supportive middle class family until disaster strikes and she and her family are plunged into poverty. She survives through trial and tragedy but every time things begin to improve an even worse catastrophe befalls her. This book is not for the faint of heart. Eventually perseverance triumphs over adversity. Kinda, sorta. This book was not what I expected when I ordered it. Had I known what it was, I probably would not have bought it. That said, I'm glad I did. It is a tribute to the author's skill that I cared about her characters, that my interest never flagged, and that she made me feel outrage at the unfairness and cruelty of the society that Megan was forced to grow up in.

I really liked this book, the coming of age story of a young girl in a harsh non-technological future earth. The depiction of the lives of children growing up too fast in a poverty stricken slum like environment is gritty and realistic. There is some magic involved in the story, but not much, more sword than sorcery. The culture of this future world is fascinating with the politics of guild control and class division exceptionally well delineated. Unfortunately this is the first book in a series and it ends on something of a cliffhanger, or beginning of a quest rather, and the following books are gravely disappointing. They are so different from this one, that the only relation the rest of the books have to Shadow's Daughter is the name of the characters. The difference is so jarring that I couldn't enjoy the other novels at all. Or rather the next two novels in the series. I stopped after the third. I had hoped that the following books would find their way back to the promise of the first, but it never happens. Too bad, I think this could have been an exceptional series had Mieir written the books without collaborating with other writers.

I picked up this book in the bookstore based on the words "she becomes a hero". I love reading books about female heros. In the book, I don't believe Megan turned into a hero, but I enjoyed the book very much anyway. Megan is 3 or so when we first start the book. I thought the author did a very good job of capturing the thoughts of a 3 year old. Megan turns into a very mature person faster than most people because she has a very hard life. The only complaint I had about the book was the fact that it was sometimes hard to follow. I'd read one paragraph and then in the next paragraph I wasn't sure if there was supposed to have been a period of time in between it. Aside from that, the book was very good.

...and that's out of thousands.I cannot recomend this novel highly enough. Possibly the best I've ever read. Back in '92, I almost decided to not buy "Shadow's Daughter" when I stumbled across it on a bookstore shelf - I was soon very glad I didn't.This would be fantasy, if you're one of those people who care. Set in the 4900's (Fifth Millenium) AD, after global collapse of civilization in the 2000's. I am extremely impressed by Meier's skill at making her characters seem REAL, especially in the way she's able to convey a character's inarticulate thoughts in text. A great story, and with moral/ethical messages (for example, on justification) if you care to look for them. This is not a "nice" book - no Xanth here - expect nastiness at least on the level of Drake - but all done so POWERFULLY that it can only draw you further into the story. It's not PERFECT (as Haldeman said, no book is) but, imo, it is a masterpiece. Meier is, as far as I know, an unknown. Someone this good shouldn't be.

"The great writings are as wine, mine are water, available and enjoyable by the many." -S.L.Clemens Which is a good way to categorize these books. The previous reviewer seems to have missed what made the same book exciting and enjoyable to me. Megan's evolution perhaps captures my interest being realistic, paralelling my own so closely. The logical conlclusion is, that without a common frame of reference, some people can't imagine themselves into a story. There's little joy here. Ocassional humour, but this story is of unpleasant happenings in an imperfect world. That Megan can grow up without being overwhelmed by her experiences and ddestroyed or twisted is the victory. "I've found that just surviving is a noble fight." -B. Joel To my mind, the most fascinating part of the book is the glimpses of history so old it's myth: the 20th century and the apocolyptic war which drove the world back to the bronze age. Throw in a little evolution of psychokinesis and you have the general setting. More swords and political intruige than wizards and spells. Actually, there isn't a wizard or a spell in the whole thing. This story, like Stirling's 'SnowBrother' set the stage for the main characters eventual alliance. Taken as a whole, the 'prequels' are better for adding dimension to the novels 'Sabre & Shadow' (originally released as 'The sharpest edge'... but S & S is enhanced and superior), 'The Cage' and 'Shadow's Son'. Good standalone books, but best read sequentially.