Customer Reviews

The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence: The Third Book of the Wraeththu Histories

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

 

 

This is not just a finale for this trilogy, it's a satisfying conclusion to the entire Wraeththu arc. Characters you haven't even though of since the first book show up, and there are new revelations about other longtime characters that will surprise you.

Pell is still his ornery self, and he gets much more "screen time" than he's had in a while in the series.

Everything left hanging since the beginning of the series is answered here: Do you want to finally know where Wraeththu and Kamagrian come from? It's here. Do you want to know what happens when a harling is conceived by three, rather than two, hara? It's here. What of Lileem and her library? Yup, that's here too.

If the above confuses you, it's meant to. If you don't understand that, you really shouldn't read this book yet. Some books in some trilogies or series can be read as a standalone novel. While I suppose you might get some enjoyment if you tried it with this one, you'd also be immune to many of the surprises here... if you don't remember Velaxis, for instance, you're going to miss something big. Go get the Tor Omnibus book of the first trilogy (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312890001/sr=8-1/qid=1153545978/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-0218912-8749768?ie=UTF8">Wraeththu</a>) and start there.

For the rest of you, though, those who want to know what Theide's been up to and whatever became of Ponclast, this conclusion does not disappoint.

Seldom you see a fantasy trilogy conclding itself in a manner so rich and satisfying. All the threads come to end in a stunning yet convincing way, and the plot unfurls in an intriguing, fascinating way. Seven years after the war on Fulminir, we witness the predicaments of three second-generation hara conceived during the fateful eventsin Shades: the proud and troubled Darquiel, growing in the far nothern realm of Olopade, the pampered and naive Loki, the favoured son of the Tigrons Calanthe and Pellaz,and the devious Geburael, son of the enemy of the Tigrons, Ponclast, andof the traitorous son of Pellaz, Abrimel. Geburael lives in the dark dimension of Thanatep with his brother Diablo, that teached him only hate and desires of revenge. The lives of Geburael, Loki and Darquiel will come at a crucial point in the magic land of Anakhai. Meanwhuile, the Kamagrian Lileem, in the realm of the Multiversal Library (in which one hears the echo of the Infinite Library of Jorge Luis Borges), will discover the very secret of the birth and meaning of Wraeththu. And even the all-powerful Thiede will have a part in this final disclosure.
Magnificently narrated, rich in details of strange and arcane realms, with charachters described in a so vivid and superbly detailed manner, that the reader will never forget them, this novel is a worthy conclusion of a trilogy that I think is no less magical and beautiful than the first Wraeththu Trilogy.

This book is one of the reasons why I love Storm Constantine's work. She manages to take everything she built up in the first two books of the trilogy, and bring it all together. There's no stretching the text or trying desperately to fill pages; the pacing is wonderful, and it's a page turner right to the end.

And it gets complex! All the hints from the first book, as well as some from the original Wraeththu trilogy, are brought together here in a plot that's more bizarre and fascinating than I'd imagined. Ancient angelic lore, occultism and interplanar travel are featured as Wraeththu work through a truly monumental period of growth in their history. The story is full of suspense, with an incredibly satisfying ending.

As is Constantine's style, we get to see some really interesting sides of various characters; I was particularly surprised to see what happened to Ponclast in this book. She has a good sense of balance for switching from one set of characters to the next, not letting us go too long without checking on everyone.

This book really brought the trilogy together, and it's going to be a favorite read of mine for years to come.

Pros: Some interesting new characters, ties up a few loose ends, has a spectacular ending.

Cons: Darquiel as a character, too much emphasis on communing with otherworldly entities, not enough on storytelling.

The interesting thing about this book is that after a six part series, Storm Constantine chooses to filter the last book in her "Histories" trilogy through the point of view of a bunch of characters we have never seen before. In my opinion, this is the first true "second generation" book that we've seen from this author -- where the majority of the truly important characters are the children of the original cast of characters. I think that writing the book in this way was a risky move and not a 100% successful one.

Although I would have liked to have seen more of Cal and Pell, not to mention characters who don't even appear like Swift and Cobweb, I thought that some of the new characters like Loki and Geburael were interesting. All three of the new main characters -- Loki, Geb, and Darquiel -- have interesting backstories behind their conceptions. Loki was conceived by Pell and Galdra during "grissecon" (sex magic), but everyone believes that Cal is his father. Geburael is the son of Abrimel and Ponclast and is raised by the "addled" Diablo. Darquiel was concieved by three hara (Cal, Pell, and Rue) instead of two and was stolen from his parents before his birth. There is a lot of opportunity for interpersonal conflict here and Storm plays up many of these conflicts.

Unfortunately Darquiel is probably the most annoying character in this entire series. He is a Chosen One and shares much in common with Pellaz only he is even MORE perfect, even MORE powerful. Since about half the book is filtered from Darq's point of view, this is a major issue. Another major issue is that a large chunk of this book is spent by the characters communing with otherworldly deities in ways that often don't even seem to move the plot. By this point, there are so many superhuman entities moving around in these books, that it is hard to keep track of or care about them all. We have the dehara (gods created by hara), the sedim and teraphim (angels?), the Aasp and the Zehk (super angels), Divozenky (spirit of the world), the Krim Sri (?) and probably others I'm not thinking of at the moment. In this book, all of these mysterious entities which largely lack personality must be consulted before the characters can take any action. It seriously slows down the plot of the book.

That said, this book had a strong setup and the ending, without giving too much away, managed to tie all the pieces together and be heart rending at the same time which helped redeem the book for me.

This was somewhat disappointing for the conclusion of a great series, but it isn't an altogether bad book. I give it four stars. Barely. 4- stars.

this book wraps up so many Wraeththu story lines and is AMAZINGLY creative... truly unbelievable. She definitely leaves enough story for another book - I wish she'd write one more book in this series!!!

Darquiel was raised amidst the Olopade tribe, but though he has no idea who his parents are he believes he is the offspring of humiliated, dead or both Wraeththu of renown. As he grows up he realizes he is different from his tribesmen as he has magical prowess that no other seems to have. He experiments trying to "incept" his best friend, the human Amelza, but that fails tragically; Thiede the powerful detects Darq's magical effort especially his psychic plea to help his friend and realizes how different this har is from his tribesmen.

Loki, the son of the mighty Tigron, has a well earned reputation in the use of magic and diplomacy. However, Geburael and his half-brother Diablo, believing that the hold on society by their grandfather Tigron must end must kidnap Loki, whose attempts to escape fail. As Darq learns how to control his magic and who his parents are, his path will intersect with Geburael, Diablo, and Loki.

Though action saga fantasy fans will want to pass as the story line moves at a moderate pace, readers who appreciate a deep look at a future evolved species of humanity will fully relish this Wraeththu entry. Darq is the fascinating character though he shares top billing with the more accomplished Loki as the former's coming of age in the realm of magic brings deep insight into the abilities of his race. Storm Constantine provides a fine tale that shines a powerful light on the Wraeththu.

Harriet Klausner