Windwalker Starlight & Shadows, Book 3

by Elaine Cunningham

Book Overview

In the conclusion of the Starlight & Shadows trilogy, which began with Daughter of the Drow and Tangled Webs, dark elf Liriel Baenre, exiled from the Underdark of Menzoberranzan, continues her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786931841
• ISBN13: 9780786931842
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.1" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

awesome! the best ever! totally sucks you in!

i don't care what other people have said! This is the best work of art i have yet to read in the Forgetten Realms! Elaine is my favorite author! She sucks you into the characters and into their journeys! It's like you are right there in their minds...with them on their journey and experiencing every emotion they are going through!! This book totally made me cry, and that is a hard thing to do! I was so caught up in in Liriel's journey with Fyodor...and their struggle... I recommend this series to EVERYONE! it is the most amazing work of art, a true masterpeice.

Great Book, but what next?

My older cousin was the one who got me hooked on this book. I dont want to ruin it for anyone, so I wont say how it ends. But there has to be at least another book out there, another adventure for Liriel? And for those who couldn't follow the reading style, I'm 12 and I got through it! It is really good!!!

Unbelievable conclusion to the trilogy!!

Elaine Cunningham blows us away with an unexpected conclusion to the story of our lovable dark elf, Liriel, and her human companion, Fyodor. After reading this one, I needed to sit for a while in the dark. This totally unexpected twist leaves us hungering for more. We can only pray that Cunningham plans more adventures for the unscrupulous, adorable drow. After this read, we will surely need a further conclusion! In the story Liriel and Fyodor travel to Fyodor's homeland of Rashemaan and discover secrets of the famed (and feared) Rashemaan Witches, as well as, another confrontation with a few old enemies that we (and Liriel) thought were left far behind. Fasten your seatbelts before reading, for this book will take you through more twists and turns than you can expect. Excellent work from Cunningham, yet again!

Different but very good

Whereas the previous two books were light, funny and enlightened us on the inner-workings of Menzoberranzan and Skullport, Windwalker focusses on the intimacy between Liriel and Fyodor, Liriel coming to grips with human notions of honor and trust, and the consequences of Liriel's previous actions. The story is intriging, with a constant sense of haste and frustration similar to the fifth Harry Potter book. The return of many characters, including a number of the 7 sisters, were expertly woven throughout. One new character, Sharlarra, an elven mage-thief, may in fact be poised for a series of her own. The ending to Windwalker is heartwrenching, but well written.Windwalker is definitey the end the Starlight and Shadows series - there may be additional stories with Liriel in them, but they will be very different. I would recommend this book to any who have read the previous two, with the understanding that this well written book is darker in tone and different in its overall orientation and writing style.

A Tale of Manic Genius

Anyone expecting more of the story told in the previous two books is doomed to disappointment - Windwalker is a radical departure in style, tone, and content - a book of transition. While some things remain the same, the main character has changed completely. Much was lost. More was gained.The lighthearted, whimsical scripting, and elegant turns of phrase that made the first two books a joy to read are often absent, which harms the flow of the narrative early in the book. In their absence, the many changes of perspective make the pace seem forced. More seriously, the deft characterisations are now imperfectly conveyed. In the prelude of the first book, in a handful of pages, Mrs. Cunningham managed to evoke the whole essence of the dark elven race, Gromph and Liriel in particular. She set a scene, then explored it through the deliciously calculating eyes of the evil old drow. But in Windwalker, scenes in the Underdark do not explore new territory, are too far from the action, and lack the immediacy that would have made them relevant. A single scene of the spying archmage in some interesting and relevant setting might have served better. The same holds for other "distant" perspectives. Some enemies could have appeared just as well spontaneously, in context with others. Meanwhile not enough is done to explain odd actions, like Azar or Sharlarra's obsessions with Liriel. A few subtle signs of restlessness or dissatisfaction in Sharlarra to Danilo's perceptive gaze when she first appears might have made a beginning. Mrs. Cunningham crafted complex new characters, but then suffered from a difficulty in getting them across.But ultimately, the book isn't about any of them. Windwalker is the story of Liriel Baenre, and this is where it reigns supreme. In Windwalker, Mrs. Cunningham takes Liriel's intriguing but uninspired journey of discovery and redemption and turns it into a haunting tale of the choices people make and the consequences they face as a result of those choices. Sadly, in making choices things are lost, and tales of elves often make great tragedy, perhaps because they always have so much to lose. This is such a tale.Early in the series, Liriel wanted to leave the Underdark, but keep her magic - she wanted to have her cake and eat it too. She wanted the starlight and all beneath it. Friendship, love, a home - and the power to keep them. She wanted everything, and everything came all too easily. But she made her choices, and even good choices have costs. Friendship and love took an emotional toll, power a spiritual one. By Windwalker, her deeds have drawn attention, some who should have died yet live, and some who should live begin to die. And as far as choices go, Liriel begins to make mistakes. Perhaps emotionally and spiritually drained by earlier choices, Liriel makes errors that would have killed her in Menzoberranzan. She fails to make plans. She's almost killed in an attack on her ship when wards or other pr