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90th out of 158 books
—
39 voters
Forging the Sword (The Farsala Trilogy #3)
by
Hilari Bell (Goodreads Author)
THE SPIRIT OF THE ANCIENT CHAMPION, SORAHB, WAS REBORN INTO THE BODY OF A DEGHAN YOUTH.
There is not much time left on the Hrum's self-imposed limit -- only a few months. If in that time they don't take all of Farsala, then the Farsalans will regain their independence.
Ceaselessly, Soraya, Kavi, and Jiaan work to keep control of what little land remains free from Hrum rule:...more
There is not much time left on the Hrum's self-imposed limit -- only a few months. If in that time they don't take all of Farsala, then the Farsalans will regain their independence.
Ceaselessly, Soraya, Kavi, and Jiaan work to keep control of what little land remains free from Hrum rule:...more
Hardcover, 494 pages
Published
November 28th 2006
by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
(first published November 1st 2006)
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I give this one a 4.5 (reason for not a full five stars below). I really, really liked this series. (for more details on why, see the reviews for the other books). I loved the three main characters and their journey to becoming better people. It isn't very often that a book focuses so much on the value of having integrity, and how being a good, solid person will fill your life with peace and joy. I loved that even though some of the characters made big mistakes, they made up for it in the end by...more
A good wrap-up to the series, with some great action and clever plot devices and continued building of characters. A little bit too much of the clear good guy/bad guy thing; a lot of the characters were a bit more interesting when they were more morally ambiguous. Also a bit too heavy-handed of a "torture is bad" speech. Still, definitely a fun page-turner.
Perhaps the best feature was the "legend of Sorahb" which started a couple books ago, where we get the future story about the legendary hero...more
Perhaps the best feature was the "legend of Sorahb" which started a couple books ago, where we get the future story about the legendary hero...more
I find it interesting that this is the highest rated of the trilogy, as it was the one I liked the least. As in the second book, I attribute the problem mostly to pacing. I read this long after the other two, and so it was nice to return to that world and finally get some closure, but I felt like I had to wait too long for it. Perhaps the context of my reading influenced my experience, so I will bow to other readers here and admit that I don't remember this book fully enough to do it justice.
Per...more
Per...more
This was a pretty quick read fantasy fiction trilogy. It is the story of the country Farsala, trying to be overtaken by the Hrums. They come together and fight the conquest of the Hrums even through great hardships and trials. There is a little bit of magic and no romance which was probably why I gave the first two a three rating. The character development is pretty good as it switches from back and forth from the 3 main characters points of view. I liked the ending and overall enjoyed the books...more
of all of her books from the trilogy, i think i liked this one the best. the characters have learned from their past and have grown and are working toward a common goal. and when push comes to shove they realize they don't want the fame or power - just to make a difference. there is some death, but it ends in a believable manner. melanie said she liked the parts that helped us understand how a myth might be created. not great - but not a waste of time.
The story in this final part moves fast picking up pace early on. The events happen apace; minor skirmishes with Hrum army, more spying, forging of watersteel swords, etc. It keeps the mind engaged, doesn't looses the thread anywhere, crosses over into the boundaries of fantasy world with more shilshadu stuff on part of Soraya & even Suud get into some activities. Though to be fair, it gets a bit silly at some parts as the end approaches, silly enough that you'd think there's no such thing a...more
I love Patrius a LOT. and I don't want to spoil anyone and am too lazy for an lj-cut, but I really, really loved who Soraya ended up with. hee. otherwise, cool books with a cool mythology. the religion actually made me all nostalgic for Tortall, hah. and I really loved what the empire stood for- as much as he pissed me off, I was right there with Kavi for most of the books.
(review pulled from lj.)
(review pulled from lj.)
"Forging the Sword" draws the illustrious-- and surprising!-- conclusion to 'The Farsala Trilogy.' The story shines with brilliant characters and sparkling dialogue, but it goes a step further by compelling readers to think about true leadership and true nobility. Furthermore, this was the first war story I read in which the lines get a little blurry: Who exactly are the bad guys? And why?
Kavi is kidnapped and held captive while being tortured. The senators eventually find out about it and stop Garren from continuing but he's still intent on executing him if Sorhab doesn't come and fight in single combat. Fasal pretends to be sorhab in order to beat garren. soraya brings down the power of the storm to kill Garren and the Hrum start negotiating with the Farans.
a couple hrs total????
a couple hrs total????
I really liked how the book ended. In this book I finally liked all three main characters at the same time. They learned what they were suppose too and changed for the better because of it. They became stronger and better people in a time of adversity. I liked how it pointed out that in war not everyone you are fighting against are bad and not everyone you are fighting with are good.
