Book Review: Shard and Shield by Laura Vanarendonk Baugh
Summary from Amazon:
King’s bastard Shianan Becknam buries himself in his military career to avoid the family that never wanted him and the dangers of drawing political attention. When the artifact intended to end an interdimensional war is damaged, the mage Ariana is trapped on the other side of the rift with her servant—only the cheery young boy is really one of the monstrous enemy, disguised as a human. Shianan is desperate to rescue Ariana, one of his few friends, but to do so requires committing treason and betraying his duty, leaving his people open to attack.State mage Ariana struggles to survive as a prisoner of war in a world of deadly magic and unfamiliar customs. Her only ally is her former servant, now a renowned warrior caught up in political machinations. To survive, he’ll have to once again take up the fight against Ariana’s world.As their people’s wasted armies prepare for fresh battle that will devastate both sides, bastard, mage, and monster must set aside prejudices and rivalries to find an end to centuries of conflict, before they die as traitors.
Shard and Shield is the most emotionally compelling book I have read in a long while. What stood out to me most about it was the sense of realism throughout. Yes, it’s set in a world where winged creatures from another world rob human farmers and mages possess supernatural abilities, but the characters’ inner journeys are relatably, realistically human. There are no real villains in the book, even though the main characters are frequently set in opposition to one another. Each one of them is trying their utmost to do what is right, but Baugh portrays just how complex trying to do the right thing can be. Sometimes doing what seems right actually does more harm than good. Sometimes doing what really is right feels incredibly wrong, breaks your heart and tears you apart. And in some situations, determining the right course of action seems almost impossible.
Speaking of the characters—they are amazing. Of the characters at the story’s forefront, the closest to a traditional hero is Shianan Becknam. He’s the illegitimate son of the king, recently raised to nobility after a brutal upbringing in the military. If I’m honest, I didn’t much care for Shianan at first. His gruff, suspicious nature makes him difficult to like when you first meet him. But as the story continued it became clear how much pain he silently bore every day of his life, and just what a noble, selfless man he really could be.
The revelation of Shianan’s character mainly comes through his relationship with Luca, an abused slave he takes under his care. Luca was, in my opinion, the most compelling, original character Baugh created in Shard and Shield. Luca’s transformation from a cowering slave who expects mistreatment from everyone back to the courageous, independent man he used to be, forms the emotional heart of the book. As different as Shianan and Luca might seem from an outside perspective, these two men are really of a kind—both have been physically tortured, emotionally lacerated, and let down by the people they should have been able to depend on. The parallels between their stories enable them to strike up a tentative friendship, and the scenes of them interacting are definitely the most powerful, absorbing parts of this excellent book.
The third main character, Mage Ariana Hazelrig, was the book’s sole letdown for me. She started out as a promising heroine—kind, free-spirited, and optimistic, a wonderful foil for Shianan’s dour personality. And her insecurities about her failure to gain admittance to the Circle of mages added a touch of realism. However, I was disappointed to find that after the first quarter of the story, Ariana was “out of it” most of the time, either literally due to the incapacitating Ryuven magic she encounters, or figuratively because the people around her refuse to inform her about all the Important Plot Stuff that’s going on. This was especially upsetting because Ariana is the only important female character in the book. It feels imbalanced to have so many compelling, plot-driving male characters in the book but have the heroine shoved off to the sidelines and the other female characters be insubstantial.
Other characters worthy of note are Shianan’s half-brother, the kind and noble prince Soren, and Tamaryl. I loved Soren and his interactions with Shianan added even more depth to Shianan’s character arc. Tamaryl, meanwhile, is a powerful Ryuven who has spent the last fifteen years disguised as a slave boy in the human world, working together with the Chief Mage to try to end the war between humans and Ryuven. Tamaryl is probably the most complex character in the book, and I didn’t know what to think of him. At first I loved him, then as the story continued I was no longer sure how to feel about him. He is certainly an intriguing character, but difficult to pin down.
One more caveat has to taint my praise of this well-crafted book—there is a fairly sensual scene that takes place in the Ryuven world, as well as a Potiphar’s wife-style attempt of a female Ryuven to sexually assault a male servant. The behavior is portrayed negatively, and neither scene portrays physical contact beyond caressing, but the scenes are intense and prevent me from recommending Shard and Shield for readers under age sixteen.
That said, I would highly recommend it to mature teenagers and adults. It's an emotionally engaging, thought-provoking story that I thoroughly enjoyed. You can check in on Wednesday to read my review of its sequel, Blood and Bond.
