Wit'ch Storm (The Banned and the Banished, #2) by James Clemens

Wit'ch Storm (The Banned and the Banished, #2) Reviews

• 
  Ariana Fae

  WIT'CH Storm is my favorite book out of the The Banned and the Banished quintet, and listening it on audio is just as fun as when I read it years ago. Not only does James Clemens stack the odds against Elena and her companions in this story, but he introduces new characters.
  
  The most fascinating character out of the series is Vira'ni, a complex villain who's powers were eerily and disgustingly interesting. Nineteen years later, I still vividly remember a passage Clemens wrote about Vira'ni and her spiders and how she saved them. Truly repulsive. I don't want to give to much away about her but you won't be able to hate her by the time you finish her tale in this book. Sy-wen was a great character and I loved Clemens' twist on the The Little Mermaid tale and mermaids/merfolk. We see Elena growing stronger not only power wise but also her inner strength and mettle. We also get to know Elena's companions even better in this book.
  
  Clemens raises the stakes and the challenges in WIT'CH STORM and it was the book that really hooked me into reading the whole quintet. So glad I brought the audio versions.
  
  
  http://arianafae.com/2018/04/witch-st...
• 
  itchy

  nearly lost steam near the end there;
  
  the character diversity is quite interesting;
  i miss nee'lahn, though--she looked promising early on
  
  p17: fardale, in his wolf form, had left at daybreak to survey the trails that led to the distant valleys.
  
  p208: it felt like the bite of a wasp.
  
  p391: as the fogs parted, it soon became clearer.
  
  p441: he stood just a little smaller than er'ril.
• 
  Shaitarn

  3 and a bit stars, rounded down.
  
  The story of Elena, the legendary wit'ch, continues. in this book the world gets a little larger as new characters are added to the mix - Sy-wen of the mer'ai and Kast have become two of my favourite characters and I hope we see more of their story in the future. Elena's aunt Mycelle is a less welcome addition (she annoys me as much as Polgara does in Eddings work - there's just something about these bossy know-all women that rubs me up the wrong way) and if she vanished or decides to heroically sacrifice herself in the future, I'll be happy with that.
  
  Overall, the story still feels very much like an old style fantasy epic, with a quest, a chosen one and a band of followers. I'm enjoying it, but it isn't keeping me awake at night. If you like that old-style fantasy, you'll enjoy this. A word of caution if you're an arachnophobe - there's some spider action in this book (no, not Shelob style - this is much, much worse!) that might have you reading through your fingers a couple of times.
• 
  James Bullinger

  Re-reading this book makes me wonder why more people haven’t read this series. It’s great. 5/5 10/10. If you read any fantasy, read this series.
• 
  Kathi

  The creepy, horror characters and scenes are not really my thing, but the story (and the series) is an interesting mix of familiar fantasy stereotypes and creative, original elements.
• 
  Connie53

  Spannend en soms ook wel een beetje gruwelijk tweede deel in de serie Verboden en Verbannen. We volgen 3 jonge mensen en hun vrienden: Elena en haar broer Joach die van elkaar gescheiden zijn en het zeemeisje Sywen. Ze worden op hun reis op zoek naar de Donderhamer bijgestaan door allerlei personages: Elven, heksen, gedaantewisselaars, draken en trollen. Ze komen allemaal in het boek naar voren en kunnen door hun eigen specifieke talenten bijdragen aan de strijd tegen de Duistere Heer. Heerlijk lezen.
• 
  Belinda Vlasbaard

  4 stars - English paperback
  
  
  
  Very creepy start! If you suffer from arachnophobia, this certainly won't help!
  
  I really liked this book. Just enough characters to fully develop yet not get lost in their importance (as in, every one played a significant role), histories revealed, more mysteries presented, and teasers for what's next to come. As an aside, I don't mind the apostrophe's. How else can you know how to pronounce a name? RA Salvadore used them in Menzoberranzen.
  
  Title says it all. If you have read the first book, the second book is a no brainer to pick up and immerse yourself in. Somehow, James Clemens managed to pick up the pace of his fast paced action in this sequel. There was never a boring moment. Most of the time, you will feel as if you want to skip chapters just to see what will happen. Plenty of times, when he did his characteristic skip of cliffhangers to shift the spotlight to other developments, I did. Then I dutifully went back and paced myself while I read through it all.
  
