JV Jones closing in on the end of ENDLORDS

Fantasy author J.V. Jones has provided a significant update on her novel Endlords, the fifth and penultimate book in her superb Sword of Shadows series.

The four extant novels in the series are: A Cavern of Black Ice (1999), A Fortress of Grey Ice (2002), A Sword from Red Ice (2007) and Watcher of the Dead (2010). The series is a loose sequel to her earlier work, The Book of Words trilogy, consisting of The Baker's Boy (1995), A Man Betrayed (1996) and Master and Fool (1997).

Since the publication of Watcher of the Dead, Jones has dealt with real life issues and problems that cut into her writing time. She began work on the novel again in 2017 and now reports that she is around six months away from finishing the book. The novel will probably be published some time in 2024, depending on the situation with her publishers.

In the meantime, Jones is already considering plans for the last book in the series, which now boasts the working title A Sword Named Loss.

The Book of Words was a solid opening trilogy, but The Sword of Shadows is one of the A-tier of epic fantasies of recent decades, comfortably sitting on a par with Robin Hobb's Ream of the Elderlings series, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen (Jones provided a cover quote for Erikson's first fantasy novel in 1999 that was credited with helping boost sales). Getting another two books in the series will be very welcome indeed.

JV Jones update on ENDLORDS and SWORD OF SHADOWS

J.V. Jones has reported on Patreon the status of her current writing projects, confirming that work is underway on Endlords, the fifth Sword of Shadows novel.

The Sword of Shadows series currently consists of A Cavern of Black Ice (1999), A Fortress of Grey Ice (2002), A Sword from Red Ice (2007) and Watcher of the Dead (2010). Work on Endlords began in 2010 but stalled after a few chapters as the author's life entered a tumultuous phase which was only recently resolved. Jones has resumed work on the novel, but cautions that after such a long break she is approaching the project slowly to get back into the same writing space as before and deliver a continuation of the same quality.

Writers are always trying to recreate what we see in our imagination, whether it's a landscape, an emotion, a person, a relationship. We're chasing that almost unattainable perfection that exists as a possibility in our heads. Some writers can manage this right-off-the-block with their very first novel or short story. They are extremely talented and lucky. It takes most of us years of practice to perfectly command all the tools we need to nail a scene.

I wrote over two million words to get there.

Now I have to see if I can do it all over again. 

Jones is also serialising another project, Sorry Jones, on her Patreon as part of a reward scheme for backers. Endlords is still under contract to Tor (in the USA) and Orbit (in the UK) and will be published by them, so Sorry Jones is a way of getting new fiction out to readers sooner and help with funding.

Watcher of the Dead by J.V. Jones

Raif Sevrance is in possession of the sword known as Loss. Unfortunately, he is also the 'guest' of a renegade group of Sull, who are determined to use him and his abilities for their own ends. Elsewhere, Ash March finds herself in the heart of Sull territory, knowing she will find in them her greatest allies...or her greatest danger. War continues to rage in the clanholds, with the armies of Blackhail, Bludd and Dhoone converging as Gandmiddich for a climactic showdown. In Spire Vanis the new surlord struggles to hold onto power, and in the wilds the ranger Angus Lok relentless hunts down a wily enemy.

Watcher of the Dead brings the Sword of Shadows series to its fourth - and hopefully penultimate (though Jones has hinted that the series may expand to six volumes) - instalment. It's a slightly slimmer novel than its forebears, being a clear 100 pages shorter than the third volume, and benefits from a tighter focus on the core storylines. Raif and Ash get a fair bit of attention, whilst Angus Lok returns to the fore after spending most of the third book missing. Effie's storyline also moves forward more satisfyingly, with her relevance to the main storyline becoming clearer. The Dog Lord and Raina Blackhail also benefit from contrasting storylines in which both seek to consolidate (or re-consolidate, in Vaylo Bludd's case) their authority in the face of opposition.

There are some drawbacks to this. The tightened focus mean there's no time or room for Crope and Baralis, who simply fail to appear. Also, a tight focus on a large cast in a more constrained page count means a relative lack of major progression in any one arc. So Effie spends most of the book in a roundhouse in a swamp and then takes a short trip in a boat (although a hugely important one). Raif spends almost the entire book as a prisoner of the Sull. Ash, having set out to reach the Sull Heart Fires at the start of Book 2, finally gets there halfway through Book 4 and has a couple of conversations (and the revelation of a 'major' plot twist which is tiresomely predictable, the first disappointing plot turn in the series to date). Important things happen in these chapters, but there is definitely a contrast to the very busy and forwards-moving first volume in the series.

Still, the series has never been action-packed and fast-moving, and Jones does give us some good battles. Raina Blackhail's storyline in fact is particularly strong, aided by the arrival of an intriguing new character, and Angus Lok's revenge storyline is extremely tense. Best of all is Raif's character arc. Back in Book 1 he was the very embodiment of the 'callow youth saves the world' trope, but by the end of this volume he is a severely traumatised, battle-hardened warrior desperately searching for himself. The subversion of the traditional fantasy hero's journey is very well-done.

Watcher of the Dead (****) benefits in some ways from a (slightly) shorter page count and tightened focus, but it also suffers from it, with a lack of plot progression in some storylines and some characters simply not showing up. The benefits to characterisation are clear and there are clear signs of the scattered characters starting to come together, but we're not on the home straight yet. The novel is available now in the UK and USA. The fifth volume, Endlords, is apparently still forthcoming but there has not been a firm update on its status from the author in more than two years.