The Shadow Casket

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Pub Date 16 Feb 2023 | Archive Date 16 Feb 2023

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Description

The epic and sweeping sequel to The Ember Blade, featuring a fellowship of characters on an epic quest to spark revolution. Classic and adventurous fantasy for readers who loved The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings or The Blacktongue Thief

A BAND OF REBELS.
A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.
A REVOLUTION ABOUT TO BEGIN.

It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.

Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there's only one of her.

But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?

The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.

'The Ember Blade is Lord of the Rings for the modern generation - an epic world full of history, depth and adventure' Ed McDonald, author of Daughter of Redwinter

The epic and sweeping sequel to The Ember Blade, featuring a fellowship of characters on an epic quest to spark revolution. Classic and adventurous fantasy for readers who loved The Wheel of Time...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781473214897
PRICE £25.00 (GBP)
PAGES 848

Average rating from 24 members


Featured Reviews

Absolutely awesome sequel. I highly recommend reading The Ember Blade as it was a fantastic book that was full of adventure. I was so excited to see the sequel. This sequel did not disappoint at all and I would highly recommend it. I cannot wait for the final book of the trilogy. Highly recommended fantasy series.

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10 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/02/09/the-shadow-casket-by-chris-wooding-review/



<i>A man who cannot live with himself is apt to find something to die for.</i>



The Dawnwardens have returned. The crown prince of Kroda is dead. The Ember Blade has been taken. And the revolution has begun.

Kinda.

It’s been three years since Aren and the Dawnwardens stole the Ember Blade. Since then they’ve been on the run, moving the Blade from safe house to safe house, visiting nobles and private mercenaries, attempting to subsequently kickstart and fund their rebellion. With little to show for it.

Aren himself is growing more and more disillusioned. The cost of the Ember Blade proved to be too high. Conditions in Ossia haven’t improved since the theft, with the Krodans only tightening their grip on the nations. Indeed, suspected spies and traitors have been executed without trial, and Shoal’s Point—the birthplace of both Aren and Cade—has been wiped from the map. Cade himself lies dead, something Aren still dwells on daily. Meanwhile the Dawnwardens have done little to inspire anything, had no tangible success that Aren can see. And the longer they wait the heavier it weighs on him. As does the yoke of Vika’s prophecy. Aren is approaching his breaking point, and can’t see any way to stop it.

The Dawnwardens travel far to the north in an attempt to unite the irascible Fell Folk, and create a stronghold in the hinterlands. Only death and betrayal follows them even here. The Krodans ambush the clans at their annual meeting, and attempt to steal the Ember Blade. Only the timely intervention of a few allies—including one former comrade—saves Aren and the Blade from the Dreadknights’ wrath. But they can only flee in the wake of these abominations.

As matters escalate and tensions rise, the Dawnwardens turn their gaze to a mythic weapon that could destroy the dreadknights and legitimize the rebellion. A weapon that—if it exists—could save, or doom them all.



<i>Friends let friends do stupid things.</i>



It’s been five years since the Darkwater Legacy began, and I’ve to tell you that I’ve been anxiously awaiting the Shadow Casket for some time. Also, I don’t really remember too much from the original adventure, and unfortunately this book does not feature a recap. That is one of <i>two</i> issues I have with it.

The other is that it starts a bit slow.

I mean, that’s to be expected when one can’t really remember the intricacies of the plot. The Ember Blade was stolen, Klyssen thwarted, Cade killed. Otherwise… I’m pretty much in the dark. Luckily, while there is no recap, over the course of the first hundred or so pages, I was able to piece together the events that led us to this point, and gradually regain my excitement for the story to continue.

Which is good, because then it takes off.

