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Black Sun Rising: The Coldfire Trilogy, Book One

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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

Generally, I really enjoyed this novel. The plot moves smartly, and -- as in many virtual world novels -- one journeys through many landscapes and settings with the characters.

I enjoyed the blend of "sword and sorcery" with science fiction. The evil smells like real evil, and evil is so powerful that sympathetic characters like Damien and Ciani are almost overwhelmed with it. In fact, it is almost unbelievable luck that they survive-- or is it a kind of divine providence-- a deeper justice working behind the daily events?

Perhaps the most electrifying aspect of the novel is the "devil's bargain" where Damien is going against insuperable odds, and finally decides he must have the assistance of the world's most powerful sorcerer-- the "cursed" Gerald Tarrant.

Gerald is an epitome of evil-- and has sealed a hell's bargain for the gift of immortality. He is honor-bound to assist Ciani and Damien on their quest, and yet his evil is so manifest it begins to corrupt Damien on the journey.

Damien himself realizes he has made his own "devil's bargain." He has enlisted the help of the evil wizard at the jeopardy of his own soul. What's worse, Damien is a warrior priest, and his fidelity to his religion is the very basis of his self-image and even his magical powers.

The evil is evil-- very very-- and you will find yourself drawn through this novel. You will burn the midnight oil until late, and be bleary-eyed at work. But it is a great read!

What is there to say? This book has elements of classic fantasy as much as parts of science fiction, and I think, just a touch of fairy tale. I think all kinds of reader should be able to enjoy this one.

It contains only few main characters and not many minor ones. Don't mistake that for simple, though. The people are very well developed, and they are deeper than most written characters are. All of them have their strenghs and weaknesses, and they are put before a background story that is easy to imagine reality. Best done, in my opinion, is probably Gerald Tarrant, the Hunter. He is the founder of the Church, but sold his humanity to live forever. He feets on human fear. Please note that he is NOT the evil one in this book, at least if you put common measure on it. On the other hand, common measures would undervalue this book by far. It is seldom that a book is from first to last page as good as this. And I really read a lot. I should know.

Read this book, please. If you don't like it, blame it on me. (I can say this without fear, because you will like it)

This book (this entire series) was a beautiful example of what you can do when you go beyond the boundaries of typical fantasy novels. The characters were believable and three-dimensional, illustrating a truth of the world: that the capacity for good and evil exists in everyone, even those we label "absolute evil." The plot, while not mind-boggling complex in the first novel, expands in the future books of the series until the main struggle of the novel is not just against one creature of ultimate "evil," but against the nature of their world itself. C. S. Friedman's writing style was just right: enough description to give you a good mental image, but not enough to drown your imagination.

I strongly recommend this book and the rest of the series to those who are tired of the cliche: a courageous and kindly hero in shining armor who rides to battle against an over-generalized, shadowy evil.

As many of the other reviewers in this genre love to brag, I, too, have read a lot of fantasy. I usually lean towards writers like Tad Williams, David/Leigh Eddings, Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, Melanie Rawn, and Katharine Kerr (to give you an idea of what kind of reader I am). C.S. Friedman, in her trilogy, has created something so unusual that it swept me off my feet. Her characters are captivating; I found myself as fascinated by the Hunter as the other reviewers on this page seem to have been. The way she uses the traditional fantasy backdrop of a world where magic is a reality and twists it into something so bizarre and unusual, sets the scene for a striking story that questions the boundaries between good and evil even as you, as the reader, are convinced you're rooting for the good guys. It's true that we've seen the very basic plot before, if you want to get to the bare bones; however, there are very very few stories in this world to which you can't do that. The characters, setting, creatures, and details in this world are ones that would make any mundane tale a complete delight. This trilogy comes highly recommended.

It's a wonder how much authors get away with these days. I have to admit that the entire science-fiction genre, along with fantasy, is inherently not too original, but there are some books that come along once in a while that make me continue reading these books.

But this book was one of the worst examples of hackneyed fantasies. The plot was completely unoriginal, a daring quest that a small, secret group of people have to perform in order to save nothing short of the entire universe. I mean, of course, nothing else to save, right? The characters were, in typical fashion, cartoonish. None of them had any truly complicated human mixture of different personalities and traits, and just acted as if they were, well, cartoon characters. And it's not as if the prose saved it from utter failure either; it was difficult, drawn-out, unexciting, and basically hard to follow.

