Customer Reviews

Aisling (Indigo, Book 8)

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

 

 

I am sure that anyone who reads this series will approach the concluding book with some trepidation. Being unsure how it will be resolved. Louise actually does a wonderful job of showing how much Anghara has really changed through the years. What I found to be so incredible was that while Indigo had been the central character through the first seven books, for the majority of this book, she becomes a secobdary character, you are carried through the events with a different set of eyes. And instead of feeling alienated, I was engrossed. With this final chapter of Indigo, not only does Louise Cooper show her superior story telling abilities, but she manages to achieve a strong ending a conclusion that was as strong as the preceeding volumes had been.

In my opinion the conclusion is the point where an author shows the mastery of their craft. There are so many stories that have captivated me only to fall flat at the end with an ending that didn't do justivce to the quality of the series.

If you love fantasy, read the Indigo Saga. It not only has the magical, but it alsohas the human elements as well. Her series stays focused from the beginning to the end, and you as the reader are swept along with it. And what a climax, what an ending. When I read the cover, and it said "The Stunning Conclusion of The Indigo Saga" I was sceptical, for once they were right. All of Louise Cooper's work comes highly recommended, and worth the effort to find.

I first started reading this series a good few years ago, and now I own all the books in the series, though at the time they were hard to find.
In this book, after a long and harrowing journey that covers three quarters of a century, Indigo finally returns to her homeland of Carn Caille, to face the last of the demons she released from the tower of regrets.

Upon arrival at her native land, there is a nasty shipwreck which separates Indigo and her wolf-companion, Grimya, and leaves Indigo with a loss of memory. The plot revolves around Indigo's struggle to regain her memory while struggling to understand her connection to Carn Caille and the current ruling family, who become central characters in the book. It also revolves around Grimya and her struggle to find Indigo and help to restore her memory, as well as fight the evil at hand.

When I finished this book I wondered if the ending, as well as the different direction the series seemed to take after book 5 (Troika) was reflective of a change in the attitude of the author herself.

Personally, I thought this to be a refreshing ending, as a 'fairytale happy' ending would have been too predictable and ordinary. Not my favorite book in the series, but nevertheless I couldn't put it down the first time I read it.

When I read "Aisling", I was excited and eager. I had read the other seven volumes of the "Indigo" saga, and I had secretly envisioned my own conclusion to the series. What I had been expecting and what I read were shockingly different. I suppose that's what I get for imagining a fairly uncomplicated, and almost sweet ending to a violence-driven, complex saga. For those of you who have not read the first seven books, here is a brief synopsis: Anghara Kaligsdaughter, a spoiled, willful princess, unleashes the demons of Chaos upon her kingdom, leaving her the sole survivor of her family, and condemning her betrothed, Fenran, to a hellish limbo. As punishment, the Earth Mother makes Anghara-now-Indigo immortal, banning her from her homeland to seek and destroy the evil she has unleashed. She is given the companionship of a telepathic wolf named Grimya, and the aid of a celestial emissary. However, Indigo is haunted by the shadow of her Nemesis, and the memories of her evildoing...fifty years have now passed, and she has slain six of the seven demons. She returns to her homeland of the Southern Isles to make her peace, and reclaim her lost love, Fenran, from the purgatory in which he has been living. Unfortunately, all is not what it would seem...and Indigo, suffering from amnesia as the result of a shipwreck, finds herself the unknowing pawn of a dangerous game, that could destroy her beloved homeland...Louise Cooper is a wonderful author, and when I reflect on the tone of the series, I know that she did the final book justice. I simply didn't come away with the sense of closure that I hoped I would