  I've noticed a lot more cliffhangers at the end of chapters and a lot more shock value. This series has quickly become on of my favorite fantasy series. I'm appalled and surprised how it has such a small following. I'm even more surprised there has not been a TV series or movie on this as there was with the 'Sword of Truth' series by Terry Goodkind which spawned the TV series 'Legend of the Seeker' or the upcoming movies based on Stephen Kings 'Dark Tower' series.
• 
  Manon Dubois

  Après quelques mois de repos afin de panser leurs blessures, Elena et ses compagnons reprennent la route dans le but de trouver ce qui pourrait les aider à combattre le seigneur noir.
  J'ai malheureusement mis plusieurs mois à lire ce livre, ça m'a pas mal coupée de l'histoire. Malgré ça, j'ai quand même adoré ce 2eme tome de la saga.
  Comme pour le premier tome, le livre est séparé en plusieurs parties. Lorsque nous changeons de partie, nous nous retrouvons avec d'autres personnages. Parfois nouveaux. Parfois connus. Cela peut être déstabilisant, du moins au début, car le temps de bien rentrer dans l'histoire, nous changeons de partie et devons nous replonger dans une "autre" histoire.
  Certains personnages meurent, disparaissent et de nouveaux surgissent dans l'histoire. Malgré le nombre de personnages, on ne s'y perd pas. Chaque personne a une réelle utilité.
  Nous découvrons de nouvelles créatures, de nouvelles contrées. Toutes aussi intéressantes les unes que les autres, avec leurs histoires, leurs passés.
  On en apprend de plus en plus sur l'histoire de ce monde et sur le pouvoir d'Elena.
  Avec beaucoup de péripéties et d'émotions, ce livre est une très bonne suite de saga et j'espère que le prochain tome sera aussi riche que les deux premiers.
• 
  Tanner Moore

  I'll be damned if this one wasn't better than the first! Lots of new characters and some amazing development from the key players. Also, the plot is plotting (dwarves, dragons, MERPEOPLE?!) and I can't wait to see where this goes because things are really just now heating up. There is much to love but I think what I'm most impressed by are the women in this series. The bar is literally on the floor when it comes to men writing women and we either end up with a lot of "breasted boobily" shit or they try to make the character too much of a boss bitch and we end up with characters who lack nuance. But not in this case! These gals are fully fleshed out and wonderfully complex. What a pleasant surprise this series has been so far! I will say, these books aren't spicy at all so if you like spicy fantasy you may feel like something is missing. There is definitely a lot of subtle chemistry between some characters though and I think we'll see some of them get together as the series moves along. But if you're looking for an epic fantasy series with an expansive universe and extremely lovable characters, then I think you'll like these!!
• 
  Charlotte L.

  L'histoire se densifie encore plus dans ce tome 2, et si au début je tiquais un peu face au déchaînement de surnaturel et bestioles rebutantes, tout le reste du livre m'a beaucoup plu. On rencontre de nouveaux personnages passionnants, même si je trouve que les personnalités ne sont pas assez développées, assez fouillées. L'univers est très riche et on ne peut que se laisser happer, quelle imagination !!
• 
  Andi

  Neue Gefährten, zwei neue Völker und ihre Geschichten, neue Feinde. Auch der zweite Teil hat mich beim nochmals lesen gefesselt. Hier bekommt man außerdem, im Gegensatz zum ersten Teil, viel mehr Einblicke in die Geschichten und Welten der Bösewächter und dunklen Magiker.
  Ich habe meinen Schlaf für dieses Buch geopfert.
• 
  Kro Lapoucette

  J
• 
  CJ

  First off, this book was generally written better than the first IMO. Too many excessive details, or lack of details, hooked me and pulled me right out of the story in Wit'ch Fire; that didn't happen as often in Wit'ch Storm, which was nice to see. At times the writing seems like it's aiming for far higher than it can reach, but the definite improvement helped smooth that out.
  
  Despite that though, the first third of the book seems almost under-developed in comparison to the rest of it, as if the author was struggling to get his foot in the story, or if it were written at the same time as Wit'ch Fire. The characters in the latter 2/3rds of the book went through more development, and the new cast was introduced and set up well I felt.
  
  What was really getting in my way of enjoying the book was Elena. She strikes me as just...terribly bland. More than once I'd find myself putting down the book and making myself a coffee just to have a few minutes to try to think up some of her defining points, and what made her a well-rounded character. I really couldn't come up with much.
  
  There's plenty of action as well, which is fine for a lot of people, but it didn't really do anything for me. Much of it seemed unnecessary, and I personally think the time and words would've been better spent developing and nurturing the characters, making them unforgettable rather than mere stepping stones to progress a story concept.
  
