Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy, #1) by C.S. Friedman

Apr 28, 2011 mark monday rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastickal

Black Sun Rising; or, How Ciani Got Her Groove Back.

two major things to note in this sometimes absorbing, sometimes ridiculous science fantasy novel: a fascinatingly developed magic system and a head-smackingly stupid quest.

regarding the stupidity, let's first clear the air with some extended ranting, so we can later speak on more pleasant things and end on an agreeably positive note. C.S. Friedman seems like an endearing author; her writing style can be lazy but it can also be interestingly qui...more Black Sun Rising; or, How Ciani Got Her Groove Back.

two major things to note in this sometimes absorbing, sometimes ridiculous science fantasy novel: a fascinatingly developed magic system and a head-smackingly stupid quest.

regarding the stupidity, let's first clear the air with some extended ranting, so we can later speak on more pleasant things and end on an agreeably positive note. C.S. Friedman seems like an endearing author; her writing style can be lazy but it can also be interestingly quirky. so i feel we should spare the rod and spoil the child, a little bit at least. but only after a firm discussion!

SLIGHT SPOILER: in the very beginning of the book, some creatures attack the lovely and saucy sorceress supreme Ciani and mind-suck her powers away. various characters assemble to journey into a sinister, uncharted land in order to find the nasty & subhuman culprits, deliver some payback, and so release Ciani's powers. okay, let's just get it out there: it is absolutely unacceptable that a bunch of random non-characters (including a father and his 2 daughters) and 1 major character have to die pretty horrific deaths, all so that some sexy enchantress can get her powers back. for chrissakes, her life was no longer in jeopardy! and PTSD that changes sex appeal into mousy forgetfulness just isn't a problem worthy of a body count. even worse, apparently the primary members of the party are automatically willing to just toss everything to the wayside and go on a deadly quest. things like a fiancée, religious orders, and a magical Forest... all because:

(1) an Awesome Sorceress should never be parted from her Awesome Powers.

(2) a couple evenings of flirty banter can really impress a warrior-priest. oh come on! it was just some nights of convo and fine dining. they didn't even bone. he just "has a feeling about her... could this feeling turn to love?" UGH! hey asshole, is your spiritual calling so fragile that you'd give up everything so some wizard you barely know can continue to remain extra-powerful? who cares? both the egalitarian and the God-lover in me freaked out about this whole rationale.

(3) apparently some piddly promise to protect said sorceress, made by an immortal vampire-sorcerer to a pleasure demon (best 2 characters), is enough to just up and change your entire life and go on a dangerous quest and maybe die. this is a guy who mainly spends his time hunting down various virgins stranded in his magic forest (to feast on their fears etc), which no doubt keeps his hands full. it was just so nonsensical. hey Idiot Vampire! why are you even on this stupid quest? you prey on humans. Ciani barely even likes you pal, she's the warrior-priest's gal! so, anyway: awesome character; absurd character motivation.

(4) as far as Ciani herself goes, apparently "She's Quite a Woman!" - at least that's what multiple character say repeatedly, much to my annoyance.

so that's it for the eye-rolling parts. they are a big part of the novel, even enough to give it 2 stars. but there's a lot of intriguing stuff too. the novel is set on a far-flung world in the far-flung future, a world where some natural energy source called "the fae" literalizes everyone's dreams, fears, desires, etc. so on this world you have to exercise a lot of emotional/mental/spiritual control. supernatural creatures do exist, they gain lives and personalities, and often want your blood and/or booty. simple magical devices work if you really, really believe in them. things like guns are more problematic because if you have any doubts, your gun is just going to explode in your hand. and faith now truly and tangibly works. thousands of people believing in something can actually create something super-powerful - like an impregnable-to-demons church! or... HELL! Hell exists because people believe in it, uh oh. and so do pleasure demons, which isn't so bad. in this world, people have varying levels of ability to work the fae and some folks like The Amazing Chiani are born with natural aptitude. the fae itself is also fascinatingly divided into different sorts of fae, based on which type of natural energy source they derive from, and they each have their own unique properties, abilities, weaknesses. for instance, there is earth fae. and the fae that comes from light. or the absence of light. or even from tidal forces - my personal fave. it was all so interesting and carefully developed and new to me that - complaints aside - it all still sorta worked.(less)

33 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Okay...this is another I'd like to give 3.5 as it's got to be above a 3 but I didn't care for it as much as I have many f the books I've given a 4.

