A great working of Wild Magic and High Magic strikes at the heart of the Demon Queen's plots, but the human city, the Golden City of the Bells, fa...
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reviews
Aug 12, 2011
Niccole
rated it: 
When it comes to the story this was great. Everything that needed to happen, happened. I was pleased by most of the characters, and those not pleasing were at least tolerable. Kellen is for the most part past adolescent whining and Cilarnen, surprisingly gets much more time in this novel. Romance between the appropriately paired couples is for the most part very subdued, as well as the amount of Shalkan appearances. Unfortunately everything seemed a little rushed. I could have cut a good 20 page
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Jul 21, 2009
Karen
rated it: 
I wasn't a big fan of this book or this trilogy overall. I had three main complaints:
1) It's morally simplistic. There are the good guys and the bad guys. To make it even easier, you can basically tell whether someone is good or bad by what species they are and if they are from the "bad" species (demons, shadow elves, etc) then they should all be annihilated down to the last baby. This is not how things are in real life and I find it a cheat. The high mages were the only ones More...
1) It's morally simplistic. There are the good guys and the bad guys. To make it even easier, you can basically tell whether someone is good or bad by what species they are and if they are from the "bad" species (demons, shadow elves, etc) then they should all be annihilated down to the last baby. This is not how things are in real life and I find it a cheat. The high mages were the only ones More...
Feb 03, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
This is the third book in the Obsidian Trilogy. One should note that the first two books should be read before this one or the story will not be understood at all. The important thing to know about this series though is that Kellen has been banished from the High Mage city of Armethalieh and in doing so, finds his lost sister, goes to the elven lands, and becomes a Knight Mage. As a Knight Mage, he must save everyone from the Endarkened (demons).
In this book, it takes off shortly where More...
In this book, it takes off shortly where More...
Aug 02, 2011
Lindsey
rated it: 
different from the valdemar series that mercedes lackey is so well known for. and a delightful change in pace from her usual stories. i love this author and own a good portion of her 100 or so published books. this particular series demands your attention and wrenches every emotion from you during your reading experience. this is a great series to start off with if you are unfamilar with her writing style, but with any series i would start at the beginning and this trilogy only gets better. so l
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Feb 02, 2012
Angie
rated it:
Kellen Tavadon, a Knight-Mage of Wild Magic, is starting to see Demons or Them's plans for City of Thousand Bells. Kellen needs to learn how to command an army so that he can eventually lead the army. So Kellen is set a task to do just that towards the Caves of Halcaria. Blight and plague spreading fast thru all of the lands and Kellen learns that the Elven King has fallen ill to Shadow's Kiss. Kellen must make a decision he that wouldn't have to make this soon. Meanwhile Jermayan and his bonded
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Apr 26, 2010
Miriam
rated it:
A lot of people see Mercedes Lackey's books as immature or unoriginal. I have even heard people say that she can't write without the help of someone else. I tend to disagree. It's not Bronte or Douglas Adams or Arthur Clark. This book, and all of Lackey's, are what they are and are nothing else. Some would argue that this is not the way people would behave in the situations. Well, Duh. It's fiction. Let's see, if we were in a war against evil demons a good person with a lot of heart wouldn't try
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Feb 11, 2012
Sara
rated it: 
I didn't love this quite as much as I did the previous book in the series. It was a good, fun fantasy adventure, but it definitely dragged a lot for me. I felt like there were too many pointless consequences for characters who didn't necessarily deserve them, and I found the post-battle aftermath at the end kind of anticlimactic. All in all, not a bad book, and worth reading just to round out the trilogy, but not quite as enjoyable as the previous two were for me.
May 29, 2010
Cheryl
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 27, 2011
Diane
rated it:
I totally lost track of all the characters in this trilogy. They all had 5 syllables and were too hard to remember. Somewhere Ms. Lackey must have a 300 page book full of characters, who they were, and what they did. I continue to be astonished at this author's ability to write epic fantasies and tie up all the loose ends. I still think the Elves drink way too much weird tea and sometimes the pacing slows to crawl of a drowsy, Elfin snail (they're slower than regular snails), but her attentio
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Nov 28, 2010
joby
rated it:
In summary: Meh, pretty good, and ugh.
