The Twisted Citadel
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Product Description
Review
Praise for The Axis Trilogy:
‘The twists, revelations and foreshadowings keep you turning pages’
SFX
‘Absorbing. Those who like their battles bloody and realistic will get their desire, but here also are moments of great tenderness’
Starburst
Product Description
Sara Douglass has won legions of fans around the world for her epic tales of sorcery, forbidden love, and heart-pounding action. Now, with the DarkGlass Mountain saga, she reveals her biggest adventure yet.
Tencendor is no more. The land is gone. But a few Sunsoars still remain, and a new foe walks the world.
Three new heroes have stepped forward: Ishbel Brunelle, priestess of the Serpent Coil; Isaiah, the Tyrant of Isembaard; and Maximillian, the Lord of Elcho Falling. Yet despite their best efforts, the dark god Kanubai has risen. And worse yet, war approaches, as the Darkglass Mountain has raised a vaste horde to ravage the land.
As the trio struggle to keep their supporters and alliances alive, the Sunsoars have their own challenges…including the chance to finally rejoin the magical Star Dance, and the appearance of the Lealfast, long-lost kin to the Icarii who may be friends…or deadly enemies. As tensions rise between the two races, Axis Sunsoar revives his elite Strike Force in a desperate bid to stop the darkness.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I put this book down just a few days ago and on finding that there were currently no reviews here felt compelled, particularly in the light of the very sad news that Sara Douglass had passed away recently, to write one in tribute to such a talented, imaginative author and an incredible book ..... hopefully without giving away too much of the plot as it is one to be savoured as each page is turned.
Oh, where to start and where to find the words to do the author and this book sufficient justice. I guess any reader of Sara's previous books will appreciate the talent and fertile imagination she has in creating her stories, settings and characters but boy oh boy with this one Sara has truly excelled herself.
The Twisted Citadel, following the first book in the trilogy The Serpent Bride (another great book btw) where the characters are assembled; many drawn from Sara's previous Axis and Wayfarer Redemption trilogies and also her books Threshold and Beyond The Hanging Wall (hopefully anyone embarking on this trilogy will have read all of those), it is quite incredible how she manages to weave these characters or descendants of previous characters from these books into the plot, along with many new and equally fascinating ones. From the first page you are drawn relentlessly through the twists and turns as both fate and history turn events and magical powers are lost and found, along with shedloads of double-dealing and trickery, to take the characters to the brink and back and there and back again and again, at times on a rollercoaster that left me wide-mouthed and gasping as horrors and evil beyond imagining unfold, yet with some truly heart-warming moments of empathy and heroism between some of the characters who have aligned themselves for good, as we also see magical powers and illusions beyond your wildest dreams unleashed to both create and destroy in the battle for ultimate power as the forces of good and evil seek to outwit and outmanoeuvre each other for control of this mystical land and it's power with events that, at times, take on epic proportions.
In summing up: A truly great fantasy read!!
Warning: Be sure to have to have plenty of time on your hands when you pick this up as you will not want to put it down and do have your copy of the final number of this trilogy, The Infinity Gate, to hand as you finish this as you surely won't want to miss a heartbeat as you turn the final page.
Oh, where to start and where to find the words to do the author and this book sufficient justice. I guess any reader of Sara's previous books will appreciate the talent and fertile imagination she has in creating her stories, settings and characters but boy oh boy with this one Sara has truly excelled herself.
The Twisted Citadel, following the first book in the trilogy The Serpent Bride (another great book btw) where the characters are assembled; many drawn from Sara's previous Axis and Wayfarer Redemption trilogies and also her books Threshold and Beyond The Hanging Wall (hopefully anyone embarking on this trilogy will have read all of those), it is quite incredible how she manages to weave these characters or descendants of previous characters from these books into the plot, along with many new and equally fascinating ones. From the first page you are drawn relentlessly through the twists and turns as both fate and history turn events and magical powers are lost and found, along with shedloads of double-dealing and trickery, to take the characters to the brink and back and there and back again and again, at times on a rollercoaster that left me wide-mouthed and gasping as horrors and evil beyond imagining unfold, yet with some truly heart-warming moments of empathy and heroism between some of the characters who have aligned themselves for good, as we also see magical powers and illusions beyond your wildest dreams unleashed to both create and destroy in the battle for ultimate power as the forces of good and evil seek to outwit and outmanoeuvre each other for control of this mystical land and it's power with events that, at times, take on epic proportions.
