Against the Unweaving by Derek Prior

Against the Unweaving Reviews

• 
  Melinda

  An Amazing Trilogy - Worth the Epic Title
  
  There are creative people who astounded me with the depth and breadth of their imagination. You wonder how they can contain everything inside their head without it erupting into their daily lives, or driving them insane. Robin Williams is an obvious example, with his high speed comedy and huge repertoire of characters. Derek Prior is another. Just this trilogy alone will have you wondering how he keeps all of this amazingly detailed, Byzantine, character-rich extravaganza in his head and still function as a normal human.
  
  He has created an epic fantasy across three books that is wild, fast-paced, has fantastic characters, spreads across countries as well as worlds and religions, and is absolutely one of the best fantasy trilogies in existence.
  
  When you read the Deacon Shader trilogy, you will come to appreciate how epic the scope of Mr. Prior's imagination is as you are highly entertained by his hugely sweeping plots that occur across worlds where each type of character believes the other type is mythological. Just take a moment to think about that... This is High Entertainment in the old school definition, so be prepared for extreme goodness.
  
  There are plots within plots with plots in these three books, and Prior writes with style and crisp dialogue that layers the plot lines smoothly so that the reader can follow what's going on in the multiple intertwining story arcs as long as you are paying attention. These books are intelligent novels requiring an IQ of at least 100, so no luke warm need to give it one or two star reviews because they don't understand. If you don't like books that require brains, don't download this omnibus.
  
  The characters are diverse, in some cases wacky, in others down right evil. There is even a Supreme Technocrat. Who wouldn't love that? Prior pulls out all the stops on character development. You will find sorrow, love, humor, growth, camaraderie, hatred, faith and family. Of course, you will also find the undead, liches, demons, a gargoyle, dwarves, homunculi, man eating plants, and other monsters.
  
  From a story standpoint, we have assassins, knights, God's, bards, magic, a possible extinction event, religious wars, demons, and a high body count. There are so many competing agendas that at times it is virtually impossible to guess what happens next. I dare you to try and guess the ending. My guess was completely wrong. So many plot twists. No one will be bored at any point in this trilogy.
  
  The Bottom Line: If you want to read one of the best epic fantasy trilogies created in the last five years, then READ THIS! Best Thumping Read Around.
  
  I was given a copy of the trilogy to honestly review - and that is what you have just read MLB.
• 
  Marcus

  The plot was interesting enough for me to invest time in starting to read this book, and I was glad that I did. The author invested time in the development and back story of his characters. He also created a world full of heroes,demons,monsters,and a quest to right the wrongs of the world.
• 
  Mimi

  Read by Nate (sent to goodreads via his kindle)
• 
  Bill

  This is a hard one for me to review. I want to not only share my thoughts on the story, but on Derek Prior's linked series of both Shader and the Nameless Dwarf.
  
  If any series needs a reading order wiki, it is Shader/Nameless Dwarf. I had purchased two omnibuses (this Shader trilogy and the tetralogy, "Annals of the Nameless Dwarf." I started with Nameless' "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" - which was quite enjoyable - but it seemed like I was missing a backstory, which became evident at the end when Shader showed up. At that point, I felt I needed to go back and read earlier books to get filled in. So, I read all three books of this trilogy - but again I felt I was missing additional backstories, as it seemed we were dropped right in the middle of a complex plot. And the third Shader book in this trilogy ("The Unweaving") crosses over to the Nameless Dwarf and picks at the end "Ravine of Blood and Shadow." As I finished it, I then went into research mode on Amazon, Goodreads, and Prior's own website to figure out what book I should read next? My findings reveal two Shader prequels, a rewrite of this Shader trilogy, Legends of the Nameless Dwarf, and Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf as well as the Annals I already had....or did I? It appears the Annals omnibus I already had is in fact Legends - where one of the books is an anthology of the all the Chronicles stories - and "Ravine of Blood and Shadow" (Annals) is also "Carifex" (Legends). And #3 in the Shader series ("The Unweaving") appears to be an expanded rewrite of #2 in the Annals ("Mountain of Madness") where Zaylus is replaced by Shader, Rutha is replaced with Rhiannon, Albrec with Albert, etc. to fit it into the Shader series. However, my Annals tetralogy skips #2 of Annals and has "Geas of the Black Axe" as #2 - because, in fact, it is not Annals but is Legends. I did purchase Annals of the Nameless Dwarf #1-6 bundle on Kindle, even though I already have #1 and #2 through the Annals tetralogy I already had (which is actually Legends) in order to save money on books #3-6. Confused yet????
  
  On to the review of the Shader trilogy: As I stated above, it feels like we are dropped in the middle of an already complex plot moving quickly along. And it is confusing, with many character point of view changes, each with a seemingly unexplained backstory. I slogged through the first two stories ("Sword of Archon" & "Best Laid Plans") without really having a complete understanding of what was going on and considered abandoning it altogether. I am glad I stuck with it, as the third book ("The Unweaving") saved the trilogy. Bring in the Nameless Dwarf and kill off most of the confusing side characters and we are left with the core players in the saga. The story became more focused and streamlined.
  
  Books 1 & 2 = barely 2 stars. Book 3 = 4 stars - all because of the Nameless Dwarf.
• 
  Bill

  Gave up .to difficult to follow the plot. To many weird characters. Failed to keep my interest.