Book Review: Luck in the Shadows

I must say that Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling is one of my all time favorite novels. It is the first book in what is currently a five book series. The plot is sound and moves well and I absolutely love the main characters Seregil and Alec. I have read this novel several times and for me it never gets old.



Plot: Alec is a simple woodman. He is good with a bow and he traps and kills animals for a living. Think French fur-trapper type. He has just lost his father to illness and for the first time is on his own. Unfortunately, one day he finds himself in the wrong woods at the wrong time and he is jailed for being a spy. He is tortured and finds himself facing being sold to slavers. Not a pretty future. Then a bard gets thrown into his jail cell. But the bard is not what he seems. This bard is actually a master of disguise, a thief, a rogue so to speak. He escapes his chains and releases Alec out of his. The "bard" springs them both from the dungeon and so begins a beautiful friendship. Seregil, the name of our mysterious bard, believes that Alec would also make a good rogue so he decides for some reason to take Alec with him as an apprentice. Now Seregil might seem like a fishy character but he is actually working for a wizard name Nysander who is a friend to the crown. During one of their first jobs together Alec and Seregil lift a seemingly unimportant wooded disc which causes them to be hunted by a pair of nasty characters, one of which is a necromancer (raiser of the dead). The disc itself has some kind of power that nearly kills Seregil (who is wearing the disc around his neck). With Seregil out of it, and Alec a green woodsman, the boys are in trouble. Alec undertakes a long journey to Seregil's home city to find the wizard Nysander who might be able to save Seregil's life. Can Alec reach it before Seregil dies? You will have to read the book to find out.



There are a couple of secondary plots in this book that meld well with the plot of establishing Seregil's and Alec's characters. There is also a background plot of a war brewing.



What I love about Flewelling's novels are her characters even her secondary characters like Nysander and Thero (Nysander's apprentice) are excellently done and 3-D. I absolutely love Seregil and Alec. Currently I am re-reading the novels and it feels like visiting old friends to me. I am so excited to watch the plot unfurl again. Seregil is an excellent rogue with a heart of gold. There is a lot of depth to his character and you watch him war with lots of internal issues throughout the books. Alec is a doll such an innocent in the beginning. You will wonder how he will ever survive Seregil, but Alec bends rather easily and becomes used to his new life. He grows a tremendous amount in this novel. It is definitely a tie for me between Seregil, Alec, and Vanyel (from the Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey) who is my favorite book character of all time. All of Flewelling's characters are engaging and believable.



Flewelling writes an engaging book with spectacular characters and a solid plot. There is a lot of history about each of the countries and a religion you have to learn, but the important things are repeated to Alec who is learning all of it with you so it is not so bad. I like her writing style, it is a lot more involved than some other writers but she will pull you in and captivate you.



Luck in the Shadows is one of my favorite books. If I could only keep 10 books out of the 1100 I own, the first three books of the Night runner series would make the cut. If you like a good fantasy novel then you will love this series like I do. It is a fantastic read, give it a chance.