Review: Wind and Shadow by Kathy Tyers
Their people have been enemies for centuries, but Wind Haworth has embraced the Sentinel religion and puts herself forward as a diplomat. Apprentice priest Kiel Caldwell no sooner arrives on the planet of Mikuhr to investigate rumors (and meet Wind) when he vanishes without a trace, sending the fragile peace into a spin. Sentinel prophecies say a messiah is coming. Some have thought it might be Kiel. Is that why he’s been snatched by the enemy?
Kiel’s twin, Kinnor, is sent to find out what happened. Against Kinnor’s better judgment, he’s linked with Wind. Kinnor is the opposite of his brother. Though from a heroic Sentinel family, he barely believes. He rides on the edge of his military training and this mission may unhinge him completely. Kinnor and Wind have no reason to trust each other, but if they don’t, more than Kiel’s life may be at stake.
Wind and Shadow follows the Firebird Trilogy, which was initially released from Bethany in 2004 and re-released by Marcher Lord Press in 2011. The first book in the trilogy, Firebird, is likely the best science fantasy book I’ve ever read. I absolutely loved it. The 2nd and 3rd books, which I also enjoyed, didn’t make as deep an impression. Because I hadn’t read the trilogy since 2006, I had a hard time re-immersing in the world of the Whorl for book 4. My best advice to you is to read all four, end to end, and be ready for the upcoming release of book 5!
Kathy Tyers was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She obtained a degree in microbiology from Montana State University, where she met her future husband Mark Tyers.
Tyers sold her first novel Firebird to Bantam Spectra in 1986. She subsequently sold Fusion Fire (1988; a sequel to Firebird), Crystal Witness (1989) and Shivering World (1991). During this period she also authored a nonfiction travel book and, with her husband, released two CDs of folk music, Leave Her, Johnny and The Very Best Dreams on which she played flute and Irish harp. In 1991, while working on another speculative fiction novel, she was approached with an opportunity to write a novel in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Her novel The Truce at Bakura (1993) reached the New York Times bestseller list.
I purchased this book as a gift to my daughter, a Tyers fan. Of course, I had to read it, too. I did let her read it first. Honest.
Aaah! Somehow it never sank in that there was a book four! Her trilogy is among the books I’d really regret losing in a fire, and is among the first I’d repurchase. Now I have to buy the sequels … *checks pockets* … Well, I’ll plan on owning the sequels ASAP, anyway. Thanks for the heads up!
Book 4 came out from Marcher Lord in October, and Book 5 is due out in April. Maybe you can get your local library to get them in for you?
Valerie, I’ve been wondering why the first Firebird novel was my favourite (although I’ve enjoyed them all) and I think it’s because Brennan Caldwell is the perfect romantic hero and Lady Firebird is an ideal match. And I’m not even a romance fan. But there’s something special about these two.
The worlds are so vividly drawn, too, and that whole weird killing off the extra heir was quite the attention-getting device in Firebird. Loved that book! But Janet, how can you not be a romance fan? :O
I guess I am a romance fan, really, just not so much a fan of the genre. I like the romantic element to be understated in a minor plot thread, not the main focus. Which fits for Firebird and for Wind and Shadow. There’s a whole lot of other activity going on.
A lot of people love romance as a side dish in their reading, rather than the main course. I like it both ways, which is a good thing being as I write contemporary romance now. Still, I always have plenty else going on besides gazing into each other’s eyes. Romance is a very important part of life, but there IS more to it.