Customer Reviews

Flight into Darkness (Alchymist's Legacy)

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When the Kingdom of Francia's chief Inquisitor Alois Visant executed the entire College of Thaumaturgy for violating the taboo of practicing magic; "alchymist" Linnaius and his apprentice Rieuk Mordiern are the only survivors of the fiery massacre. Rieuk went underground to survive, but after escaping more harrowing scenarios (see TRACING THE SHADOW) he inadvertently frees the critical guardian spirit Azilis who maintains order between the living and the dead.

Although he wishes for the days of being a bored housekeeper, Rieuk learned one thing from his master; fulfill one's duty. He must return Azilis to her position as guardian. However, time is running out as the Seven Dark Angels of Destruction are on the march and Azilis has no interest to go back to her tedious role as guardian spirit. Instead she prefers being personal guardian to highly regarded singer Celestine de Joyeusse; although her inhuman talent has Visant and his Inquisition agents looking closely at her for signs of magic; a skill they found in her father before burning him to death.

Located in the Tears of Artamon realm just after the events of the CHILDREN OF THE SERPENT GATE, the conclusion to the two-book Alchymist's Legacy saga is a superb entry that showcases how Francia's enemies see their rivalry and the overall world. The exhilarating story line is fast-paced answering the too many major threads left dangling from the first story. Fans will relish the escapades of the reluctant champion, the hesitant heroine, and the guardian who brings them together as daemons invade, but fans should read TRACING THE SHADOW first as FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS is a direct sequel.

Harriet Klausner

Flight into Darkness is the conclusion to Alchymist's Legacy, a prequel/sequel to Sarah Ash's Tears of Artamon Trilogy. The first book of Alchymist's Legacy is Tracing the Shadow (Alchymist's Legacy). "Flight into Darkness" is the second and concluding book. I strongly recommend that if you read Alchymist's Legacy , you read the Tears trilogy as well to get the full story. This will also help events in Alchymist's Legacy make more sense.

Tracing the Shadow related the back-story for the enigmatic Francian antagonists of the Tears trilogy, Celestine de Joyeuse and her partner Jagu de Rustephan, while introducing Rieuk Mordiern, Kaspar Linnaius forgotten apprentice. Celestine, Jagu and Rieuk's fates were forever altered by the appearance of the same aethyrial spirit named Azilis. Now in Flight into Darkness, the truth behind the nature of Azilis becomes known, revealing a bond that ties Celestine to the crumbling barriers between the living and the dead, and the daemon prince Nagazdiel himself.

The problem I encountered while reading this otherwise welcome expansion of the Tears universe is Part Two, which is basically an extremely abbreviated version of the Tears of Artamon itself. Not enough information is given for newcomers to actually understand all that happened in Tears, yet fans will likely find this section a bit redundant in places. Once one nears the ending chapters of part two, however, the story once again picks up, vibrant and worth every page.

Ash has a talent for linking all her novels together in a glistening thread of meaning, and in Alchemyst's Legacy she manages to bring together her Tears of Artamon trilogy and her novel Songspinners (Alchymist's Legacy brings back Girim nel Ghislain and Captain Korentan, here Lieutenant Korentan, who both have starring rolls in Ash's "Songspinners") while navigating a new story arc. Blending the Enhirre Azilis,the Francian Saint Azilia and the Allegondan Elesstar is a rather poignant way of saying that all religions share common threads, that all hold different names for the same things...while at the same time implying that none of them are entirely correct in their interpretation. Her novels are entertaining, laden with beautiful images and thought-provoking.

The product itself was in really good shape when I recieved it. But the story is even better! I didn't know if I was going to like it, because I was iffy about the first book. I'm always 100% satisfied when I purchase from amazon!!!

Nowhere on the covers is it mentioned that this book is the second of a series! Please give the buyer a clue....I regret wasting my money on it.

This book is written like a summary about some characters from the series who the author wanted to flesh out more. It jumps along like a kangaroo. There is no real character development and it just skips from snippit t snippit from the book series and leaves the reader wondering why it was written at all. If you have not read the series (which is a great read) you have no hope of knowing who all the characters this book refers to are and no hope of understanding what is going on at all.

In short, don't wast your money on this one.