It has an interesting "world system". I don't think the term "magic system works well here as it all has to do with the planet or world on which the action takes place. (To say more would of course entail spoilers). This book might be more accurately called "science fantasy" rather than epic or high fantasy as it's built around the assumption of an ea...more Okay...this is another I'd like to give 3.5 as it's got to be above a 3 but I didn't care for it as much as I have many f the books I've given a 4.

It has an interesting "world system". I don't think the term "magic system works well here as it all has to do with the planet or world on which the action takes place. (To say more would of course entail spoilers). This book might be more accurately called "science fantasy" rather than epic or high fantasy as it's built around the assumption of an earth colony that arrived on this planet and then had to deal with the forces on and of the world of Erna that they were in no way equiped to understand or handle.

I found this book at times to be of the "neither fish nor fowl" variety to some extent. I liked the idea(s) that it's built on and the world building though I'm not sure the introduction to this world and it's specialness was done all that well. It's an attempt to inculcate the needed details into the narrative without doing a lot of plot exposition atop the storyline, plot and dialogue. A good way to do things when it works. here I think it bogged down a bit and often (for a while in the early chapters) had the reader going"okay...now how does that work?" Still it does eventually get roughly laid out and while we still have a lot of nebulous edges and loose ends to the system i assume she means it to be that way. A great deal of the plot is that humans are "still after all this time" trying to understand and learn to work with the plant's forces.

I found that while I got to know the people in this book the only one I really "liked" all that much was the priest Damien. I was never drawn into the "feeling" I think I was supposed to have for the others. This was the third time I'd set out to read this book. It wasn't that I "disliked it" I'd say I really "liked it" (I mean I gave it 4 stars based on my 3.5 liking) but I just never got heavily "involved" in it. On both prior occasions I laid it down and got involved in reading other things and just, never got back to it. that almost happened this time. I'm always into more than one books at a time and , true to what happened before I got into a few others and this one just didn't "cry out to me" to get back to it. I did as we are reading it in a group and as I said, it's "pretty good". I enjoyed much of it...I just can't say it really "drew me in". I could have lived without getting to the books end.

I have the two books following this one on my shelf and I will (hopefully) get to them "before too long". I don't know. I have a huge to be read pile of books, so we'll see. I'm just thankful for the abundance. After all too many books is better than not enough. They are such fragile things.

Okay, not a bad read, well written, enjoyable and interesting (mostly). As I said, 3.5...rounds to a 4. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Noelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friedman-c-s

I am almost finished with this book and even though it took me longer than usual to get into the story, i must admit that right now I will have a tough time putting the book down. I want to know what happens.
In this story, I seem to like the bad guy (a/k/a Gerald Tarrant) way better than the "good" guy (a/k/a Damien Vryce). Gerald has this "je ne sais quoi" about him, and I cannot help but like him ... Without wanting to give away the story, Cianni is a character that is necessary to the story,...more

4 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Neda Stojkovic rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sf, couldn-t-finish

