Traitor's Knot: Fourth Book of the Alliance of Light

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in the series ... well drawn characters, good plot, a complete world. The best thing is the story told. The outcome is never predictable and the solutions drawn for a given situations truely brilliant. The characters come alive during the telling, to such an extent that you could believe they are alive, not figments of a persons imagination. There are many separate story lines told, but each is compelling. Janny manages to tie them together completely and never contradicts herself despite the complexity. A simple story in a complex, living world. I truely anticipate the next and last book in this arc of the Wars of Light and Shadow. I will be sorry to see it end.

As a fan of Janny's THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW series for the last 10 years, I thoroughly enjoyed this lastest edition. The main characters have been through a lot in previous books and if you are unfamilar with the series, do take the advise from many of our reviews and start with the beginning novel, "Curse of the Mistwraith." It is an excellent, intelligent and very dimensional story with many well developed subplots and characters. Janny's writing style is not for the faint of heart...it will most likely challenge you - both in creative vocabulary and in the richness of detail. The pace of events and descriptions of this extraordinary world's magical structure surely asks for the reader's careful attention. In Janny's weaving of this story, I have learned that there are no erroneous plotlines or fill-in characters. Everything is purposeful, although we may not yet know what it is. That is half the fun, trying to determine where exactly this will all come together! This is another one I will read again and again - can't wait for the next installment "Stormed Fortress."

Fans of the series should enjoy this latest installment as it leaves off at a reasonable end point and has a little something for everyone. First off, Arithon's transformation after surviving Kewar unfolds in this story. He is no longer helpless or suffering from massive guilt like in previous books. This is his turning point. Friends, foes, and readers alike will definitely learn to respect his growing abilities and ingenious strategies. Davien returns to further his own interests. At one point you get a glimpse into his reasoning for past decisions and how he differs from the other Fellowship members, but any more detail on this character's real motivations are left maddeningly well hidden, a mystery to unravel in future books. Sulfin Evend grows into a beloved three dimensional character, full of courage, fears, and doubts. He begins to understand the curse's effects as he stands in its way to stop Lysaer's dangerous curse-driven self-destructive actions. The reader also gets a window into Lysaer's soul showing that he's starting to realize he has problems. Like all of Janny's 'bad guys', you can't help but sympathize and hope Lysaer can be salvaged. Arithon's various friends all undergo some development and get some good story time ranging from stuff to make you laugh, bite your teeth, or wail in anguish. And Elaira... wow... better just read that part yourself! Selidie Prime has a couple good snares and one good reap what you sow that will leave you chuckling. Finally, a new enemy is introduced that threatens both Lysaer and Athera, and is chillingly entrenched. The final resolution scene will leave you with sweaty palms. Though it wraps up by the end of this book, you can't help but feel that this particular evil may be lurking in other dark places of the world.

This is definitely Ms. Wurts' best novel to date. The Wars of Light and Shadow series takes a major turn in this book, with a lot of character development. The thing I like most about this series is how the characters all continue to evolve, not just the main few. Even those we could consider the villains change over time, not necessarily to good guys, but to more complex personalities. There is little worse than a generic villain, and Ms. Wurts makes sure that we don't get one. I definitely recommend that you read this book, but, if you do, you should start at the beginning of the series (Curse of the Mistwraith) because that way you can see the development of the characters.

This latest book in the War of Light and Shadow wraps up several plot points from previous books, and of course, creates a few more. More history of the Fellowship is revealed, especially pertaining to Davien. I was fairly impressed that this book actually made me pity Lysaer, slightly, usually I am just filled with rage at how misguided he is. Anyway, if you've read the previous books in this series, this is a great continuation of the story. I am certainly looking forward to the next one, Stormed Fortress. If you haven't read any of the previous books, you really do need to start with the first one, Curse of the Mistwraith. Don't be put off by the length of the books, the story really rockets along, you get captured by the characters before you know it.