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Trinity Rising

(The Wild Hunt #2)

Elspeth Cooper (Goodreads Author)

3.71 · Rating details · 894 ratings · 71 reviews

The future holds nothing but blood and death . . . and Teia fears there is nothing she can do about it. Her clan is riding to war, but her secret, untrained gift of foretelling has shown her they are riding to their doom. If she cannot turn them from their course, her only hope of saving them will be to betray them to their sworn enemies.

Gair is mourning his past . . . but ...more

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Hardcover, 488 pages

Published July 26th 2012 by Gollancz (first published 2012)

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· 894 ratings · 71 reviews

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Aug 05, 2019 Emelia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

RTC
Again, I am binge reading this series and another one !
ACK !
I have to wait on book 3 of this series, so am going to have to read something else (dramatic music) until it comes in !

Excellent books so far....nasty villains whom I despise and a hero who isn't perfect that I love !
And majick..lots and lots of majick and swordplay ! Huzzah !

Hang in there Gair...I am on my way !! ...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Mieneke rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2012

Elspeth Cooper's debut novel Songs of the Earth , grabbed the top spot on my Books of 2011 list. The book had many very familiar tropes and hearkened back to the old-school fantasies of my youth. Reading it gave me warm and fuzzy feelings and just made me plain happy, so I forgave the flaws I did notice. Its basic elements may not have been cutting edge, Cooper wielded them with skill and managed to give them enough of a twist so that I really enjoyed the book. Needless to say, I've been exci ...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Craig Slater rated it liked it · review of another edition

I liked the first book of this series quite a lot. Didn't love it, but then it was not the type of book that I would normally slip in to the LOVE category. (I tend to LOVE only seriously dark, funny, epic, raw, original, well written fantasy - and that's a big ask) All of that said. I liked it enough to want to read the next.

So, book two, Trinity Rising....

It took me a bit to get into this one, mainly because we don't see the main protagonist of the first book (Gair) for a fair while. I found t ...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Leontiy Cristea rated it it was amazing

A little over a year ago, Elspeth Cooper’s Songs of the Earth completely blew me away with its elegant simplicity and neoclassical approach to a very familiar fantasy story; that of a young man with abilities beyond his control, and a story woven around him that will change his life and shape the world, which hangs in the balance.

I’m a big fan of neoclassical. I love it, in fact, and whenever I get the chance to, I talk to writers about it. I did with Cooper and after the interview with her and ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Sean rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

Yip,finally got round to finishing this one.I don't really know why I waited so so long.Another great book featuring Gair,and Teia this time,both really good characters,.
Ms Cooper has a great ability to get her point across and make you feel part of the story as well.
Looking forward to part 3. ...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Francesca rated it it was amazing

Enjoyed this more than Songs of The Earth, which is still a great story. I don't know if that was for the fact that this was an audio rather than ebook, or that it is simply a better book. Not an easy feat for a mid series novel. Apologies therefore for any errors in spelling :)

Any assertions of YA have been left behind, featuring explicit, and often very abusive sexual scenes. This story is grown up in a lot of other ways too - the secondary character of Tanith is being explored and developed ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Nair Núñez rated it it was ok

Much like the previous title on the Wildhunt Trilogy, Trinity Rising is a well written fantasy story. Nothing more.
***You might want to read my review on Songs of the Earth***

The main problem with this book -the past entry suffered from it in a minor scale- is the structure. The first third of the book we encounter a new protagonist Teia with her own story -the best story up to now in the series- and Savin's -the villain from the first book- point of view of the former title. More or less about ...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Laura rated it it was ok

It was OK, as the two star rating says.
I absolutely fell in love with the first book, it's actually in my top 3 probably.
[SPOILER ALERT]
I actually really liked the story of Teia. It was very different than Gair's and really added to how the Song could be very different with different people. Plus I was actually kind of waiting for a first person perspective of someone else who heard the Song.
Though Gair's story kind of dissapointed me. I was waiting for more assest to characters he interacted wi ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Stuart rated it liked it

This is one of those mid series books where we follow some plotlines a bit further but nothing much happens. To be fair, a new character is introduced and we get a bit of her story, but it would be nice to have something to knit the characters together in each of the books ... A desperate defence at the end of the first book (which we got), perhaps a building of an alliance in the second (which was only hinted) and the final tirumph in the third. The author did write a note about how hard she fo ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Todd rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I really enjoyed the first book and felt this one was worth reading. the book didn't quite do it for me though the new character point of views were well done, but the story was slow and at the end I felt that there was little plot or character development. Othee than have a new main character introduced I felt a little disappointment ...more

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Nov 01, 2015 Abu Bakar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Despite the reviews, the song of earth (trinity rising) is not in the same style as wise men fear. The language is simpler and an easier read. Overall it still capture my imagination and I quite like it. I am half way to to the third book.

