Customer Reviews

The Armies of Daylight (Darwath Trilogy)

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In the early 80s, I read the Darwath Trilogy, then, over the years, I read it again, and again, and. . . well, you get the gist. Unfortunately, in one of our frequent moves, the box of books in which I'd placed the trilogy turned up among the "missing."

By then, the books were out of print. I've dogged the book stores since in hopes it would be brought back. It looks like the trilogy finally is. THANK GOODNESS. Along with Asimov, Eddings, and Tolkien, Barbara Hambly is one of my favorite and most re-read authors. I've not met anyone who hasn't loved the Darwath, and doubt that I will. I'm sure you will, too.

This is one of the first books I read by Barbara Hambly, and I think that this is one that made me fall in love with her. She was a way of weaving spellbinding stories that hold a reader captive throughout. I personally fell in love with Ingold and Gil. I was so happy for the two of them, you would think that I had fallen in love instead of them. A stunning ending to what then was the trilogy, thankfully now she has revived these characters and brought them back to life in "Mother of Winter" and "Icefalcon's Quest". A little bit of romance and a story that sticks with you, what more could you ask for?

The Armies of Daylight (1983) is the third fantasy novel of the Darwath trilogy, following The Walls of Air. In the previous volume, Ingold and Rudy fled Dark infested Quo and walked back across the windy plains. Ingold remained silent for days, but finally Rudy confronted him and forced him to consider his responsibilities.

When they reached the Keep of Dare, Ingold and Rudy were greeted by the thirty or so wizards -- of all ages, sexes, and talents -- who had responded to the summons. Gil and Alde revealed all the information that had been found in the oldest records and confirmed Ingold's suspicions of the nature of the Nests. Then Ingold showed them the secret of the wizard lights.

In this novel, Ingold is now the senior wizard within Darwath. Since he already has the Master-Spells, he is now the Archmage. Yet he only has a coterie of about thirty wizards and still lacks any clue to how to defeat the Dark.

Gil has used her skills as a scholar to learn about the early days of the last Dark infestation. She had learned of the existence of a Dark Nest within Quo before Ingold and Rudy had their encounter with the possessed Archmage. Now she studies the polyhedrons that are magical visual records of the previous civilization.

Rudy is convinced that flamethrowers are the weapons that will overcome the Dark. He constructs as many of the devices as he can with the available parts. But he knows that these weapons had not been used to defeat the prior incursion of the Dark.

Altir is now approaching his first birthday. He is able to stand while holding onto a support. And Altir is still as fearless of heights as a monkey.

Thoth was the Master of Records at Quo. He was the only wizard that escaped the destruction of the city. He had spent days, weeks or even longer as a grass snake until the summons came from Ingold.

In this story, Ingold devises a cloaking-spell to protect humans from the Dark Ones. The strongest wizards test these new spells by staying out at night while the Dark Ones fly oven the land. Rudy is terrified, but holds his shields even when the Dark lurk around him.

However, one wizard lets his terror gain control and his shields slip a tad. The Dark Ones detect him and take his life. Unfortunately, the dead wizard was the man that Ingold expected to lead the reconnaissance into Gae.

Ingold had planned to stay in the Keep, but now he must venture into the ruined capital to reconnoiter the Dark Nest. Ingold, Rudy, Kara and Kta enter Gae by the Street of Oleanders. They slip through back alleys, colonnades, shopping arcades, ruined courtyards and empty mews. They pass little bands of dooic and families of ghouls.

Reaching the Palace, they clamber down into the vaults and then follow the stairs down into the Nest. They wander individually, mapping the tunnels and caverns. The tunnels seem endless, winding down and down and down. The Dark Ones are everywhere, crowding the walls and ceilings.

Rudy also finds others within the Nest. The herds of the Dark -- bandylegged, bulge-eyed humanoids -- are scattered about the Nest. So too are bands of humans taken by the Dark. Then Rudy finds the nursery of the Dark Ones.

This tale follows the human armies as they invade the Nest, trying to destroy the Dark Ones and especially the nursery. As usual in warfare, the plan goes awry soon after they enter the Nest. Rudy learns that mage power isn't everything.

Gil learns the reason for the retreat of the Dark Ones from the surface into their Nests after the last incursion. Yet the leaders of the human armies fail to believe her discovery. Then more disasters fall upon the humans.

This work is the concluding volume of the trilogy. However, other volumes continue the tale. The next installment is Mother of Winter. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Hambly fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high wizardry, armed combat, and political intrigue.

-Arthur W. Jordin

It took me reading an anthology that Barbara edited to realize that yes Lovecraftian horrors from beyond the stars and undescribable, unthinkable by human brains were alive and well and living beneath the frozen lands of Darwath. When I need to count sheep or go to my happy place it's to the Vale of Dare that I go.

Second in the series. If you bought one you'll need to get them all (Including Ice Falcon's Quest and Mother Winter). Development of the politics of Darewath & Karst, Church and State, Ingold and Gil, Ingold and Rudy, Ingold and the Bishop, Ingold and ...you get the idea... continues. The quest across the winter plains (ON FOOT) to the wizard city of Quo brings news of other survivors. And always...the Dark.

Always thought it must be rough to be a writer's creation. This book makes no exception.

fin

Ms. Hambly weaves a delightful tale of magic, love and good verses evil in this first of her series. It also shows (in its own way) how people can have things in common when they come from different backgrounds and cultures. This is one trilogy I would recommend investing in all 3 books for.

This is a great and entertaining book! The Characters all have well thought out personalities. The same goes for the plot. I enjoyed the book very much.

By the time I was finished with that book, I was very attached to the main characters of the story; a feat that not all authors can do. Usually, there is a lot of characters and it can be difficult to relate to all of them. Here, there is principally four of them and of course, two love stories. Fortunately, those love stories do not take away the drama from what could be the end of human life on the Darwath planet.

The only drawback that I could say about this trilogy is that there is not a lot of information about the Dark. I was much in the dark about them. They are so much different from humans that it could be hard for the author to make them "talk" but in Lohiro's mind, some of their thoughts could have been expressed.

This book is a great addition to any fantasy library. The only thing left for me is to find the two next chapters.

A good integration between present day people and the setting of the series.
The characters integrate well and are very real in the
imagination. The plot is exciting and makes for a very
interesting time for the family - unfed while Mom reads