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496th out of 661 books
—
557 voters
Lightborn (Darkborn #2)
by
Alison Sinclair (Goodreads Author)
The second book in the Regency-flavored fantasy trilogy of magic and manners from the author of Darkborn.
The Darkborn aristocracy has rejected magic, viewing the pursuit of science as the only worthy goal. But Lady Telmaine Hearne does not have that luxury. She has kept her own powers secret, fearful of being ruined in society...until her husband Balthasar draws her into...more
The Darkborn aristocracy has rejected magic, viewing the pursuit of science as the only worthy goal. But Lady Telmaine Hearne does not have that luxury. She has kept her own powers secret, fearful of being ruined in society...until her husband Balthasar draws her into...more
Paperback, 340 pages
Published
June 1st 2010
by Roc Trade
(first published May 26th 2010)
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Hoping to get some of my questions answered in book 2 of the regency-like fantasy trilogy based on people separated by the sunrise or sunset I forced myself to finish Lightborn. Did I get my answers? No, not really. I may understand a little more about how much light or darkness can kill each race but that is about it. More characters were introduced in this volume of the series, while two major characters were completely absent! The new characters include a Lightborn mage of considerable power...more
The action really ramps up in this 2nd vol of Sinclair's trilogy. The first book introduced us to the world of Darkborn and Lightborn, with almost all of the action and intrigue occurring on the Dark side.
This second book introduces us to the major Lightborn--the rulers, the court and, most importantly, the mages.
The Lightborn court is rocked by the assassination, by magic, of the ruler. His eldest son, Fejelis, takes the reigns of power, but is not secure, at all. The Temple mages can't figure...more
This second book introduces us to the major Lightborn--the rulers, the court and, most importantly, the mages.
The Lightborn court is rocked by the assassination, by magic, of the ruler. His eldest son, Fejelis, takes the reigns of power, but is not secure, at all. The Temple mages can't figure...more
Continues where "Darkborn" left off. The attacks on the Hearne family have ensnared them into a struggle that may destroy both the Lightborn and Darkborn society. Lady Telmaine has been reluctantly conscripted by Lord Vladimer Plantageter to aid him in his investigations while her husband and Ishmael travel to the Borders to look into the idea that the Shadowborn are uprising. Still untrained in the powers that she has hidden all of her life, Telmaine becomes a wild card who could play a pivotal...more
Another good one! :) I do have to admit that my mind was racing to keep up with the back-and-forth action and events, particularly in the last third of the book, (and sometimes, my mind ended up just spinning and moving on); but it was thoroughly enjoyable. The plot's complexity took time to digest (hence the occasionally-mind-boggling back-and-forth), and I enjoyed learning more about the Lightborn culture.
One thing that stood out to me in this book was the author's approach to balancing what h...more
One thing that stood out to me in this book was the author's approach to balancing what h...more
Lightborn does not disappoint. This sequel to "Darkborn" does as its title implies: Tells us the story of the Lightborn. In a society that was divided into two (or three?) groups by a powerful mage over 800 years previously, the two groups live side by side but rarely interact. One group, the Darkborn, is destroyed by light. The other, the Lightborn, is destroyed by dark. They can never co-exist in the same room. The Darkborn despise magic; the Lightborn rely on it. The first book dealt with the...more
The
Lightborn
has for some reason come into a fair amount of slack. Well I must admit that I found the book very well done. There weren't too many characters, they all revolved around the two courts and the factions within the courts. There were enough people to make the intrigues and plots work. No story that deals with interstate and cross-border politics could be told I think without going into as much detail.
I just loved the way the two sides, the Darkborn and the Lightborn are shown throu...more
I just loved the way the two sides, the Darkborn and the Lightborn are shown throu...more
The 2nd book in this trilogy Lightborn, does not disappoint, as it reveals the 2nd race, the royal family, an assassination of the Prince of the Lightborn, the other members of the royal court, the mages, esp a powerful mage contracted by Prince Fejelis, not of the Temple. The story continues with Telmaine's adventures, but this time with Vladimer, albeit very reluctantly, as she clearly does not want to be with him. The previous two major characters from the first book does not appear in this b...more
Well, I finished it. I didn't think I was going to make it. Parts of the book had me wanting to claw my eyes out with boredom or sheer confusion. The story was jerky and disjointed. Just when I figured out what was going on, there would be a time shift or perspective shift without even the courtesy of a break in the text. The actual worthwhile story didn't start until two-thirds of the way through the book. It took me the first third of the book to even remember what was going on in the series s...more
Lightborn by Alison Sinclair is the second installment in the Darkborn Trilogy. If you haven’t already read Darkborn, please go back and do so. Otherwise, you will miss a huge part of the plot and storyline.