I slogged through about half of the book, thinking maybe it will get better - I heard a lot of praises for this trilogy, so I expected something quite different. But I give up. I'm done. No more.
One reason why this book gets two and not one star is the magic system, which is interesting, if confusing - humans can use, consciously or unconsciously, natural forces of the planet Erna (called fae) to, well, do stuff, like materialize fantasies or nightmares, or change reality in accordance to their...more I slogged through about half of the book, thinking maybe it will get better - I heard a lot of praises for this trilogy, so I expected something quite different. But I give up. I'm done. No more.
One reason why this book gets two and not one star is the magic system, which is interesting, if confusing - humans can use, consciously or unconsciously, natural forces of the planet Erna (called fae) to, well, do stuff, like materialize fantasies or nightmares, or change reality in accordance to their purpose. So we have quite a different natural world then on Earth - evolution works according to the need of the creature, and humans unknowingly with their research created their rival species on the planet. Not the Star Trek story here - humans immediately tried to commit genocide, causing rakh (said species) to flee and try to protect themselves, creating demons which plague humans. Or something.
So, that's the good start.
Then we have our main characters - kind of vampire/evil fae/ex-human, priest (faith is the weapon of mass destruction here), chick/ex-adept in magic and kind of sidekick of the said chick go on a quest, searching for stolen...I don't know...adept-ness of the chick (she can't do magic anymore). Ok, good. There is even kind of girl-rakh, though I didn't follow that through. What I don't understand is why every character in this book just have to be so damn unlikable. Every time I kinda try to like somebody, he/she just do something to make me mad (or indifferent, honestly, I didn't think that possible). Or he/she isn't there anymore. I don't like the chick, I don't know why her co-characters like her, and why they want to help her. We don't know anything about her, except some vague things about her vitality, and some flirty stuff whith the priest, all vague. Really. Kind-of-vampire had some promise, but not much charm. Priest has the personality of a brick wall. And sidekick...I almost forgot that he is in the book. So they travel, and thare is some kind of fight, and I thought, yay, now we'll see some good, quality character interaction, and maybe author will permit us to get to know them all a bit. And then...kind-of-vampire and chick just go. Puff! Somewhere.
And that was the last straw. At that point I decided to make "couldn't finish" shelf, just to put this thing there.
Good luck if you decide to read it. I won't bother.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 08, 2013 Kris43 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-fantasy, epic-fantasy, sci-fi

Im having a hard time with rating this.

If I were to rate the world building and magic system, I would give it 5 stars, they are absolutely brilliant. This has strong sci-fi elements mixed with fantasy. The whole thing is happening in distant future. Humanity has moved to this planet that is totally different from planet Earth. It has something that at first looks like magic.

It is inhabited by sentiment forces who feed on human emotions/blood/semen and can be tapped to fuel various things. But t...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jun 23, 2010 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fantasy, sf-alien-planets-and-societies

5.0 to 5.5 stars. C.S. Friedman is one of my favorite authors and I have never read one of her books that I haven't loved. I am in the process of re-reading her books after first reading them many years ago and I started with this one.

The first book of the "Coldfire" trilogy, this book takes place on the planet Erna which was colonized by people from Earth over a thousand years ago. When the colonist first landed on Erna, they discovered the "Fae" which is a natural force that causes the though...more

20 likes · like · see review

Jul 03, 2008 Pax rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finally made it to the end of this awful book, mostly by skipping about eighty pages in the latter half (figured out what I'd missed within five repetitive pages, and no need to slog through) and then skimming the rest.

All in all, this writer had a good idea, some fun character interplay potential and NO EDITING. As in, where was her EDITOR??? This could have been trimmed to less than half its dense, repetitive mass with such greater impact. Apparently this is part one of a trilogy -- the rest...more

7 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2007 Lorena rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I found the fantasy world that was created here to be very interesting, and the author certainly does like her anti-heroes, based on this book and the one other I've read by her so far. However, I felt that the backstory and some of the characters could have used more filling out. We've barely been introduced to our main characters when suddenly they are thrust into their Designated Quest, supposedly in part because of the deep feelings two of the characters apparently formed for each other virt...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 30, 2007 Mary rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

I'm not really sure what I didn't like about this book. The setting was amazing, the plot was interesting, the characters were... well, they weren't horrible, but I've read better. And that, I think, is where it lost me. I liked the characters well enough, but their problems didn't engage me. I wasn't particularly upset when one of the characters died, I wasn't particularly glad when they resolved some of their issues, and I wasn't particularly interested to find out what happened to them in the...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 27, 2007 Andy Kahl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

When fantasy and science-fiction meet, you get the Coldfire Trilogy. This first book might have stood alone except for a paragraph or two in the last chapter. Yeah, there were loose ends, but aren't there always. So the story might have ended except for those couple of paragraphs, but isn't it grand that they didn't.
Anyway, the story really picks up the concept of the dark hero. One of the main characters, the primary antagonist I would say, has pretty much 'sold his soul to the devil'. He is by...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Alice Bridgwater rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantascienza, fantasy, favorites