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Aug 27, 2012 Mark rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Read my review here. ...more

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Aug 22, 2016 Alison rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book - I loved the new characters and their points of view, and the ways the different peoples used the Song. I can't wait to see how all these threads are tied together. ...more

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May 21, 2013 Dark Matter rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review was written by Nalini Haynes for Dark Matter Zine. This and more reviews, interviews etc are on Dark Matter Zine, an online magazine. http://www.darkmatterzine.com.

Trinity Rising is the second book in a quartet by Elspeth Cooper that began with Songs of the Earth. Songs of the Earth was nominated for a Morningstar Award, which “celebrate[s] the newcomers to the fantasy genre, whose first book published in English.” I reviewed Songs of the Earth; if you haven’t read Songs I recommend ...more

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Sep 10, 2017 Randy Smith rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This Book series is started so good with the first book been excellent. But the second one hit the bottoms. If I wanted to read stuff about young girls being raped repeatedly and sadist killing people freely i'd find something else. This book was just downright sick. The only thing I can hope is that to the main character is actually dead at the end of this book. You can bet I'm not reading anymore of this series and I'm going to take a careful look at anything else this author writes before rea ...more

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Jun 28, 2018 Julie-Ann Amos rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not as good as the first book, which was amazing. Also the author seems to have given the main character a bit of a personality transplant to book 2. Turning him from a likeable heroic young man into a petulant whining Grinch. I also didn’t like the graphic and violent sex scenes in book 2. They were fine for me, but would definitely surprise younger readers and I didn’t think they were necessarily required to be quite so detailed

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Jan 10, 2018 Abbie Hartley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Second book down. I enjoyed this one as much as the first, maybe a bit more just because her character development has improved, along with the conversations.

We'll see what book three has in store. ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Ben Shirley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An amazing continuation of the series, i cant recommend this series enough.

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Sep 08, 2020 Rachelle (RavenclawRachelle) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, books-i-own, read-2020

DNF at 33 %

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Oct 11, 2013 Abhinav rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-read

You can read the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/11/...

Shadowhawk reviews the second novel in the Wild Hunt series, published by Gollancz.

“An interesting novel that takes a greater look at the setting and introduces several interesting characters, but fails to excite and entertain as much as the first novel in the series.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields

Sequels, as I’ve mentioned before, are tricky to get right. There needs to be a clear progression of You can read the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/11/...

Shadowhawk reviews the second novel in the Wild Hunt series, published by Gollancz.

“An interesting novel that takes a greater look at the setting and introduces several interesting characters, but fails to excite and entertain as much as the first novel in the series.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields

Sequels, as I’ve mentioned before, are tricky to get right. There needs to be a clear progression of almost every element in comparison to the first novel, and there needs to be a general improvement in things so that reading the sequel is as good an experience as reading the first novel, if not better. Elspeth Cooper’s second novel in the Wild Hunt series, Trinity Rising does some things right, but it also does a few things wrong, and the latter unfortunately outweigh the former. Trinity Rising is not the novel I was expecting, as it turned out.

The main reason I didn’t like it all that much that the protagonist of Songs of the Earth, Gair, is no longer the protagonist of the story at all. Trinity Rising is far more the story of a simple young tribeswoman named Teia. There are some other perspectives sprinkled throughout the novel, such as the returning villain Savin, Gair himself, the healer Tanith, the wizard Alderan himself if I remember correctly, Teia’s tribal chief and husband Drwyn, Ansel who is the Preceptor of the Eadoran Church, and many others. Together, they all serve to show off the many different sides to the world herein. We see the cities and the plains, the high societies and the simple tribes, the reluctant kings and the power-hungry. Lots of things.

But in all of this, we fail to see Gair as a primary character. And in a startling difference to Songs of the Earth, Gair in this novel appears to complain and pout a lot. His character is just too petty and self-involved in his second outing, and this bothered me. And he doesn’t get to do anything significant until the last few chapters, and even then his character development suffers. The core of the character, as I saw in the first novel, was entirely missing from this one.

I won’t deny that the author’s skills are definitely in world-building. The previous novel was a good enough proof of that and this novel is even more so. The entire setting is rich and layered in its diversity of characters and cultures, in traditions and laws. If there is one big reason to go pick up this book, then that is most definitely because of the world-building. Its the kind that inspires me to work harder on my own efforts.

