Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts is the eighth novel in the series 'War of Light & Shadow'. Post here if you plan to read this novel, are reading or have already read.

Read twice. On my list for a third reading. Hottest book in the series, so far!

Own this and will read it as soon as I get through the other ones that come before.

Me, too!

I read this at time of publication.

I just finished it last night. OMG, what a book!

Planning to read, I have all the books on my shelf ready and waiting!

Will start this one today, as I finished Traitor's Knot yesterday...

Siv wrote: "Will start this one today, as I finished Traitor's Knot yesterday..."

How are you coming?

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Siv wrote: "Will start this one today, as I finished Traitor's Knot yesterday..."

How are you coming?"

I'm about halfway through... About to start on IX Schism. Arithon's in Alestron, Fionn as irritating as ever, Jeynsa taken captive ... but at least Sidir survived.

Siv wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Siv wrote: "Will start this one today, as I finished Traitor's Knot yesterday..."

How are you coming?"

I'm about halfway through... About to start on IX Schism. Arithon's ..."

Mercy, Siv! You're a speed reader! Is this a blitz? Never mind, I did the same thing first time through.

Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower next time around. The first three/four books I've read two or three times, and manages to immense more in.

Found a live dragon just about now. That sure was unexpected...

Siv wrote: "Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower next time around. The first t..."

Did you catch the point in the maze when the dragon woke up?

Siv wrote: "Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower next time around. The first t..."

Well, there were hints, in the prior material - you'll see them second round, I should think. Your insights will be of great value on the discussions of earlier volumes.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Siv wrote: "Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower next time around...."

I wish I could be the fly on the wall and see your expression, first run through - grin.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Did you catch the point in the maze when the dragon woke up?"
Nope. I guess you're refering to Peril's Gate?

Janny wrote: "Well, there were hints, in the prior material - you'll see them second round, I should think."
I'm sure there were hints. There seems to be hints of everything that's bound to happen, everywhere through these books. There's a certain joy in re-reads because of that. I'll watch out, next time.

Janny wrote: "I wish I could be the fly on the wall and see your expression, first run through - grin."
I bet you would. How about *eyebrows up, jaw dropped, shaking head, flipping back a few pages to read through that again...*

It's really fun and nice to have the author taking part in these discussions - and probably equally fun (or more) for the author to watch us get sidetracked and make false assumptions :D

Siv wrote It's really fun and nice to have the author taking part in these discussions - and probably equally fun (or more) for the author to watch us get sidetracked and make false assumptions :D

I'll ditto that. It's really fun talking with you, Janny.

And yes, Siv, I was talking about Peril's Gate.

Siv wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Did you catch the point in the maze when the dragon woke up?"
Nope. I guess you're refering to Peril's Gate?

Janny wrote: "Well, there were hints, in the prior material ..."

Eyebrows up - no, grin - rather, "oh, just wait they see the denouement layer peel off of that....!!"

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Siv wrote It's really fun and nice to have the author taking part in these discussions - and probably equally fun (or more) for the author to watch us get sidetracked and make false assumptions :D
..."

Well, I am pleased you are enjoying it - of course we are all wondering where you are with it, as you progress.

Janny wrote: "Siv wrote: "Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower next time around...."

I'm vaguely remembering something about a sleeping dragon way in the bowels of the earth, perhaps in Sethvir's perusing of the earth. And there are the dragon skulls being used in Avenor - pre-hatched baby dragon skulls. One has to wonder if they were live eggs....

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Janny wrote: "Siv wrote: "Well, yes, you should see me reading in Swedish... I've had the time to read a couple of hours every day. That's about to change, though.
And I know it will go slower nex..."

Live eggs; no question.

I started this on Monday.

If these books were a rollercoaster, I think this one would be the part where you have all the energy thrust to push you through all the loops and there is no stopping once you start.

Amelia wrote: "I started this on Monday.

If these books were a rollercoaster, I think this one would be the part where you have all the energy thrust to push you through all the loops and there is no stoppin..."

I have one piece of advice: Nail your socks to the floorboards....!

Janny wrote: "Amelia wrote: "I started this on Monday.

If these books were a rollercoaster, I think this one would be the part where you have all the energy thrust to push you through all the loops and there ..."

LOL! Good advice Janny.

Planning on reading.

Kernos wrote: "Planning on reading."

Oh good. Hope you'll enter the discussion. Did you see my post on how to enter the drawing?

Kernos wrote: "Planning on reading."

Great to have you!

Thank you. I am looking forward to this, Janny. I have only read your Empire Trilogy, one of my favorites of all time and have decided it time to read 'everything by Wurts'!

I have been slowly accumulating the older books in Wars of Light & Shadow so I can read them back to back, but decided to go ahead and read this since it's being discussed. It will be interesting to see how jumping into the back of a series works.

Kernos wrote: "Thank you. I am looking forward to this, Janny. I have only read your Empire Trilogy, one of my favorites of all time and have decided it time to read 'everything by Wurts'!

I have been slowly acc..."

Wow, that's quite the challenge. I'm not sure you really want to read this one without reading the others first. There are so many nuances and plot lines coming together in this one, that you might be a bit lost. Plus, once you do read the earlier ones, it may not have the same effect because you know what's happened. As Janny has mentioned in other topics, this is the denoument, the climax of this arc. Without reading the others, you won't understand what the characters have gone through to get where they are in this book. If you do go ahead and read it without reading the others, I wish you the best luck.

Kernos wrote: "Thank you. I am looking forward to this, Janny. I have only read your Empire Trilogy, one of my favorites of all time and have decided it time to read 'everything by Wurts'!

I have been slowly acc..."

Well - grin - starting here?

Readers have successfully started into this series at various points. Ships/Warhost; Fugitive Prince; or Peril's Gate.

