- Mass Market Paperback
- Publisher: Del Rey; First Edition edition (Sep 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345371011
- ISBN-13: 978-0345371010
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 11.2 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,508,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Rainbow Abyss
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
When Rhion the banker's son met the Master Wizard Jaldis, Jaldis said, "Come." Rhion came, leaving everything behind to answer the call in his blood. And through long years of drudgery and persecution, he had no regrets. Thus he became a wizard.
A noble burned out Jaldis' eyes to please some god; Rhion made magic glasses so he could see. Together, they opened the dark well to the Abyss between universes, and a cry for help came from a world that had lost all magic. Could that happen to their world? Though forced to flee again, Jaldis was determined to reach that world through the Abyss, to help and to find how the magic was lost.
Rhion had nightmares over that. Jaldis was blind without magic. Rhion could not let him go alone. Yet the Abyss terrorized Rhion. Guided only by a voice without magic, they might land on the wrong world or drift forever in the hell of the void. And how could they ever return?
The idea made Rhion shudder to the depths of his soul. Yet he was sure that someday the nightmare must come true!
A noble burned out Jaldis' eyes to please some god; Rhion made magic glasses so he could see. Together, they opened the dark well to the Abyss between universes, and a cry for help came from a world that had lost all magic. Could that happen to their world? Though forced to flee again, Jaldis was determined to reach that world through the Abyss, to help and to find how the magic was lost.
Rhion had nightmares over that. Jaldis was blind without magic. Rhion could not let him go alone. Yet the Abyss terrorized Rhion. Guided only by a voice without magic, they might land on the wrong world or drift forever in the hell of the void. And how could they ever return?
The idea made Rhion shudder to the depths of his soul. Yet he was sure that someday the nightmare must come true!
From the Back Cover
'The Rainbow Abyss' is a brilliant new fantasy by the best selling author of 'The Darwath Trilogy, Dragonsbane 'and 'Immortal Blood'.
Jaldis and Rhion make a scant living, like most freelance wizards in a hostile universe, from luck spells, love potions and fortune telling. Love and magic are dangerous practices: combining the two can be lethal, as Rhion discovers when he sells a love potion to the wrong woman. Before long, the wizards are running for their lives, leaving a rare and dangerous spell unfinished.
Years pass before Jaldis can repeat the spell: to open a Dark Well across the Void. From the Well he hears a voice crying for help: magic in their world is being destroyed – they need a wizard to save them …
“Barbara Hambly is a shining example of what can be done with the motifs and wonders that endear this genre to those of uswho still seek a touch of magic in our reading.”
CHARLES DE LINT
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In talking with other Barbara Hambly fans, the Sun-Cross novels rarely come up. Why? I am not really sure.
Certainly they are much darker in tone, compared to her other fantasy novels, which are not, themselves, particularly frothy or cheerful. Her characteristic ascerbic comments and throwaway, casual references to horrors are even more to the fore here.
The world-setting is a characteristically Hambly one: wizards are a presecuted minority, the Church is corrupt and bigoted; the settings may be fantasy, but the portrayal of human nature, often at its worst, is thoughtful and realistic. This background description could equally fit the Darkover novels or the Windrose Chronicles, but whereas in those novels, the background serves as the setting for heroic actions against an alien foe, and a love story, in "The Rainbow Abyss" the social setting comes to the fore and becomes the driving point of the plot.
Probably this review will drive some people away, but for those who like their fantasy thoughtful, unflinching and memorable, this is heartily recommended. It is the sort of story that you do not just read avidly, you then find yourself discussing it long afterwards.
I am reluctant to give the plot away, over than to say that it primarily about a student's devotion to his master, the wizard Jaldis, who has been tortured and crippled by hostile politicians. Working together, they hope to escape to another world, where magicians are welcomed and appreciated.
Why only 4 stars? Some elements of the setting are rather clicheed, and she reiterates familar themes of hostility to organised religion.
The sequel, "The Magician's of Night" suffers from none of the above flaws. It is original, brilliant, and justifies the harshness of the imagery used in this book. But it works best as a sequel, with the back story of the main protagonist clearly examined in "The Rainbow Abyss" - so, do give a chance to the quiet hero here!
