Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Great beginning to a great series
Review: Where to start? This was the book that first introduced me to C.S. Friedman--who is now one of my favorite authors--and the Coldfire Trilogy remains my favorite of all her books. They're an excellent read, and well worth the money for anyone who enjoys science fiction or fantasy.

Admittedly, it does start out rather slow; my first time through, I didn't really get into the story until the halfway point. C.S. Friedman is a fairly wordy author, and her books aren't light reads--they're supposed to make you think, and they do an admirable job of it. This particular series, for instance, has a theme of religion, and the very nature of good, evil, and the human soul itself. If that's going to bore you...well, look elsewhere.

One of her definite strengths is world-building. Characterization, on the other hand, is not so good. In the Coldfire Trilogy, she seems to almost have overlooked characterization of the other characters in favor of one super-developed character--Gerald Tarrant, who I adore despite his evil.

Despite that, and despite its slow start, once things get going, I think that you too will find this series impossible to put down. A must for anyone that likes fantasy, science fiction, and books that make you think.

Rating:
Summary: Best Series I've Ever Read!
Review: I just finished this entire trilogy; I read all three books (almost 2000 pages) in about eight days. The concept is unique (and I've read a LOT of fantasy-scifi), the author's talent for pulling the reader into the story through vivid detail is superb, but most of all, the characters grip the heart. Each one is a completely three-dimensional, complex entity...Mes Friedman creates nothing which is black and white, which evokes the thought processes of the reader, especially about the nature of mankind. I laughed, I cried, I worried, I read until my eyes wouldn't stay open!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: One of the better fantasy novels I've read in a while, this story revolves around the relationship between the two main characters, Damien and Tarrant. Damien is a moralistic warrior-priest, dedicated to eradicating evil, while Tarrant is a vile, selfish murderer, concerned only with his own survival. These two apparent opposites are forced to work together for their common interest, getting to know each other as they do so. Damien struggles with his conscience as he allows Tarrant to live in order to accoplish their goal, while Tarrant struggles with the illogic of working with a man who would gladly slice him to ribbons under other circumstances. As time passes they grow to respect each other (liking each other would be too much).
I found the opening scene to be overly dramatic and somewhat cliched, and the story took awhile to get started properly after that, but that was due to the necessity of establishing the characters and the setting. The most important part of this is the fae, the magical natural force which permeates the planet. This force can be affected by human thoughts, even subconscious ones, causing all manner of human fears and nightmares to manifest. As the most distinctive element of the setting the fae required careful description and explanation. This took some time, but the description seems consistent throughout, without any contradictions that I've noticed.
I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 due to teh somewhat difficult start and the lack of development of the supporting characters and much of the setting of the world, which isn't really described very well. Placenames are mentioned without any real relation to each other, and the characters seem to move from one town to another without anything to differentiate them. Hopefully these problems will be remedied over the course of the trilogy.


Rating:
Summary: One of the best I've read!
Review: The coldfire trilogy is one of the best series I have ever read. And I have read thousands of sci fi and fantasy books over more than a quarter century. Five stars all the way! Be sure to check out the rest of her books too!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Evil
Review: Friedman gives us an evil character you can like in the form of Tarrant. When most authors write out an evil character they simply tell us its evil. We see the evil of Tarrant from the word go when he tortures and kills his own beloved family for immortality. Awesome start to a good series