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bluejaybooks's review
Nice to be back in this word and see what happened in the roughly 20 years since the end of In the Sanctuary of Wings!
daddyprentiss's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I normally don’t like sequel books set in the same world as an original. I adore the Diaries of Lady Trent- that is possibly my favorite series. That being said, this book was a great standalone sequel to the original series. The plot was intriguing and I read the entire book in a couple hours. I loved the structure of this book because while there *was* a plot involving Audrey and a nefarious political scheme, there was also an equal focus on the epics of the Draconean civilization. That was what held my attention the most because as much as I love Isabella Trent’s books, we are only given a naturalist’s perspective over an anthropologist’s one. Marie Brennan has done a fabulous job fleshing out this world and making it so realistic through the lens of memoirs and letters. I can’t overstate how much I adore this series- it may not be for everyone, but I’ve never found a series so perfectly suited to my tastes.
moriaine's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
andreaw's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
a_leo_reading's review
5.0
Reading Dates:
February 6, 2022 – February 16, 2022
“Whatever our place is to be in the world, it must be a place we can claim with honesty, not one we slip into on the basis of a lie.”
-Marie Brennan, Turning Darkness Into Light.
Set a generation after the events of the Memoirs Lady Trent series, Marie Brennan returns to the world in a wonderful fashion. A cashes ancient tablets is discovered with the language of the ancient Draconean civilization, a civilization who vanished without explanation. Audrey Camherst, the granddaughter of Lady Trent, is hired by the tablets founder to decipher the Ancient language. With each tablet translated the origin of life itself is revealed and the truth of the Draconean civilization comes to light.
Though it does not have any dragons, nor does it have incredible travels, this new entry nonetheless thrilled me. Marie Brennan brilliant weaves together a incredible epilogue to her original series.
Marie Brennan’s writing and character work is still amazing. With each new discovery and dramatic event the end result was beyond satisfying.
Turning Darkness Into Light is a funny, clever , and mind blowing addition to the Memoirs of Lady Trent series.
Marie Brennan's world building finally comes to a very unexpected close, making me want to reread the series all over again and re-experience the it with the newfound knowledge.
Bringing Darkness Into Light, as well as its predecessors, is a brilliant combination of Alternate History, Epic Fantasy, natural and archeological history, and drama. Also there are plentiful of dragons and representation.
I can never recommend The Memoirs of Lady Trent Series & Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan enough.
Review for the Audiobook:
Barrie Kreinik, a different voice actress than Kate Reading who voice acted the original series, and Raphael Corkhill did a incredible job narrating this novel. Their voices perfectly captured the new and long beloved characters, Marie Brennan’s wonderfully writing, and the very world itself.
February 6, 2022 – February 16, 2022
“Whatever our place is to be in the world, it must be a place we can claim with honesty, not one we slip into on the basis of a lie.”
-Marie Brennan, Turning Darkness Into Light.
Set a generation after the events of the Memoirs Lady Trent series, Marie Brennan returns to the world in a wonderful fashion. A cashes ancient tablets is discovered with the language of the ancient Draconean civilization, a civilization who vanished without explanation. Audrey Camherst, the granddaughter of Lady Trent, is hired by the tablets founder to decipher the Ancient language. With each tablet translated the origin of life itself is revealed and the truth of the Draconean civilization comes to light.
Though it does not have any dragons, nor does it have incredible travels, this new entry nonetheless thrilled me. Marie Brennan brilliant weaves together a incredible epilogue to her original series.
Marie Brennan’s writing and character work is still amazing. With each new discovery and dramatic event the end result was beyond satisfying.
Turning Darkness Into Light is a funny, clever , and mind blowing addition to the Memoirs of Lady Trent series.
Marie Brennan's world building finally comes to a very unexpected close, making me want to reread the series all over again and re-experience the it with the newfound knowledge.
Bringing Darkness Into Light, as well as its predecessors, is a brilliant combination of Alternate History, Epic Fantasy, natural and archeological history, and drama. Also there are plentiful of dragons and representation.
I can never recommend The Memoirs of Lady Trent Series & Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan enough.
