- Paperback: 720 pages
- Publisher: Earthlight; 1st ed. edition (20 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743416074
- ISBN-13: 978-0743416078
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 575,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Obsidian Tower starts where the second of the Jewelfire trilogy, The Sapphire Throne ended, with the forced abdication of the high Queen Helan and the assumption of power by Vaugroth, priest-king of the asexual alien Bhahdradomen. This was a brilliantly conceived surprise, and Freda Warrington devotes much of this third book to exploring its consequences: Vaugroth is a fanatic, but not a stupid one, and his rule convincingly combines apparent benevolence with real terror. Warrington's gives a large cast of good characters--perhaps too many to keep track of--whose bravery, neuroses and generally messy emotional lives provide much incidental entertainment. They mill around a standard fantasy landscape collecting those allies and weapons with which Vaugroth might be defeated--there is nothing new here, but a lot of good passing moments.
What we are waiting for is for Warrington to come up with some genuine surprises to top those which cause the climaxes of the two earlier books, and of course she does. Warrington has a real gift for playing fair with her readers and nonetheless pulling the feet out from under us, more than once; the real success of each of these books is that some routine fantasy plot manoeuvring always turns out to be the structure which enables something genuinely shocking to creep up on us. --Roz Kaveney
Publishing News
One of the best British writers of fantasy
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning and sometimes unexpected conclusion,
By A Customer
This review is from: Obsidian Tower (The Shadowfire) (Paperback)
At the end of The Sapphire Throne, things looked pretty grim for the characters and for the humans of Aventuria in general. The Obsidian Tower rounds things off very nicely, but Warrington refuses to opt for a "safe" totally happy ending. Characters are killed when you least expect it, plot revelations pull not only the rug from under your feet but the floor too, and just when you think it is all over... nasty surprises await you. And in the meantime, the characters manage to have much sex with one another, and don't just restrict themselves to the opposite gender. And even this has a function other than just titillation. Needless to say, there is enough material to justify many books, and the indication at the end is that another series could well be possible too! Fantastic.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fitting end to a great trilogy !,
By
This review is from: Obsidian Tower (The Shadowfire) (Paperback)
A great finish to the trilogy - I loved the scene-setting and the characters, but was also very impressed with the fact that Freda Warrington is quite happy to break with tradition and kill off major characters just when you're not expecting it !Would thoroughly recommend the Shadowfire trilogy to any lovers of the fantasy genre.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kick In The Guts Ending:(,
By CeNedra Red "Readalot" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Obsidian Tower (The Shadowfire) (Paperback)
I've just finished reading this series, and I'm still reeling from the totally savage ending. To say it was like being kicked in the guts is something of an understatement. It all falls apart in the very last chapter, even though it had been quite a good series up to that point. I'm no prude, but I could have done without the never ending sex, with everyone in sight, or so it often seemed. The story would have been so much better without it. As for the rest of the series, I actually liked it, although I really didn't like the main female character, Tanthe at all, as I found her extremely selfish. The story, on the whole, was good, though not great, the action was fast paced and stirring, and the majority of the characters were OK. Really disappointing, after all was said and done. As for the other person who wrote a review for this book, hoping that there will be a follow on, I have to say I hope not. But I suppose I don't have to read it, even if there is a follow up series. Let this sleeping dog lie, enough is enough.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