Lightborn mainly follows Telmaine Hearne of the Darkborn who learned that she is a mage of a very high level, and Floria White Head of the Lightborn who is able to tell if food is poisoned or not. Floria has been friends with Telmaine’s husband Balthasar since they were children, much to the...more
Lightborn mainly follows Telmaine Hearne of the Darkborn who learned that she is a mage of a very high level, and Floria White Head of the Lightborn who is able to tell if food is poisoned or not. Floria has been friends with Telmaine’s husband Balthasar since they were children, much to the...more
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Lightborn, the second book in the Darkborn trilogy really stepped it up a notch for me. I feel that Sinclair redeemed herself in my eyes with this second installment. Darkborn was a little over wordy, but beautifully written, it was also just boring until the last fourth of the book.
Lightborn has a lot more of the Lightborn world we become introduced to the prince and the inner workings of the court, whereas Darkborn was almost all Darkborn consisting of one particular family. We get to underst...more
Lightborn has a lot more of the Lightborn world we become introduced to the prince and the inner workings of the court, whereas Darkborn was almost all Darkborn consisting of one particular family. We get to underst...more
Well. If Lady Telmaine Hearne thought that her adventures in Darkborn are over, and she can go back to being a respectable member of Darkborn society, she has another think coming. Because now she has Lord Vladimer's attention, all due to her ability in sensing the Shadowborn. Doesn't help that there were two Shadowborn assassins after her and Vladimer within the first ten pages of the book. Telmaine's story notwithstanding, Lightborn also introduces characters from the other side of the magical...more
The second book in this elegant fantasy trilogy is faster-paced than the first, ramping up the action and introducing two critical characters (although, surprisingly, two of the main characters from Darkborn remain off-camera throughout). These books draw you in with their setting--Sinclair seems to draw inspiration from the Regency period, the industrial revolution, feudal Japan, and Jedis. The result seems both familiar and strange, like a half-remembered dream. Good stuff.
I was kind of surprised that two of the three protagonists from book one completely dropped off the face of the earth for this sequel. I was more surprised that after the first few chapters, I didn't really miss them. Telmaine was always my favorite anyway, and I cheered to see her coming into her own. I also enjoyed the further glimpses into her friends and family. I wish the breakneck pace of the book had slowed to allow for more development there.
I didn't find Lightborn culture quite as fasci...more
I didn't find Lightborn culture quite as fasci...more
Second book. More political intrigue and finally some perspectives from the Lightborn side, which is fun to read. The characters are well written and compelling, and I finished it in one sitting. It's evolved from simple personal motivations, like keeping loved ones safe, to more noble goals such as the protection of innocents. Going to hold off for sleep first before I tackle the final book in the trilogy.
This book took me awhile to get into. But once I was into it, I really liked it. Another fabulous cover. I'm excited to see what Shadowborn ends up looking like.
I really didn't like Lady Telmaine in the first book because I'm used to heroines that actually stand up for themselves and aren't afraid to use what power they have. So this book started out a little slow for me because I still didn't like her. However, a lot a things happen in this book and while she hasn't really changed, she has dev...more
I really didn't like Lady Telmaine in the first book because I'm used to heroines that actually stand up for themselves and aren't afraid to use what power they have. So this book started out a little slow for me because I still didn't like her. However, a lot a things happen in this book and while she hasn't really changed, she has dev...more
A fantasy novel about taking responsibility for your actions, trust, and fear of the unknown. The story starts out slowly, but picks up midway through the book. Secondary characters from "Darkborn" come to the fore, but the characters are reactionary and in a lot of speculation, rather than taking action or investigating.
More like a 3.5.
Truthfully, this book started out much slower than Darkborn, but once it hit it stride, everything came together quite well! I love the male characters in this series, even if they come across a touch douchey at times. The female characters I'm slowly growing towards, so I really can't wait to see what she has in store for Shadowborn.
Truthfully, this book started out much slower than Darkborn, but once it hit it stride, everything came together quite well! I love the male characters in this series, even if they come across a touch douchey at times. The female characters I'm slowly growing towards, so I really can't wait to see what she has in store for Shadowborn.