  Overall though, I liked the book for what it was, and look forward to reading the rest of the series. So far, I don't think the story will stay with me long after I'm done reading them, but nonetheless it's been a good way to get back into reading.
  
  Spoilers ahead!
  
  
  I was hugely disappointed with how Nee'lahn's death was handled; it was quick and sudden and just sort of popped up out of the blue. More than once Elena would refer to the group as her family, yet if I recall the death was only touched upon once afterwards, then seemed entirely forgotten as Mycelle was thrown in almost to replace her. Nee'lahn was a decent character to begin with - nothing really made her stand out too much, but she had some good points as well as bad (which is still good) - yet the way removing her from the story made me wish she'd never been introduced and set up in the first place. It made the character feel absolutely pointless and a waste of my time, which was upsetting.
  
• 
  Ashley White

  If the first book wasn't full of enough magic and mayhem for you, this one follows up in such a way that you can't help but bite your nails as you read about Elena's dire quest to reach Aloa Glen. This one has enough villains and creepy creatures in it, including a lovely Spider-Birthing woman named Virani who, honestly, gave me a nightmare or two. But as with all the other characters in this intricate and immense world, she has a back story that makes you feel sorry for her.
  All in all, Clemens is a Cruel man. Even as you curse him for drawing you into this crazy world, your hand is already reaching for the third book.
• 
  DAISY READS HORROR

  I can't rate this one. I only got to about 10 pages and realized the writing style was not for me. I didn't know that this author is also James Rollins. The other book I read by James Rollins I gave 2 stars. I think his style is just not for me. I bought this book because of the cool witch on the cover. I guess I judged this one wrong,.......
• 
  Minnie

  Een heel mooi vervolg op Het boek van vuur. Elena is al wat gegroeid als mens en ook als heks. Ze moet verder, ook om haar broer te redden. Spannende fantasy, en genre die ik door Clemens leerde kennen en waarvan ik zeker meer ga lezen.
• 
  Small Review

  reread 2016
• 
  Jo Marjoribanks

  I'm so glad I decided to re-read this series. It's definitely still my favourite. Now on to the third installment!
• 
  Steven Báthory

  Après avoir retrouvé Elena et ses drôles de compagnons, je n’avais pas envie de bouder mon plaisir et j’ai très rapidement entrepris la relecture de ce second volet. Le moins que l’on puisse dire reste que ce dernier est aussi bon que dans son prédécesseur et se dessine de la même trempe.
  
  Néanmoins et bien que Le Feu de la Sor’cière se voulait déjà très attrayant, James Clemens étoffe davantage son univers qui se veut toujours aussi captivant, sombre et palpitant à parcourir. Je ne me souvenais pas a voir découvert de telles atrocités et autres créatures démoniaques qui m’ont bien souvent répugné lors de ma lecture. Sa plume toujours aussi visuelle laisse entrevoir quelques visions des plus cauchemardesques dont je me suis délecté avec un plaisir non feint. L’approche de la magie par ce dernier se veut de nouveau passionnante et envoûtante à appréhender. D���autant plus que cette dimension est encore plus imposante que précédemment et les nombreux éléments apportés en ce qui la concerne offrent un véritable rythme à cette œuvre dont l’intrigue pousse le lecteur à faire défiler les pages inlassablement. Quand bien même l’auteur reprend les mêmes ingrédients et la même construction que par le passé, le résultat se veut toujours aussi concluant me concernant. En ce sens, Les Foudres de la Sor’cière reste de la fantasy basique mais pour autant parfaitement menée et apportée. D’autant plus que l’intrigue semble se complexifier peu à peu et quand bien même la lutte du bien contre le mal et l’étrange prophétie entourant Elena restent les fil conducteurs de cette série, j’apprécie la tournure bien plus mature et épique amorcée par James Clemens.
  