Review for the Audiobook:
Barrie Kreinik, a different voice actress than Kate Reading who voice acted the original series, and Raphael Corkhill did a incredible job narrating this novel. Their voices perfectly captured the new and long beloved characters, Marie Brennan’s wonderfully writing, and the very world itself.
nonesensed's review against another edition
hopeful
5.0
Being the granddaughter of the famous Lady Trent is trying. Not because one's grandmother is cruel or demanding, but because it comes with certain goals to measure up to, if only in one's own head. With a not too distant personal and public disaster behind her, our dear main character finds herself faced with an opportunity she cannot miss out on: translating one of the oldest and most complete Draconian texts ever discovered. She'll just have to put up with a pompous fool with no appreciation for history and his niece/ward while working in complete secrecy. What could go wrong?
I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to learn The Memoirs of Lady Trent had a sequel! A little apprehensive too, but that's only to be expected when reading a new part of a formerly finished series. You never know if a sequel will manage to capture the magic of its predecessor, but this book definitely did! I read it together with my sister, and we both had a marvelous time revisiting this world!
A good sequel brings back what was good about the first story while adding something new, and Turning Darkness Into Light aimed for that target and hit center. Not only are we switching the memoir format for a more 'found footage' situation, the original cast have cameos but do not dominate the plot. You follow along the story as the characters themselves learn about what's happening, and you get to know them as themselves, without too much influence from previous characters, though also tying this book to the previous ones at appropriate moments, so it's a true sequel instead of a story simply set in the same world (no hate for those kind of stories, but with such a character driven setting it'd be tricky for me to dive fully in without some anchor to our previous cast).
This year, I truly needed some 'hopepunk'. This book provided that for me. Highly recommended!
I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to learn The Memoirs of Lady Trent had a sequel! A little apprehensive too, but that's only to be expected when reading a new part of a formerly finished series. You never know if a sequel will manage to capture the magic of its predecessor, but this book definitely did! I read it together with my sister, and we both had a marvelous time revisiting this world!
A good sequel brings back what was good about the first story while adding something new, and Turning Darkness Into Light aimed for that target and hit center. Not only are we switching the memoir format for a more 'found footage' situation, the original cast have cameos but do not dominate the plot. You follow along the story as the characters themselves learn about what's happening, and you get to know them as themselves, without too much influence from previous characters, though also tying this book to the previous ones at appropriate moments, so it's a true sequel instead of a story simply set in the same world (no hate for those kind of stories, but with such a character driven setting it'd be tricky for me to dive fully in without some anchor to our previous cast).
This year, I truly needed some 'hopepunk'. This book provided that for me. Highly recommended!
ghostmila's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
babyvirgo's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm glad I didn't read the summary and jumped into this book via a recommendation. The summary is horrible, should be demolished, and rewritten as such; "(Maintain the granddaughter of Trent paragraph), this story explores the journal writings of lead linguistic archeologists as they translate newly found historical tablets."
Done. That's it. Don't say anything else. The book spoon feeds it to you and has good measure of jokes. Leave it as that is, and maybe mention in the beginning that we're are other books preceeding and exploring this one's specifics. It seemed very familiar with vocabulary use, so I am reassured this is a sequel.
The funniest bits in this story are the ones given by form of the narrative: spoiler ~ 'I am going to do this thing, I am excited for it.' Next page 'Arrest record for character X'... it happens more than once and is more delightful than an abrupt scene change in cinematography. Love the nerdier aspects of language, it brings a whole value to the story. Some of the pacing was off, but it was a good read.
Done. That's it. Don't say anything else. The book spoon feeds it to you and has good measure of jokes. Leave it as that is, and maybe mention in the beginning that we're are other books preceeding and exploring this one's specifics. It seemed very familiar with vocabulary use, so I am reassured this is a sequel.
The funniest bits in this story are the ones given by form of the narrative: spoiler ~ 'I am going to do this thing, I am excited for it.' Next page 'Arrest record for character X'... it happens more than once and is more delightful than an abrupt scene change in cinematography. Love the nerdier aspects of language, it brings a whole value to the story. Some of the pacing was off, but it was a good read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Xenophobia, War, Murder, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Child death
wrzlprmft's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75