My journey through The Wars of Light and Shadow. Plus a secret I have been keeping from you.

I would like to take this opportunity to post something a bit different on my blog. My journey through The Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts has been one of the most enjoyable and eye opening reading experiences of my life. It has been a joy to share with everyone my thoughts on each book and why I believe this series is a hidden gem even though it shouldn’t be. I wanted to go back to the beginning of why I picked up this series in the first place, my friendship with Janny, and also a secret we have been keeping from you.

In February of 2020, I was fortunate enough to win a ebook copy of The Curse of the Mistwraith in a giveaway but like many of you I was hesitant to start a long epic fantasy series. That being 10 published books and the finale still in progress at the time. I decided to take my curiosity to twitter to see what this series was all about and I even reached out to Janny for any clues she could give me. What I got was an overabundance of support and love for this series and many have told me, “This is the best series you probably have never heard of”. Now this was when I first started out as a blogger and I wanted to sink my teeth into a grand series and give it a proper space for readers to view it.

After reading The Curse of the Mistrwraith I was overwhelmed with wonder, a mind that wouldn’t stop thinking about what is to come, and even pain at some of the scenes. (Little did I know what Janny had in store for me later). I will admit that Book 1 is very much a challenge and many of your questions will not be answered until way later in the series. With that being said, the story needed to be told this way in order to have the big emotional effects and revelations to come. So I wrote my review for Curse and posted it on my blog. Janny was so thankful for the positive review that she was kind enough to send me a signed copy of To Ride Hells Chasm plus some other small trinkets and we instantly became friends. As I continued on my journey through The Wars of Light and Shadow, Janny became my guide pretty much on chapter by chapter basis looking forward each day to my reactions both happiness and tears (Plenty of both). Always with a grin on her face just knowing what more I was going to discover in my read along and this experience I could not have ever imagined being a part of. When your life’s work, over 50 years in the making, goes relatively unnoticed to the vast majority of readership it can dampen your desire and strength to continue on. Fortunately for us, Janny persevered to the finale which is now with the editor.

Now is the time for me to reveal a secret Janny and I have been hiding from you. In December 2021 I completed the final published book in the series Destiny’s Conflict, which absolutely knocked me flat on my ass. In all the right ways of course. Janny was kind enough to ask me to be a part of the beta team for her final volume titled Song of the Mysteries and I didn’t hesitate to say yes! My experience having read through the series only once gave me a fresh perspective going into the final volume. So the whole month of January 2022 was me reading the finale, chapter by chapter, taking diligent notes for Janny to read through, and trying to maintain my composure as the story just overwhelmed me many times over all the way to the epilogue.

The long and short of this is yes I have read the final volume in The Wars of Light and Shadow series. It is in my opinion Janny’s greatest work to date and at the very least, on the same level as Stormed Fortress and Peril’s Gate. Long-time fans and new readers of this series will without a doubt love this book. I would also like to take this time to highlight that being a beta reader is a very demanding process but one that is essential for the completion of any book. The hours of careful note taking and reflections upon previous volumes was a small price to pay for the incredible work Janny has done to complete this series. Never doubt the importance you can bring to any situation regardless of the profession or passions you may have. Every little bit helps and you never know who is watching.

I’m a humble and shy person by nature but it brings me joy to see new readers enthusiastic about picking up this series plus the joys and tears to be found. It seems everyday someone new gets in contact with me and/or Janny screaming about The Wars of Light and Shadow and how much they enjoyed it. There are many great books out there that are not popular with the modern readership and it is my goal to discover every single one of them (wishful thinking)! Thank you all for listening to my journey to the very end. This series will forever be among my favorites in the fantasy genre and by the end, it will be in some of yours as well!

Thank you Janny for trusting me with your life work. This is an experience I will never forget!

Cheers!