Customer Reviews

Darkborn (Darkborn Trilogy)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Plot Summary: In this new fantasy series, the Darkborn cannot live in light, and the Lightborn cannot live in darkness. These two races live side by side in the city of Minhorne, separated by the tolling of the sunrise and sunset bells. Dr. Balthasar Hearne accepts a noblewoman's plea for shelter at dawnbreak, and delivers her twin babies. This act of mercy will nearly take Bal's life, when two men arrive days later to beat the information from him. Only the arrival of his wife, Telmaine, and mage Ishmael Strumheller, save Bal from his mortal injuries. Their relief is brief; these men will stop at nothing to get their hands on the twins.

It's been a while since I've read a pure fantasy novel, one without a single toehold in reality, and it felt a bit strange trying to acclimate to this purely imagined landscape. The Darkborn are born blind, and they navigate and `see` by sonning, which I interpreted as some kind of bat-like radar. They live in perpetual dark, and light will turn them to ashes. The Lightborn can see and live in light, they cannot son, and plunging them into darkness will kill them. If I start thinking about the realities behind these limits, I'd probably be tempted to punch a bunch of holes into this construct, so I'll just suspend my disbelief and go with it.

Fortunately, the writing and plotting captured my attention, and the slow start builds to a heart-pumping finale. The Darkborn are prejudiced against magic users, and Ishmael is a covert, low-level mage. When he meets Telmaine at an aristocratic gathering, he immediately suspects her demure shoulder-high gloves hide her ability to read thoughts by touch. Women in the Darkborn society are treated like helpless, brainless, ornaments, and Telmaine is careful to hide her ability, to the point of denying her own powers ruthlessly. When Ishmael and Telmaine come upon Bal's broken body, Ishmael is amazed to find that Telmaine is a magical powerhouse.

A love triangle develops between Bal, Telmaine, and Ishmael, and I can't help feeling bad for them. There's no way it can end happily for everyone concerned, and yet, I like them all equally. I don't know who will be thrown under the bus, but it was left open at the end of book one, so I'm assuming that Alison Sinclair will draw this out over the trilogy. The next books in the series are "Lightborn" (May 2010) and "Shadowborn" (May 2011).

Not sure why everyone so far's giving four stars rather than five; this is an excellent book!

The author takes the idea of "creatures of the dark" burning up in sunlight and expands it to include "creatures of the light" that disolve in darkness, and then takes out all of the flat magic-creature stereotypes that would emerge out of that under the hands of a less talented storyteller and creates some wonderfully human characters. I'm also particularly interested in the way the Darkborn use "sonn" or sonar like bats or dolphins to make their way around, and how the author has expanded on that idea and how such a thing would affect a society's manners, and art, and writing, and living. The story reads more like a light sci-fi than fantasy in some ways, and the little analytical creature in me really enjoyed the thought that went into the creation of the world. It also reads in a historical-fiction way as well as another reviewer pointed out--the "tone" of the narrative sounds like a well-educated lady from an aristocratic society is narrating, although the effect is dampened a bit when the story falls into a male POV. Still, even the males are somewhat polished, but it's fun to read, not fruity or anything at all.

Strong characters, strong world, intriguing plot line that will likely continue into the next book(s). I'm looking forward to the sequal. Go buy this! (I've found the local bookstores in Chicagoland seem to only have one copy hanging around so if you're not getting it from Amazon, run out and snatch your copy up quickly before it's gone.)

A page-turning plot about a world inhabited by those who are darkborn - unable to survive light - and lightborn - unable to survive darkness. The story avoids cliches. The darkborn and lightborn are not enemies (though they may hold suspicions, as humans are prone to do with those who are different). While the darkborn and lightborn have different cultures, and even different senses, it is evident from the beginning that both groups are human. Sinclair presents a fascinating world with engaging characters.

I bought this not realizing it was a part of a serial - I usually avoid buying serials, because I am so impatient to find out how a story ends - but I am glad for my mistake, in this case, and hope the next book in the trilogy is worth the wait!

Far too many fantasy novels are set in one of a few standard fantasy universes. You have your Tolkien clones set in D&D influenced, Medieval Europe worlds, and you have urban fantasy. This novel is set in a unique and original world.

The world is based on 17th/18th century Europe, but is split into two groups, the "Darkborn" who have sonar instead of eyes, and burst into flame when exposed to direct sunlight. The book has some nice details about how the sonar works, and it's limitations. There are also the Lightborn, who dissolve if not continuously illuminated. (I'm not quite sure how this would work...but hopefully it will be explained in the sequels) These two groups live in the same land, but can never meet face to face.