  Cette orientation est dû à l’évolution de son personnage principal et héroïne. La jeune demoiselle naïve et innocente s’efface pour laisser place à une adolescente bien plus sûre d’elle et déterminée dans sa mission malgré ses lacunes quant à la magie sanglante dont son utilisation ne reste jamais sans conséquence. J’apprécie toujours autant le binôme que cette dernière forme avec notre intrépide guerrier Er’ril qui, cette fois-ci, se dévoile davantage aux lecteurs grâce à l’apparition d’une de ses anciennes connaissances dont je tairai l’identité. La dynamique de ce duo reste plaisante malgré certains passages assez peu convaincants et laissant soupçonner une quelconque romance ou du moins, une certaine attirance envers ce dernier de la part de la sor’cière. J’espère que James Clemens ne tombera pas dans ce cliché qui me parait assez malvenu selon les âges prétendus de ces deux protagonistes. Néanmoins, ce dernier dévoile de nombreux autres nouveaux personnages et quand bien même j’ai pris plaisir à faire les connaissance et qu’ils permettent un nouveau souffle, j’avoue que j’aurais apprécié rester focalisé sur la bande précédemment mise en action et que j’ai adoré retrouvé dans la suite de cette aventure. Leur solidarité et leur loyauté restent de mises et beaucoup cachent encore bien des secrets derrière leur motivation et que j’espère très vite découvrir.
  
  A nouveau, cette relecture m’a totalement emporté et convaincu. J’ai apprécier ce nouveau voyage au sein de l’univers sombre, violent et fortement immersif dépeint avec rythme et richesse par James Clemens. Ce dernier reprend les mêmes ingrédients que précédemment tout en développant davantage l’intégralité de son œuvre. Ainsi, l’univers s’assombri tant que les personnages se dévoilent en profondeur. Mention spéciale à l’évolution d’Elena qui se veut renversante et prometteuse tant sa magie reste encore à dompter.
• 
  Bowie

  I'm giving this one a solid 4 stars for the improvement to the writing. It's not nearly as try-hard or repetitive this time around, and if I'm remembering correctly it just gets better from here. I don't really have too much to say about this one that I haven't already said in my review for the first book. I think I do prefer this book slightly because it introduces my favorite set of characters; Sy-Wen, Kast, and Rag'nark. Also, I just love the concept of underwater dwelling dragons. So cool! I have a special fuzzy gut-feeling reserved especially for the cuteness of Sy-Wen and Rag'Nark's adorable relationship. I have a real soft-spot for creature/human (or mer-person in this case) relationships and their's is one of the sweetest in my opinion. I don't really have anything negative to say about this book, honestly. We get more of Joach, who is just fucking wonderful, we get supreme badass sword-lady Mycell, we get underwater dragons for fucks sake, and more monsters than you can even conceive! My biggest gripes are that Nee'lahn gets killed without serving much of a purpose beyond bringing the OG team together (and I can't remember if she stays dead or not, but I think she does. This series isn't much for bringing characters back from the dead in nice ways...), and that Sy-Wen should have been on the cover because she plays a much larger part in the story than Vira'ni, the character actually on the cover of the book. Oh, and I thought that Elena had done more development by this point in the story, but I think I was just confusing parts of the third book for things that happen in this one. So, overall, pretty dumb complaints honestly. This series is just so much fun and, even though it's not the most original fantasy and it kind of borders on silly at times, I just can't help but love it. It's obviously flawed, but I find it so charming for some reason. It just hits that bookish sweet spot for me. And I can't remember a thing past the second book so I'm so excited to get into the rest of the series again!
• 
  Mark

  The euphoria I experienced while reading the first volume in this series wore off before I delved into this second volume. I still enjoyed it three stars' worth, but the setup was somehow more expansive and emotionally thrilling than this continuation of the story.
  
  In the first volume, Clemens threw a half dozen interesting and unusual characters at us, each coming from strange, fascinating places that made me want to know more. Then he rent my heart by turning the life of Elena, his heroine, upside down--destroying her family, saddling her with powers she didn't want, and setting her on the run from an overwhelming force that wants to kill her.
  
  This second volume felt a bit more . . . procedural. Our core fellowship is established, their personalities are set, and their goal is clear. At this point, it's just a matter of putting them through their paces: first by forcing them to traverse a spider-infested forest, then by having them confront the mutated "mother" of these spiders, who also happens to share a past with Er'ril, this story's Aragorn. Later, they confront another mutated monster in a burning barn. While there's nothing wrong with these set pieces, they read like the obligatory extended action sequences in a blockbuster movie, or (and I'm loath to say this, being a huge D&D nerd) the combat in an RPG that gives the heroes a reason to have all the powers they wield.
  
  Fortunately, the book contains far more than this. Clemens introduces a few new, interesting characters (a mermaid and a gruff seaman with a link to a mystical race of dragons) with backgrounds as provocative (if not moreso) as our established characters' backgrounds. The journey to the sea hag's lair was also quite thrilling.
  
