The Night of the Swarm (Chathrand Voyage) Paperback – February 5, 2013

I'm conflicted about this book. I initially wasn't happy it existed at all - I had fully expected the series to end with the previous book, and rolled my eyes when I completed it and saw he'd set it up for another unnecessary volume.Then, mysteriously, Redick chose to make this is a surprisingly derivative old school Lord of the Rings style rip off. The selk/elves and the Mines of Moria style escape from Lothlorien/Ularamyth weren't bad, exactly. But they definitely didn't add anything to what had previously been a fresh and different series, and it was waaaay too many pages away from the Chathrand, the true star of the series.The one thing that seriously redeems this novel is the incomplete ending that doesn't wrap everything up. It was a good decision to kill off a couple of key characters unexpectedly early. I like that he used the conceit of the storytelling device (our future historian unable to continue) to keep us hanging on the resolution, if any, of the Pazel/Thasha story, and it was brave to leave unresolved the Neeps/wife discord, not set up Fiffengurt entirely happily ever after, and leave us hanging on Hercol/Neda and how Sandor Otts skull ended up on a shelf centuries later. The world is saved, but not all the problems of the world are resolved.Good, brave storytelling at the end. I just wish he could have applied that to the bulk of the story.

Through the first three books of the series, I had mixed feeling about The Chathrand Voyage. While I really enjoyed the characters, the dialogue and the swashbuckling adventure, Redick has a habit of throwing in the kitchen sink plotwise. Not everyone is George R.R. Martin -- sometimes not even Martin. Redick might have better served his story by reducing the number of characters and plot lines. The Chathrand Voyage is not for everyone. If, however, you are a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson and the other great adventure writers of the 19th century, my guess is you will fall in love with Pazel, Thasha, Felthrup, Ramachni and the rest of the Chathrand and Arquali crew. Despite some major flaws, however, by the end of The Night of the Swarm, I found myself truly sad that the voyage was over. A for effort, B for execution Mr. Redick.

The conclusion of the series is much better than the third installment--I'm torn as to whether it meets the high bar set by the first, but it does give it a good shot. The editor's notes in this book are more endearing than annoying (a definite improvement over the last two books in terms of style). I simultaneously love and hate the end, mostly because it means there is no more of the Chathrand. I give Redick points for pulling off more surprise deaths and not caving in to the happy ending I wanted for all the characters.Finishing this Voyage leaves a hole that I won't quite know how to fill until I find the next 4-star series.

Great book and series! However, too many unresolved situations. I don't want to spoil anything, but I like closure after going through a series, and this one lacked closure. Two or 3 major things left unanswered. If it were to lead to a 5th book I would understand that, but if this was the final installment, then it should have all been wrapped up and resolved one way or another.

Chathrand Voyage is a wonderful series, full of memorable characters, magic, love, and battles. It's lengthly, but I wish I could read even more of it after the ending. It has the mark of greatness: I'll have a difficult time finding another worthy book to read after finishing these.

I don't want to put out any spoilers. That being said: Not a happily ever after ending for Pathkindle and the gang; however, it was satisfying. Redick last book in the serires wasn't as much fun as the others, but I still recommend it. The Chathrand's voyage is over; although, the author has left the door open for further Pathkindle adventures

What a wonderful journey during these strange COVID 19 times. It’s been a wonderful escape and I recommend reading the series!

Loved the series, felt fustrated story was left in complete not a happy ending, not what I expected. No one remembers him, or what he did for them.What happens to thasha, neeps, neda, hercol, ramanachi, the revolution, diadrelu, his mother. ........very dissatisfied with the conclusion! ! There must be another book to sew up all these loose ends!!

Wow, that was a mammoth four-book excursion. It's taken me a while to work my way through all the volumes in The Chathrand Voyage Series - not because they were bad, or boring. Not at all - the first one was a rollercoaster of a sea voyage on a new world, old and populated with people from all lands and places. The second continued that mad sea voyage, the Chathrand its own microcosm of the bad and the good, the noble and the horrible. And the third took us back onto land; but what a land, the land south of the Ruling Sea, where yet stranger peoples and animals dwelt, and where the chase after Arunis came to its conclusion. But the story was by no means over, for in Arunis's last moments he released the Swarm, which now threatens the entire world; and the Nilstone still exists, and Macadra will stop at nothing to get it.The four books in this series total nearly 2500 pages - and that's why it's taken me a while - I wanted, before tackling each volume, to have sufficient time to devote myself to the book, to sink into the world so fully populated and cleverly created by the author. I'm just sorry that, after having spent so much time absorbed in this wonderful tale, it all now seems to be over. But perhaps the author is writing more - we can only hope?I thoroughly enjoyed this series. The author has created a world unlike anything that I have read about before, in this world or any other imagined world. There are great lands, vast swathes of peoples, strange creatures, evil and good. And there is tradition, culture, history and great age built into this world that the author has laid before us. This last volume takes us back through the Ruling Sea to Alifros, chasing the Swarm, and outrunning Arunis's last mad scheme, and the evil Macadra with the Nilstone; can Hercol, Pazel, Thasha, Fiffengurt, and all the rest of the Chathrand crew ever hope to save the world? Fantastic - I'm so glad I found this series, and I have totally enjoyed this whole series. I hope for more from the author.

