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Of Darkness, Light, and Fire

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 375 ratings · 12 reviews

Famous for her acclaimed vampire novels, Tanya Huff has created many popular fantasies, including these two classics—Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light and The Fire's Stone—finally available in one omnibus volume...

Paperback, Omnibus, 528 pages

Published December 1st 2001 by DAW

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Dec 21, 2008 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Of Darkness, Light, and Fire really counts as two novels, on the grounds that it's a reprinting of Tanya Huff's two first novels; Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light and The Fire's Stone. As a longstanding fan of Huff's later work, I certainly enjoyed reading both of these books, though I could also see how they were rougher versions of the style she'd later develop for the Vicki Nelsons, the Quarters novels, and the Keeper ones.

Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light in particular felt rough around the...more Of Darkness, Light, and Fire really counts as two novels, on the grounds that it's a reprinting of Tanya Huff's two first novels; Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light and The Fire's Stone. As a longstanding fan of Huff's later work, I certainly enjoyed reading both of these books, though I could also see how they were rougher versions of the style she'd later develop for the Vicki Nelsons, the Quarters novels, and the Keeper ones.

Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light in particular felt rough around the edges, primarily in the handling of the main male character, the young street bard. I kept having too many "yeah yeah yeah, seen this" reactions to the various and sundry things thrown at him as part of his development arc, and I didn't really quite buy the reasons given for his maturation towards the end. Also, I have to admit I was hugely thrown off by seeing the lyrics of a familiar Mercedes Lackey filksong, "Wind's Four Quarters", quoted as a plot point in the story--duly credited, of course, but still. I'm very used to thinking of that song in other contexts, i.e., Valdemar, so it knocked me askew from the story to see it here. The ending was also rather a bit of "yeah yeah yeah, seen this". I won't go so far as to say "deus ex machina", but one could make a very good argument for that term literally applying here.

Now, all that said, there are other things I also really like in this story. The treatment of the primary female character was interestingly well-rounded and didn't fall into the easy sorts of traps that might have come from having a mentally challenged person as your lead female character. And I liked seeing a young woman from India as another of the primary female characters, too. And I enjoyed seeing Toronto serving as the setting--though, having just whipped through all the Vicki Nelsons as well, I think I even recognized a couple of minor cop characters that appear in both this book and the Vicki Nelsons. I may have to doublecheck that; it would amuse me if this is supposed to be Vicki Nelson's Toronto here.

Meanwhile, over in The Fire's Stone, you have a more traditional fantasy in which a thief with an angsty past, a drunken but charming prince, and a bristly young wizard team up together to try to recover the stolen magical stone that keeps the local volcano from erupting and thereby destroying the kingdom. This one read roughly for me as well, mostly due to the very modern-flavored narrative and dialogue not quite working right for me--for example, the wizard girl referring to the prince as a "jerk". (Though to be fair, after a while I got used to it, and it helped to keep in mind things like oh, say, Avatar: The Last Airbender to get the flavor down.) There weren't any real surprises in the development of any of the characters, nor in the various obstacles they had to solve to get to their goal.

Also, you could really tell that Huff was trying to get the hang of writing a queer-friendly plot--and, for that matter, a poly-friendly plot. We do get two boys attracted strongly to one another here, but at least on the part of one, a bit too much "ZOMG BOY + BOY = BAD" conditioning out of his culture. I see way too much of that in real life, and honestly prefer Huff's later, defter handling of queer-friendly plots: i.e., having queer characters just there and being part of the story without the double-barrelled angst.

On the other hand, points for being one of the few fantasy novels I've read that's not only queer-friendly, but poly-friendly as well. ^_^

All in all, three stars, I think. Not Huff's strongest works, she got her feet under her with later ones, but pleasant reads in general.(less)

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Apr 15, 2012 Jeremy Preacher rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, witches-vampires-and-werewolves

Omnibus, two separate reviews:

Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light:

All of Tanya Huff's urban fantasy (this, the Keeper trilogy, the newer ones) feel like iterations on a single idea. I happen to like the idea, so I enjoy all of them pretty much in ascending order by date published. This is the earliest, so it's a little scattered, but the closeted bi dude is charming, the developmentally disabled woman is portrayed with great sympathy (and man, that's a sadly rare character type) and the good and e...more