Book 8, titled Aisling, concludes author Louse Cooper's fantasy series called the Indigo series. Throughout the books, readers come to know the main character Indigo and to identify with her struggles as she faces each of seven demons that she had inadvertently released from the Tower of Regrets. Meanwhile, Indigo's lover Fenran is trapped in a demon world, only to be released once all of the demons have been slain. So Indigo becomes the designated hero chosen by the Earth Mother's Emissary to have the blessing and curse of immortality until all of the demons are vanquished. But she does not take this journey alone, for the speaking wolf, Grimya, also chooses to have the gift and curse of immortality as she aids Indigo in her quest. Together, Indigo and Grimya defeated six of the seven demons - and that takes us to book 8 and the final demon.
There is so much potential here for Indigo to be a hero, get into an epic battle with the last demon, save Fenran, become Queen of the Southern Isles, and for the inclusion of love triumphant. But oddly enough, none of that happens here. The hero's role in this novel goes to an entirely new character in the series - a witch named Niahrin. While the addition of the kindly old witch was creative and she makes a good character, this ought to be Indigo's time to shine. Instead, Indigo has gotten caught up in a shipwreck and ends up with amnesia. A sailor named Vinar sees this opportunity and decieves Indigo into thinking that the two of them are betrothed. But once Indigo learns the truth of who she is - a surprising 300 pages into the novel - she isn't upset in the least at Vinar's trickery. Rather, everyone feels sorry for what the sailor has gone through in losing Indigo! And if all this doesn't seem wrong, there's the shocking and disappointing revelation that Fenran is the seventh demon.
So how is it possible that he's the seventh demon if we've been told throughout the novels that he's being held prisoner in a demon world, tormented until Indigo can save him? Well as the story goes, Fenran was trapped in his own mind, by his own demons...which doesn't really make much sense because the demons that Indigo released from the Tower of Regrets - the ones that she has to hunt down and kill - are demons within herself, but also demons that plague mankind.
So how can Fenran be the seventh demon? But beyond that, Fenran is the one who gives Indigo's quest meaning. This is what makes book 8 so utterly disappointing - no epic battle, and no freeing Fenran from some demonic hell. Instead, he gets a crossbow bolt through the heart after telling Indigo, "I love you."
All of this makes the book drag on and on, and then when you're expecting a miraculous turn-around, it seems to be far too little, too late. The ending is nearly as disappointing as if Indigo were to have come this far only to have failed her quest. The long bout of amnesia only serves to undermine the plot that the author has woven throughout the series, because Indigo has come too far to not know who she is or what she has to do. Her friendship with Grimya seems irreparably damaged, Fenran is dead, and the royalty of the Southern Isles is wary of her - all so that the author can let two newcomers (Vinar the sailor and Niahrin the witch) take the stage.
Tisk, tisk. It had SUCH potential!

Product description:
"It seems that her long quest is almost at an end. Six challanges lie behind her, and at last Indigo is coming home.

She returns as a stranger, without family or friends, but she believes that someone is waiting for her - and that soon she will at last be reuinted with her lover, Fenran.

But her ship is wrecked and, pulled unconscious from the sea, Indigo wakes with no memory. Fenran and her dreams are forgotten; even her faithful companion Grimya is forgotten. So when a fellow seafarer claims to be her betrothed, why should she mistrust him?

Unless she can recall her past, Indigo's quest will be in ruins. But will she dare to look into the mirror of her own mind, to find her final demon?"

Although I was a little dissapointed at first to find that Indigo herself actually plays a very small role (particularly in the first half of Aisling) this book still manages to wrap everything up very well. The characters are all very interesting, with clear motivations and the writing is excellent.

Overall, I found Aisling to be a gripping and rewarding conclusion to the entire Indigo saga, and would recommend the Indigo series as a must read for any fan of Louise Cooper or those of the fantasy genre. The reason I did not award this book five stars, was simply because I felt it lacked the atmosphere and sense of iminant menace that the previous books possessed. Also, though it worked well enough without her, I did really miss Indigo's presence.

I loved this whole saga immensly.I must admit,I was practically going insane wondering what the ending would be.When I finished the saga,I was not disappointed in the least.It gets tiring having read similar endings to books most of my life,and this conclusion WAS DIFFERENT! I was rather surprised,or "stunned" as you might say,at the ending. A part of me wished things were back the way they were,or close to it.But I was not upset by Indigo's decision at all.It was her fate,it seems,and this saga was far from dull.I would recommend it to any fantasy lover who is willing to be patient.

That's what I said when I finished the book! After all that happened in the previous books, the ending was not what I expected. I guess that's what I get for believing in happy endings. I would still recommend the series to anyone though.

I read fantasy to firm my faith that the world can be a better place and there can be happy endings. While Indigo does go through some personal growth, the whole series was frustrating because she repeats the same mistakes again and again, I did not feel that her personal growth was enough to make the story interesting or educational. As for the end, I hate hanging endings. I do not recommend this series at all, unless you are a pessamist.

After 7 books, it's natural that one is expectating what will happen in the end.

In the beginning of the book we find Indigo traveling to the Southern isles, her homeland, in hope of finding her love Feran still alive. But her ship wrecks and though she doesn't suffer grave injures to the body, she finds herself with her memories totally lost. She doesn't even remember Grimya, her faithfull companion. But in this land she doesn't remember and is now ruled by a family she doesn't even know, things threaten to go very badly indeed. For once we find the last demon waiting for her in an unexpected guise. And only the 'aisling', a magic tune, can bring back her memory, so that she can finish her mission.

I liked the way the book ends, I think it's according to Ms. cooper's style and very realystical.

It took me YEARS to find all the books in this series and by the time I finally did I re-read all the books again before reading this last one. It's hard to rave on without spoiling the surpise but I think that by the time I opened this book I was feeling that Indigo's character had really developed in some ways over the course of the series but that in other ways she still seemed very juvenile for all that she is really old after all her adventures. I loved that this book allowed Indigo to push past these barriers. Absolutely put in the effort to get all the books for this series.