Customer Reviews

Airs of Night and Sea (The Horsemistress Saga)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This trilogy combines 2 of my favorite things, horses and fantasy. I enjoyed the first two books and this final one wraps things up nicely. Spunky farmgirl Lark and her beloved flying horse Tup are still trying to stop the powerful but increasingly insane Duke William. How will she and her fellow Horsemistresses prevent him from closing their Academy of the Air? I had a hard time putting this book down because I constantly had to know what would happen next. An exciting and riveting story from beginning to end.

The whole Horsemistress saga revolves around the Academy of the Air, its winged horses, and their female riders. Toby Bishop expertly juggles action, politcs, emotion and geography in all three books of the saga.

The only thing I missed while reading, was a map over the area, I like visualizing the journeys, both in the air and on the ground. On the other hand the descriptions were thorough enough for me to be able to see everything clearly in my mind in any case.

This final book in the saga is more exciting than the previous two. and the good and bad people are already "old friends" so we know where people stand, and what to expect.

We get to see more of what's going on in William's mind and we get to learn to know Constance, his wife. We see the interpersonal relationships develop, and in a way, we see what some of the real rulers in real history might have done wrong.

To read Airs of Night and Sea is fun and captivating and putting the book away is hard, however I don't think it would make sense if you hadn't read the previous two books in the series, but worry not, they are at least as good as this one, even though they aren't as dramatic.

I would recommend the whole series, especially if you are interested in horses.

In the Airs of Night and Sea, Toby Bishop brings her exciting Horsemistress Saga to a satisfying conclusion. The famed winged horses of the Duchy of Oc can only be trained and flown by girls and women. But Duke William wants to change all that. His plan, to alter himself so that he can bond with a winged horse and ultimately give the winged horses to men rather than women, threatens the Academy that has trained these horses for generations. Bishop has created an excellent series that combines magic, danger, adventure, and politics. Airs of Night of Sea brings it all together, culminating in an edge-of-the-seat aerial battle and redemption for some of its characters (including one of the sweetest fillies ever to romp through the pages of a book).

If I had any regrets it is about Duke William himself. He's the villain, for sure, but how can you not like a guy who wants a flying horse of his very own? I found myself rooting for him as much as I did for Philippa and Larkyn and the other horsemistresses.

Strong female characters abound in this book, and the background and setting are vivid and realistic. I recommend this series for anyone who likes their fantasy with a dose of realism. And lots of horses.

I was a little disappointed in this book, which is the end of a 3-book series. I felt that the end of the story was flat,kind of an anticlimax, as if the author kind of lost focus and didn't know exactly how to end this story, which is very original and interesting,

****POTENTIAL SPOILERS****

Overall, I really enjoyed this trilogy. I've always loved fantasy and horses since I was a child, so this appealed to me. Some parts were cliche, but, really, how original can fantasy be? And the cliched parts weren't that big of a deal to me, and didn't prevent me from losing myself in the story. Which I did. It's a great story, and I couldn't put down the books. There were other issues as well, such as unfinished characters. E.g., Constance, William's wife. She comes to life in the second book, and I got the strong impression that she was going to play a major role in the third book and rise up against her husband, but nothing happened. It was as though the author had plans for her that never matured (rather like Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter). I kept waiting and waiting for Constance to *do* something, and she never did. But even that I could overlook.

I could not give it five stars, however, because I think there is a HUGE plot hole running throughout the series.

The books focused heavily on the politics of the various kingdoms/duchies/etc., and it was amply evident that what William was doing would destabilize Oc and possibly destroy the entire duchy by taking away the one thing that gave them their strength: the Academy. To make matters worse, William was insane (or very close to it), which left the duchy in a very precarious position. William's brother, however, was a fine leader, and much more suited to ruling than William.

My problem is this: a simple assassination of William would have solved everything. But never once in the course of the story did any character suggest that William be assassinated. Given the heavy political bent in the series, I find this very hard to believe. Of course, if William had been assassinated, there would have been no story, but the fact that this handy solution doesn't even cross the minds of any of the characters (not even the Duke's opponents) stretches credulity too far. After all, no one even cared (and were, in fact, relieved) when he died in an accident. Surely, it would have been better to have dispatched him earlier on and saved the Academy and the duchy, and especially the poor girl whose winged horse was killed in battle.

I expected Constance to at least *try* to kill him, but no such luck. At the very least, I think the author should have brought this up among the characters and come up with a believable reason why assassination would have been a bad idea. That she ignored it completely harmed the story, in my opinion.

Wow! Toby Bishop never lets you down. This book is the 3rd book in the Horsemistress Saga, impossible to put down. If you love horses and adventure don't pass this book by.

Full of intensity with every turn of the page, this book delivers a fabulous conclusion to the Horsemistress Saga. A very touching end; brought me to tears at some parts. Lark's passion and drive is so powerful you feel everything that she feels and your heart races with hers. Bravo for Toby Bishop in creating such a wonderful saga!

Airs of Night and Sea is the very satisfying conclusion to a wonderful trilogy of books. Ms. Bishop always gives a compelling read, with well-crafted characters, details and settings. Even if you are not a "horse person," you will become one reading these books! Perhaps this isn't the conclusion, after all? We can always hope for more.

I found this book wonderful, exciting and could not put it down. It is extremely well written. I say to anyone, even if it is not your "genre" of normal reading, check this author out. She's an excellent writer.

I am extremely pleased with the time frame involved with getting this book. From the time I ordered it, a Sunday, to the time I received it, that same Friday, it was just unbelievable. Thank You.

I will certainly recommend Amazon.com to family and friends.