In summing up: A truly great fantasy read!!
Warning: Be sure to have to have plenty of time on your hands when you pick this up as you will not want to put it down and do have your copy of the final number of this trilogy, The Infinity Gate, to hand as you finish this as you surely won't want to miss a heartbeat as you turn the final page.
Format:Kindle Edition
I read both book one The Serpent Bride and this - book two The Twisted Citadel in 5 days. I loved both and found myself totally absorbed once again in the world of Sara Douglass. You could read these without having read any of her previous works but having read the others so much comes through in these from before with new twists and turns bringing her previous fantasy titles and loved characters into being in these.
My only negative would have to be the spelling in this edition - looks like a bad case of spell checker which is a shame and sometimes amusing but not a hinderance to reading a great story.
My only negative would have to be the spelling in this edition - looks like a bad case of spell checker which is a shame and sometimes amusing but not a hinderance to reading a great story.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
fine middle book quest fantasy
1 Jun 2008
Format:Hardcover
Escator King Maximilian and his former Queen Ishbel battle their strong feelings for one another. However, both have doubts about reheating their romance as the first time it ended sadly and though they care for one another they both fear it will end badly again.
At the same time the rulers debate the merits of their on and off relationship, Escator's military chieftain Isaiah and the Icarii enchanter Axis SunSoar plot strategy to fight the powerful evil demonic god Kanubai. Since DarkGlass Mountain has absorbed Kanubai, the demon has become even more dangerous to the country and this malevolence is growing stronger. Both Isaiah and Axis know they must act promptly before it is too late; their fear is that it is already too late.
Although not as strong as the Axis Trilogy or the first DarkGkss Mountain entry (see THE SERPENT BRIDE), THE TWISTED CITADEL is predominantly a middle book quest fantasy. Still bone weary and mentally exhausted Maximilian makes the tale with his tired muses that being a hero and champion is not fun; he just wants to stay home for a change and ignore his responsibility of battling evil. The cast is solid regardless of species especially the human and Icarii team-up and the story line is fast-paced, but progress in spite of some vividly described encounters is limited as this second act mostly sets up the grand finish.
Harriet Klausner
At the same time the rulers debate the merits of their on and off relationship, Escator's military chieftain Isaiah and the Icarii enchanter Axis SunSoar plot strategy to fight the powerful evil demonic god Kanubai. Since DarkGlass Mountain has absorbed Kanubai, the demon has become even more dangerous to the country and this malevolence is growing stronger. Both Isaiah and Axis know they must act promptly before it is too late; their fear is that it is already too late.
Although not as strong as the Axis Trilogy or the first DarkGkss Mountain entry (see THE SERPENT BRIDE), THE TWISTED CITADEL is predominantly a middle book quest fantasy. Still bone weary and mentally exhausted Maximilian makes the tale with his tired muses that being a hero and champion is not fun; he just wants to stay home for a change and ignore his responsibility of battling evil. The cast is solid regardless of species especially the human and Icarii team-up and the story line is fast-paced, but progress in spite of some vividly described encounters is limited as this second act mostly sets up the grand finish.
Harriet Klausner
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Not Douglass's best
24 Aug 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I loved Sara Douglass's earlier novels, especially the six that comprise the Wayfarer Redemption series. The "Darkglass Mountain" series is a continuation of that saga, with a few of the characters returning. "The Twisted Citadel" and its predecessor, "The Serpent Bride," are certainly better than the "Troy Game" series (which started well, but I found quite tedious by Book 3), and the dreadful "Crucible" trilogy, which I couldn't finish.
