Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking... My deepest complements to the author.
Review: Not only this book but the entire Coldfire Trilogy distorted the line that seperated good and evil, I have read it twice and will read it again for once an author has appeared that lets you identify with evil... The Hunter.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too bad
Review: The most original and intriguing aspect of this series is the author's conceptualization of the "fae" - a natural force of Erna that manifests human fears and emotions to give them physical form. The plot and character development are not especially powerful. There is a tendency to gloss over necessary details in favor of action and psuedo-theological thoughts. Gerald Tarrant, the hunter, remains the best developed character even though he does little enough to fulfill the promise in the first few introductory chapters. I found the sequel to be a mere parody of this book and utterly useless except as a stepping stone to the 3rd boo
Rating:
Summary: Kiss the wife and kids goodbye for a few days......
Review: I started reading at about 9:00 Sat morning and except for eating, sleeping and a few bathroom breaks, I didn't put this one down till I was done. Get lost in a world where the lines of good and evil get a little blurred, a place where magic, courage, and a little swordplay are all woven in a storyline that is intricate and complex yet effortless to grasp, the mental images created are first rate.....do yourself a favor and buy all the books in her series
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding read!
Review: This book, and the sequels that follow, weave a complicated tapestry of world where science has been forced to take a back seat to the power of man's imagination. A world where belief can all to easily become reality.
Black Sun Rising introduces us to a Saint who has fallen to very depths of Hell, a Warrior-Priest who has seen too much outside of his faith, a woman to whom the Magic is as natural as breathing, and her partner, who wishes it were true for him as well. Their journey together is as much about learning to trust each other (for this trust is NOT natural), as the quest itself. They must confront their fears, overcome their weaknesses, and rely on those whom they have always thought their enemy. The characters in this book are complex individuals, and show an originality of development that places this book, as well as the series, above others in the genre. Their motivations, ambitions, fears and flaws all flow together into a believeable whole that give the book a complexity and diversity
Rating:
Summary: Exelent
Review: One of the best I have read yet. It captures you right from the start and doesn't let go for a second. Gripping stuff
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: This book is entertaining and original, but I think it lacks characterization and it has a very simple plot. Worth reading but has nothing on the Wheel of Time series
Rating:
Summary: The perfect book for Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans!
Review: Mankind has developed the power to travel beyond the stars, to new galaxies, with new planets to colonize. Erna is one such planet, peaceful and tranquil. The only problem is that Erna isn't a "normal" planet-it has the fae. The fae responds to the will of the creatures of Erna, causing evolution to occur at an astounding rate. Then humans came, with their own thoughts and fears. They wrecked havoc upon the delicate balance that the creatures of Erna have created. Many of the colonists die from their hidden fears-vampire, succubi, and others plague them. Humankind sinks into the Dark Ages.An adept is attacked, her power to "weave" the fae stolen. A warrior-priest, her assistant, and a dark evil over nine centuries old must now aide her in recovering her "sight," but the end is only a beginning...Wheel of Time fans will especially enjoy this one
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story; one that can't be put down.
Review: With _Black Sun Rising_, C. S. Friedman has created a complex and wonderful world peopled by characters who develop noticeably as the story continues, something that is sometimes lacking in other stories I've read.
The story is science-fiction, with the location, the planet Erna, being a colony world of Earth, colonized 1200 years ago. Unfortunately, the colonists didn't know about a curious phenomenon known as the *fae*; a natural 'power' that responds to the thoughts, emotions and needs of any living beings on Erna's surface. The fae is particularly responsive to human hopes and fears, resulting in the *creation* of the focuses of those hopes and fears.
But there is a new evil rising on Erna, and it is an evil that is unlike any previously known. Four people must go into the land held by Erna's native sentient species, in order to confront and conquer this evil. A Priest, a Sorceror, an ex-Adept who is a victim of the evil, and an Adept who has been one of the evils of Erna for nine centuries. Together, they must defeat this new evil, or Erna will be changed in horrifying ways.
