Shadowheart (Shadowmarch: 4)

by Tad Williams
(2010 | 722 p)

I would like to propose that Tad Williams stop writing trilogies and tetralogies. Why does the awesome have to stop? Take a cue from Robert Jordan and keep those bad boys coming. I realize I'm a nobody in the grand scheme of Tad Williams' publishing life. I'm making this proposal based on completely selfish reasons. It's a flimsy, pathetic argument at best, but there it is.

Clearly it's with a sad heart that I finished this, the fourth and final book in Williams' Shadowmarch tetralogy. Trying to summarize the plot of this densely written 722 page brick is almost more than I can bear at the moment. So, I'll be brief(ish). The twins Barrick and Briony Eddon continue to wander separately across Eion. Briony Eddon has come across a powerful prince who is not only smitten with her but also well outfitted with a small army of troops. How convenient. The prince and his soldiers serve as her loyal escorts as she makes her way back toward her Southmarch home. Barrick Eddon has been changed by the mysterious Qar and is figuring out how to survive in this new self. He, too, discovers a need to return to Southmarch with an army of Qar in tow. Did I mention that the nasty god-king of Xis has King Olin Eddon held prisoner and a small country's worth of soldiers waiting outside the gates of the castle? Gods are waking up, ambition is upsetting the delicate balance, and family loyalties are being tested.

Soapbox time. As a card carrying feminist I was put off by the fact that Qinnitan and Briony's virginity seemed to carry such importance. They "saved" themselves for their true loves, yadda yadda. Briony and Qinnitan were both strong, capable young women... why ruin it by making them chaste? And I already mentioned in a previous review my distaste for the depiction of the homosexual characters in this series. Briony's travelling troupe of buds has not one but two old, lascivious sorts the apparently prefer young lads while the evil Autarch was sexually abused by his Uncle. A familiar stereotype, for sure. But I know Williams' is capable of much more than these overused and quite worn out tropes.

If you've made it this far into my review you must think I'm bonkers. I first declare my undying love for all things Tad Williams and then rail against his depiction of women and homosexuals. Well, there it is. I DO love Tad Williams' stories. In fact, I am so comfortable in the worlds that he creates I can't help but start feeling it's my right to move around the furniture. It's a well-meaning sort of badgering and if Tad Williams' were to ever stumble across this review I hope he'd take it in the spirit of sisterly poking in which it's intended.

I recommend this series to all lovers of the epic fantasy genre. Happy reading!