The first half to two-thirds of this book continues the fairly dull, plodding winter war of To Light A Candle which consists of staccato bursts of various characters' perspectives that advance the story yet build no suspense. The remainder of the novel is pretty good with a decent build up of suspense and the final conflict. And the series wrap-up is quite good except for the baby born at the very end -- just horrible.
One of the major fa More...
The first half to two-thirds of this book continues the fairly dull, plodding winter war of To Light A Candle which consists of staccato bursts of various characters' perspectives that advance the story yet build no suspense. The remainder of the novel is pretty good with a decent build up of suspense and the final conflict. And the series wrap-up is quite good except for the baby born at the very end -- just horrible.
One of the major fa More...
Aug 25, 2011
Katie
rated it:
I really wanted to give this book 5 stars, but the last chapter was so bad, I just couldn't. As a third book, there was a lot of repetitious back story that I could have lived without, since I did read all 3 books. Mallory and Lackey otherwise did a nice job tying up loose ends while still leaving an opening for further works in this world.
Aug 02, 2011
I think i've just come to the decision that I'm not going to finish this book. I read the first to in close succession. I'm about 100 pages in to book 3 here, and I think i've just lost interest. I might seek out a spoiler in the future but...eh...
Aug 06, 2011
Pat
rated it:
Pat G Miller
This is the best of the three books. But, the discriptions and word pictures are fantastic. I will keep this set for re-read. The good guys actually win, but there is the chance that the bad guys will rise again some day....maybe.
This is the best of the three books. But, the discriptions and word pictures are fantastic. I will keep this set for re-read. The good guys actually win, but there is the chance that the bad guys will rise again some day....maybe.
May 05, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
If the ending had been better, I'd have considered the entire series pretty rereadable. I certainly never read the sequel series of this series, based on the last 1.5 books of this series.
Jul 29, 2011
J
rated it:
The third of the Obsidian Mountain trilogy, a fantastic story that involved conquering demons, talking unicorns, dragons and elven mages, and human sacrifices of all sorts.
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Feb 24, 2009
Petrina
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This is one of those books that I ended up buying in hardcover because I just couldn't wait for it in soft cover. Very, very good. A bit sad in some places, but good.
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Jan 01, 2011
Kristen
rated it:
am reading this one over..most of my favorite re-reads are Lackey books. I was very surprised to find my shelves rather stuffed with her works.
Sep 05, 2010
Kathy
rated it:
There's a feel of The Two Towers about this tale of demons, magic, and hypocrisy.
Nov 26, 2011
Michele
rated it:
Enjoyed the trilogy, but have to admit the last book wasn't as strong. Felt rushed and a bit aimless, with a relatively anticlimactic ending after all the build up. However, still liked it! Loved the world and most of the characters.
Jul 18, 2011
Nyssa
rated it:
Really enjoyed the entire series, still Love Mercedes Lackeys characters
Oct 30, 2008
Gabby
rated it:
Kellen found his way. Good for him. He trained and learned and strived for success over and over. He grew into his abilities and the respect of others. He is the right man for the job. But is the world and others ready to let him do it?
The fact that you are headed towars a goal and reach it, and others telling you that you have reached maturity, doesn´t mean at all that it is the truth.
Jermayan and Ashaniel´s conversation: Is Kellen wiser than his years and species? Priceless!!
The fact that you are headed towars a goal and reach it, and others telling you that you have reached maturity, doesn´t mean at all that it is the truth.
Jermayan and Ashaniel´s conversation: Is Kellen wiser than his years and species? Priceless!!
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Aug 19, 2008
Tara
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I enjoyed the trilogy over all, and the story was good when you got to part of it. It seemed like most of the book was to remind you about what happened in the last two (which was fine), but also to remind you what happened 5 pages ago. Which made for slow reading, also if you've read the first two books you know to get ready for a death. When it happens it's sad but you knew so it was fine, but then it's like they changed their minds or wanted an 'extra happy ending'.
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Apr 06, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
I really liked how this series ended.So many times I find myself unsettled by the inability to merge reality and fiction at the end. It seems that is the hardest part of a book or series, the end. Ms. Lackey and Mr. Mallory did a phenomenal job on this series. Kudos.
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Feb 05, 2010
Alice
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I waited with bated breath for this sequel to arrive at the library. The world Lackey created here was so vibrant, I couldn't wait to find out how the story ended.
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