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Sep 21, 2010 Brittni rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This book's comprised of two of Huff's novels. The first, Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light is a modern fantasy set in Toronto. It's sort of a near-apocalypse story, as the conflict's due to an Adept of Darkness (a demon, in other words) infiltrating the city. He plans to access a gate which will unleash complete chaos on the world, destroying it for what it is. An Adept of Light (basically an angel...with leather pants. w/e) sent to Earth to try to cut off the Dark Adept's plans. Rebecca, a dev...more This book's comprised of two of Huff's novels. The first, Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light is a modern fantasy set in Toronto. It's sort of a near-apocalypse story, as the conflict's due to an Adept of Darkness (a demon, in other words) infiltrating the city. He plans to access a gate which will unleash complete chaos on the world, destroying it for what it is. An Adept of Light (basically an angel...with leather pants. w/e) sent to Earth to try to cut off the Dark Adept's plans. Rebecca, a developmentally challenged young woman, comes into contact with the Light Adept through her gift: the ability to see the fantastical creatures which inhabit the world. Through their acquaintance with her, several others become involved in the lead up to the eventual Light vs. Dark battle. There's Mrs. Ruth, a bag lady whose craziness might actually be wisdom concerning the dark/light struggle; Roland, a personable street musician who's been told his skills mean he's meant to be a Bard; Daru, the tough-minded social worker who's watched over Rebecca; and even the stray cat, Tom, does his share.

Erm, this one was just okay. I really enjoyed Roland's character, but Rebecca and Evan (the Light Adept) actually grated on my nerves a bit. It was also pretty obvious that this book was one of Huff's earliest works, evident by the writing style.

Maybe it's because more traditional fantasy stories are my preference, which leads me to The Fire's Stone, the second book in this. This one's about a fantasy setting called Cisali. Ischia--a city inside Cisali--is preserved due to the Fire Stone, which contains powers needed to keep the city's volcano from overflowing...but this stone gets stolen. Three unlikely candidates are dispatched to retrieve the stone from the city where it's suspected to be hidden. Well, originally the one chosen was Prince Darvish, who's loveable, but secretly depressed by a sense of having no belonging. Darvish happens upon Aaron, a boy who'd run away from his family expectations. When Darvish finds Aaron, Aaron's being whipped for getting caught while trying to steal a crown gem. Darvish rescues Aaron, and it's determined that Aaron's thieving skills can be of assistance on the trip. Before the two can leave, they're accosted by Princess Chandra, a young wizard with a know-it-all attitude. Her father, without her knowledge, cemented her betrothal to Darvish, without her knowing. She sneaks on board a ship into Ischia so that she can meet her fiance and tell him she refuses to get married. When she realizes the Stone--created by the pooled powers of her magical forefathers--is missing, she brings it upon her self to join the rescue mission.

Hey, wait a minute...don't the key points of their personalities remind you of the three main characters in another fantasy book? Before you accuse this book of stealing traits, just let me tell you that The Fire's Stone was published in 1990. ;)

I really enjoyed this story, fwiw, despite some cliches. And the characters weren't very fleshed out. I would also have liked to see more insight into one particular relationship. The magic elements were very delightful, as well as the overall plot. I know others have whined over there not being a sequel to this book...I also think I'd have liked to see one.

Also, a warning kind of similar to my last: in Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light, the Light of Adept attracts all kinds of people...in non-sexual and sexual ways. And notice I say "people". As for The Fire's Stone...in the world of Cisali, bisexuality seems to be regarded as nothing unusual, and perhaps even the norm. So...use your head. If you're not comfortable with that, these stories won't be for you.(less)

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Jan 28, 2010 Mai rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, angels, devils-and-demons, fantasy, fantasy-contemporary, good-strong-females-role-models, glbt-issues, ghosts, friends, own, political-intrigue, redemption, romantic-subplot, thieves-criminals

Pretty good books for first two published novels. I liked the second one better. What really stood out was how Huff addressed sexuality - as in, not everyone were heterosexuals by default.

