Shadow of the Swan

By M.K. Wren

Publisher Description

The author of Sword of the Lamb continues the Phoenix Legacy trilogy, in which a proud galactic empire struggles for supremacy.

After forfeiting his identity as heir to the House of DeKoven Woolf, Lord Alexand morphs into Alex Ransom, leader of the Society of the Phoenix, sworn to bring about the evolution of the Concord in order to prevent its threatened collapse.

But his birthright isn’t all Alex lost when Lord Alexand died. He gave up the extraordinary Lady Adrien Eliseer, and it was like tearing out his own heart. He realizes ultimately that as desperate as he is to bring peace to the Concord, he is equally desperate to be reunited with Adrien, especially when he learns that she is about to pay a terrible price for Lord Alexand’s death.

“A new classic! Has the sweep and power of Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.” —Jean M. Auel, author of the Earth’s Children series

6 Reviews

4.0

Metaphorosis Reviews

Created almost 3 years ago

“4.5 stars, https://reviews.metaphorosis.com/review/shadow-of-the-swan-m-k-wren/ Summary Alex Ransom escaped the rigid world of the Elite, governing class by 'dying' soon after his brother truly did. Now a senior member of the underground Phoenix organization, he also visits working class Bonds, further spreading the word of his newly sainted brother, and counseling non-violence. But there's tension within the Phoenix about whether Alex or another is the best hope for the eventual revolution, and eventually it spills into open conflict, putting the Phoenix's… Review The Phoenix Legacy series isn’t so much a true series as one story broken up into separate books. In fact, there’s a good argument that the first book broke off at the wrong place – an earlier split would have suited the book better, but made the books different lengths. These days, I suppose they’d just publish one giant tome. In any case, this second book offers more of the same sweeping, romantic, space opera as the first. And that’s a good thing. With Richard Lamb dead in this volume, I found that his sociological papers drew my interest less. They’re essentially painting the long backdrop of the series – its political history. They’re great if you you’re in the mood, but that wasn’t always true. The good news is that you can skim or skip them entirely with no great effect on the main narrative; they’re color, not content. Alex, the protagonist, comes across as a little less developed in this volume; we simply need to take on faith that he’s disciplined and committed, and that others love him. Earlier critiques still apply – the working Bond class are more prop than true participants; this is a story about elites who know best. But the human story holds up regardless. Not perfect, but still great SF romance.”

Katt Powers

Created over 3 years ago

Sleepy Croyd

Created almost 7 years ago

Michael Dennis

Created about 7 years ago

Eric Morgan

Created about 10 years ago

About M.K. Wren

Martha Kay Renfroe is an Oregon writer, author of mystery and science fiction under the pen name M.K. Wren. Her work includes the Conan Flagg mystery series, the Phoenix Legacy trilogy, and the post-apocalyptic novel A Gift Upon the Shore, set along the Oregon coast.