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shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition
5.0
Superb! And a grand resolution is had by all. The conclusion to the trilogy really drags the suspense and bleakness all the way to the end, and it never really lets up. I love that the women characters are so well-rounded, they are strong and yet flawed, even the female antagonist. The male characters, no really so, they are mostly paragons of virtuous badassness or else Obviously Evil™. Wish she'd applied the same even-handedness to the men, but it's easily overlooked.
Excellent monsters in this trilogy, and guess what,
Excellent monsters in this trilogy, and guess what,
Spoiler
they're not defeated. It's impossible.leesmyth's review against another edition
4.0
It all resolves too easily, in the end, but it's enjoyable.
rachelrozet's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid ending to an excellent trilogy. The revelation of the Dark Ones' agenda was a good one. Ah, if only people sat down and talked to their mortal enemies once in a while. There's a lot of fighting and running around in caves, which was fun, but a bit too much romance for my taste (the May-December romance especially). I will try some of Hambly's more recent works.
danielmbensen's review against another edition
3.0
-- a flawed but tasty portal fantasy
Sometimes I'm in the mood for Barbara Hambly. Her world-building is always tasty (Darwath was founded by King Dare. Mmm mm!) and her characters are superb. The king is toweringly tragic, and the air fairly thrums between the main character and the attractive older wizard. And yet I don't remember any these people's names. Also I came in at book three of the series and didn't feel like I'd missed much. There should have been tension, especially over whether our heroes would go back home to Earth, but there just wasn't. Maybe I should be happy that Hambly entertained me for a couple of weeks.
Sometimes I'm in the mood for Barbara Hambly. Her world-building is always tasty (Darwath was founded by King Dare. Mmm mm!) and her characters are superb. The king is toweringly tragic, and the air fairly thrums between the main character and the attractive older wizard. And yet I don't remember any these people's names. Also I came in at book three of the series and didn't feel like I'd missed much. There should have been tension, especially over whether our heroes would go back home to Earth, but there just wasn't. Maybe I should be happy that Hambly entertained me for a couple of weeks.
jennykeery's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
gon8go's review against another edition
4.0
This whole trilogy was great. The story and characters were interesting, there was a cosmic horror angle that I really liked and a world that felt much bigger than what we see in the scope of the story. The only reason this is a four star instead of five was how quick the ending was. It just felt a bit rushed, could have used an epilogue.
I saw there were a couple of sequels or sidequels, I may see how they expand the story.
I saw there were a couple of sequels or sidequels, I may see how they expand the story.
thomcat's review against another edition
5.0
The original conclusion of a trilogy (two additional books were added decades later), this returns to what made this fantasy story unique - I rate this higher than the first book.
The first three books were written 40 years ago, and strong female characters help them feel more recent. Gil, who gets into a well written sword fight in this novel, may be a representation of the author, both graduate students of history.
In the first book, there is a fair amount of "new here, how does it compare to California". The second book had very little of that. Discovery of some of the mechanisms behind the keep, along with a prototype "flame thrower" are the closest we get to technology. At one point in this book, Gil dives in and finds solutions with research!
Other characters have some interesting growth as well, and the overall story comes to a conclusion. This was a hard book to put down. Was the resolution perfect? No, it was pretty fast and some reviewers have wondered at the ease of it. Were there other flaws? While mentioned multiple times, Gil's connection with Inglorion the Wizard isn't shown any other way. Do any of these flaws bring down the rating? No. This is one of the best stories I have read this year, and I would rate the series 4 stars, despite my feelings about the middle book.
Two additional books were published 13 years later, and four further novelettes another 20 years after that through Amazon and Smashwords. I'll probably read some or all of these, but after a pause to let the original trilogy sink in.
The first three books were written 40 years ago, and strong female characters help them feel more recent. Gil, who gets into a well written sword fight in this novel, may be a representation of the author, both graduate students of history.
In the first book, there is a fair amount of "new here, how does it compare to California". The second book had very little of that. Discovery of some of the mechanisms behind the keep, along with a prototype "flame thrower" are the closest we get to technology. At one point in this book, Gil dives in and finds solutions with research!
Other characters have some interesting growth as well, and the overall story comes to a conclusion. This was a hard book to put down. Was the resolution perfect? No, it was pretty fast and some reviewers have wondered at the ease of it. Were there other flaws? While mentioned multiple times, Gil's connection with Inglorion the Wizard isn't shown any other way. Do any of these flaws bring down the rating? No. This is one of the best stories I have read this year, and I would rate the series 4 stars, despite my feelings about the middle book.
Two additional books were published 13 years later, and four further novelettes another 20 years after that through Amazon and Smashwords. I'll probably read some or all of these, but after a pause to let the original trilogy sink in.
vaderbird's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of exciting twists and turns in the series!
Pick up this classic and start reading it!
Pick up this classic and start reading it!
filipmagnus's review
5.0
What a wonderful ending to the trilogy that tells of the tales of Ingold, Rudy, Gil and Alde!
If I had to describe this trilogy in a single sentence, I would probably say... "The question is the answer." Such a clever mind, Barbara Hambly has.
Full review coming soon.
If I had to describe this trilogy in a single sentence, I would probably say... "The question is the answer." Such a clever mind, Barbara Hambly has.
Full review coming soon.