This book is very very interesting. It mixes up many genres, from horror to fantasy, and it is closer to science-fiction than "The Wheel of Time" and "The Song of Ice and Fire" are: Erna is the planet where a human expedition finally landed, after a year-lasting voyage in the space. This world is apparently similar to the Earth, but there is a fundamental difference... Erna is permeated by an invisible essence, the 'fae', that gives substance and form to every man's thought... So everythig a man...more

like · see review

Apr 14, 2011 Molly Amory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, and, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love this trilogy to an unreasonable extent, but fair warning, the slog through the first sixty or so pages of this book is a tough one. But in my opinion, so, so worth it. The world-building is top-knotch, the characters are interesting and fully realized, with complex feelings and motivations. The action takes a while to build because Friedman has set herself such a tough task - introducing readers to the world of Erna, which is a very cool and interesting blend of fantasy and sci-fi, while...more

like · see review

Dec 09, 2008 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely, positively love this trilogy; it is one of my all time favorites. I've re-read this trilogy I don't know how many times and recommend it to everyone I know who enjoys fantasy/sci-fi.

In this trilogy, C.S. Friedman builds a world that is detailed and vibrant. Her characters are similarly well-written and interesting. Damien Kilcannon Vryce and Gerald Tarrant are probably my favorite characters from any book I have ever read.

The premise is that humanity has established itself on an al...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 25, 2013 Yvette Lessard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It started off well.

A character I could respect with failings he did his best to conquer. A world with an interesting but devastating problem. A love interest with a brain and a unique worldview.

Things got really boring about halfway through--the pace slowed to a crawl. More interesting elements were introduced but failed to deliver--like the planet's other intelligent race, but they never amount to anything more than generic tribal catpeople. There's some great back-and-forth between the prota...more

like · see review

Oct 22, 2012 Klytia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

La saga inizia con un incipit curioso e inquietante nello stesso tempo “Perché aveva paura di tornare a casa?”

E' una trilogia che narra di sacerdoti guerrieri e demoni immortali, di viaggi in terre sconosciute e battaglie contro creature fameliche e feroci, sacrifici impossibili e ancestrali poteri magici.
Ma è anche la storia di un’amicizia improbabile, che nasce sotto i peggiori auspici e che viene messa costantemente alla prova pagina dopo pagina.

L’ambientazione è suggestiva e realistica e...more La saga inizia con un incipit curioso e inquietante nello stesso tempo “Perché aveva paura di tornare a casa?”

E' una trilogia che narra di sacerdoti guerrieri e demoni immortali, di viaggi in terre sconosciute e battaglie contro creature fameliche e feroci, sacrifici impossibili e ancestrali poteri magici.
Ma è anche la storia di un’amicizia improbabile, che nasce sotto i peggiori auspici e che viene messa costantemente alla prova pagina dopo pagina.

L’ambientazione è suggestiva e realistica e le descrizioni, dettagliate senza mai essere noiose, fanno sì che di fronte agli occhi di chi legge si aprano, come immagini in tre dimensioni, le vie delle città, l’intrico di alberi e rami che è la Foresta, i paesaggi a volte piacevoli a volte inquietanti e gli oceani che compongono la geografia di Erna. E su queste immagini, si stende, come un velo leggero e tuttavia angoscioso, il fae, la forza che domina Erna e che ha il potere di rendere concreti gli incubi di tutti gli esseri viventi.