Twists and turns galore in this sequel, becoming more and more unexpected the further in you read. This is a dark fantasy epic with an emphasis on the “dark” part. Anything can go wrong. Anyone can die. Anything can happen. The story takes place not over the course of a few days or weeks, but months upon months spent following the Dawnwardens around their fruitless revolt. Klyssen shows up as well, newly demoted and disillusioned with his place in the Empire. As it turns out, he and Aren have more in common than either would’ve ever expected. Spies and traitors abound once more, with everyone acknowledging or indulging their own interests. It’s epic in every sense of the word, and fantastical in more. The places they go, the lands they see—from an island ruled by elaru and ogren (even though I couldn’t even remember what those were!); to ruins swarming with nameless terrors; to a moot of druids; to an internment camp with an even darker secret; to the shores of the Krodan motherland itself.

I feel like I could rant on and on about this book, even though it was a bit slow getting out of the blocks. Even though I was worried about it failing to live up to its predecessor. Even though it took me a bit to come around, a bit more to remember most of what was happening, a bit to fully appreciate the depth of the story, the setting, the world, the lore—I honestly loved it. Pretty much the first and last thing I should say in this review: the Shadow Casket is amazing! An incredible read—easily book of the year thus far.

<b>TL;DR</b>

The Shadow Casket is the amazing followup to an equally amazing Ember Blade that blew me away way back in 2018. My main (and really only issue with the text) is that five years have passed since Book #1, and Book #2 fails to remind us of the events there-within. Fortunately, with a story as good as this one I retained some knowledge of the plot, and with a read as long as this one I had plenty of time to catch up on some of the more intricate points. Even now, as I worry about what I might have missed in-between the lines, I’m having a hard time maintaining any resentment towards the Shadow Casket itself. This story gets a 10/10 from me. The world, the plot, the lore, the twists and turns, the characters and banter and adventures and humor all come together to make this the shadowy ruin in a valley (the dark fantasy equivalent of a shining city on a hill) that one can only dream of when embarking on a fantastical adventure. Now fingers crossed that the finished product comes with a recap, and the Shadow Casket will have achieved perfection—in my view, at least.

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I loved the second instalment so much more than the first instalment. I stayed up all night reading, I had to finish it. The Shadow Casket exceeded my expectations. If I could give it more than five stars I would. Once again Grub is hands down my favorite. He's a wonderfully well written character you can't help but fall in love with. The growth his character went through had me bawling my eyes out. I definitely would recommend this trilogy to anyone who loves epic fantasies. I can not wait for the last book to come out!

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man’s journey to find his destiny.
It’s been three years since they struck the spark - a literal spark - that was supposed to start a revolution.

If Ossians wouldn't be ruled like civilised subjects, they'd be chained and beaten like dogs.
So the terror began.

Even worse, looming over our cast of misfits and bedraggled heroes is Vika’s foreboding prediction of a new Age of Chaos, when the barriers between the living and the dead disappear and humanity becomes prey to monstrous entities from beyond the Shadowlands.

Wow, this book.
It grapples with friendships, betrayals, beliefs….
Just when you feel confident and vindicated that you guessed a plot twist, you are thrown into a turmoil of new revelations that make you want to scream and beat your head against a wall.

I want to rant and rave about the politically ingenious discourse, the betrayals, the tender, heart-wrenching loyalties of friendships, and the justice of right and wrong, but to do so would spoil the experience for the reader.

Again, this second book sees excellent characterisations with inner conflict that grabs you and rattles you with their convictions… or doubts.
Even though the book is dark and twisting, the characters are so fun to follow and root for and I was eager for and entertained by their interactions.

’Hmm. Nice safe boat trip back to the south, or perilous cross-country slog hauling a steadily decaying corpse?' He made an imaginary scales of his hands and weighed up the options. 'No contest, really.’
'I was hoping you'd say that.’

"Oooh, Grub done a stupid thing!' he told himself, as he ran for his life.

If you enjoyed the genius of Dandelion Dynasty and the coming-of-age fantasy and epic battles of Malice or The Shadow of What was Lost, this book will astound, amaze and inspire you as much as it did me.

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The Shadow Casket is an absolutely brilliant epic fantasy read. It has everything that I want in a fantasy novel; a brilliant world to explore, characters that I both love and hate and a plot that twists and turns.