But of course, that is not all that a novel is about. A novel also needs to have interesting and engaging characters, characters who are well-rounded and believable. This is where Trinity Rising fails the test unfortunately. Teia’s character arc is extremely irritating throughout the length of the novel. She is the primary viewpoint character here and thus I expected more from her, but we never get that. She is someone who is often very submissive to events and who is also unnecessarily petty in that she just doesn’t seem capable of thinking for others.

When you get down to it, there are two types of strong characters. The first category is of the type where they are physically strong and that is their entire defining aspect. The second category is of they type where the strength isn’t dependent on the physical attributes but the attitude, the mentality and the actions taken. And even then, the quality of the writing informs whether the characters of either type are worth caring about. In Songs of the Earth, Gair fell into the second category and he was written well. In Trinity Rising, his category hasn’t changed all that much but he decidedly straddles the fence between the two, and isn’t written all that well. And where Teia is concerned, she is in the second category but is strong on surface only since I never really cared about her, was never given a reason to, and was just bored by her entire arc. ...more

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Jun 02, 2015 Devon rated it liked it · review of another edition

I did enjoy the first book in this series, though there were a couple of major things that bothered me (particularly what happened to Aysha). I went into this one with high hopes and, well…the ending wasn’t too bad. It’s just a shame it took so long to get there. In Songs of the Earth, we met Gair after he’d been tortured. We knew he’d been physically and mentally scarred, but by the time we got there, he was about to move on to his new life. We didn’t have to watch the torture and we didn’t nee I did enjoy the first book in this series, though there were a couple of major things that bothered me (particularly what happened to Aysha). I went into this one with high hopes and, well…the ending wasn’t too bad. It’s just a shame it took so long to get there. In Songs of the Earth, we met Gair after he’d been tortured. We knew he’d been physically and mentally scarred, but by the time we got there, he was about to move on to his new life. We didn’t have to watch the torture and we didn’t need to. Seeing the effects was enough. In Trinity Rising, I didn’t need to see Teia being raped and physically abused by her husband in explicit detail, but that’s what Cooper gave me. Repeatedly. That was when I nearly put the book down. I found it incredibly difficult to try and read (and it’s not something that I normally find triggering) and I didn’t think it added anything to the story. I’m sure Cooper could have established that Teia was in an impossible, horrendous situation without describing it so explicitly. It wasn’t until these scenes were toned down and we actually started moving on with plot and characterisation that I decided it was worth continuing.

As for the aftermath of Aysha’s death, I am glad she’s not just been forgotten. Her memory is a constant presence in Gair’s pov sections. It’s just a shame it mostly serves to make Gair angry and angst-ridden – such a highly original attitude for a hero (there may be a touch of sarcasm there). I do understand that the emotional unrest is needed to stop Gair becoming overpowered, but I wish it could have been found in a different way. My favourite aspect of Gair’s characterisation is the struggle between his upbringing in the church and the knowledge that he’s now an excommunicate. More of that will keep my interest, not watching him brood and seek vengeance like nearly every other male hero since the dawn of fiction. Aysha was a fascinating, complicated character who deserves to have been more than motivation for Gair’s suffering.

Tanith’s point of view is easily my favourite. I enjoy her as a character and the political complexities of her situation. Whilst not brimming with joy, her perspective was refreshing compared to Teia and Gair’s sections, which felt much heavier to me.

(There were some point of view sections from Savin as well, but I don’t have much to say about them. I was a little confused at first because of how some of them take place parallel with the first book, rather than this one – pacing and structure aren’t this book’s strength – and mostly it seemed to be a way to establish Savin is a villainous villain full of villainy. I think I’d figured that out already.)

Some of the real world parallels from Songs of the Earth – the rigid monotheistic church with its strict hierarchy that bares a notable resemblance to Catholicism and the desert-dwelling religious fundamentalists who are attempting to destroy them – are even heavier in Trinity Rising. I’ll withhold judgement until I’ve seen where it’s going, but I think a story that involves such clear parallels to current conflict in the Middle East needs to be very careful how it treads and I’m not sure this is yet. The cultists get a lot less development than the church and there’s very little attempt to explain the layers of complexity involved in this kind of conflict. There’s a lot of potential in the world-building, but it feels to me like there’s still some big pieces missing. Obviously, they may turn up in future books. There’s a large empire with a long history that we’ve only just begun to uncover.

