Shadowplay, by Tad Williams

Shadowplay is the second book of Tad Williams's new fantasy epic, Shadowmarch (also the name of volume 1).

I read the first one a while ago and have been waiting since for this latest one to be available at the library. Similarly to William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, Shadowmarch takes a while to get going - introducing a number of characters and setting the stage for what is to come. Having read this earlier trilogy (and really enjoying it!), I pressed on and by the end was enjoying it quite a bit - though not thoroughly engrossed.

Shadowplay tops Shadowmarch by a health margin, at least in my opinion (probably because all the introductory stuff is over and done with). Things pick up quickly, and despite it's hefty size (672 pages) the pacing is nice and quick. There are 5 or 6 main characters that Williams switches between very effectively - each time you switch to another character you wish you could keep reading about the current one. Unlike some novels, however, I enjoyed each of the different character arcs a great deal - there were none that were laborious to read! The story progresses very satisfactorily - it is nice to see things really coming to a head and not just continuing ad nauseum (Terry Goodkind comes to mind).

In short, I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy. Though there is nothing that stands out as new or different from the rest of the genre, Tad Williams combines all the different elements very pleasingly in a way that is by no means trite or clichéd. Be warned, however - this book does not resolve things in the least, and who knows how long until we receive the next installment (there were about 3 years between the first and second books).