The Shadow Casket takes place three years after the events in the Ember Blade and the hoped for revolution has not happened. In fact, life in Ossia has got worse as the Krondons have clamped down hard on Ossia.
We see the new Dawnwardens struggle against the Krondons as well as deal with treachery from their own side. There are also journeys aplenty and some soul searching as Aren tries to live with his new destiny as Champion of the Blade. There is a lot of action as well as a couple of scenes that felt pretty horrific before the book ends with an action-packed conclusion.

The world building is great but the strongest point of the book is the characters that Wooding has created. They all feel very real as they try to fight against the Krondon Empire. Aren really struggles with trying to be the person that he is expected to be and Vika is convinced that she can find all of the answers. However, my favourite character is still Grub. I love his nicknames for the other members of the group and the way that, although he is always looking for himself, he always ends up doing the right thing.

A character that I ended up feeling a lot more sympathy for than I expected was the Krondon Watchman, Klyssen. At one point I really felt sorry for him and seeing his side to the story gave more depth to the Ossian struggle against the empire. There are a lot of different points of view in the story and not all of them survive until the end. Wooding is not afraid to sacrifice his characters when their story has run its course. There are a couple of very grey characters too whose motives are not clear and provide a couple of dramatic plot twists.

The plot is incredibly detailed and I was never quite sure what was going to happen next. The last third of the book had enough thrills to fill any normal sized book before ending with a quiet pause where the remaining characters take stock of where they are. I can’t wait to read the next book to find out what Wooding has in store for the Dawnwardens and the bearer of the Ember Blade.

I definitely recommend both this and the first book, The Ember Blade, to anyone who loves epic fantasy with a great set of characters and detailed plot. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Orion, for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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“Heroes don’t have to fight. They don’t even have to be the best at anything. So what do they do? They keep going.”

Three years have passed since the events in The Ember Blade. Aren and the rest of the Dawnwardens hoped for a spark that ignited a flame of revolution, but the fire never caught. Instead, the rebels have left southern Ossia and journeyed north into the highlands, home of the Fell people, to strike an alliance. But treachery lurks around every corner. New dreadknights threaten the land. And a hidden, powerful artifact, the Shadow Casket, could shift the balance of power if claimed. Aren, Fen, Grub, Mara, and a host of new characters must band together to uncover a horrifying act of oppression if they want a chance at uniting the Fell clans and turning the tables on the Krodan imperialists.

“Feelings may be the enemy of intellect, but they are also its engine, and it’s a fool that wishes them away.”

Much like in The Ember Blade, one of The Shadow Casket’s strongest aspects is its characters. Wooding has developed this cast remarkably well, giving ample time to each POV, ensuring consequences that hit hard. Each character has different motivations and fallacies, and their flaws and decisions create wonderful and unpredictable chaos. One of the biggest surprises is how much I enjoyed reading one of the most hated characters from the last book, Overwatchman Klyssen; he’s a character you love to despise, but come to understand. Klyssen’s story reminded me of Abercrombie’s Sand dan Glokta: evil, but relatable.

Another aspect of the story that had me up late reading each night was how many surprise bombshells there were. There were some excellent twists, and devastating losses. None of it would have worked so well if I hadn’t been attached to so many of these wonderful characters. Though this is a long book, over 800 pages, at no point did I feel there was filler – every chapter propelled the story forward, further developed the cast, and built itself up for the next explosive set piece.

The Ember Blade can be separated into three acts: the camp, the road journey, and the heist finale. The Shadow Casket can also be divided into a similar structure. I won’t spoil what they are, but it gave the book a naturally progressive feel. The action is paced beautifully; Wooding has created some breathtaking environments to play in. During one sequence, it felt like we were treading into horror territory, and I have a sense that we’ll lean more into that theme in the next chapter of the Darkwater Legacy.

“The cogs of history were greased with the blood of sacrifices; it dripped from their teeth. Without it, they didn’t move.”

When I first reviewed The Ember Blade, I said it was everything I could possibly want in an epic fantasy novel. The Shadow Casket continues this tradition. It is full of action, heart, humor, and an expansive cast of endearing characters that I didn’t want to leave behind. One of my favorite reads of the year.

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