It’s not just the real world that I can see influencing this world building. As well as the Catholic Church, the church here (and it’s politics) reminds me of the Elene Church in David Eddings Sparhawk books. The Crainnh and other nomadic clans of Teia’s people bear a resemblance to George R. R. Martin’s Dothraki. This isn’t a bad thing in itself, I’m just waiting for something to show why this world in particular is special and different to others. I’m not lost yet, but my faith has been damaged.
...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Austral Scout rated it it was ok

Shelves: unfinished, fantasy

First, I must preface my comments about Trinity Rising by saying Cooper sure can write -- her prose is, in fact, so eloquent, it is bordering on cumbersome (with the screeds of service paid to names for people and places in quick succession, in particular). For the most part, however, it is rich, oftimes reminiscent of Rothfuss. Furthermore, Songs of the Earth bears plenty of semblance to The Name of the Wind; it is a heroic fantasy with a young male protagonist with tortuous memories fuelling h ...more

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Jul 10, 2013 Jo Oehrlein rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Not completely a sequel to the first book because the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the book actually re-tells events from the first book, but from a different perspective. There are things from Savin's perspective, so we learn much more about him and what his plans are (instead of the generic "he's evil/bad" that we had in book #1).

Tanith is a much more important character. I think her conflict with Ailrec is interesting -- she's sexually attracted to him still, but recognizes that she doesn't like who h ...more

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Feb 17, 2017 Marcel Baumgartner rated it liked it · review of another edition

The change of perspective from book 1 made it hard to read at first. I got through it because of my attachment to book 1. Once you understand who the new characters are it picks up.

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Feb 12, 2013 Mikaela rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-library

All in all I liked this book although if I'm being totally honest the beginning of the book was quite long and drawn out and although it was fun to get to know Teia as a new character all I really wanted to know when I opened the book up to its first wonderful page was, what was happening to Gair. It took almost half the book though before we even really got to see his name in print and then we were still dealing with things that had already happened in the first book that we now had to read abo ...more

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Jan 31, 2014 Clay Kallam rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Elspeth Cooper in is book two of her series, The Wild Hunt, and “Trinity Rising” (Tor, $25.99, 488 pages), and not surprisingly, there’s no synopsis, and even worse, no map. Cooper constantly refers to geography, and her characters are wildly scattered on a pre-industrial world with magic, but the effort to sort out who is where and how close they are to someone else is not only frustrating, but unnecessary.

And Cooper is a relative newcomer to the writing biz, so she doesn’t quite have the fines ...more

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Jul 13, 2014 Elin Nilsson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2014, five-star-books

The Wild Hunt: Trinity Rising is the second novel in The Wild Hunt series. I like how the first part of the book tells us what happened in the last book, but through the eyes of Savin and Tanith rather than Gair's. Gair doesn't play as big of a role in this second book as he did in the first, but there's enough of Gair and Alderan to go around. Rather this book is more about Teia. Teia is introduced to us in this book and she's basically amazing. While Gair is the standard "why me?" character of ...more

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Mar 11, 2015 SFReader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I saw Elspeth Cooper in action at Fantasycon, where her sharp wit and even sharper intelligence were evident in the panels she took part in. So I was delighted when I saw this offering on the shelves and immediately scooped it up, despite the fact that it was the second in the series.

The future holds nothing but blood and death and Teia fears there is nothing she can do about it. Her clan is riding to war, but her secret, untrained gift of foretelling has shown her they are riding to their doom. ...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Neill Smith rated it it was amazing

Savin has continued to attack Gair and Alderan and has implanted a demon into Gair. Gair and Alderan struggle to find the means to fight Savin by using the books from the convent to protect the Veil from Savin. Teia, left bereft by the death of the chief of the Crainnh, Drw, has been selected by Drw's son, Drwyn, a much more base and cruel man, as his new lover at the encouragement of Ytha, the tribe Speaker. The Clans are assembling to decide if the time is right to join together in the Wild Hu ...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads, attic

Disclaimer: received through goodreads giveaway.

Trinity Rising returns with many of the characters from songs of the earth and leads us further into the veil and the world beyond it. We get to see more from Savin's side and his drive, go off on another adventure with Gair and Alderin, pick up from the end of the songs of the earth and follow Tannith back to her people and court and are introduced to another character Teia and her clan.
I enjoyed the jumping around between characters and places as ...more

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About Elspeth Cooper

Elspeth Cooper

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Author of The Wild Hunt Quartet (SONGS OF THE EARTH, TRINITY RISING, THE RAVEN'S SHADOW and the forthcoming THE DRAGON HOUSE). Reader, writer, tea drinker, sword owner, cat slave.

I'm not here often, so if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website
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