I threw the book against the wall three-quarters of the way through it and entirely regret having spent the money on it. Definitely not recommended.

Having read "In Conquest Born" and "Madness Season" I had great expectations. This book started gory and ended dull. The characters were shallow cardboard cutouts who never showed much initiative and spent their time either moaning over past sorrows or wishing things were different. They don't develop from begining of the book to the end. (I slogged through it to the bitter end in the hope that it would improve.) The way the characters interact seemed forced. Although the basic premise of the world/reality where thoughts influence the fabric of the world is interesting, the whole plot line is so bare as to be non-existent. At the end of the book I couldn't care less about any of the characters, their goals (to save their world or not? Phoo!) or if I ever read about them again. I ended up wishing the fae would take over the universe and end their misery. Too bad it has dragged out to 3 books. Please get back to a strong plot with interesting protaganists! We know you can world-build but here it cost you the story!

I would be willing to stack this series up with Lord of the Rings. I never thought I'd find anything as good as Tolkien's masterpiece, but those books now share pride of place on my shelf with the Coldfire trilogy.

On the surface, this book and the ones that follow it are immensely entertaining. Especially if you're someone who's into Gothic literature (real Gothic, not Goth, though it works that way too). Dark, elegant, sensual, with (get this!) an Anti-hero who doesn't constantly whine about his lot in life. The characters are spectacularly developed, the system of magic is very original, the world is vibrant, and there's a plotline with twists that just won't quit! It's almost impossible to predict what's going to happen, even for a veteran fantasy/sci-fi reader (trust me, I know!).

As good as they seem on the surface, however, the true worth of these books comes out when you begin to delve into the symbolism (much like Lord of the Rings, actually). There is obvious Christian, Catholic symbolism, of course. After all, you're dealing with both a priest and the founder of their religion. There's much more subtle movement going on, as well. If you're not someone who cares for theology and such, then the symbolism can simply be used to enhance your appreciation of the characters. If, on the other hand, you like to sink your teeth into a good philosophical debate, then these books were made for you!

My one disappointment was that the end of the trilogy seemed not quite to fit with the rest of the story. In any other series this would be worth nothing more than a shrug and sigh. In a work that attains such near perfection, however, I find it a tragedy. Ah, well. I suppose that's Friedman's Persian flaw.

In one word: Gorgeous. This first book in the series simply had me unable to put it down, which is unusual for me these days. I've gotten tired of the standard 'Naive, reluctant young man/woman/people find out they have to kill the evil Foozle because of some prophecy.' routine in most stories. The heroes in this book are real characters, already quite competent, and the tension comes as much between some conflict between the two main characters as it does with the various enemies they face.

The book defies easy categorization. At first glance it's simply a Fantasy novel, but there is more than a small horror and Sci-Fi element to this novel. The magic in this book is wonderful, cohesive, original and a 'natural' consequence of the world the characters live on.

If there's a complaint I have, it's that C.S. Friedman seems to repeat things that she's stated before, as if to make sure that we don't forget. In particular, she describes the tension that exists between the two main characters too many times to keep count. That one small complaint aside, this is one of the best books I've read, and in my opinion it outshines the other two in the series.

Altogehter, a pretty strong effort -- the first book of Friedman's I've read. She writes some elegant prose, which I can certianly appreciate, however I found Black Sun Rising to be about 100 pages longer than it needed to be. Friedman need to take to heart the axiom that cutting is a good thing that makes the remaining work stronger.

Tarrant was a treat, though Damien, I felt, was a bit hollow, almost cookie-cutter good-type-rebel.

Frankly, my biggest problem with the novel was the premise -- I really don't buy this group of people taking off into the forbidden (?) region and risking each of their lives to help a woman regain a few memories. It seemed a contrived reason for sending the protags off on a quest, and not a convincing one at that. Had Friedman been able to craft a more convincing goal, originally, I would have rated this much higher.

All the same, worth the read, though I wasn't inspired to go out and buy the sequel.