Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasing conclusion, 7 Oct 2002
By A Customer
Having been spellbound by Transformation and Revelation, I awaited Restoration with bated breath.
Could it be as satisfying as the wonderful Transformation? Or as complex and infuriating as Revelation?
Well, the answer is yes, to a degree, it is both of these things. What Restoration isn't, is an 'easy' read. You have to concentrate, and pay attention to detail to fully appreciate the depth of characterisation and writing involved.Once again, Seyonne, the ex-slave, is drawn to his old master, and now friend, Prince Aleksander, because Aleksander's world is falling apart. Aleksander's father has been murdered, and he is being blamed.
Seyonne is still living with his own demons, quite literally, and he knows that he must soon enter the realm of the Rai Kirah, to fully come to terms with his shared soul. Should Seyonne leave the human world, and quiet his own torment, or should he help Aleksander, a man he knows has a destiny as yet unfulfilled? This story twists, and turns, and we learn so much, it's almost overwhelming, but as you turn the last page, you will feel a sense of satisfaction, as well as sadness, that this is the last in the trilogy. Well written, nicely plotted, with powerful characters who stay with you long after the books are finished.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific writing, just a warning. You won't be able to stop., 26 Jan 2005
By A Customer
Once in a while there comes an author that manages to write something capable of pulling you completely into their world. If you foolishly let them, they start driving you through their fantasy worlds, playing with your emotions until you just can't bear to leave them, or to leave one of their books unfinished.I'd say Carol Berg managed to do just that. This is the last part of her Rai-Kirah trilogy, where with a bit of luck, all mysteries will be revealed and we'll see if the destiny the characters have sensed since the start will actually come through or just end in disaster. If you already read the other books, I don't believe much urging to read this one should be necessary: Yes, it -does- get even better, although the ending is definitely bittersweet, and will leave you craving for... something other to happen. If you're set for hard emotions and fantastic writing, you can just read this trilogy, then follow it with a dash of C.S.Friedman's Coldfire trilogy and Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy... They're all very different, but all sure to make you not want to stop until you're finished.
|
|
|
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
disappointing conclusion, 11 Sep 2002
By A Customer
Unlike many phantasy authors, Carol Berg in her books illustrates that the world is not just black and white. In book one an enemy, Aleksander, becomes a trusted friend, and in the second the knowledge about demons, that Seyonne took for granted and build his entire life around, proves to be wrong. And then along comes the third, and all this interesting plot twists come to nothing.
The third book is centered almost entirely around Seyonne. Appearances by characters such as Aleksander, Fiona or Blaise are just peppered in, but they hardly feature at all. Which is a shame, since the scenes with Aleksander and his loving wife are about the only thing which makes the book worthwhile.
Ysanne, love of Seyonnes life, is mentioned more or less as a footnote in a dialogue.
Seyonne spends the entire book battling Denas or what is left of him, once again succumbing to the prejudices of the first book. The revelation of the second book apparently whithered and died somewhere along the way. Only at the end does Seyonne realise his mistake and feel sorry for what he did to Denas and the reader is sorry that he didn't realise it sooner and the book didn't fulfill the promises of the first two.
Carol Berg is an excellent writer, the first two books in the series, even though the second one was a little slow in the middle, are among the most enjoyable reads in the fantasy genre. The third however is somewhat inconsistent with the storyline of the first two. It is still readable, but I found it to be highly disappointing.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Carol Berg
by Carol Berg
by Carol Berg
by Carol Berg
by Carol Berg
See all Product Description
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home