Review: THE OBSIDIAN TRILOGY

[image credit: Todd Lockwood]

The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Genre: epic fantasy

Retrospective Review:

I'm going to review this trilogy as one because the first two books both ended in cliffhangers which therefore ought not to be read individually anyway. I strongly suggest that you have all three books in this trilogy before starting to read it because you would want to read the next book straight away as soon as you hit the cliffhanger. And let me tell you, you'll have a wonderful reading pleasure waiting for you with this trilogy!! You lucky bastard!

In my case, I had to wait for a year before the second book and two more years after that, before I could read the final book. Despite all the frustration and the fact that I've forgotten the story already save for a vague idea of what the story was anymore after two years, but as soon as I started reading the third book, all my angst and frustrations were forgotten! The story telling quality is simply masterful... carried me away to a totally different world! The world building in fantastic!! A very beautiful architecture which I could totally believe and immerse in.

[image credit: Todd Lockwood]

The characters walked around in my head long after I finished reading the books. The characters have such a strong presence that I may have forgotten their names but I never forgot the feel of the character. How weird is that?! That helped me gap the memory loss between books though. Helped me remember the previous book(s). Very helpful! Not sure whether to attribute that to the authors' character development skills or my own personal memory quirk, I don't know. Either way, I found that the character development is very very good!

And let's not forget the fact that there's a dragon in it too. Me being a dragon geek, love it!

Empirical Evaluation:
Character Development = 5
World Building = 5
Plot = 4
Story  = 4
Ending = 4.5
Story Telling Quality = 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


The Books In The Obsidian Trilogy:
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Book 1 of The Obsidian Trilogy

About The Outstretched Shadow:

In the captivating world conjured by veteran Lackey and classical scholar Mallory (Merlin: The Old Magic) in this first of a high fantasy trilogy, there are three types of magic, each of which has its own rules, limits and variables. But it is the Wild Magic-anathema to Armethalieh, "the Golden City of the Bells," and considered by its residents to be heresy and truly evil-that has the most unusual aspects, for its practitioners must bargain for what they need and pay an often high price for power. Kellen Tavadon, son of Arch-Mage Lycaelon of Armethalieh, has been raised (indoctrinated, actually) to believe that High Magick is the only true magic and that his father and the Council of Mages have the final word. But Kellen isn't so sure. He's always been a bit suspicious of the council's tight control over the city. One day, while playing hooky from his lessons in magery, Kellen finds a set of books about Wild Magic. He knows he shouldn't touch them. To open the books and read them is to court a death sentence, no matter if your father is the Arch-Mage. But Kellen can't resist. And thus, after a bit of a slow start, Kellen sets down a road he never expected to take, on a journey of dire importance to both humans and nonhumans (the latter including elves, unicorns and other enchanting creatures).

Source: Info in the About The Outstretched Shadow was taken from one of the authors' website at http://www.mercedeslackey.com/books/mountain.html on 22/05/2011.

To Light A Candle by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Book 2 of The Obsidian Trilogy

About To Light A Candle:

To Light a Candle is the second book in the Obsidian Mountain trilogy.

In To Light a Candle, the Demon Queen sends her forces against her human and elven enemies, sowing distraction and death. In the human City, the Queen's agents work to divide the Council and foment rebellion among the City's citizens. In the countryside, they target the most vulnerable and valuable---the young Elf Prince and the Wild Mages who might be the Demons' most dangerous enemies.

To his own surprise, young Kellen, once the disappointing son of the great Mage who leads the City's Mage Council, has become a powerful Knight-Mage. Valued for his bravery and his skills as both wizard and warrior, Kellen joins the Elves' war councils. Yet he cannot convince the City of his birth that it is in terrible danger.

Kellen's sister Idalia, a Wild Mage with great healing ability, has pledged her heart to Jermayan, a proud Elven warrior. Someday Idalia will pay a tragic Price for a world-saving work of Wild Magic, but until then, she will claim any joy life can offer her. Jermayan, who has learned much while fighting at Kellen's side and loving the human Idalia, finds that everything changes when he Bonds with a dragon while rescuing the Elf Prince and becomes the first Elven Mage in a thousand years.

Furious at her enemies' success with the dragon, the Demon Queen attacks in force. Light struggles against Dark, like flickering candleflames buried deep in the shadow of Obsidian Mountain.

Source: Info in the About To Light A Candle was taken from one of the authors' website at http://www.mercedeslackey.com/books/mountain2.html on 22/05/2011.

When Darkness Falls by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Book 3 of The Obsidian Trilogy

About When Darkness Falls:

A great working of Wild Magic and High Magic strikes at the heart of the Demon Queen's plots, but the human city, the Golden City of the Bells, falls farther under her sway with each day that passes. And without the City's High Magicians, the Wild Magicians, the Elven Army, and all their allies will surely fall before the onslaught of the Demon Queen's malignant warriors. But not all hope is lost. The Light's young mages, tempered by war, grow ever more powerful. High Mage Cilarnen learns an ancient secret that can make him, for a brief, white-hot time, the greatest mage in the world---unless it kills him. Jermayan, the first Elf-Mage in centuries, has linked with the dragon Ancaladar and rediscovered the swift-as-thought powers of Elven magic, which can reshape mountains and summon lightning from clear skies. Knight-Mage Kellen has molded his troops and the Unicorn Knights into a deadly fighting force. Soon the Elven King and his Commanders put Kellen's magical gifts to their greatest test, in the final battle between the Elves, the humans, and the Demons.

Source: Info in the About When Darkness Falls was taken from one of the authors' website at http://www.mercedeslackey.com/books/mountain3.html on 22/05/2011.