I personaggi sono l’elemento di maggiore impatto di tutta la trilogia. I due protagonisti Damien Vryce e Gerald Tarrant sono descritti con attenzione nella loro fisicità e approfonditi psicologicamente con una maestria rara. Damien è un Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Fiamma d’Oro di Re Gannon, Compagno dell’Ascendente Astrale Terrestre, Reverendo Padre della Chiesa dell’Unificazione della Fede Umana su Erna, in poche parole un massiccio e muscoloso sacerdote guerriero.
Suo malgrado si troverà a viaggiare con l’essere che odia e teme di più, un viaggio che lo porterà a porsi dubbi e domande sulla solidità della sua fede e sul significato della parola amicizia Gerald è un Grande Adepto, la creatura più pericolosa e potente di tutta Erna. Spinto dalla sua ancestrale sete di sapere parteciperà alle missioni di Damien, al fine di conoscere i segreti di Erna, le sue minacce, fino alla sorprendente verità sulla sua natura. Uno l’opposto dell’altro per aspetto e carattere, tanto da completarsi a vicenda, entrambi forti e tuttavia non privi di quei difetti, dubbi e incertezze che li rendono personaggi reali e per questo indimenticabili.

E poi i demoni Karril e Calesta, il primo demone e divinità del piacere asservita a Gerald; il secondo uno Iezu, potentissimo demone maestro nell’illusione, che si nutre delle energie emotive degli esseri umani e per sua natura è immune a qualunque controllo demoniaco, incluso quello di Gerald.

Una trilogia che inizia con un viaggio oltre i Monti del Mondo, attraverso la Volta che separa le terre degli uomini e quelle dei rakh, e poi oltre il Grande Oceano verso le sconosciute terre dell’Est, e che si conclude con un finale potente e maestoso in cui tutte le domande trovano risposta, i misteri vengono svelati e la vera natura del pianeta e di molti suoi abitanti è alla fine rivelata. Una particolare menzione va anche alle copertine nell’edizione inglese dei romanzi, realizzate dallo strepitoso Michael Whelan, coerenti con il romanzo, a differenza di quelle della Nord.

Sfortunatamente nella versione italiana si sono perse quella del primo volume, che è dell’altrettanto pregevole Bruce Pennington, e del secondo volume che non ho capito cosa voglia rappresentare.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 21, 2012 Stephannestacey Stacey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's been a while since I read this, so I don't remember the finer points, however I do remember the story and the charaters. One thing I would like to point out about this trilogy is that it is a twist between science fiction and fantasy. Having said that....

This is a gritty sort of series so young audiences should not read it, nor should anyone that takes offence to some of the natural man's evils being out in the open. Your hero's are not pure, nor are some of them willing participants in the...more

like · see review

Jun 04, 2012 A.E. Marling added it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy

Fears and expectations shape this world. Worrying your sword could break causes it to do so, making more intricate technologies undependable and isolating this Earth colony on this planet. The power of thought harnesses natural energies, and those gifted with greater control and sight of these beautiful forces are called Adepts.

The story perspectives are male oriented, a warrior priest and an Adept's assistant. I loved the assistant's introduction: His fiance leaving him because she saw she'd al...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 08, 2011 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, la-femme-sci-fi

Ms. Friedman is not the first to mix science fiction & fantasy--Gene Wolfe did it better--& the world she has created with this concoction is very compelling. Erna is a world to be explored--it's characters, it's societies, it's nations--but we are left with a story devoid of soul.

The main characters--a warrior-priest (Damien), an adept (Ciani) & a very evil Neoprophet (Tarrant, aka., The Hunter)--are all anti-heroes & not very likable--self-centered creeps are abound in this no...more Ms. Friedman is not the first to mix science fiction & fantasy--Gene Wolfe did it better--& the world she has created with this concoction is very compelling. Erna is a world to be explored--it's characters, it's societies, it's nations--but we are left with a story devoid of soul.

The main characters--a warrior-priest (Damien), an adept (Ciani) & a very evil Neoprophet (Tarrant, aka., The Hunter)--are all anti-heroes & not very likable--self-centered creeps are abound in this novel. I believe Friedman did herself a disservice by not going the full-monty of exploring this world deeper than she presents it. It would have molded her characters better--allowing her world to shape them into what they are so we, the readers, will understand them better. I loved her description of the CORE of the galaxy rising in the night sky & how the seismic activity of the planet causes huge waves many stories high to batter the planets surface along the coasts. Also, the Fae, a source of magic-like power which flows through the planet like a life-blood, & how it is shaped for an adept's purposes is a very imaginative concept--very impressive to a seasoned sci-fi/fantasy reader. All this painted a world I wanted to know more about. I wanted the planet to become a character too. When this didn't happen, I found the author to be lazy--don't tease me with great imagination & not follow through.

