Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Crown of Shadows (Coldfire Series #3)
4.6 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
39 reviews.
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I love this series. The power of thought, of suggestion. Fear and what we will do to feel safe, what we will do to survive.
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Amazingly, this is one of the few books that I read, enjoyed, and COMPLETELY forgot the entire storyline. Re-reading it revealed it to be a decent book, but one that I didn't like as much as it's predecessors. Not because it was any less quality, just because I dislike the way in which it ended. Nevermind that this was the way the series was set out to end from the beginning, and it worked out well for almost everyone, but the result of the final plot twist left the world a much less magical one, and much more technological/like our own. And that always makes me sad. Although I could definitely see some interesting stories being set in the future of that world, with one of the few lone fae users amidts all the new tech.
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Damien and Tarrant continue their uneasy alliance, determined to halt the demon Calesta's machinations. Meanwhile, to complicate matters the Patriarch is being manipulated into initiating a holy war against the Forest.As a teen I extolled the virtues of the Dragonlance saga, Shannara, etc.; not so much now. I sense this trilogy is similar, something I would have appreciated more when I was younger and less critical. Happily it's not all bad news for this concluding volume. The villain is already identified for a change, an enormous time saver that jump-starts the plot. Andrys and Narilka are interesting and I liked their relationship. I enjoyed an enormously satisfying scene where the Patriarch forces Damien to face the mix of moralizing thoughts and pragmatic actions that made me despise him in the previous book. But halfway through, the plot began to fail. On the one hand, the Patriarch lets Damien off the hook for saving Tarrant's life, giving them free reign to challenge Calesta as a united team, because he realizes Calesta is trying to manipulate him. At the same time, he gets started on his plot to destroy Tarrant and his Forest with Andrys' help - because he doesn't realize Calesta is trying to manipulate him? Damien learns of the Church's plan to assault the Forest, but never pauses to wonder how it's going to be done, conveniently leaving him in the dark about Andrys. I guess he thought the Patriarch could take down the Forest any old time he wanted to.Minor irritants added up: the sentence fragments ("In the depths of the forest. In the Hunter's citadel."), the POV exceptions ("Behind him, out of hearing, Calesta laughed."), the artifically short chapters. Done for effect, the transparency of these devices spoiled their scenes and took me out of the moment. Which is too bad, because sometimes I was actually invested.The dark tone is intentional, and I appreciate there are readers who won't be fazed a bit, but I would have welcomed some comedy to balance all the doom-and-gloom drama. I do leave the series with an appreciation for its unique world. Tarrant is similarly a special creation, and there's a few scenes and several good ideas that are pretty captivating. It could have been a lot worse. Unfortunately there were too many snags in the last two thirds of the trilogy to prevent my critical adult self from enjoying the story without a lot of shaking my head over it.
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This one capstones the series. The Middle book was just a page holder until you could see the finale. Again-- the same issues and edges-- but now the characters wrestle with the final choices and redemption.
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I enjoyed reading these three books. The bond that happens between Damien and Gerald is very complex. There were times when it seemed the same story line accured throughout the three books. The same pattern of taking a long journey against impossible odds, but was still a good read.
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I love this trio of books. This is about the 5th or 6th time reading them! My books are all worn out because i try to read them every 1 to 2 years. Now i have them on my Nook! I recommend these. If you like the wheel of time series, you will like these.
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I'm an avid reader of Sci-Fi & Fantasy and was running out of reading material that didn't involve teen vampires, and stumbled upon this trilogy recommendation on more than one of the "Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books" websites, so I thought I would give it a shot, and was pleasantly surprised! C. S. Friedman writes beautifully. I liked that the content is more for adult reading. And the concepts, plots, and characters are new, refreshing, and very well depicted!
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