Quantum Shadows by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Quantum Shadows

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Bestselling author of The Mongrel Mage, L. E. Modesitt, Jr's Quantum Shadows blends science fiction, myth, and legend in an adventure that pits old gods and new against one another in a far future world.

On a world called Heaven, the ten major religions of mankind each have its own land governed by a capital city and ruled by a Hegemon. That Hegemon may be a god, or a prophet of a god. Smaller religions have their own towns or villages of belief.

Corvyn, known as the Shadow of the Raven, contains the collective memory of humanity’s Falls from Grace. With this knowledge comes enormous power.

When unknown power burns a mysterious black image into the holy place of each House of the Decalivre, Corvyn must discover what entity could possibly have that much power. The stakes are nothing less than another Fall, and if he doesn't stop it, mankind will not rise from the ashes.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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3 1/2 stars.

I received a copy of Quantum Shadows in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Quantum Shadows is the latest novel from L.E. Modesitt Jr., and you just know that it's going to be a book full to the brim of science fiction and so much more.

Heaven is a world – a true world. In this world, there exist ten religions. It gets just about as complex as one might expect – gods, Hegemon, capital cities, and rules for each and every one of the major ten.

Corvyn is from this very world, and it's his job to contain some of the most important memories belonging to humankind. The sort required to prevent then from repeating history. Naturally, that means they're about to be thrown into a quest to save humanity.

I'm going to be upfront with you here. Normally I try to avoid science fiction or fantasy novels that are this full of religion. It's just not my cup of tea. Yet because it was L.E. Modesitt Jr. that wrote this novel, I felt compelled to give it a chance.

Maybe it's because of that bias that I found myself not loving this novel as much as I would have hoped, or liked. Still, I did enjoy it more than I expected, so that balanced out pretty nicely in my book.

You can really see Modesitt's philosophy background shining through here, and that was really fascinating to see. Still, this book is not like any of the others I've read by him, so consider yourself warned on that front.

I enjoyed being able to see something different and unique, both in this genre and from the author. I know I didn't end up loving it, but I still found the journey to be interesting. The concept behind Corvyn's character (and the job/burden they carried) was fascinating enough to have had me read the whole thing, and with good reason.

Check out more of my reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 July, 2020: Finished reading
  • 17 July, 2020: Reviewed