I didn't find myself caring for any of the characters & to have the novel fall into the "Quest" category--a very uninspired quest at that--made me sad that a very interesting world was wasted in being a major part of the novel. There are some cool scenes though, peppered among the long, long quite redundant prose. One of my favorite scenes is when Ciani's servant/helper, Senzei, who so desperately wants to become an adapt, places a drop of Solar Fae (the alien power flowing through the planet & the "holy water" of Damien's church) on his tongue making his body literally go supernova--very cool.

But of all the characters, the warrior-priest, Damien, was the most interesting to me. I would've liked to have learned more of his background with his church--how he became a warrior & a priest & how the two vocations were melded together? This would've really helped bringing light to the background of the planets societies--its religion & politics. But, unfortunately, these questions were never addressed making the 600+ page novel a long dull experience--all focus being on the "Now" & hardly ever witnessing the "Then".

Part of me wants to but I don't think I'll continue this trilogy.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 22, 2011 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy

This book was amazing, simply put. Compelling characters, a wonderful (if a bit hard to follow) plot, and absolutely stunning writing made this fantastic. Each of the characters is clearly defined, and Friedman fills up all the metaphorical space that they occupy; non-too-detailed descriptions somehow say more than pages and pages of characterization. I felt that I knew each character, and that the perils they faced; their inner challenges were reflections of my own in an often darker light. Eac...more

like · see review

Apr 28, 2011 Richard Tran rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A friend of mine with similar taste recommended this book to me. The first half of the book was very disappointing. You have a priest who meets a "heretic" of sorts and falls in love with her after 2 dates. Then he's willing to risk his values to save her life on some suicidal adventure. It just doesn't feel believable. Good stories need good character development and weak relationships completely destroy that. In this case this relationship was the basis for pretty much the entire adventure in...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 04, 2011 Ben Johnson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Black Sun Rising is a brilliant setting with a mediocre story. A warrior-priest and his companions track a demon in order to restore one of their member’s memories, but are forced into an alliance with perhaps the greatest evil of all: the former Prophet, damned by his own church and driven into a dark pact which brings both power and a vampiric curse. The novel sets up a variety of interesting themes but concludes its bloated story with cliches, a disappointment given the great world-crafting o...more Black Sun Rising is a brilliant setting with a mediocre story. A warrior-priest and his companions track a demon in order to restore one of their member’s memories, but are forced into an alliance with perhaps the greatest evil of all: the former Prophet, damned by his own church and driven into a dark pact which brings both power and a vampiric curse. The novel sets up a variety of interesting themes but concludes its bloated story with cliches, a disappointment given the great world-crafting of C.S. Friedman.

Black Sun Rising takes place on Erna, a planet whose original human colonists were driven back to the dark ages by the mysterious energy known as the Fae. The Fae both is and isn’t magic in the traditional sense: while it is used for common wizardly purposes, it is also a product of Erna’s ecosystem that grants human thoughts and, most dangerously, fears corporeality. Many humans have learned to Work it for their own uses and a few, known as Adepts, are born with the ability to both see and control the Fae effortlessly.

Ciani is one of these Adepts, but she loses her powers in an attack by a mysterious group of demons for a somewhat poorly explained reason. Damien is a zealous priest of the Church who vows to restore Ciani’s powers. He is accompanied by Ciani’s assistant Senzei, who doesn’t do much except be sad that he wasn’t born an Adept as well. These three characters are all fairly one dimensional: Damien clings to black and white morality, Ciani has a thirst for knowledge that precludes morality, and Senzei just wants to be powerful.

However, they are joined by a much more interesting person: Gerald Tarrant, Fae-vampire. Tarrant was a powerful Adept who finally turned the tide in the struggle against the Fae by founding a Church to discipline humanity’s subconscious and thus limit the Fae’s manifestations. However, the Church eventually damned all sorcerers, and so after death he will go to a hell that he has literally created from the Fae. To avoid this, he murders his family to make a pact with ambiguous dark forces that grants him eternal life and devastating powers in exchange for life as a literary cliche.