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Mar 02, 2013 Heather King rated it 5 of 5 stars

3 stars for Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light and 5 stars for Fires Stone.

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Jun 11, 2010 Anastasia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

Nice fantasy

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Jun 15, 2010 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, fiction, thought-provoking

Lovelovelovelove.

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Dec 09, 2011 Releanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10117531

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Feb 06, 2010 erin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This book actually includes two separate novels. I read Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light (and adored it!) but not The Fire's Stone.

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Mar 04, 2007 Leesa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: readrepeatedly

I love this book. It has two very interesting stories in it. Tanya Huff comes up with extremely doable characters.

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Dec 05, 2007 AA rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

A bit different from her other books, but I enjoyed it since it was a different setting, etc.

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Aug 07, 2007 Wendy Holcombe rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book(s), I'm disappointed that they end!
I wish is was a series.

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Jun 14, 2013 Joseph Denardo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 12, 2013 Robin marked it as to-read

Jun 09, 2013 Andy Macdonald rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jun 08, 2013 Irulanlady rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 08, 2013 Heather added it

Jun 07, 2013 James Polly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jun 05, 2013 Neah Holtz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 03, 2013 Kelly Melton added it

Jun 04, 2013 Melesse added it

Shelves: i-own-the-dead-tree-version, sci-fi-and-fantasy, series-reading-or-read, i-really-like-this-author

Jun 02, 2013 Sue Lyssa Stone Shaffer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 01, 2013 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 28, 2013 Kit rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 27, 2013 David marked it as to-read

Recommended to David by: Stephanie (seenonflickr)

Shelves: fantasy, glbt, omnibus, by-women

May 25, 2013 Kim Norman rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 25, 2013 Eleanor marked it as to-read

May 21, 2013 Nicole Girard rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 21, 2013 Tara marked it as to-read

May 20, 2013 Anna Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2000-2005

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About Tanya Huff

"Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia: Although I haven't actually lived "down east" since just before my fourth birthday, I still consider myself a Maritimer. I think it's something to do with being born in sight of the ocean. Or possibly with the fact that almost no one admits to being from Ontario…

Raised, for the most part, in Kingston, Ontario. It was the late sixties, early to mid seventies. Enough s...more "Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia: Although I haven't actually lived "down east" since just before my fourth birthday, I still consider myself a Maritimer. I think it's something to do with being born in sight of the ocean. Or possibly with the fact that almost no one admits to being from Ontario…

Raised, for the most part, in Kingston, Ontario. It was the late sixties, early to mid seventies. Enough said for those of us who lived through it-and those who didn't seem to be getting another chance to fall off platform shoes.

Spent three years in the Canadian Naval Reserve: I was a cook. They'd just opened it up to women and I figured it would be the first trade that would send women to sea. I was right. Unfortunately it happened a year after I left. No tattoos.

Received a degree in RADIO AND TELEVISION ARTS (B.A.A.) from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute: The year I graduated was the year that the CBC laid off 750 employees in Toronto alone. We were competing for jobs with people who had up to five years experience. The cat threw up on my degree.

Spent eight years working at Bakka, North America's oldest surviving science fiction book store: Change Of Hobbit in California was actually a very little bit older but unfortunately it was a casualty of the recession in '91. During those eight years, while working full-time, I wrote seven books (the first seven, except for the original draft of CHILD), and nine short stories.

In 1992, after living in downtown Toronto, a city of nearly three million, for thirteen years, I moved with two large cats, one small psychotic cat, and my partner out to a rented house in the middle of nowhere. In the years since, we've purchased the house, buried two of the original cats, replaced them with three more felines and, unintentionally, acquired a Chihuahua. You're probably wondering how two reasonably intelligent adults can unintentionally acquire a Chihuahua. Please don't ask.

I love living in the country, writing full-time, anything by Charles de Lint, Xena, Hercules, and email. I dislike telephones, electric blankets, and bathroom renovations.

I always expect catastrophe; as a result, I'm usually pleasantly surprised."

Huff lives with her wife, Fiona Patton.(less)

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Summon the Keeper (Keeper Chronicles, #1)

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