Fantasy author Janny Wurts has reported completing the final novel in her enormous Wars of Light and Shadow series, twenty-nine years after the first book was published.
Song of the Mysteries (working title) is the eleventh and final book in the saga which began with Curse of the Mistwraith. The series tells the story of the conflict between Arithon, Master of Shadow, and his half-brother Lysaer, Master of Light. The story is interesting for its depiction of morality with neither side being entirely in the right or wrong, as well as its detailed worldbuilding and unusually lyrical prose.
The series is divided into five arcs or sub-series, with the first novel forming the first arc, Books 2 and 3 the second, Books 4-8 a sub-series called Alliance of Light and Books 9-10 a duology called Sword of the Canon. The eleventh and final book serves as a conclusion to the overall series.
Wurts is also known for her earlier Cycle of Fire Trilogy (1984-99), the stand-alones Sorcerer's Legacy (1982), The Master of Whitestorm (1992) and To Ride Hell's Chasm (2002) and the collection That Way Lies Camelot (1994). She is also the co-author, with Raymond E. Feist, of the critically-acclaimed Empire Trilogy (1987-92), set in Feist's Riftwar universe.
Song of the Mysteries will likely be published in late 2022 or some time in 2023.
The Wars of Light and Shadow
- Curse of the Mistwraith (1993)
- Ships of Merior (1994)
- Warhost of Vastmark (1995)
- Fugitive Prince (1997)
- Grand Conspiracy (1999)
- Peril's Gate (2001)
- Traitor's Knot (2004)
- Stormed Fortress (2007)
- Initiate's Trial (2011)
- Destiny's Conflict (2017)
- Song of the Mysteries (tbc)
6 comments:
Not a comment to the article, just using the only way outside Twitter for contact: It's high time you paid Ada Palmer's "Terra Ignota" series a visit. The final book, "Perhaps the Stars", came out in late 2021, the capstone to the most complex and innovative science fiction series we've seen. The books are slightly dense, which might explain the lack of publicity, but they are a truly overwhelming epic that deserve more attention.
I really enjoyed the first book of this series but found it starting to drag around book 5, think that's about where I stopped.
Well this is extremely exciting. What an absolutely amazing author! Have been waiting to get back to this series for a long long time. Now that it is finished, it is time for my hugely anticipated re-read! Thanks for posting the news on this underrated author. She deserves much more time in the spotlight.
I have been reading her before Curse of the Mistwraithe came out, over 30 years ago, and watched as her first stand alone books were decent to when she started the first book of this series, her writing skills and maturity grew by lengths and bounds, and quickly. So very impressive. It is an amazing set of books, dont let the size scare you. I have happily re-read every book from beginning after every new book. You never know which direction she will or will get killed or live. She doesnt kill off characters like George RR Martin does for the shock value, she makes you feel it, either regret or excitement. The foreshadowing is scary impressive, even better than Robert Jordan. It is a must read for men and women, especially if you are detailed oriented when you watch movies or read books. Her publishers have been amazingly generous allowing her the length in pages and words per book. This is my first book / series review, as you can probably tell.
WE love this series. I have reread it several times - have every book and can't wait to get and read the final one. Prose is marvellous, character development amazing, and the world it is all set in one that is fascinating. H.
I've followed Janny Wurts's work since she very unexpectedly replied to an email from me while I was at university, enquiring about the possibility of a sequel to her Cycle Of Fire trilogy. I've followed the Wars of Light and Shadow since the release of Curse of the Mistwraith, and am looking forward very much to the conclusion of the series.
It's not for everyone, and the prose, deliberately flowery and overblown, and justified as such by the author due to the nature of the world she created, can drive one beyond irritation at times. But the story is enormous, and enormously rewarding, full of arresting imagery and truly beautiful depictions of music and magic. I can't wait to read its conclusion.
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