The narrative is mostly told from Damien’s point of view, and the book is at its best when dealing with Damien’s conflicting emotions regarding his Prophet-turned-Vampire. Damien hates Tarrant with a religious passion but needs him as a weapon in his quest to help Ciani. He is forced to compromise his stark moral judgments, and enters areas of gray morality kicking and screaming. Likewise, the narrative needs Tarrant as a foil for the relatively simple characters to play off of, and as the only interesting character in the story.

Black Sun Rising begins with Tarrant’s savage murder of his wife and children, and Friedman does a good job of inserting enough instances of his savagery throughout the narrative to make you feel bad for liking him. But as the story develops Tarrant loses his mystique. He becomes more and more Dracula as his nature is explained, and the instances in which his powers are limited in order to generate tension feel contrived. Tarrant preserves his grip on what little humanity he has left by clinging to a personal sense of honor; he is the Honest Abe of vampires, for he will not tell a lie or go back on his word. His adherence to his self-imposed code is the primary way that the narrative justifies his involvement with Damien and his companions, but this mostly feels artificial.

At one point in the story Tarrant is badly hurt and needs to drink blood in order to heal himself. Ciani is the only one with enough blood to spare, but Tarrant won’t drink it because apparently he takes the form of his victim’s fears, and Ciani is most scared of a demon; therefore, if he drinks her blood he will become a demon and attack. He has also sworn not to hurt Ciani. Hence the awkwardly contrived predicament. So he has to stay weak, and the protagonists can’t rely on his powers, and thus narrative conflict is born. It’s a strained way to go about generating tension because the author wants to preserve sympathy for Tarrant. I say, make him drink her blood. Make him go crazy and attack her. Kill her, for all I care (like all the other characters, Ciani not especially likable). Let Tarrant deal with the collapse of his artificial humanity and let’s see what happens. Powerful moments in literature come from those kinds of severe shocks to a character’s worldviews, and this novel does not go far enough in that regard.

Rather than potent character development, Tarrant’s preceding dilemma results in more of the run-of-the-mill action that bloats the novel to almost 600 pages. Some of the action is great; the scene in Tarrant’s forest realm is particularly well done in it’s dark aesthetic. But there are also scenes of earthquakes, and confrontations with various demons that presumably are manifested fears but seem to be generic fantasy tropes, and treacherous nighttime marches that, while none are boring per se, comprise action fodder that doesn’t add much except reading time. While the time invested in the book lends itself toward investment in the book’s characters, the character’s developments over the narrative don’t seem to warrant it. It feels more cheap substitute than effective strategy. Certainly the characters develop and change, but it could have been accomplished in a more efficient (and effective) way.

As might be apparent from the preceding paragraphs, I enjoyed the set-up for this novel but was let down by the execution. The book primarily deals with the cliched theme of the corrupting influence of power, and near the end the book becomes almost pedagogical in this regard. It’s disappointing because this concern is not as unique as the setting is capable of. What compelled me the most was the ecological nature of the Fae; as a product of Erna’s ecology, I think it would have been interesting to explore more of humanity’s relationship to the environment. For example, what does it mean when a religion’s reality is fundamentally linked to one planet in a galaxy full of them? Where is the division between humanity and ecology when nature can manifest human fears and desires, and when evolution is driven by human perception? This is only the first book in the series, so it’s possible that some of those questions are investigated later. I just find them more compelling than the cliched “power corrupts” theme, and wish they had been the focus from the start.

Worst of all, the seeds are clearly sown for Tarrant’s ultimate redemption from his life of evil (I’m guessing in some sort of grand sacrifice to save Erna). While this isn’t bad in and of itself, it just feels too familiar. I want an evil character who stays evil. I want the series to take the moral ambiguities that so stressed Damien and drive them to an even greater extreme, an extreme that truly challenges Damien’s world-view and which cannot be ignored. As it is, Damien is able to preserve his moral compass; I want Tarrant to obliterate that compass as Damien is forced into deeper and deeper reliance on Tarrant’s evil. I want Damien driven to the brink of insanity, maybe over the edge, and then I want to see how he responds. Friedman doesn’t take enough chances in Black Sun Rising, and I’m hesitant to read another two 600 page books just to see if she will later on. Who knows, maybe I’d be pleasantly surprised by the sequels. But with so many other books waiting to be read, I’m not rushing to find out.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 29, 2010 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

Okay... I struggled with this one. I liked the idea and the world of Merentha. Good characters, I really like Vryce, but I especially adore the evil Hunter. I'm not sure why, or how it happened, but I do. I also dearly love how the fae are represented, and how they interact with the people and the world of Merentha, and I appreciate it's complexity.