Certainly they are much darker in tone, compared to her other fantasy novels, which are not, themselves, particularly frothy or cheerful. Her characteristic ascerbic comments and throwaway, casual references to horrors are even more to the fore here.
The world-setting is a characteristically Hambly one: wizards are a presecuted minority, the Church is corrupt and bigoted; the settings may be fantasy, but the portrayal of human nature, often at its worst, is thoughtful and realistic. This background description could equally fit the Darkover novels or the Windrose Chronicles, but whereas in those novels, the background serves as the setting for heroic actions against an alien foe, and a love story, in "The Rainbow Abyss" the social setting comes to the fore and becomes the driving point of the plot.
Probably this review will drive some people away, but for those who like their fantasy thoughtful, unflinching and memorable, this is heartily recommended. It is the sort of story that you do not just read avidly, you then find yourself discussing it long afterwards.
I am reluctant to give the plot away, over than to say that it primarily about a student's devotion to his master, the wizard Jaldis, who has been tortured and crippled by hostile politicians. Working together, they hope to escape to another world, where magicians are welcomed and appreciated.
Why only 4 stars? Some elements of the setting are rather clicheed, and she reiterates familar themes of hostility to organised religion.
The sequel, "The Magician's of Night" suffers from none of the above flaws. It is original, brilliant, and justifies the harshness of the imagery used in this book. But it works best as a sequel, with the back story of the main protagonist clearly examined in "The Rainbow Abyss" - so, do give a chance to the quiet hero here!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As I suggest in the title I dont think this book is a Hambly classic by any stretch of the imagination it seems laboured, implausable and lacks any real bite to the plot and plods along in a most unHambly like style. Saying that no doubt Hambly fans will purchase it simply because she wrote it, as I did, just dont get your hopes up too much.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Interesting universe plan here...
13 Sep 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I really liked this book and am eagerly awaiting a sequel... someday... please? The main character is intriguing, and I hope he learns to get over his feelings of inadequacy. I very much want to see how he applies what he learned to events in his home universe, where he is sorely needed!
It is a real shame that this is out of print.
This is another universe-changing story; the characters move from their own universe into another where the laws of magic are different. A reference indicates that this is the same "universe" as the Ingold books but is otherwise unrelated.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Unfinished trilogy.
10 Jun 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book and its sequel were good reads. But it has been ten years! since she published the second book. Apparently she will never finish the story. So I can't recommend reading or buying either of the Sun Cross books.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Read this so you can read the sequel!
16 Nov 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Rainbow Abyss is a piece of fantasy fiction involving magic in an alternate universe. As always, Hambly's characters are interesting, the details of the universe are enchanting, and the book is very well-written. However, this book lacked the compelling plot of some of her other novels. The main characters are forced from their home and one meets his love interest, but there was no central issue pulling the novel to a close. I found that I had no trouble setting the book down at night; there was no driving compulsion to keep reading.
That said, it is certainly a pleasant read and the lack of pull makes it an excellent before-bed book.
I highly recommend reading this book so you can read the sequel, which kept me reading for hours. I looked forward to getting home at night so I could continue reading the sequel, which has all the plot twists, anxious moments, and compelling story lines that make a novel a compulsive read.
Sex: The main character does sleep with his love interest. It is not described in any detail, nor are any of the sexual encounters referenced.
Violence: Torture is referenced often. One of the main characters is described as having had his tongue cut out and eyes gouged out. At some point in the novel, the other main character comes very close to being tortured. Nothing is discussed in too much gory detail.
Cursing: No curse-words, but I believe that the book contains some unfavorable terms for sexually-promiscuous women.
That said, it is certainly a pleasant read and the lack of pull makes it an excellent before-bed book.
I highly recommend reading this book so you can read the sequel, which kept me reading for hours. I looked forward to getting home at night so I could continue reading the sequel, which has all the plot twists, anxious moments, and compelling story lines that make a novel a compulsive read.
Sex: The main character does sleep with his love interest. It is not described in any detail, nor are any of the sexual encounters referenced.
Violence: Torture is referenced often. One of the main characters is described as having had his tongue cut out and eyes gouged out. At some point in the novel, the other main character comes very close to being tortured. Nothing is discussed in too much gory detail.
Cursing: No curse-words, but I believe that the book contains some unfavorable terms for sexually-promiscuous women.
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