  So, as I'm revisiting it in this review, I wondering: maybe it was a four-star book after all? No, three stars feels right, for now. Though I might revisit this rating after I've read volume three....
• 
  Gribouille Lechat

  J'ai eu un peu de mal à re-rentrer dans cet univers étant donné qu'il est très riche, assez complexe, qu'il y a pas mal de personnages, et que j'avais lu le tome 1 il y a exactement un an.
  Mais une fois que je suis parvenue à vraiment retrouver mes marques, j'ai pris un très grand plaisir à cette lecture, même si la densité du style ne m'a pas permis d'avancer à un rythme soutenu.
  J'avoue aussi qu'il y avait des jours où je reculais le moment de reprendre ma lecture tant cette plume me semblait exigeante au niveau de la concentration.
  Je ne suis pas en train de dire que le style est lourd ou compliqué ou que je me suis ennuyée, bien au contraire, je dis juste que je n'étais pas toujours assez en forme pour poursuivre cette lecture foisonnante et bien consistante.
  Ceci dit, j'ai adoré la suite de cette histoire, dans laquelle on retrouve des personnages attachants et on en découvre d'autres tout aussi sympathiques, mais où l'on découvre également de nouveaux adversaires parfaitement répugnants et effrayants, tous dévoués au Seigneur Noir qui veut à tout prix la perte d'Elena, notre héroïne.
  Au cours des nombreuses aventures qui parsèment ce tome, celle-ci va d'ailleurs encore beaucoup mûrir et évoluer, et en apprendre de plus en plus sur les pouvoirs qui sont les siens.
  C'est de la fantasy assez classique dans le scénario de base, mais l'auteur a su créer un univers tellement riche, et qui s'étoffe tant au fur et à mesure que l'histoire avance, l'agrémentant de tellement de rebondissements et de révélations, que l'on ne s'ennuie pas un seul instant et que l'on ressent même souvent un réel sentiment d'émerveillement.
  Au final, même si la lecture de ce tome n'a pas été aussi rapide et aisée que je l'aurais souhaité, j'en ressors enchantée et je sais que je n'attendrai pas un an pour lire le 3e tome.
• 
  LaPommequirougit

  
  https://lapommequirougit.com/2020/04/...
  
  Je remercie les éditions Bragelonne pour cette lecture. J’avais vraiment bien aimé le premier tome, mais ce deuxième m’a largement moins convaincu. L’histoire m’a pas mal perdue, surtout à cause du fait qu’elle est divisée en plusieurs parties.
  
  Contrairement au premier tome ou nous suivons une histoire, avec un petit groupe, ici il y a plusieurs parties séparé qui se déroule au fur et à mesure de l’histoire.
  
  Beaucoup de nouveaux personnages ont fait leur apparition du coup dans cette histoire. Cela était intéressant, mais il y en avait tellement, que je n’arrivais pas à m’attacher à chacun d’entre eux et du coup à réellement apprécié l’histoire que j’étais en train de lire.
  
  De l’autre côté, j’appréciais bien le style d’écriture du lecteur, comme dans le premier tome. Cela ne m’empêchait pas pour autant à avoir beaucoup de mal avec l’histoire qui était un peu trop fouillis pour ma part. De plus, j’avais l’impression que l’auteur souhaitait créer des soucis aux personnages toutes les deux minutes, ce qui manquait un peu de répit pour moi.
  
  En bref, je n’ai pas détesté ce tome, mais je n’ai pas non plus adoré. Le style d’écriture était sympathique, mais par compte, cela ne me donne pas envie de continuer à lire la suite de l’histoire.
• 
  Cat

  In this second book of The Banned and Banished series, the saga of Elena the Wit'ch continues. Now, she is travelling across the lands to reach the old magical city of A'loa Glen to seek out the Blood Diary and end the reign of the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord, however, wants the wit'ch for his own evil deeds and has set up traps throughout the land to capture her, using his Ill'guard. With the help of her gang of misplaced heroes, she must evade the traps and survive long enough to reach A'loa Glen. In the process, she learns how to use and even expand her own powers.
  
  In this book, we are introduced to another character that seems to be of some importance: Sy-wen, a mermai, whose people live under the water with their sea dragons. She was captured by fishermen off the coast of A'loa Glen along with her mother's dragon, who thought they could bring in a nice fortune for the dragon's blood. However, one of the members of the crew knows that she is the key to unlocking a mystery buried deep in the heart of A'loa Glen.
  
  Personally, I found this book to be much better than the first. Not that the first book was bad, but this one had more vibrancy and life to it and was harder to put down. I highly recommend it.