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The Shadow Sorceress (The Spellsong Cycle
book 4) by L.E. Modestitt Jr.
After the funeral is held, it becomes apparent that the Sea-Priests, sorcerers and chauvinistic believers in societal dominance of women, are trying to reassert their control. Thus begins a long campaign of fraught magic and battles in which the resources and true nature of young Secca are tested. The magic system revealed is quite intriguing. Clearsong spells are constructed in a combination of singing and played string music - sorcery through harmony. The Sea-Priests create their magic in a more primal way using their 'thunder-drums'. Throughout their plane of existence, disturbances in the 'Harmonies' may be felt by those with enough talent - something for me that held definite echoes of ‘I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.’ Intriguing though it may be, there were some examples of sorcery being used for civil engineering purposes - building roads and bridges, etc. - which were muddy and uneventful enough to give me nasty flashbacks to reading 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. There was also a retrospective angle to the story that, although appropriate for its focus on a character who is grieving and struggling to assert herself in the wake of her legendary predecessor, didn't entice me as a reader. There is much to admire and enjoy in 'The Shadow Sorceress'. Modesitt is a competent author and has crafted a convincing world in this book - a serious, sturdy world that appeals to me on a technical level. The dialogue is convincing, the characters develop and the plot slowly unfolds, yet there is a certain lack of sparkle, an absence of the awe and fascination that I enjoy in fantasy - that mental surge when you stop and think ‘Amazing! Can you imagine? What if...?’ Additionally, I have a problem with the prevalent use of rhyming couplets in fantasy, this being no exception - if a writer does not include Thees and Thous in their modern writing repertoire, why use poetic traditionalism? It would be wonderful to read a contemporary novel where poetry is seamlessly integrated in style and receives as much crafting as the main body of fiction. ‘The Dark Sorceress’ is a traditional fantasy novel and will no doubt achieve greater significance as an integral part of the greater 'Spellsong Cycle' saga. I would not recommend it as a stand-alone novel however or to those seeking momentary wild escapism in their fiction. Lucy A.E. Ward check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
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OTHER REVIEWS - May 2002
NEW NOVELS Bewitched
Forever by Herbie J. Pilato The
Last Underclass by Dean Warren Perceptualistics:
Art By Jael. Time
Tunnel by Murray Leinster The
Shadow Sorceress by L.E. Modestitt Effendi:
The First Second by Jon Courtney Grimwood The
Tomorrow People Volume 2: The Medusa Strain Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones - Visual Dictionary Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones - Incredible Cross-Sections
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In
fairness to the author, I must make it perfectly clear that I have
not read the three preceding novels in the 'Spellsong Cycle' series.
This would have no doubt increased my enjoyment of the book, which
I found to be quite inaccessible as a stand-alone novel.
The
story follows the progress of Secca, a 'fiery redhead' of a sorceress,
following the death of Anna - her Mother-Mentor and the Sorceress-Protector
of Defalk. 
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