Gael Baudino created a magical and intriguing world with the first novel, "Strands of Starlight," a book which ranks among my favorites of all time. Eagerly, I awaited each succeeding novel, but with time I didn't bother and was soon disappointed. Baudino left the world she created and left behind well-loved characters. Readers are left wondering and wallowing in stories which are well written, but ill-conceived

This is a good book about elves and humans in the present and past. There are 6 short stories each approx. 50 pages long. Being very well written, this book introduces you to the characterd world of acient and present earth.

I was thrilled when I learned Gael Baudino had published a new book in her series on elves and magic! This book gives wonderful new insights into our favorite characters, provides intimate details, and fills the gaps between her previous novels. I would strongly recommend reading the first four (Strands of Starlight, Maze of Moonlight, Shroud of Shadow, Strands of Sunlight) before reading this book, as some plotlines are given away.

Since I liked Baudino's other books (especially "Gossamer Axe"), I was really looking forward to a new story.

Wellll...

This book seems to be more of a literary experiment in multiple styles than an endeavor to tell a straightforward story. On the plus side, Baudino delivers several good pokes at organized religion (including paganism). No one has the corner on Truth or God/dess, and I came away thinking that this was a pretty brave attempt at something new.

On the minus side, Baudino seems to get way too carried away with switching narrative styles and perspectives that its easy to get lost and ask, "Uh, what just happened?" repeatedly.

Interesting, but a little too convoluted.

This is not the place to look for traditional epic fantasy. I was actually put off at first by the constant changing in style and script, but when I was stranded with no other book, this one got picked back up again. I'm very glad I did. Once I accepted the book for what it was, not what it's genre said it should be, I was enchanted. The characters are not heros of common ilk, but something so much more and intensly flawed. It might not be what you're looking for, but if you want something new and creative, give it a shot. It's a lot of fun.

That's how I usually end up describing how I believe people will feel about Baudino's "Water!" trilogy. Either you love it, or you hate it...and ne'er...well, you get it.

So why did I love it? Mostly it was the challenge. There's *so* much going on in these books that sometimes I just had to sit passive and let the stream of her words carry me on. Other times I was an active participant in the adventure able to use the very simple formula needed for the exact length of swinging rope (this never failed to make me chuckle).

I loved Sari and the entire discourse of religions...for the Naians weren't perfect, though I really wanted them to be. I think in the end the reason I loved these books is because they were so *interesting*...something to see and think about on nearly every page.

For those that enjoy a good, active read where the author challenges you in many ways, I would certainly recomend this and the rest of the series.

This book is terrible, especially compared to Baudino's Dragonsword series.It's choppy and confusing.It seems as though Baudino is trying to write a novel and a script simultaneously.
Pick up her Dragonsword trilogy instead for great reading

If the reader manages to get through the first book and is still interested in the exploits of Sari, Potatoes, Beshur, and the Puritans of the Righteous States of America, then there are things to enjoy. Sari has to deal with the idiocies of her two "protectors", while the secret insanities of the Puritans and the court of the Three Kingdoms become more evident.

Baudino's writing is as twisty and turny as ever, with its mass of multiple narrators and styles. For me, the sections that dealt with "the author" were the most entertaining because they were the some of the only things that made actual sense!

This series can be a real test of patience; but there are some interesting developments.

That's how I usually end up describing how I believe people will feel about Baudino's "Water!" trilogy. Either you love it, or you hate it...an' ne'er...well, you get it.

So why did I love it? Mostly it was the challenge. There's *so* much going on in these books that sometimes I just had to sit passive and let the stream of her words carry me on. Other times I was an active participant in the adventure able to use the very simple formula needed for the exact length of swinging rope (this never failed to make me chuckle).

I loved the concept of the library, and of the scribes. Talk about "blind copying"! I think in the end the reason I loved these books is because they were so *interesting*...something to see and think about on nearly every page.

For those that enjoy a good, active read where the author challenges you in many ways, I would certainly recomend this and the rest of the series.

This book makes an attempt to address serious issues. Unfortunately, having terrible things happen to your characters -- such as being abused and repeatedly raped -- doesn't necessarily make for serious treatment of such issues. The character Omelda's very passivity in the face of such treatment is incomprehensible, and passive characters aren't exactly the stuff of satisfying fiction. None of the characters in Shroud of Shadow are very believable anyway, and although the Inquisition rears its ugly head near the end, you could almost think it wasn't that big a deal because it is so easily dealt with. The author seems to be saying that having plenty of money to throw around can solve just about any problem.

Natil is the last of the Elven race, and in this novel she takes a runaway nun, Omelda, under her wing during the time of the Inquisition. Natil's powers are mostly gone, except for her miraculous harp playing, which is the only thing that saves Omelda from suicide. Natil herself is suicidal, and wants nothing more than to crawl under a rock and cease to exist. Obsessed with this goal, she doesn't do much for Omelda except get the two of them indentured to a selfish rich man, his greedy sons, and his perverted grandsons. Much description of sadistic rape follows.

Natil keeps herself going because she has visions of Elves reawakening in the twentieth century--the only trouble is that these elves are this rather boring couple who spend all their time navel-gazing and talking about how groovy their new powers are. So anyway, they're the hope of the Elven race, and Natil goes on about her business, bemoaning her own lack of powers and still planning her departure from this world. Natil's self-pity blinds her to the much more dire plight of Omelda; I was sorely disappointed in Natil over this.

Eventually, all the major characters end up charged by the Inquisition. Description of nasty tortures follows. Some of the characters get a semi-happy ending, due to the fact that money conquers all, but the end suffered by one of the characters is absolutely pointless and depressing. Overall, the book sunk me into a morass of despair while all the while making me want to throw up. I wanted to wash my brain out with soap afterward. (Literally--after I finished the book, I had to read some pages of something else before I could sleep.) Perhaps this is the effect Baudino is trying to acheive. And yes, I know that these atrocities really happened to real people during those times. But there's no law saying I have to enjoy reading about it in detail. The scenes where Natil actually *does* something, for example when she plays the harp or when she stands up to the Inquisitor, are quite good, but you have to wade through hundreds of pages of gross-out to find them.

Natil is the last of her peaple and her powers are fading. She still trys to heal even if all she can give is a song. The church is burning anything and any one it can not accept. Is there still room in the world for magic or elves anymore. Gael Baudino's 'Shroud of Shadow' is a dark book as the title might suggest but it is not just about what harm peaple do to each other it is also about redemption.There is light at the end of the tunnel.A compelling read.