River of Shadows is the third volume in Robert Redick’s planned trilogy, after The Red Wolf Conspiracy and The Rats and The Ruling Sea – but, as other writers have discovered, it can be difficult to wrestle a long story arc in to submission, and the series will now conclude with a fourth volume. Another trilogy bites the dust, but be that as it may, how does River of Shadows stack up?

Pretty well, as it happens. Redick’s brand of fantasy is still very enjoyable – characterisation is a strong point, with Felthrup, the sentient rat, being a particular high point, not to mention the deranged captain of the Chathrand, Nilus Rose, haunted by ghosts only he can see, and the ultimate man of duty, Hercol Stannapeth. Redick writes well too, and the storyline flows seamlessly on from the previous volumes, suggesting a plot that’s been planned in meticulous detail (though a precis of the previous book is missing, and would not be unwelcome).

The IMS Chathrand, the Great Ship, crossed the treacherous Ruling Sea in the previous volume, arriving on the shores of a strange land, knowledge of which has been lost from their native countries. The Empire of Bali Adro is home to the humanoid but distinctly-not-human dlomu. It transpired at the end of the previous volume that one of the passengers on the Chathrand was a disguised dlomic scholar, but Bali Adro has changed beyond all recognition since he left: in thrall to warlike mages who command massive, almost demonic war fleets, its society and economy have deteriorated, largely due to the fact that the humans also native to Bali Adro have almost all lost their minds and reverted to a base, animal state. Could this be connected to the phenomenon of animals like Felthrup who acquire sentience back in the North? There are pleasing echoes of Gulliver’s Travels in the culture clash that ensues when the Chathrand arrives in the heart of Bali Adro’s civilisation.

Ultimately the mission is unchanged: to defeat the evil sorcerer Arunis, whose desire to possess and master the dreaded Nilstone threatens existence itself. Along the way there are fascinating revelations about Thasha Isiq, the fate of Pazel’s mother and the history of their ally, the mage Ramachni, and the action takes in the bowels of the Great Ship, the cities and towns of Bali Adro and the Infernal Forest, the culmination of a desperate pursuit of Arunis. The only low point is a sex scene as clumsily written as the fumblings of the protagonists it describes – but that’s a minor quibble. The River of Shadows is involved and complex, yes, but a very rewarding and enjoyable tale, well told.

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