With The Isle of Battle, the second book of the high- fantasy Swan's War trilogy, acclaimed novelist Sean Russell returns to the world of the Wynnd, a great river that does not always follow the maps and has tributaries in other worlds. The Isle of Battle continues the story of the archer Tam, his fellow Valemen Fynnol and Baore, and several other characters from The One Kingdom. The Valemen gain mysterious new allies and enemies as they search through otherworldly swamps and mountains for their fallen friend, the demigodlike Alaan, and seek to elude Alaan's more-than-mortal enemy and brother, the powerful and ruthless warrior-wizard, Hafydd.

Readers should not start the Swans' War with The Isle of Battle. It suffers the common trilogy malady of middle-book-itis: it doesn't greatly advance the overall plotline, and though it spends some time bringing readers up to speed on the backstory, it still swamps newcomers with multiple plotlines and characters. Also, the big cast means characterizations are often sketchy; the Valemen become almost interchangeable, and the powerful and intriguing Alaan rarely demonstrates these virtues, since he spends much of his time senseless from critical wounds. Furthermore, many readers will not be pleased that the book's vast cast includes only four women, with only two of them spending much time onstage (in the same body!). --Cynthia Ward


From Publishers Weekly
In this enjoyable follow-up to the well-received first book in the Swans' War series, The One Kingdom (2001), Canadian author Russell (River into Darkness) offers more superior high fantasy, with a large cast of fully developed and carefully observed characters, many familiar from volume one. In order to escape a forced marriage, Lady Elise Wills has merged with the dark river spirit, Sianon, to the dismay of her intended, Prince Michael of Innes. With the three Valemen Tam, Fynnol and Baore she sets out to find the mysterious wanderer, Alaan, whom she hopes will help to reconcile her to her new powers and to defeat her enemy, the dark knight Hafydd. In his own quest for Alaan, Hafydd is not above using treachery, sorcery and guile to achieve his sinister goals. As the action ebbs and flows around the known lands of the Kingdom of Ayr as well as the hidden magical lands, the author explores traditional themes of good and evil, though not everything is strictly black and white. Just as all paths led to Westbrook Fair in the previous book, so do all the principals come together at the Isle of Battle, with the fate of the warring Renn‚ and Wills clans hanging in the balance. Despite the many disparate story threads, the narrative flows easily, building in intensity from a firm steady pace to a powerful climax that will keep the reader happily waiting for the next installment of this classically composed fantasy. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Hoping to escape an arranged marriage intended to strengthen her family in its feud against the rival Renne clan, Elise Wills bargains with a river spirit to spare her life. Although pursued by the sorcerous knight Hafydd, the mysterious wanderer Alaan and his traveling companions set out on a journey to free Elise from her bargain and prevent a catastrophic war of restless and vengeful ghosts from consuming the kingdom. Russell's sequel to The One Kingdom carries the tale of a pair of feuding families and the young people who represent the future's hope to a new level of fantasy adventure. Filled with fierce battle scenes and moments of personal drama, this skillfully plotted, well-paced saga belongs in most fantasy collections.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description

Treachery and deceit run rampant throughout a devastated land, spawning dark alliances in the terrible war ignited by the enmity of two families. But unbeknownst to all, there are others who truly control the beleaguered kingdom's destiny -- combatants emerging from eons of restless sleep to renew the bloody terror of a battle older than time.


About the Author
Sean Russell is rapidly establishing himself as one of the strongest and most important of the new epic fantasists. His previous works include the River into Darkness books The Compass of the Soul, Beneath the Vaulted Hills, the Moontide and Magic Rise books Sea Without a Shore, World Without End; and the novels Gatherer of Clouds and The Initiate Brother. Mr. Russell lives in Vancouver, BC, with his family.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Treachery and deceit run rampant throughout a devastated land, spawning dark alliances in a terrible war. Even kinsmen cannot be trusted in a struggle for power that touches all with its murderous hand. And young Elise Wills - believed dead - has emerged from the Stillwater's eerie depths, alive but changed forever. The heroic wanderer, Alaan, grows weaker by the hour and teeters on the brink of oblivion." "For those who seek to rule at any price in blood and destruction - and for those entrusted with the preservation of Ayr - Alaan holds the key. But he is lost somewhere in the hidden lands. No one - not the transformed Elise, not the malevolent knight Hafydd, not the courageous Valemen or the troubled Renne leader Toren - may enter this dark and magical place without the guidance of the map-maker, a strange man whose own motives are as mysterious as the mists that drift above the Stillwater." And unbeknownst to the diverse factions who covet Alaan's secrets, there are others who truly control the destiny of the embattled kingdom. For the warring children of the Wyrr are reemerging after eons of restless sleep, in an unresolved battle older than time.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this enjoyable follow-up to the well-received first book in the Swans' War series, The One Kingdom (2001), Canadian author Russell (River into Darkness) offers more superior high fantasy, with a large cast of fully developed and carefully observed characters, many familiar from volume one. In order to escape a forced marriage, Lady Elise Wills has merged with the dark river spirit, Sianon, to the dismay of her intended, Prince Michael of Innes. With the three Valemen Tam, Fynnol and Baore she sets out to find the mysterious wanderer, Alaan, whom she hopes will help to reconcile her to her new powers and to defeat her enemy, the dark knight Hafydd. In his own quest for Alaan, Hafydd is not above using treachery, sorcery and guile to achieve his sinister goals. As the action ebbs and flows around the known lands of the Kingdom of Ayr as well as the hidden magical lands, the author explores traditional themes of good and evil, though not everything is strictly black and white. Just as all paths led to Westbrook Fair in the previous book, so do all the principals come together at the Isle of Battle, with the fate of the warring Renn and Wills clans hanging in the balance. Despite the many disparate story threads, the narrative flows easily, building in intensity from a firm steady pace to a powerful climax that will keep the reader happily waiting for the next installment of this classically composed fantasy. Agent, Howard Morhaim. Author tour. (Aug. 3) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal