P.L. Stuart – BWG TEAM FAVORITE READS OF 2022!!!

Having a favourite, of course, is all about personal taste. My rationale for Wurts becoming my favourite, is that all of the other writers I have mentioned are incredible storytellers, can create unforgettable characters, have outstanding prose, and a distinctive writing style. The difference for me with Wurts is that she is at least the equal of all those other great writers in all those categories (yet she is the most under-appreciated, in my estimation), save for the prose.  In the aspect of prose, no other writer I have ever read writes in a manner that forces you, as the reader, to read EVERY word. It is simply the most lush, most COMPLETE prose one can find anywhere in fantasy, perhaps in literature. I would also submit that Wurts brings the additional skill of being a world-class illustrator of her own books, to the equation. The pictures of the characters on my beautiful copy of To Ride Hell’s Chasm, truly bring those characters to life.  “To Ride Hell’s Chasm” is to-date my favourite standalone fantasy book and, while I never say never, I don’t believe anything is ever going to come close.

Only two books in, as a reader, I am aware (intuitively, from what long-time readers, and from what the author herself notes about it) that I truly don’t know so much of what is REALLY going on yet in this series. There is a lot more to “The War of Light and Shadow” than immediately meets the eye, or that one can discern this early on in the series. But as my eyes are slowly opened, the scope of what Wurts has accomplished becomes more and more startling and magnificent. Yet, as the veil is being pulled back, novel by novel, in an eleven-book saga, I am more determined than ever to focus on enjoying the ride, and being content to have all things revealed to me, in good time, rather than trying to solve all the mysteries at once. I suggest if you read this book, to consider doing the same, to enhance the pleasure of your reading experience.

The combination of the lusciousness of Wurts’ writing, the enormity of the depth and breadth of the worldbuilding, the immaculately drawn characters, and the poignancy of the themes make the Wars of Light and Shadow series like nothing else I have ever read, and the books that I will no doubt return to time and time again to re-read them, for pure reading joy.

I will read every single book that Wurts has ever written or will write in the future. Simply put, she is my favourite author of all-time. That is on a list of my favourite authors that includes such luminaries as Jemisin, Gwynne, Tolkien, Abercrombie, Lawrence, Cameron, Cornwell, and T.H. White.

I am enriched as a reader for experiencing “The Ships of Merior”, and will be counting the days until I can read the next installment, “Warhost of Vastmark”.

As I said in my review of “We Men of Ash and Shadow”, Vanguard should ultimately go down as one of Grimdark fiction’s great protagonists, right up there with Jorg Ancarth and Sand an Glokta. There are heaps of dirt and foulness on the surface of the man, but underneath there’s plenty of shine, and the complexity of the character is only becoming more fascinating, as more reveals about him come out as the series moves forward. After reading “We Men of Ash and Shadow” I stated Tinsley had established herself, very quickly out of the gate, as grimdark royalty. “The Hand That Casts the Bone” only solidifies this position, for me, and I don’t see Tinsley surrendering her crown anytime soon.