This book and its predecessor, Darkborn, worked for me top to bottom: the world-building is thoughtful, deep and textured; the characters are vivid, complex and varied; it's impossible for me to guess where this story is going. I can't wait for the final book; June can't come fast enough.
I think this second book was even better than the first. I found myself loving/hating the characters. The author seems more comfortable in her style and has created a very enjoyable world. I love how clean it is (in lack of swearing and lack of sexual inuendo). A fast, enjoyable read.
Absolutely loved Book 1 in this fantasy/victorianish/steampunkish series (Darkborn), this one not quite as much though still very good. I think perhaps because even though there was action, there were also somewhat convoluted stretches of palace intrigue.
This is truly not a novel to try without having read Book 1. Even for me, who read in order, I should ideally have reread the first as a refresher before going on to the second - not because I couldn't remember the characters (they are all wond...more
This is truly not a novel to try without having read Book 1. Even for me, who read in order, I should ideally have reread the first as a refresher before going on to the second - not because I couldn't remember the characters (they are all wond...more
May 03, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
fantasy-fiction,
cover-pretty-white-girl
I still can't decide if this series has a subtle and clever thematic layer, or if the author simply chose to use loaded terms it might have been better to avoid. It made me think a little of The City & The City, what with the two cultures in the same physical space who can't really acknowledge and interact with eachother.
I can see why Telmaine drives some people crazy, but to me she's the logical result of her culture. She seems very real and I am not bothered by her typicalness.
There is a c...more
I can see why Telmaine drives some people crazy, but to me she's the logical result of her culture. She seems very real and I am not bothered by her typicalness.
There is a c...more
The second book in the stupid trilogy - we (me and my mom) read it again. Because the first one was a cliff hanger and I needed to find out what that stupid, blind Telmaine did with her husband and Ishmael. I didn't find out, so I guess I'll be reading the third one.
Even though I haven't read fantasy in a long while, and accidentally started with this book rather than the first in the trilogy, I was eventually drawn into the main characters and their views and struggles. The writing style was complex but not overly pretentious. I'm going to have to read the third when it comes out...
Das Buch war - genauso wie der erste Teil - wumdervoll! Bin immer noch schwer beeindruckt von dieser neuartigen und detailreichen Welt und lese gern von der Lebensweise der Nachgeborenen, die uns Sehenden so fremd erscheint. Ich finde den Wechsel des thematischen Hauptaugenmerks auf die Lichtgeborenenseite sehr gelungen und mochte auch die neuen Charaktere, wie zB den jungen Prinzen. Die Entwicklung der Story war wie immer rasant aber nicht überstrürzt und unglaubwürdig und von vorne bis hinten...more
Second in the trilogy, Lightborn is good by not as complex as the first in the series, "Darkborn." Still a good read and complicated enough to make me look forward to the end of the series that will be released in June, 2011.
This book follows Darkborn but adds new POV characters that I found to be more interesting than the initial trio of characters we got perspectives from in the first book.
I really like this story, but I have to admit, I got a little lost with what was going on once in a while. I finally got back on track each time. I don't know if it was me, or if the author just has a confusing way of telling a story. I plan on reading any sequel, though, because I really would like to know what happens next!
Still torn between 3 1/2 and 4 stars for these books. Pretty fun reads--fantasy court mystery set in a world that's similar to industrial age England, but with the denizens split between the Darkborn, who die if exposed to light, and the Lightborn, who die when faced with darkness. Still intrigued and impressed by the world-building; having a hard time believing this can wrap up nicely with only one more book to go.
Enjoyable, but it did read like the middle book in a trilogy. Looking forward to the last one as there are a ton of storylines to conclude.
I like the political intrigue. I don't really like how she writes, I have found myself thinking "please get on will the story!"
Still an interesting read.
Still an interesting read.
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Alison Sinclair is a science fiction and fantasy author.
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“[Phoebe Broome] 'Well,' she said at last. 'You've now met my father. At his worst.'
[Lord Vladimir] 'Being myself widely considered my family's most difficult member, I would not presume to comment.'
'That is... gentlemanly of you.”
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More quotes…
[Lord Vladimir] 'Being myself widely considered my family's most difficult member, I would not presume to comment.'
'That is... gentlemanly of you.”