This is my second review of this book (the kindle edition). The first I wrote in haste while I was angry, and after considering it (and some wonderful responses from the publishers) I wanted to rewrite it.Here goes.First off, this was a great end to my very favourite series. I don't think it was quite as good as the previous books, but the final climax was fantastic and I adored the very last pages. There's nothing I can say without spoiling anyone who hasn't read it, so I can only encourage you to go read it yourself!However - I suggest buying the paperback, or waiting for the US Kindle edition (available in February). As a book, this is a wonderful book. As a product, it leaves a lot to be desired. The UK Kindle edition is riddled with typos and formatting issues (which were the cause of my ire in my original review). There are missing speech marks, paragraphs merged together or randomly broken, random line breaks, missing letters, and every 'fl' has been replaced with 'R'. Every time a sentence begins with a 'th' word ('the', 'that', 'they' etc) the 'th' is missing, too.I should mention, though, that a member of Orion publishers did contact me, and I have been assured that they are horrified and looking into the problem. Hopefully they will have it fixed soon.In conclusion - great book. Just, for the moment, go for the paperback.

How exactly should you judge a book if not by it's cover?'Night of the Swarm' sounds like the title of a trashy 50's monster movie and Les Edwards' cover art is reminiscent of pulp fantasy fiction from the 70's. There is nothing about this cover that let's you know what treasures lie within. Obviously the other reviews won't convince you: mine is the first. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.I found the first book in this cycle,'The Redwolf Conspiracy' (you'll want to start with that one) in a box full of fantasy and sci-fi left to me by a departed friend. From that box, that was the last book I tried because it looked no more promising than 'Night of the Swarm.' As it turned out, it didn't suck. In fact, by about halfway through, I was pleasantly surprised to realise that it was actually very good. Well written and, a real rarity this, highly original.I quickly ordered the next volume, 'The Rats of the Ruling Sea' and found that it was not only just as good as the first volume but better! Better still, because on top of the foundation laid by the first book, something truly remarkable was being built. Midway through, like an ealborate domino run, a scene that had been building for a book and half was set off and, for the length of a hundred pages or so, I was treated to the most breathtaking and exciting passage of text I have ever read. This was when Robert V S Redick elbowed his way into the company of my favourite authors (Kurt Vonnegut, Neal Stephenson, John Steinbeck, Kim Stanley Robinson, Cormac McCarthy, Ursula LeGuin, John Connolly, Tom Wolfe and Brandon Sanderson, in case you're interested: I like the fantasy and sci-fi genres but I'm interested in quality wherever I find it).Luckily I didn't have long to wait until 'The River of Shadows' was published and saw the story continue to build, towering high now and casting a long shadow over its better known neighbours.So what exactly is it that I like about these books?The author performs that rare trick of balancing the large scale and the small. He offers a grand cast of characters that are each alive and unique. Some of them are fit to rub shoulders with literature's greatest, though who would survive a meeting between the captains Rose and Ahab, I wonder?The world he builds sprawls across oceans and continents. Its history, its races, and its ecologies are not quite as rich as Tolkien's (let's be realistic here) but broader and deeper by far than most. The world is no Tolkien clone either, but something quite uniqueand full of wonders: closer perhaps to the worlds of Sheri Tepper (but without the femi - Nazi overtones) or some peculiar mash up of Charles Dickens and a deadly serious Dr Seuss.The plot, beginning with the little intrigues of individuals, gradually zooms out to reveal a larger and larger narrative. Conspiracies are found nested within greater conspiracies that finally unfold to something truly epic, without ever losing sight of the small details of the primaries. And it's always surprising. The obvious avenues are never taken but instead radical and unpredictable plot developments abound with the effect that you are drawn further and further from the bleak shores of complacency and into the deep lively waters of constant discovery.And all this conveyed by seamless prose that effortlessly conjures romance, mystery, excitement, humour, horror and wonder after wonder.I've waited impatiently for 'The Night of the Swarm' and finally it's here and I find my joy alloyed with uncertainty. There is a serious problem with this book: it's going to end. I want to read more, not because it's a junk food page turner, no, the prose is gourmet standard that can be savoured and mulled over. I just want to spend more time in this world with these characters. But if I do, the end will come too soon. What to do? Hope that Redick has plans for another book, I suppose.So trust me on this. Don't be put off by the cover. Take a chance. There are some great books out there. This is better than most of them.And just so you know: there are no obvious typos in the paperback edition.

The mighty tale of the Chathrand concludes with this volume. It has been an epic read with multiple plot lines and characters to keep in mind. The story ends with several loose ends still floating around - could there be a sequel to follow? I read all four volumes over a period of three weeks so obviously a page turner but sometimes I felt the "get out of jails" were a bit too simplistic. However, if you have read the first three books, it's worth buying this one.The Kindle version must have been rushed out as there were several annoying typos in the text.

Really enjoyed the conclusion to this series. Interesting and likeable characters, multi-stranded plot, fairly fast moving. A bit dissatisfied that not all storylines were resolved, and don't like the time paradoxes that you get when integrating glimpses of the future into the narrative, but generally a very good example of the genre.