son of the shadows by juliet marillier
Coward, I said to myself. Why didn't you go while you could? You want to go home, don't you? Then why not grab the opportunity? Fool. But under these words, there was a strange sort of calm, the feeling that comes when you step into the unknown, when everything has changed and you are waiting to make sense of it.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading son of the shadows! in this second installment in juliet marillier's sevenwaters trilogy, sorcha has grown up and now has children of her own – niamh, sean, and liadan. this book follows the story of her daughter liadan, as old forces of evil start to resurface...
right off the bat, I must say that it is slightly unhinged that juliet marillier's approach to her second book in a trilogy was to just move on to the next generation of characters. I mean... okay, if we talk this through:
sure, there was a sense of resolution in daughter of the forest, with evil being defeated (for now) and characters being reunited and blah blah blah. but also there are so many loose ends? things that demand to be followed up on?
and many of those things were followed up on in this next book, but my gosh she really went for the "kill your darlings" route in this one. the old folks are out, it's all about the young people now.
"It brings a contentment like no other," said Iubdan softly. "And with it a fear that strikes when you least expect it. When you love thus, you give hostages to fortune. It becomes harder with time to accept what fate brings. We have been lucky so far."
but what can I say. I liked it! the author really makes you feel the heartache of letting go of these beloved characters from the first book – you go through this journey of recognizing they're not the main characters of the story anymore. the world keeps turning, the plot continues with or without them. that philosophy is deeply embedded in the arc of the story, too. some things remain the same, some things are lost forever...
"It will be hard for him," she went on, "very hard. He is not one of us, not truly, though we forget it sometimes. He does not understand that this is not a true parting but simply a moving on, a changing."
"The wheel turns and returns," I said.
anyway – it was just a really interesting "meta" experience I had while reading this book, the active process of embracing a new reality and learning to move on.
so once I did move on, I found the story itself fascinating. liadan has inherited her mother's gifts of healing and sight, and it's that healing prowess that makes her the target of this band of mercenaries that follows "the painted man" – they need her to heal one of their compatriots, so they kidnap her, and so our story begins.
we meet a cast of colorful characters, all of whom have been cast out by society in some way. they're prickly but deeply sympathetic as you get to know their personalities and histories. this is especially true of "the painted man," bran, whom liadan soon falls in love with.
Bran was looking at Dog. "Take your hand off her," he said, in a terrible, soft voice. Dog snatched it away as if touched by a lash.
it's giving "yes daddy."
I just love bran. he tries to hide behind a scary face and lots of tattoos, but beneath the surface he's just a big sensitive baby who needs to be hugged.
"You hear that?" said Bran. "She likes to give orders. No wonder the others couldn't wait to get away."
Evan's eyes closed. "Told you she was just your type, Chief," he said faintly. Bran refrained from comment.
of course, even after they fall in love, there must always be a challenge, and it's liadan's identity and her family line that soon drives a wedge between the two.
they separate, and that's really when everything goes crazy.
something I really love about son of the shadows is the way the author has a lot of separate storylines happening in parallel, but they work together as a system, creating an outsized effect.
liadan's separation from bran and subsequent return home creates an opening for a family friend, eamonn. external fighting and threats from the britons add fuel to the flame. marriages are being planned, and secrets are being revealed, and as you keep reading, the world feels more complex and larger than life.
it's really a very immersive story.
and I also like the circularity of it...? (is circularity a word? it's not getting marked by spellcheck, so I think we're good.)
sometimes these stories that take place in big, complex, multifaceted worlds can really get away from you – they become hard to follow, or uninteresting, or they lack credibility... but I think juliet marillier does a good job looping things back to some kind of a starting point.
between the mythology and the historical context and the various character storylines, she expands the world pretty aggressively... but she also makes sure to plant a stake in the ground so that we have something to hold onto, something to keep us from floating off and losing our way.
I like that the story dots its i's and crosses its t's, while also establishing plot hooks that can be picked up in the next book in the series.
I am excited to read the third book, by the way. I've been told that this series is probably her best, and that her later books get a little self-indulgent... but I'm definitely feeling the effects of her at her best.
"Go away," I breathed, "all of you. Leave this place now. I care nothing for who you are or what you are. I defy your powers and your demands. I am a healer; my mother taught me her craft with love and discipline. This man will not die, not while I hold him in my arms. While I warm his heart with my own, he will not leave me. You cannot take him. He's mine."
the writing is dense and maybe a little purple at times – but I think it fits the setting and the tone, and it makes it feel like a timeless epic fantasy. and she definitely pulls no punches with her characters, which makes everything feel much higher stakes. but there is purpose to it, and just as there is value in learning to let go, there's also value in fighting tenaciously for the things we love and want to protect.
How many times does the hear beat, how fast does the blood run when at last we touch, and touch again, and breathe the same desperate, longing breath? Count these things, for they are the stuff of life and of hope.
writing this review has made me appreciate the book a lot more. I am seeing more clearly some of the hard choices juliet marillier made by design, and the reasons why, the perspectives she meant to impart. I like it! it's giving "classic fantasy teaches you how to navigate the real world" and I'm all for it.
Perhaps we do have a short span in this world, as the Fair Folk tell us; perhaps our scope is somewhat limited. But within those limits we do have the power to change things, the power to make choices and to go where we must.
I think that's where I'll leave this review for now!