false 0 2009-08-19T22:27:15-07:00 1188046 377 2009-08-19T22:27:15-07:00 0 2009-08-19T12:05:17-07:00 1185302 245 2009-08-19T12:05:17-07:00 0 2009-08-11T13:38:58-07:00 1147484 143 2009-08-11T13:38:58-07:00 5 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 05 09:13:26 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 20 11:57:24 -0700 2009 Flight into Darkness is slow moving and very hard to get into. The plot doesn't pick up and climax until the end of the novel so the reader really has to hang in there. Once I forced myself to keep reading though, it eventually became amazing.

Flight into Darkness covers what happens during The Tears of Artamon series (though through the very different perspective of the Francians). The best part though, and the part where the book actually gets very good, is when it starts covering events that occurred after Children of the Serpent Gate (Tears of Artamon #3). It was great to see everything come to a solid close. In Children of the Serpent Gate there was no closure for every character or country; there were many doors left open that the author never closed until now. Though, I think Sarah Ash intended it to be this way so that she could create the Alchymist's Legacy and end it all through this newer series. It was a very amazing ending to yet another amazing series by Sarah Ash.

However, I was only going to give this four stars due to some things that bothered me. I don't mind that it was slow moving; Sarah Ash dives heavily into politics so one can naturally expect it to be slow at one point or another. Instead, I noticed that some things changed in this book compared to her other works. For one, the main character Celestine de Joyeuse started out to be a very lovable heroine (especially in Tracing the Shadow Alchymist's Legacy #1). In this book, however, she becomes quite idiotic and bluntly annoying. It was frustrating to me. I found myself rolling my eyes at times and just getting very flustered with her actions throughout. Her lover, Jagu de Rustephan should be very mad in my opinion... everything negative that happened to him was her fault. This annoyed me as well. Even in the end when everything was over and done with, I was still quite disappointed with Celestine's overall performance.

The last thing that bothered me was Sarah Ash's repetitiveness. She didn't keep repeating the plot or anything, but instead certain sentences, adjectives, and metaphors. Ash kept using the same words over and over again. Two phrases that I remember quite well are "like a butterfly to a collection tray" and "to blot out the sun." She just used these over and over again to the point of where I started counting... It just made it seem like she was in a rush or something to finish this book, like she didn't have time to think up new metaphors or whatnot. It was odd because I have never noticed this before in any of her other novels.

One thing I really did like about both books in this series is the romantic situations. Sarah Ash really knows how to play with a reader and make them feel the pangs of sorrow and love that the characters go through themselves. The stories are filled with lost loves and forbidden loves that make the reader sort of ache for them on the inside. The story of Jagu and Celestine is particularly pulling. The entire time I was so worried about the two of them being reunited that it almost hurt. Sarah Ash is brilliant. It is not cheesy by any means. Any book that can make me stop and sigh is great in my opinion, haha!

All in all though, the story is what gives this one five stars. Sure, repeating the Tears of Artamon series again (through a different perspective) can get quite interesting, but the part that blew me away was the events that occurred after Children of the Serpent Gate. It was amazing to see characters I know and love trek through completely new and original adventures conjured up by Sarah Ash. If you loved the Tears of Artamon Trilogy, definitely look into the Alchymist's Legacy. ]]>