The plotline of this series was great, and so were the ideas and cultures of the world in it. However, the writting was terrible. And there really was no definite "Yes!" kind of ending. SPOILER: one of my favorite Characters dies, and I was very disappointed. It was also kind of confusing, the switch between the historical text and the actual story.
Of course it was Fasal. Talk about a product of his environment... Was he redeemed in the end? If not, I think he came close. I like how the author never actually spells it out. You just know he did.
I loved the way this series ended. The "historical account" or legend that is spread within gets more and more absurd, but brings big laughs in the end.
I loved the way this series ended. The "historical account" or legend that is spread within gets more and more absurd, but brings big laughs in the end.
I must admit, this series wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. I ended up skpping through this last book because it was boring me. This series has potential to be good, but to me there was something lacking, which caused my disinterest. But i had to finish the series because i wanted to know what happens.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other two. I felt the story was dragging out a little but not to the point that I didn't want to finish it. I was little disappointed in the end. I felt there were a few loose ends that were never really tied up but I would recommend reading this trilogy to a friend.
It's not one of the best books I read, but it's not the worst. It's a fantasty adventure. I didn't understand because I didn't read the first two books of the trilogy. I would recommend it for Fantasty/adventure fans, but I don't think others will enjoy it as much.
My review for this and Rise of a Hero can be found here.
As the others were, well done, but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi that would have had me entranced. I was admittedly a little irritated because I felt that the entire series was building up a romance and it ended without one.
If only everyone involved in wars and political games could learn as much as the 3 major characters, Jiaan, Soraya, and Kavi, did throughout this trilogy; maybe we could limit the number of wars planned and carried out1!!
Even though this is a book about war, it was much darker than I expected. Still, I couldn't wait to finish the story, and really enjoyed reading this trilogy.
Forging the Sword is the final installment of the Farsala trilogy by Hilari Bell and it leaves none to disappointment. With the three main characters Jiaan, Kavi, and Soraya, we come to see history become legend and legend into myth as they invoke the name of the Farsala's folk hero Sorahb to fight the Hrum out of their lands. Armed with nothing but a small army of peasants, age-old magic and their wits, we see the transgression between these estranged allies to almost friends, in the complex no...more
I forget how much I love this book until I start reading it, at which point I stay up way to late to find out an ending that I already know.
I enjoyed this trilogy. I like how she deals with questions of good and evil, honor and dishonor. Also, that she is kind to her people.
Sooo good. And sooo sad. I knew I liked Fasal, but I didn't know I was actually going to cry... :(
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Started this series by borrowing a book from my nephew. Good young adult read! I liked it too.
This is a really good series. I enjoyed all of them, the characters really develop in the book.
It was a great way to end the series and that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
Apr 05, 2012
Haya
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
4-5-stars,
favorites,
love-love-love,
fantasy,
frogmakering,
2012,
ya,
teens,
why-is-it-over,
action,
adorable-guys,
adventure,
awesome-characters,
based-on-something,
best-thing-that-has-ever-happened,
blasphemous,
epic,
ending-was-like-whoa,
hehe-the-giggles,
historical,
kick-ass-heroine,
library-borrowed,
made-me-be-all-whoa,
unexpected-ending,
unpredictable,
war,
sad-to-let-you-go,
i-like-the-writing-style,
where-have-you-been-all-my-life,
i-love-the-characters
Ah... I finally reached the end of this series.
Will review it pretty soon. (:
Will review it pretty soon. (:
it was a good story but i prefer to have a love story involved
Wasn't as good as the first book. Story became kind of bogged down.
Good book, but the ending was rather disappointing for me.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Favourite book in the Farsala Trilogy? Favourite Quote? Favourite Character? | 2 | 8 | Jan 29, 2013 09:20am |
As far as writing is concerned, I call myself the poster child for persistence. Songs of Power, the first novel I sold, was the 5th novel I'd written. When it sold I was working on novel #13. The next to sell, Navohar, was #12, and the next, A Matter of Profit, was #9. The Goblin Wood was #6, and the first Sorahb book, Flame (later renamed Farsala: Fall of a Kingdom), will be #15. You get the pict...more
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“Fasal liked to fight; Jiaan was good at planning. Together, Jiaan thought sourly, they almost made a whole officer. And if you added Jiaan's eighteen years to Fasal's seventeen, you had someone old enough to command an army as well.”
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4 people liked it
“Coordinating the retreat was important too, so important that Jiaan had assigned Aram as Fasal's assistant, to be sure he didn't overlook anything important. Like the fact that they were supposed to retreat.”
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3 people liked it
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