The Outstretched Shadow
The Outstretched Shadow: The Obsidian Trilogy, Book 1
Author:
Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Publisher:
Tor
Date of Publication:
2003
ISBN:
978-0765341419
Rating:
9
Summary:
(Warning: Spoilers) Kellen Tavadon is the son of the most powerful mage in the mage-controlled city of Armatheliah, Lycaelon Tavadon. Kellen is training to be a mage, but isn’t sure if that is the future he wants for himself. What’s more, he isn’t sure he wants to be the son and successor of his father, Archmage Tavadon. Kellen doesn’t like his father nor the near-perfect city of Armatheliah at all. Armatheliah just feels too restricting; Kellen doesn’t feel like he has any personal freedom and no choice in what he is to become. Ironically, he’s privileged, he knows it, and doesn’t like it.
When the magical winds of fate finally intervene, Kellen reluctantly accepts the call. The winds carry a call to embrace wild magery, an alternative to the high magery practiced by his father and the ruling mages of Armatheliah. High magery follows strict forms, but also draws the power for the spells from the people of Armatheliah (without their knowledge) whereas wild magery requires the person casting the spell to negotiate a price with the gods that control the wild magic (though that price can be shared with others) and how the magic is carried out isn’t always certain. High magery is not subject to the dictates of anyone but the mage casting the spell, which means it can readily be used for ill, unlike wild magery which requires practitioners to pay the price subject to the dictates of the gods that provide the magic and, if one decides not to pay the price they have to do so willfully, rejecting the wildmage gods in the process.
The ruling mages of Armatheliah have outlawed wild magery in their great, all-human city and will banish or kill anyone caught practicing it. Thus it comes as a great surprise to Lycaelon when he discovers his son in possession of the books of wild magery and realizes his son has turned away from his path. Kellen is banished from Armatheliah, but quickly realizes that banishment really means death, as he has 24 hours to leave the land claimed by Armatheliah or die at the stone paws of a magically animated pack of scouring hounds (stone sculptures in the shape of dogs that can be magically animated to do the bidding of a mage). Kellen calls on the powers of wildmagery to save him and they send him a unicorn named Shalkan to help him. His mage price: remain a virgin for one year (if a non-virgin touches a unicorn they die). Shalkan tries his best to carry Kellen out of the lands claimed by Armatheliah, but they don’t quite make it within the allotted 24 hours and are forced to make a stand. Together they are able to destroy the scouring hunt, though they nearly die in the process.
Shalkan carries the battered, semi-conscious Kellen to the Wildwood and delivers him to a wild mage, Idalia, who heals Kellen and puts him up in her home while he recuperates. It doesn’t take long for Idalia and Kellen to realize that they are in fact sister and brother: both are the offspring of Lycaelon Tavadon. And, both were banished from the city for embracing wild magery. Kellen, however, had the memories of his sister erased (by the magic of his father), so it is a shock to him to learn that he has a sibling. Idalia was also banished from the city and used the wild magic to evade the scouring hunt.
Idalia quickly draws Kellen under her metaphorical wing and begins teaching him how to live in the Wildwood, surviving mostly on their own and trading their magical abilities for goods and money as needed with people in nearby villages and the surrounding area. She also teaches him more about the wild magic they both have embraced. They are outlaws to Armatheliah and their father, but Idalia has built a decent life for herself and seems happy… Until they find out, via magical scrying, that their father has convinced the other mages of Armatheliah to expand the city’s borders to include the Wildwood so they can hunt down Kellen and kill him once and for all. With forewarning, they tell all of the inhabitants of the Wildwood (including all of the non-human creatures - nymphs, fairies, centaurs, etc.) what is coming and pack up shop themselves, deciding they will go live with the elves in Sentarshadeen as they figure out what to do with their future.
They pack up and head out uneventfully enough, but upon arriving in Sentarshadeen they find their services as wild mages are desperately needed: Something has changed the weather patterns in Sentarshadeen, and the elves are experiencing a severe drought, severe enough that their farms, orchards, and even forests are beginning to die. Idalia, the much more experienced and much better wild mage, is enlisted in trying to figure out the cause. She eventually does, and it indicates serious trouble: The ancient enemy of the elves and all creatures that love the light has reawakened and is preparing for battle - the Endarkened Demons of Shadow Mountain have returned and are preparing for war. They have used their powerful magic to block the rain from the elven lands, and only a costly wild mage counter spell can break their spell. Idalia weaves the spell, drawing on the energy of all the elves of Sentarshadeen in the process. The power of the spell is channeled into a keystone, which is then entrusted to Kellen to take to the source to enact the counter spell and return the weather patterns to normal. Idalia would go, but the resulting torrential weather would cause too much damage if it isn’t controlled after the demonic spell is broken, so she must remain in Sentarshadeen to guide the weather back to normal.
