Introduction

Sean has been one of my favorite authors for a number of years and I have been enthralled with his works previous to The Swan’s War trilogy. The elements that make Russell a strong and intelligent fantasy writer are ever present within this trilogy but his efforts to do something different in regards to writing style and research are what stops this series from being anything other than average. Not that average is bad, but the bar for Sean Russell has been set much higher due to his previous series.

I will endeavor to not spoil the specific plot lines, but rather try to discuss in very general terms what I liked and disliked about The Swan’s War. However there might be a nugget or two that will be inserted because it is unavoidable. You have been warned.

What Worked

Russell’s ability to alter and shift the reader’s perception of setting has been his hallmark for numerous novels. The Swan’s War is no exception the shifting place and realities of the River Wynnd. The Wynnd is a river that has many hidden branches and one can enter hidden waterways and emerge someplace entirely unexpected or not on any map. There is a reason for magical nature of the river and it plays a central part throughout the series. It is the key source of magical spirits, ones that have reemerged after an age to right old wrongs and wrong old rights.

Even with a large cats of characters Sean Russell’s ability to make them memorable and distinct follows through in The Swan’s War trilogy. Though this is perhaps at the cost of the series’ plot. Alaan in particular is a great character, but Orem, Elise, Tam, Prince Michael and the rest are well written and defined. Unlike other authors who will spend pages describing the third maid of a minor character Russell gives the appropriate amount of information for his characters.

Russell integrated history and legend in The Swan’s War very well. While in general the Swan’s War is a European based novel, it does not tackle religion per se, rather it is a world that remembers its legendary wizards and perceives them to be reality (even if they are half remembered from an age before). These legends come into play as the story evolves and ties the novels’past to its present very well, even if the reader is mostly left guessing until the end what it was all about.

What Did Not Work

Where the first book (The One Kingdom) introduced the setting well and gave the reader a feeling of interesting things to come, the second novel, The Isle of Battle made many foibles associated with that place in fantasy trilogies. The plot was not appreciably advanced, some back story was filled and a slew of new characters were introduced. So many characters were introduced their back story bled into the third novel The Shadow Roads. Had the Isle of Battle been absorbed into the other two novels and the series made a duology with a hundred to two hundred additional pages the series might have been a better paced read. The end of the Swan’s War trilogy was slightly rushed, confused and abrupt. It left me wanting more and not necisarily in a good way. Maybe this leaves the door open for a follow up series, but it is vague enough that it is hard to tell. Honestly I am not certain I would want that, but I would likely buy the books all the same.

The politics of the world of Wynnd had a few issues, especially involving the political intrigue. Some of this was answered much later on in the third novel, but there was a lack of believability in how two factions who hated each other acted.

For a Sean Russell series the page count was a little thin and I have never complained about having to read more of his work. Most of the problems I have with this series could have likely been solved with a hundred or two hundred pages filling in the plot holes and strengthening the plot’s structure.

The Swan’s War in general lacked the same sort of feel that Russell’s other series have had. Russell in interviews has stated he took a much looser approach to this series in that much of the story evolved as he wrote it and he did not spend as much time researching and world building. This, in my opinion, was Russell going diametrically against his strengths as a writer. His previous works felt complete and full, where The Swan’s War felt a bit empty at times as I kept reading on and wanting to know more about particular aspects of Wynnd.

Perhaps Russell wanted to try a different approach to his writing or there were outside issues impeding on his writing. What ever it was it didn’t completely work and created, for him, a sub par effort. While the end result was good, I did tear through the last hundred pages at midnight during the work week, it was set up with a less solid foundation of plot and detail I have come to expect from Russell’s writing over the past decade.

RPG Spin

There are some interesting concepts that Russell explores in The Swan’s War that have some application for role playing games. The first is his use of river spirits and their desire to re-enter to world of the living. Of the three most explored in the series they are seeking different goals and their combination with the spirits of the living have interesting results. As well the back story to why the river Wynnd is magical also could be of interest to a GM. The second aspect is the hidden lands, which are primarily tied to the river Wyndd’s magically capricious geography, but there are others. It takes special skills and luck to use them correctly otherwise paths could be randomly entered and the end destination could be near, far or unknown...or worse a one way dead end This would give an interesting device for a GM to insert lands in innocuous places and be a vehicle for adventure.

Synopsis

Russell broke with his own writing style to do something different in The Swan’s War. While the results were not disastrous, they only yielded a decent fantasy series and nothing more. For most writers this would be an achievement, for Sean Russell I feel it is a bit of a disappointment. His previous works are that good to merit a special kind of attention.

There was certainly potential for a great series as there are many interesting elements that were never fully explored or were rushed through. More detail and page count might have benefited The Swan’s War greatly. Having to read more Sean Russell is hardly a torturous thing.

If you are looking for something to read The Swan’s War is a decent. If you are looking to get into Sean Russell’s books, go with his impressive Asian fantasy duology (The Initiate Brother and The Gatherer of Clouds) or his second series (Sea Without A Shore and The World Without End).