That said, I often found myself skipping over paragraphs and pages, so that I could move on with the story (in which I was truly interested), and not...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2010 Merryish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love this trilogy to an unreasonable extent, but fair warning, the slog through the first sixty or so pages of this book is a tough one. But in my opinion, so, so worth it. The world-building is top-knotch, the characters are interesting and fully realized, with complex feelings and motivations. The action takes a while to build because Friedman has set herself such a tough task - introducing readers to the world of Erna, which is a very cool and interesting blend of fantasy and sci-fi, while...more

like · see review

Jul 22, 2009 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The author had a creative idea, but that's about where the book begins and ends. I finally was able to pin down the problem somewhere around 450 when characters started dieing and instead of being upset I flat out didn't care. The characters are translucent and flat. Each character has one defining feature, one motive and one thing that separates them from one another. In a book where the author makes a point of emphasising over and over again how chaotic the human brain truly is, her characters...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 09, 2011 Lys rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, paper-book, biblioteca, narrativa

Introvabile nelle nostre librerie, fuori catalogo da non so quanti anni, Il Cavaliere del Sole Nero della Friedman è un autentico capolavoro, di quelli che se per caso la Nord decidesse mai di ripubblicarlo sarei in prima fila per aggiudicarmene una copia.
La Friedman sa scrivere, sa tessere una trama forte e sempre intrigante e, soprattuto, sa creare dei personaggi indimenticabili.
Sono rimasta incollata alle pagine di questo libro fin dal prologo e da quella domanda che trascina subito nel mondo...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Michael Hall rated it 4 of 5 stars

A complex and dark science fantasy filled with peril and violence at every turn. The world of Erna brings out every fear laden dark thought of the humans who have colonized it. I really liked how it was mostly fears and nightmares that could directly affect the world (and living creatures) around them at a subconscious level. If you dream it, it can appear. Even faith can manifest as power laden light. The main characters are a warrior-priest feared and viewed as a heretic by his own superior, a...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Charn Singh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This books starts of well enough. Creates an interesting world and mysterious magic system. I thought I was liking it well when it started of. The world was almost alive. And there was clear potential for a great plot.
Sadly it went down the hole quite too soon. Even by the end of the book, I didnt give a damn for any single character. They were too much bland. And then the plot itself was so disbelievingly pathetic and that half of the times i was thinking of deleting off the book itself from my...more

like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

loved the short book dominion, and this one is gripping me so far as well

The author definitely can paint a picture with words. There is an incredible story here as well. The only problem that I have is the sheer number of paintings this author makes. Some people love the endless descriptions, so this is a matter of taste. I,however, was overwhelmed by them.

The author will describe the same burn wound in 5 different ways in a row to make sure that the thought is drilled in. It is vivid and beaut...more

like · see review

Jun 03, 2010 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book for the first time in the 90's and was a little worried that it would not have aged well. But upon rereading it, I enjoyed it just as much. The best thing about the book is the concept of the Fae, forces that shape fears and wishes into reality. The idea that the human will could physically impose itself on the outside world in such a concrete way is fascinating. We also get a semi-vampiric antihero written more than a decade before the Twilight frippery. _This_ is what you can...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

title link	preview: Black Sun Rising
avg rating	preview: Black Sun Rising Goodreads rating: 3.94 (7549 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/618250.Black_Sun_Rising?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1290579222l/618250.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/618250.Black_Sun_Rising?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman[/url]

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (15)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About C.S. Friedman

Books by C.S. Friedman

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Black Sun Rising