Of Shadow and Sea (The Elder Empire) Paperback – April 23, 2015

Note: This is the same review I posted for "Of Sea and Shadow." If you've read the two series you understand why. :)Will Wight is pretty well known, but mostly for Cradle and the Traveler's Gate series. Deservedly, as those are both great. That said, my favorite series by him (and his favorite, incidentally) are the Shadow/Sea books.I won't go into a ton of detail at the moment, but they feel deeper and more complex than his other stuff. The characters are wonderful, the action is fantastic (as it always is with him), and the world feels more grounded than in his other novels.The series has a gimmick, though, and it's one that I was highly skeptical of going in. He pulls it off, though, in spades.It's actually two series that occur concurrently, from the perspective of two opposing characters who are on opposite sides of a conflict. The storylines weave back and forth, into and out of each other, and seeing the same scenes from a different POV is a fascinating experience. Putting the characters on opposing sides keeps it from being a rehash of stuff you've already read; if the characters had been on the same side, it would have been hard to make the second viewing of the scenes interesting.But what really hooked me were the characters, and how he makes you love or hate them by turns. When you read a book from the Shadow series, you find yourself viewing the characters of the Sea series as the enemy, and root against them and want our heroes to triumph. Going into the concurrent book, I found myself wondering how the hell he would make me care about characters who'd been the antagonists for an entire book.But man, he does.Calder and Shera are both fascinating characters, and you really care about both of them. The supporting casts are great, too, with Calder's cobbled crew a standout in the Firefly, banter and badass way.They're great books, and I found that reading the first of each series before moving onto the seconds worked really well for me. They have issues, some pacing stuff and such, but they're definite 5 star books for me.And it's basically impossible not to love Urziah. You'll see.

One of my favorite things about sprawling epic fantasy series is when you get the chance to experiencing the same event from multiple points of view. It's been done before, and done well, but Wight takes it to a whole new level. Each book of Shadow and Sea take place concurrently, showing the exact same events from opposing forces. When I read Shadow, I felt sure that Shera was the hero, assassin though she is, and that Calder was a tyrant with eyes on the Emperor's throne. Then, when I read Sea, I was forced to confront the biases of the individual stories and acknowledge that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.Now, that said, it is true that both books are somewhat fragmented individually. I think they are best read in tandem, as Shera and Calder take turns in pushing the story forward, and their individual backstories are told through flashbacks intermingled with the main plot. It is clear that Wight took the time to develop a rich history for the world and the magic system, but it can be hard to appreciate it when so much time is spent recovering from the whiplash of transitioning from present-day to flashback, particularly when the world itself has a steep learning curve. These books are an entertaining enough read for my first time through, but something tells me that they will be even better when I inevitably read through them again.

Big fan of the cradle series, but this series is odd. I think the idea of two stories written in parallel to each other from different opposing views is an interesting idea, but will be extremely hard to pull off.The male main character series is ok (the book read opposite this one), though the male character is hard to get excited about. He's just presented as...meh. The female co-lead is probably more powerful and competent.This series (female MC) has the female MC being presented as super powerful, confident, unyielding, and having a cold, deadly persona that comes out when she needs it. It's definitely geared towards female readers, or at least people who like "strong" female leads.So feels more like a "girl power!" series to me than two opposite but evenly portrayed viewpoints. If that's your jam, you'll love the series as the female rolls are presented as stronger and deadlier than most of the male characters, and the male characters mostly play shared or support roles.I'm also not a fan of the past/present bouncing back and forth style of writing, so that might be a positive or a ntegative depending what you prefer as well. Personally, I don't mind a few flashbacks but telling the whole story in both the past and the present I don't care for. That combined with multiple stories going just feels disjointed?So great writer, decent story, but probably not for me.

My 1st time of reading this author and the story took off and absorbed me from the get go weaving a complex tale of different characters/times and views that was skillfully put together and totally brilliant. Everything about the pace and the characters drew me in and as it was in a kindle unlimited free 3 month sample I sped through this and onto number 2 as I was keen to find out what was going to happen

The story is always written in pairs - 'part one" means a pair of "Shadow" story as well as "Sea" story. This feels more like it is supposed to be read second

I wasn't sure how I'd take to this double book1, 2 &3, but I've started with this one & I haven't enjoyed a book so quickly in ages, & already have the next one & am about to start it. This blew me away with explosive violence &awesome battles, great magic system that ties in with the assassins beautifully. I really can't wait to start the rest & am so happy they're all out & on Kindle Unlimited, I am so glad to have that!

I have been a fan of Will Wight for sometime having fully enjoyed his Traveler's gate trilogy. And I was looking forward to Of shadow and sea and it's twin Of sea and shadow. The world in which these books are set is both bigger and more tangible than in Traveler's and you get the feeling that Wight has grown as a writer. Each book can be read in either order and the plot is more or less the same just seen from different prospectives that of Shera in shadow and of Calder in sea, however, whichever you choose to start with tends to be the character you prefer. I read shadow first and found myself more empathetic that the consultants and Shera as they seemed to have a plan . whereas though sea fleshed out Calder as a character I thought he was very smug in his ability's and not as intelligent or preceptive as he believes himself to be. Over all Of shadow and sea and it's twin Of sea and shadow are a good foundation to build on.two minor points the first is that in Of shadow there is a small typo early on during a fight scene between Shera and Jyrine which would not normally be noticeable but felt jarring in that scene. "Shera couldn't help but notice the symbols tattooed on Shera's left ankle"and secondly because you can start with either book there is a lot information to do with the magic system that is given twice and not always differently enough to give really warrant.

from the very first page i was transported to a new and refreshing take on fantasy. if Will keeps writing like this he will no doubt become a legend in fantasy.