It takes patience to manage this.
Ones starting with Ships - if they were Truly willing to wait to see how things meshed - it worked fine. You'd need to 'be patient' until at least half way through, perhaps more, since the connections do happen (from new perspetives) in the book's progress, but they 'presume' from the start that you already know.

Readers starting with Fugitive Prince had TOTALLY the wrong take on one main character; not having seen what went before, they tended to 'believe' the wrong characters' opinions concerning prior events. A side kick fellow emerged as their favorite character UNTIL they began (toward the end) to get an inkling. People who actually 'saw what was on the page' AND had patience got through...and of course, immediately read the prior volumes.

Peril's Gate actually IS an easier start point than most. Readers have done this, and it worked. Not with the same impact or subtlety, since some connections would be lost, but the story functions perfectly well.

Nobody's ever 'reported back' on a first start attempt at Traitor's Knot or Stormed Fortress. Kernos: if you dare this, let me know, but realize that the series is in convergency with both of these volumes, and Stormed Fortress IS a major denouement. I have no clue how it would play.

If you are coming in from Empire, just trying my stuff for the first time, MOST reviewers who were enamored of Empire also warmed fast to my unconnected standalone, To Ride Hell's Chasm, which is quite in print in several formats (print and e book) and has had a discussion on GoodReads (it would be listed on the book's page). The plot to that story took only five and a half DAYS to complete. It starts carefully and ramps to a thriller pace. You can find excerpts on my website, and 3 chapters in audio (my reading) set for Mp3.

Let us know which sort of adventure you want to try, first - and, I did see your other post. If you have questions about Empire or any other work, we can start a thread here for questions on 'other works,' I should think that might be appropriate.

Thanks for the input, Janny and Amelia. I am rethinking this. I did some research on this series last night and think I have read Curse of the Mistwraith, but when it 1st came out. The summary and DJ seem familiar. I would want to re-read this.

As is my wont and since this seems a highly integrated series, I would really rather read the it in order.

OTOH, I was looking forward to discussing a book with such an interested and available author at hand. I might be able to read the entire series before the end of Jan., but would need to rush it, and I like to savor good books I'm reading.

Kernos wrote: "Thanks for the input, Janny and Amelia. I am rethinking this. I did some research on this series last night and think I have read Curse of the Mistwraith, but when it 1st came out. The summary and ..."

There is no need to rush.

All the topics for the earlier books are still available and can be re-opened at any time; there is a huge backlog of posts on The Curse of the Mistwraith in The Fantasy Book Club when it was one of the monthly reads. You can locate the folder and post there, any time.

I'm a huge reader and likely to be involved here long after these discussions end, so by all means, don't be shy about starting into the series just because the month for that book is past.

Readers post to former discussions all the time, it's encouraged.

More, Mistwraith is a mature read that CHANGES as life's perspective shift. So a re-read now may unveil a totally different story than the one you recalled from it's release date seventeen (?) years ago!

It's not at all uncommon for me to get notes from readers who tried it, younger, didn't find their way with it at all, and picked it up 5 or more years later and it blew them away.

Kernos wrote: "Thanks for the input, Janny and Amelia. I am rethinking this. I did some research on this series last night and think I have read Curse of the Mistwraith, but when it 1st came out. The summary and ..."

When Janny says she'll be there for you, she means it. I went ahead and rushed through the series before we got to them (couldn't stop) and plan to reread them eventually. (All my other books were on hold while I read this series during the summer).

I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did.

Janny wrote: "Kernos wrote: "...More, Mistwraith is a mature read that CHANGES as life's perspective shift..."

This is encouraging and all too rare in genre fiction. The best fiction, IMO, allows the reader to use his experience and POV to interpret a work, rather than being forced down paths by the author. I much prefer ambiguity in literature, what I call gray literature. IOW, literature that avoids sentimentality.

Amelia wrote: "Kernos wrote: "Thanks for the input, Janny and Amelia. I am rethinking this. I did some research on this series last night and think I have read Curse of the Mistwraith, but when it 1st came out. T..."

I would ENCOURAGE anyone to start at book I at this time - ideally, all of the discussions might be active at once. The books are so tightly woven, a new reader may see stuff or remind a reader who's finished of some point that, at a later period in the series, would carry a totally different perspective.

Kernos wrote: "Janny wrote: "Kernos wrote: "...More, Mistwraith is a mature read that CHANGES as life's perspective shift..."

This is encouraging and all too rare in genre fiction. The best fiction, IMO, allows ..."

Ah - grin. Read Mistwraith's prologue....looks up your alley for sure.

Have read, I do need to re-read this, just lately my to-read list keeps growing and there has not been enough time to re-read.

i just finished Grand Conspiracy working my way towards a reread of Stormed Fortress. Janny Wurts is becoming one of my favorite authors to reread.

Me, too. :)

Okay, I'm getting serious in my re-read. Family circumstances have, rather unfortunately, given me more time to read than I would have otherwise expected to have (long story short, my mother is in the hospital, so I'm away from my job, wife, and daughter in the next state over while I see to her care). After all, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade because, hey, free lemons. Stormed Fortress is my lemonade right now.

John wrote: "Okay, I'm getting serious in my re-read. Family circumstances have, rather unfortunately, given me more time to read than I would have otherwise expected to have (long story short, my mother is in ..."

Well, certainly hope your mother will be ok, but am glad you're reading this. There is so much meat here.

John, may your mother recover swiftly - so sorry to hear she's in difficulty.

Thanks Janny and Sandra. Reading--especially fantasy novels--has long been my coping strategy for waiting around in hospitals, though I find it's rather less efficacious now that I'm an adult and have more responsibility than just coping for myself. Ah well.

planning to read

Just started! Having devoured Traitor's Knot, the suspense of the story demanded no less.