It is, therefore, up to Kellen to travel to the base of Shadow Mountain, into hostile lands, to deliver the counter spell and save the elves. He is given one elven companion, an elven knight named Jermayan, who also happens to be the scorned lover of his sister. Kellen rides Shalkan, his unicorn companion (who speaks, as all good unicorns do) and heads out toward the source of evil. Along the way, Jermayan begins training Kellen in the fighting arts, only to find during their first training session that Kellen, who has never trained with a sword before, is not an ordinary fighter. Kellen, who has been struggling with his magical abilities from day one, has never felt like he fit into any world: He wasn’t a particularly good wild mage and he wasn’t very good at much of anything else. But once he starts fighting, Jermayan realizes what he actually is: a knight-mage. Kellen’s magical ability is channeled into his fighting ability. Yes, he can cast the spells of wild mages, but his real gift lies in fighting, and he learns quickly to use it under the very capable training of Jermayan.
His training quickly comes into play as they fend off several attacks on their journey to enact the counter spell. Along the way they end up finding a strange human/demon hybrid, Vestakia, who leads them to the exact source of the demonic spell, a giant obelisk emanating evil energy and holding back the much needed moisture from elven lands. Vestakia’s mixed “heritage” gives her the ability to detect the presence of demons or even their taint, which helps guide them to the obelisk. Kellen then has to face the arduous task of climbing the obelisk and placing the keystone on it to break the spell. But the obelisk is protected with various enchantments. One triggers an army of goblins that attack his companions. Jermayan, Vestakia, and Shalkan are able to hold them off while Kellen deals with his own challenges, including facing down the queen of the demons, Zavilla, who tempts him to join the demons. Kellen eventually succeeds in triggering the keystone and enacting the counter spell, breaking the demon magic. Idalia senses the success of the spell and guides the weather safely back to normal, saving Sentarshadeen.
Kellen eventually returns to Sentarshadeen with Jermayan, Vestakia, and Shalkan, where they are greeted as heroes and reunited with Idalia. The book ends at this point, foreshadowing a coming war with both the mages of Armatheliah and the Endarkened of Shadow Mountain.
Review:
TOR books is currently giving away a digital book per week if you sign up for their emails. They send them in mobipocket format, which works great on my PDA/cellphone. Since I do occasionally find myself with a few minutes waiting for this or that, I put the book on my cellphone and pulled it out every so often over the last 4 months or so to read this book. If it wasn’t for the digital format and the convenience of always having it with me on my cellphone, I never would have found the time to read this.
As far as fantasy books go, this was a fun one. It’s very well-written and engaging. It certainly kept my attention and drew me into the story. There are a couple of minor issues I noticed. There isn’t much down time between major events. It’s only about 3 or 4 months between when Kellen leaves Armatheliah (at age 17 mind you) and when he releases Idalia’s counter spell at the base of Shadow Mountain. Without magical healing this would be absurd, of course, but even with all of the magic, it makes for a rather frantic pace.
Additionally, some aspects of the world deviated from the magical/fantasy worlds I’m familiar with. Not having read any fantasy books for fun for, well, years, I could be out of touch with changes in the fantasy realm, but it seemed odd to divide the magic up into three forms: high magic, wild magic, and dark magic. Traditionally there are only two types: light and dark. Additionally, in most of the fantasy I’ve read, elves can have as much magical ability as humans, but that isn’t the case in this book (they do offer an intriguing explanation for why that is the case, though, which is nice).
Finally, the similarity to and comments on religion are kind of intriguing. I could be missing some of the symbolism and similarities here, but it seems pretty obvious to me that Kellen is representative of Gautama Siddhartha (a.k.a. the Buddha). Kellen lives a life of luxury and is kept from the travails of the ordinary person by his noble father. He eventually escapes and finds a better path than the rigid religious caste system of his father. What’s more, the mages of Armatheliah have developed a religion akin to Roman Catholicism (and Hinduism) in which all of the people are, by default, members and required to make monthly pilgrimages to the main chapel to exchange the symbols of their allegiance (which also steal their power so it can be used by the mages of Armatheliah). I saw that as a criticism of what is often called “high religion,” or highly organized state churches with overly-developed bureaucracies and extensive rituals. Some other aspects of Buddhism come out as the story plays out as well, like the balancing of nature through the wild magic (similar to Shinto as well) and Kellen becoming “one” with his sword and allowing his magic to course through him. I’m not sure just what the religious agenda is here, but it’s kind of fun to guess at it.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a digital copy of the second and third books in the trilogy for the mobipocket reader. Amazon.com has a digital copy of the 3rd book for the Kindle, but I can’t find anything about putting that on my PDA and I’m not interested in forking out $400 for a Kindle just so I can read one book. If I want to finish the series I’ll probably have to borrow the books from the library. Maybe I’ll take them to Lake Powell with me over the summer and read them while I’m on vacation. I don’t have time for that, but why not?
Overall, good book. It’s entertaining and engrossing and gets your mind off work, which is what any good fantasy novel should do. Recommended.