Having recently read a lot of "vampire romances" with their protagonists who are always described as "strong women", but strike me as looser drama queens, the female protagonist was somewhat refreshing. She was a genuinely strong women operating within the limited context of a sexist society and managing to get around it's limitations without drama. I'm not a romance fan, but the romance aspect actually worked in this novel, even for me. It is rare to read a novel that has a convincing depiction of a genuinely happy marriage. (A lot of novels feature two characters dramatically circling each other and NOT getting together, but a happy couple is apparently more difficult to imagine than orcs or the undead).

If you like sci fi built on world building, 18th century dynastic politics, or if you like Jane Austen novels, you'll like this.

Hundreds of years ago, the defeated mage Imogene cursed an entire land. The result: half its inhabitants burn in sunlight & half its inhabitants can't stand darkness. The Darkborn are born blind, but with a kind of sonar sense called sonn, which they describe as unheard sound. The Lightborn & Darkborn live in the same city, the same land, but in different societies, depending on the time of day. While the Lightborn accept magic, the Darkborn consider it shameful, and embrace technology. Balthasar Hearne, a Darkborn physician, lets a pregnant woman in at daybreak to save her life. When she gives birth to illegitimate sighted children & flees, Bal doesn't recognize he has been irrevocably thrust into intrigue - until he is beaten almost to death and his daughter kidnapped. His wife, Telmaine the society lady, must learn to accept her mage powers if she is to rescue her daughter from death and save her husband, with the help of the fascinating, scandalous Baron Strumheller, border mage and hunter of Shadowborn monsters.

While the book is not quite as elegantly written as McKillip or Kushner, the sort of stuff I was reading right before Darkborn, it has a fascinating backdrop and compelling plot that speeds up fast. There's a Regency sort of vibe to Darkborn society, even with trains & the occasional primitive automobile, & men can be called out for sonning a noble lady too vigorously & discerning their shape beneath their clothes. I think this would be a good crossover novel for urban fantasy fans wanting to be introduced to high fantasy. It's also a very good adventure with plenty of intrigue, & plenty of mystery involving the Lightborn & Shadowborn.

This fantasy novel centers upon T--, a noblewoman who is a happily married woman. That is rare in itself. Her husband, B--, is introduced first but is less central to the plot. The third main character is I--, a nobleman famous for his fights with invading monsters. B-- falls under attack because he performs an act of charity for anther noblewoman, who has much to hide. The repercussions of this event expand in widening circles: from B--, to his and I--'s children, and beyond.

The author has created a fascinating and unique magical world, where some people cannot tolerate light; and others cannot tollerate dark. I will leave the details for you to read, and simply say that these ideas are worth the read in themselves. T-- hides intriguing magical secrets, and that also adds to the fascination.

I disagree with the reviewer who mentions a love triangle. Say rather that both T-- and B-- have friends of the opposite gender (B--'s of long standing and I--'s quite new). A topic explored by this book is the resulting jealosy of the other spouse, even though no affair is considered or even wanted. B-- and I-- remain happily married throughout the book, which is extremely rare indeed!

"Darkborn" is a fast paced novel, with much action and complicated emotions. The book switches between the point of view of the three main characters fairly often, but mostly focuses on T--.

My largest complaint is that the author made a large tactical blunder in not starting from T--'s point-of-view. That makes sense from a timeline point of view, but fails to attach the reader (emotionally) to the book's main character. I found it rather disappointing when B-- fell into relative obscurity.

Typically I do not read a book and then reread it mere months later when I acquire the rest of the series, but that's exactly what I did with Alison Sinclair's Darkborn. Sitting to write this fresh of my reread, I'm still trying to figure out why I love this book so much. And, I do love this book. I came upon it the first time at just the right time for it to become on of those perfect reads. The reread didn't diminish that feeling.

To start with, the premises is intriguing. It's fantasy, and it's secondary world fantasy, and the world is divided between the Lightborn and the Darkborn. At first glance, because of the current glut of vampire fiction, you'd think it was going to be a vampire novel. I sure did. Happily, refreshingly, it is not. The Lightborn cannot go out in the dark, the Darkborn cannot abide the daylight (and they have sonar!), and it all goes back to a curse some 800 years previous worked by the powerful mages of their time. As of this book, we don't really know the specifics as to why. We have a wide variety of opinion about the use of magic (the Lightborn embrace and regulate it, the Darkborn shun it) and we have hints of the curse not extending beyond a particular area, but the story takes place within that area, so we haven't explored the outlaying areas much, as yet.

It's a mystery. Kidnapped Darkborn infants who are Sighted, kidnapped daughters as hostages, husbands beat near to death, fires started that ravage whole quarters, rulers mysteriously done in by magical curses, and at the center of it a mother and wife immensely powerful who is terribly afraid of admitting her power, until her family is threatened . . .

I love this book. I pray I enjoy the next two books in the series, because Darkborn a perfect read, and I want the whole experience to be as much.