To give Douglass her due, she is very good at creating a vivid fantasy world, peopled with interesting and often bizarre characters. Her plotting is intricate (I won't attempt to summarise it here) and generally holds the attention, though I confess I found "The Twisted Citadel" quite slow moving at times, and I had a sense of deja vu in respect of the plot, too: eg. Maximilian's distrust of Ishbel parallels Axis's attitude to Azhure in the first of the "Axis" books, although most likely this was deliberate. Douglass's flair for description is very much evident, and she certainly doesn't spare the reader during the darker moments of the novel.
What bothered me about "The Twisted Citadel" though was the quality of the prose, which is unfortunately a bit patchy. I am not sure whether the writing style has deteriorated, or whether it was always like that and I just notice it more than when I first started reading her novels. Whatever the case, there is a lot of redundant or overly expository dialogue, and the characters have an irritating habit of repeating the name of the person to whom they are speaking in almost *every* line, so you start to wonder whether they are all telemarketers in their spare time: I was half hoping Ishbel would eventually say to Maximilian, "I know my own name, thanks - you don't have to remind me of it every ten seconds." I also found parts of the narrative a bit repetitive, and could have been tightened up somewhat. The characterisation also needs a bit of work; the major protagonists - Ishbel, Maximilian, Isaiah, Axis etc - are portrayed in a way that renders them rather remote, and as a result while I was objectively interested in what would happen to them, I did not feel any real sense of attachment to them.
Nonetheless, it did keep me reading, and wanting to find out the ultimate conclusion in the third book. Overall, therefore, it's okay, and warrants a solid three stars. It's certainly essential to have read the prequel first - this book is not written in a way that someone new to the series could totally make sense of it as a stand alone novel. I'd also recommend that readers seek out the Wayfarer Redemption books first and read them chronologically, because the references in this and "Serpent's Bride" make much more sense if one has read the preceding series; in addition, some of the central plot points and themes of this novel hark back to an earlier stand-alone one, "Threshold."
To give Douglass her due, she is very good at creating a vivid fantasy world, peopled with interesting and often bizarre characters. Her plotting is intricate (I won't attempt to summarise it here) and generally holds the attention, though I confess I found "The Twisted Citadel" quite slow moving at times, and I had a sense of deja vu in respect of the plot, too: eg. Maximilian's distrust of Ishbel parallels Axis's attitude to Azhure in the first of the "Axis" books, although most likely this was deliberate. Douglass's flair for description is very much evident, and she certainly doesn't spare the reader during the darker moments of the novel.
What bothered me about "The Twisted Citadel" though was the quality of the prose, which is unfortunately a bit patchy. I am not sure whether the writing style has deteriorated, or whether it was always like that and I just notice it more than when I first started reading her novels. Whatever the case, there is a lot of redundant or overly expository dialogue, and the characters have an irritating habit of repeating the name of the person to whom they are speaking in almost *every* line, so you start to wonder whether they are all telemarketers in their spare time: I was half hoping Ishbel would eventually say to Maximilian, "I know my own name, thanks - you don't have to remind me of it every ten seconds." I also found parts of the narrative a bit repetitive, and could have been tightened up somewhat. The characterisation also needs a bit of work; the major protagonists - Ishbel, Maximilian, Isaiah, Axis etc - are portrayed in a way that renders them rather remote, and as a result while I was objectively interested in what would happen to them, I did not feel any real sense of attachment to them.
Nonetheless, it did keep me reading, and wanting to find out the ultimate conclusion in the third book. Overall, therefore, it's okay, and warrants a solid three stars. It's certainly essential to have read the prequel first - this book is not written in a way that someone new to the series could totally make sense of it as a stand alone novel. I'd also recommend that readers seek out the Wayfarer Redemption books first and read them chronologically, because the references in this and "Serpent's Bride" make much more sense if one has read the preceding series; in addition, some of the central plot points and themes of this novel hark back to an earlier stand-alone one, "Threshold."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Not one of her best books
7 May 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was hoping this new series would be on par with the "Wayfarer Redemption" series, but so far I must say I've been disappointed. The Twisted Citadel was extremely slow...so much so that I put it down several times and had to talk myself into picking it back up again! I mean, it wasn't a TOTAL waste of time or anything, but it certainly wasn't a page turner. I'm hopeful that the next book will show a dramatic increase in action and some plot twists or something!
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