The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick

In The Red Wolf Conspiracy, Robert V.S. Redick manages to overcome several flaws and some conventional character types to create a mostly compelling and complex novel that leaves the reader eager to continue on to the next installment.

The plot is far too complex to go into any detail here, but the major set-up is this: two great Empires, Arqual and Mzrith, are in a period of uneasy peace after having fought several wars, the most recent a few decades earlier. The massive (and I mean massive) ship Chathrand, last of the Great Ships built with skill and magery, sets sail from the Arqual Empire bearing an ambassador and his daughter Thasha — promised as a truce-sealing bride to a prince of Mzrith. Except in reality, the Chathrand has a secret mission as ordered by the Emperor. But others, including a talking-mi... Read More

The Rats and the Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick

PLOT SUMMARY: The great ship Chathrand, supposedly launched to bring an end to centuries of war, has all along been a tool of evil men. And behind them all stands Arunis, a 3000-year-old sorcerer bent on scouring life from the world of Alifros.

Now this enchanted, 600-year-old vessel has reached the island of Simja, where the tarboy Pazel Pathkendle will see the young woman he loves, Thasha Isiq, face death to thwart Arunis — and Pazel himself will be forced to confront his shattered past.

But the journey is only beginning. After Simja, Pazel and his friends must face the terrors of the Ruling Sea, an ocean so vast and violent that no ship but the Chathrand can even attempt the crossing. And all the while, deep in the ship, a cursed artifact is unleashing powers more terrible than the sea itself. Powers Arunis... Read More

The Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick

The Ruling Sea is the second book of Robert Redick’s Chathrand Voyage series. I truly enjoyed the first, The Red Wolf Conspiracy, despite a few flaws and a lackluster ending, and so I was looking forward to the sequel. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this one either as enjoyable or as compelling. I picked it up and put it down quite a number of times, curious as to what would happen in the end but not grabbed by the journey.

In the first book, the great ship Chathrand is carrying young Thasha — an admiral’s daughter of the Arqual Empire — to marry a prince of their arch-enemy, the Mzithrin Empire, to bring about the Great Peace. Actually, though, the marriage is a trick by Arqual agents, meant to inflame a fanatic cult that would weaken the Mzithrins as well as provoke war. Meanwhil... Read More

River of Shadows by Robert V.S. Redick

PLOT SUMMARY: The crew of the vast, ancient ship Chathrand has reached the shores of the legendary southern empire of Bali Adro. Many have died in the crossing, and the alliance of rebels, led by the tarboy Pazel Pathkendle and the admiral’s daughter Thasha Isiq, has faced death, betrayal, and darkest magic. But nothing has prepared them for the radically altered face of humanity in the South.

They have little time to recover from the shock, however. For with landfall, the battle between the rebels and centuries-old sorcerer Arunis enters its final phase. At stake is control of the Nilstone, a cursed relic that promises unlimited power to whoever unlocks the secrets of its use — but death to those who fail. And no one is closer to mastering the Stone than Arunis.

Desperate to stop him, Pazel and Thasha must join forces with their enemies, including the depraved Captain Rose... Read More

River of Shadows by Robert V.S. Redick

I quite enjoyed Robert Redick’s first Chathrand Voyage novel — The Red Wolf Conspiracy — but was disappointed by the second, The Rats and the Ruling Sea, which felt less inventive and compelling (at least until the very end). The Ruling Sea took the focus off of several of my favorite characters and the plot seemed overly slow, meandering, and unfocused. So it was with some trepidation that I opened up book three, The River of Shadows. I’m glad to report it is a welcome return to the quality of book one, and maybe even exceeds it.

At the end of The Ruling Sea, the great ship Chathrand had reached the semi-mythical empire in the south, Bali Adro. Rather than a possible ally, however, it turns out Bali Ad... Read More