Darkborn / 9780451463005

"Darkborn" is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy, and has absolutely won me over with its incredible premise and engaging writing.

The people of this fantasy world have been cursed and now fall into two distinct camps: the Darkborn who live their lives in darkness and who burst into flames at the touch of the sun, and Lightborn who live surrounded by lamps and who disintegrate if they are ever cut off from constant light. The Lightborn and Darkborn live amongst each other, sharing a city and with carefully designed houses that allow communication between the two groups, but never anything more.

Author Sinclair has put an astonishing amount of thought into her world-building and the effect will almost certainly please the reader. Since sight would be a fairly useless sense in a pitch dark world, the Darkborn have "sonn", a sonar-like sense that allows them to outline their surroundings with sound. The intricacies of life under this curse are explored in detail, and it's hard not to be completely immersed into the story within just a few short pages.

The characters of "Darkborn" are engaging and likable, and it's easy to feel frustrated whenever we're pulled away from one character to move to another, but it's the "good" kind of frustration that reminds you how committed you are to the reading. Almost all the main characters are delightful and will win over the reader; for instance, I was initially concerned that the character of Telmaine was heading directly into "Mary Sue" territory, but by the mid-way point of the novel I liked her so much that I didn't mind.

The one thing I feel ambivalent about is the author's treatment of QUILTBAG characters in her novel. I'm pleased to see gay, transsexual, and cross-dressing characters appear in the pages of a fantasy novel -- too often, they're avoided altogether. But on the other hand, the characters fit certain stereotypes of flamboyant behavior and it's unclear whether they do so because of the restrictive society in which they have been placed, or if we're just unfortunate enough to not have less stereotypical examples available to us. I'm inclined to give the author the benefit of the doubt since much of the novel is about unfair prejudice against various groups of innocent peoples, but I hope that the next novel may provide more three-dimensional representation of its marginalized groups.

~ Ana Mardoll

Darkborn is the first book in Alison Sinclair's Trilogy. This books is fantastic! I enjoyed the twists and turns as well as the concept of a land where Darkborn have to exist during the evening hours and Lightborn exist during the day. Due to a curse for 800 years these two groups of people have existed side by side, until their world is threatened by the Shadowborn, those born between the shadows of the day. I have recently completed the trilogy, reading Lightborn and Shawdowborn as well. This is the author's first series in fantasy, as she has written previous science fiction. For a first trilogy this is a great read. I hope Ms. Sinclair will continue and deliver another trilogy or more fantasty for us readers.

I bought this one solely for the cover. Well, sort of. The cover artwork was so exquisitely done that my eye couldn't help but be drawn to it. After that I was drawn into the idea of the series & the possibilities within. (Although it did take me a minute to figure out which book in the series was first- Lightborn or Darkborn. There's no indication on the covers.)

Ever since the land was rocked by a terrible curse there have been three different groups. The first is the Lightborn, people who can only live within the light. The second are the Darkborn, people who live only in darkness & use sonar ("sonn") to see. The third are the mysterious Shadowborn, a band of monsters who seem to live only in the wilds. Darkborn & Lightborn live side by side, never touching & sharing a fragile peace.

It is the threat of dawn that helps Balthasar Hearne decide to take Tercelle in. She came begging for his help & discretion for the delivery of her babies- babies that are most decidedly NOT those of her fiancée. She claims that they are the children of a Lightborn, an impossible feat. When he discovers that these infants are capable of sight, Balthasar knows that something is not right here. Balthasar is soon attacked by a group of men who demand the children & he's only saved by his wife Telmaine's abilities. Balthasar & wife are soon drawn into a plan that threatens not only their family but the safety of all Light & Darkborn in the city.

There's a lot that goes on in this story. There's not only political intrigue & a mystery, but there's also quite a bit of romance & unrequited love in this story. In fact, there's a love square going on. Balthasar loves his wife but also desires the Lightborn woman he can never have. Telmaine loves her husband, yet she also finds herself drawn to the tough Shadowhunter Ishmael. Quite surprisingly, the relationship between husband & wife is very good, so it really made me wonder who will end up with whom when all is said & done. It's honestly refreshing- most authors make it painfully obvious who will end up with who. I also liked Sinclair's writing style. The story was a little slow to progress, but I loved how the writing flowed one character section into another.

My only complaint would be that there are a few things that go by a little too quickly or are glossed over. There are mentions to a disease known as "The Call", yet no information was given about it. What exactly does this disease do? I also wondered about some of the daily doings of the Darkborn such as their writing & the capabilities of their sonn, but much of that didn't get answered until later in the book. This book is well done but there were just a few things that could've been a little bit more defined.

Overall I really enjoyed this series & I'm glad that as of this review, the next book is already out. This book is easily accessible to both casual & hard core fantasy readers, so not many will be alienated by this book.