If you like complex stories, with no *obvious* right or wrong side, with developing characters, and with action and excitement (and a touch of magic), then _Black Sun Rising_ is *definitely* for you. I hope you find it enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Fantasy World
Review: I had a hard time starting this book. The opening scene, the most
intense in the whole novel, depicts a man sacrificing his wife and
children. The first time I picked up the novel, that part kind of put
me off the whole thing. That the writing had that much of an impact on
me speaks well of the writing abilities of the author.
I liked
the idea of a world where an ever-present background force turns our
subconscious thoughts into reality. The world of Erna is a fantasy
setting wrapped in a science-fiction premise. The humans on Erna are
the descendants of earth-born colonists who learned early on that
technology doesn't often work right because of the Fey, the force that
turns human fears into reality. Murphy's Law to the Nth power. But the
story is unquestionably fantasy. Humans "work" the fey as
either Adepts or Sorcerers, and the society seems to mimic medieval
earth.
Some of the character development is very detailed. The
character of the Patriarch is at once a threatening force and a
sympathetic character. I have not read the rest of the trilogy yet,
but hope that the character is used more in the next two books. Damien
gives us the majority of the point-of-view narration, and his
character has a sense of depth that makes the reader want to learn
more about him. Tarrant seems to be Friedman's favorite, as he is
portrayed as dark and mysterious, an unapologetic evil that we can
understand and even hope to see more of. Other characters are not as
well fleshed out, but serve their purposes adequately.
So why
only three stars?
The book is lacking in several areas, which
disappointed me after such a promising beginning. The physical
descriptions are few and far between. When Tarrant appears at an inn
in the book, we are given a very vague description of him, nothing to
compare him to the other appearance of the character. There's also a
race called the Rakh, which evolved from the indiginous feline
predator on Erna, but little description is given to describe them
when they appear until near the end of the book, and several
characters seem unable to recognize them as non-human, despite the fur
and tail.
Also, the characters seem to have knowledge beyond
what they could possibly know. Early in the novel, Ciani (the adept
woman) is attacked by creatures that no one has ever seen in the
human-occupied lands before. I'm not sure how the characters know that
killing the creatures will restore her mind (at least in part), how
they know that the creatures are from the North, and how they know the
creatures are returning north. And somehow they manage to follow in
the exact same path across miles and days of travel, even after
they've left the path and have no means of tracking them. There were a
couple other incidents later in the book that fall into the same
category, but to mention them here would be to give too much
away.
That said, I did enjoy reading this book. Despite its
flaws, it was interesting enough to keep me reading, and good enough
to get me to want to read the next two books.
Rating:
Summary: Dark and edgy balance but exquisite
Review: When mankind arrived on planet Erna they destroyed their space ship in the Great Sacrifice so that they could never return to Earth. But as time progressed, something appeared not quite right. There are dark forces in Erna that react to human's fears and desires which can be banished only by sunlight, or by the force of powerful will. One man appears to have the answer, but political forces will not allow him to gain control. He does the unthinkable ... sacrificing his humanity for eternal life and power.
Ten thousand years have passed and, still, humans battle against these dark forces. The teachings of the Prophet remain in the Church which traditionally rejects the notion that the fae can be manipulated through sorcery. No one walks the streets at night, and during true night because when darkness is complete and none of Erna's three moons are present, the dark fae dominate the world. As does the Hunter.
Some branches of the Church have trained their own sorcerers based on faith and healing powers. One man, Damien, epitomizes this faith. Natural adepts walk the world freely, but are often insane. One woman, Ciani, is the unbiased loremaster manipulates the fae effortlessly. Her assistant Senzei hungers for this power. So do others.
When fate throws Damien, Ciani and Senzei together and Ciani's memories are leeched from her, priest, adept and apprentice have no choice but to take back what belongs to Ciani. They pursue their quest beyond human lands into unknown territory. But their quest reaches deeper than they can imagine and is adopted by another: one that is no longer human. Can the priest accept the aid of pure evil to accomplish the task? Can Senzei resist the hunger for power? Will Ciani be able to retrieve her memory?
Friedman's story reaches the darkest places of a human soul and balances on the edge of uncomfortable heroes. Exquisite.
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