Shadowheart

The Fourth and Final Volume in the Shadowmarch Series

And then, at long last, Yasammez herself came into the chamber, tall and silent, wearing her angular black armor and strange cloak like a cloud of dark fog. She looked neither to one side nor the other as she walked slowly to her place at the far side of the table, although she was the lode-stone to all eyes. She seated herself in the center of her people.

After a silence Yasammez spoke, her voice as slow and baleful as a funeral bell. “This battle is already lost. You must know that before we begin.”

Shadowheart by Tad WilliamsThousands of years ago the gods fought and fell in the deeps beneath what is now Southmarch Castle, then were banished into eternal sleep. Now at least one of them is stirring again, dreaming of vengeance against humankind.

Southmarch haunts the dreams of men as well as gods. Royal twins Barrick and Briony Eddon, the heirs of Southmarch’s ruling family, are hurrying back home. Barrick now carries the heritage of the immortal Qar inside him, while Briony has a small army at her back and a fiery determination to recover her father’s throne and revenge herself on the usurpers.

The cruel and powerful southern ruler known as the Autarch of Xis wants the power of the gods for his own, a power he can only gain if he conquers Southmarch.

And nobody knows what the Qar want, only that the mysterious fairy folk are prepared to die for it–or to kill every living thing in Southmarch Castle and in all the lands that surround it.

All will come to an apocalyptic conclusion on Midsummer Night, when the spirits of the haunted past and the desperate struggles of the present come together in one great final battle. Many will die. Many more will be transformed beyond recognition, and the world will be forever changed.

“An immensely satisfying final entry” SFSite


PRAISE FOR SHADOWHEART

“His books are immersive, drawing the reader into his work, seducing them to not notice time flying past them as they delve further into Williams’s imagination.”
Sacramento Book Review

“A fourth volume that nails everything you could want from the conclusion of an epic fantasy yarn… rich in detail and exploding with imagination. Dive in there and lose yourself”
SFX

“The plot springs from climax to climax as intrigues and secrets are unwound and revealed.”
Booklist

“It’s always bittersweet to see a series come to an end; as fans, we are always eager to find out what happens to our heroes and heroines, but, equally, we don’t want them to ever leave our lives… Williams convinced me to care utterly for his characters and there’s a hole now in my life where they once lived. Few storytellers can do that. Williams does it with alarming regularity.”
A Dribble of Ink

“Shadowrise and Shadowheart are as good an ending to a fantasy saga as I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.”
Fantasy Book Critic