Continuing the legacy started with Sorcha, the resilient heroine of Daughter of the Forest, Juliet Marillier
returns us to the enchanted land of Sevenwaters with this spellbinding second
installment, Son of the Shadows, a
historical fantasy novel with elements of a war epic, as well as a stirring
love story set in the midst of warfare between Irish and British chieftains.
The heroine of this novel is Sorcha’s youngest daughter Liadan, who grows
up in Sevenwaters with her sister Niamh and twin brother Sean, and has
inherited her mother’s skills in the healing arts, as well as the family gift
of the ability to see the future. When her family’s allies return from the
battlefield, they bring with them stories of a murderous band of mercenaries
and their ruthless leader known as the Painted Man. These stories come true for
Liadan when, while riding through the forest, she’s kidnapped by these outlaws
and made to use her healing abilities to save the life of their injured blacksmith.
Over time, Liadan bonds with the men and begins to question her loyalties, all while
falling in love with the Painted Man, and eventually finds herself in the midst
of fulfilling an ancient prophecy that will drastically alter the fate of
Sevenwaters.
Celtic mythology and folklore have a strong presence within the novel,
such as the legends of the ancient races of the Túatha Dé Danann (the Fair
Folk) and the Fomhóire (the Old Ones); both of whom guide Liadan throughout her
odyssey of both mind and body. Also included are the ancient seasonal
festivals, such as Samhaim, Imbolc and Beltaine, which—though Marillier’s
extensive research—play their part in creating a fully realized cultural
backdrop of the story at hand.
Similar to its predecessor, Son of
the Shadows also touches upon the gender politics of ninth-century Ireland,
such as the marriage market and the expectations placed on a wife to serve her
husband. In particular, the tragic plight of Liadan’s sister Niamh—namely, her
marriage to an abusive chieftain, arranged for the sake of military alliance—serves
to poignantly represent the treatment of women as livestock during that era; a haunting
subplot that leaves its mark on the reader’s consciousness, and provides some foreshadowing
for the next installment of the Sevenwaters saga.
Once again, Marillier succeeds in concocting a thoroughly rewarding read
with her skilled blend of history, fantasy and romance, and her fans should not
be disappointed with Son of the Shadows. Chances
are they will eagerly pick up the next book in the series soon after finishing
this one.
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