Shadowland: Book III of the Brotherhood of the Conch [Hardcover]

Shadowland is the third book in the ongoing Brotherhood of the Conch series begun with The Conch Bearer. If there is an overarching theme that unites the three tales it is that life is a journey of the soul seeking knowledge, both of oneself and of the world. That out of that knowledge wisdom sometimes flowers but that the price for wisdom is often terribly high; perhaps higher than the seeker should rightfully be forced to bear. And that sometimes these overburdened seekers are only children.

J. R. R. Tolkien in his magisterial essay on Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics discusses the nature of fantasy tales and the precious ingredients that suffuse the most successful ones. Above all, he insists that they must be real. The more magical the tale the more strongly tethered it must be to the heart and the simplest human hopes and wishes. In its golden simplicity of purpose the journey taken by young Anand, the hero of the Conch series, is the very essence of those human hopes.

Anand and his companion Nisha attempt to save the Silver Valley, his adopted home, where he is apprenticed learning the secret magical arts of the Brotherhood. Anand's beloved valley has become a wasteland with the theft of the conch: source of the valley's magical strength and a grail-like repository for the means of discovering our better selves. To accomplish this awesome task the two children must journey to Shadowland, a grim and forbidding place where perhaps all modern fears arise. In the coldly scientific world that Shadowland represents we find the antithesis of the human warmth that pervades the lush Silver Valley. Wherever humanity is absent the breeding ground for evil and cruelty inevitably flourishes.

The Brotherhood series contains many of the tropes of modern fantasy. What distinguishes it is the poverty and hardship the children must overcome before they can even begin their spiritual journey. They do not fly from comfort to undertake an arduous task but from the bare subsistence of life where all choices are stark and fraught with tragedy. Anand can succeed but only at great cost, one that would crush most children unused to seeing life through a lens of utmost realism. It is a poignant sense of life's fragility and an almost intuitive perception that the search for happiness is often futile that both children possess at their core. This gives these tales their resonance and deep humanity. That the children seek the treasure of acceptance and the inner illumination of knowledge and not the vagaries of wealth is another indication of their almost preternatural maturity. The reader can imagine what steep emotional price was paid for their unusual insight, even when the issue is not explicitly discussed. These are three-dimensional characters beautifully rendered by an author of subtle and gentle artistry.

We are all on a spiritual journey, a quest of obscure origin and nature. The finest writers never claim to offer answers. At best they can only provide the brightest illumination by which our many questions may be read. Divakaruni is one of a handful of writers whose imagination and humanity sanctions them to take on that prodigous task. Although these books are written for children, the nature of the journey so eloquently presented in these three novels is tethered to neither age nor time. Whatever your age you will be moved by this book and the series from which it springs. Most strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

The shipping for this book took fewer than 48 hours from the time I placed my order until the time it was in my hands. Impressive. I'm also not sure why this book is priced this cheaply, but I'm certainly not complaining. The book is in perfect condition, no ragged page edges or other obvious reason for the lower price. I was so pleased after receiving this book that I immediately ordered a second one as a gift for a friend and recommended it to another friend who purchased her own copy.

Beyond the service, I was impressed with the book. After the first two books in this series I was initially disappointed in the sharply tone and style (particularly the lack of color), but throughout the book I found myself drawn in more and more deeply. I can't say too much without spoiling the plot, but the developments midway through the book turned me from a reluctant by loyal reader into a thoughtful, engaged reader. As always, the books in this series are fun for younger readers but thought-provoking for adult readers.

Nicely done. I am sorry to see this series come to an end.

SHADOWLAND by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni
Rating **** (4 stars)


I hadn't read the first two books in this trilogy, but having read the author's adult books, and being quite the fan, I was very eager to read SHADOWLAND, a fantasy book aimed at young adult readers.

In this third and final book of the Brotherhood of the Conch series, the hero Anand is now fifteen years old and is being apprenticed by the Brotherhood. Anand lives in the Himalayas, learning the art of magic. He is one of these gifted persons who is able to use magic to help others, and is being taught the many skills he would need to fulfill his purpose in life.

It is during a secret assignment that things go terribly wrong. He finds that the only other person left in his world is his best friend Nisha, who is just as confused as he is to find their world practically destroyed and devoid of life. Now, it is up to them to find out what has happened, and to restore order before it is too late. Being only apprentices, neither is sure they have the power to do anything to help, but there is nothing left for them to do but to seek out the answers. Thus, begins the greatest adventure of their lives!

Nisha and Anand travel through what was once their beloved homeland, totally destroyed and lifeless. Anand's first and most important task is to recover the beloved Conch, which has been stolen and taken away to be used by the peoples that now inhabit their land. With the Conch gone, there is no way Anand's homeland will recover from whatever cataclysmic disaster had befallen them. With the help of a magical mirror, Anand and Nisha journey to the center of this strange land called "Shadowland", and as they meet people along the way, they slowly find clues to what had happened, and how they could possibly bring back the world as they knew it.

I have one major complaint: This is the last of the series, and I feel that it is unfortunate that this series is not expected to continue! After reading SHADOWLAND, I may just pick up the first two books and catch up with Anand and find out what went before. I found that SHADOWLAND had imagination, was well-written, and I truly cared about what happened to Anand and Nisha. I have always been fascinated by what I call "alternative worlds", stories that take place in lands that are changed somewhat to give it a more fantasy feel. SHADOWLAND takes place in areas around the Himalayas and India, but it is changed so much in some ways that it is unrecognizable, yet at the same time, one may be reminded of India and the different classes that keep the poor and the rich apart. The scientists represented one faction of the population, with those living in the streets of Shadowland represented the outcasts.

Anand's world is filled with people who use magic to help others, and I think young readers especially are drawn to this type of story. Anand is still a young teenager in every way, but his world is filled with elements of magic, a favorite component in today's YA fantasy novel. I thoroughly enjoyed SHADOWLAND and will gladly read more Young Adult fiction by Ms Divakaruni.

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