Customer Reviews

The High Lord (Black Magician Trilogy)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think Ms. Canavan could have done better with the ending, although this book definitely blew the first 2 out of the water. Some things just didn't make sense. How come Akkarin never used Sonea's blood ring? Why didn't Akkarin and Sonea use the power of the Arena to win the battle? Dorrien and Rothen said they would be close by to use their healing powers during the final battle, but they didn't show up. And Savara's role in the novel contributed nothing to the plot, it merely provided Cery a reason not to be jealous of Sonea's relationship. The loose ends were tied up too quickly and rather sloppily in the final pages, and made for a sad, anti-climactic end to a great trilogy. And for me, happy endings are what make a trilogy worth reading...more than once.


*Don't read this part if you haven't read the book yet*

Another unexplained loose end is when the hero dies, but then it's supposed to be okay because Sonea's pregnant? And Akkarin was way too smart a character to do something stupid like give Sonea too much power (he taught her black magic to begin with!), especially when the Arena is a few steps away. He didn't need to be a martyr and sacrifice himself so Sonea could kill the Ichani, when the Arena was at their fingertips and they could have used its power, and not died in the process. I wish I could rewrite the ending.
As a side note, it is interesting to see how much Ms.Canavan's writing improves through these 3 novels. I might read her next novel.

Trudi Canavan culminates her stunning trilogy with `The High Lord', a book nearly twice as long as the opener and twice as impressive in writing style, plot and characterisation. The series has blasted Canavan onto the fantasy scene in a manner that is refreshingly exhilarating in its simple tenacity to adhere to well-oiled tenets that are the mark of a good fantasy novel. This is not to say that there is not room for future improvements, one striking example being Akkarin's and Sonea's own attempt to wander the wilderness which, quite frankly, is utterly pointless and a section in which I found that handy notion of speed-reading coming into effective play.
So, the end of the trilogy and extremely fluent to boot. We find Sonea in Year Three (and it still calls for a vision of Hogwarth) learning Black Magic (or Higher Magic, depending on your need to justify it), killing a female Ichani and promptly getting exiled with Akkarin by the Guild. In the meantime Canavan keeps us in touch with the thief-lord Cery who's having his own swashbuckling affair with Savara whilst cleaning up after Akkarin.
We finally expand on the plot as we learn of an attempt to invade Kyralia by the Ichani led by Kuriko who nurses a personal grudge against Akkardin and a fervent desire to avenge himself on a battle lost ages ago. A little thin, but never mind. Meanwhile the befuddled Rothen and the still undecided Dannyl leap around ineffectively after their star pupil and enigmatic ex-master in a vague attempt to prevent Akkarin's enormous `I told you so'. Battle after battle rages with the Guild on the losing end as Canavan culls her cast and the Ichani move through the ghost city like the Forsaken slowly being whittled down by less magical methods until the explosive finale at the Guild. It is post-scripted neatly with multiple loose ends tied off but allowing sufficient effort for the next generation.
Canavan's opening trilogy has been delightful. At times it is lacking substance, notably the action outside of Imarddin seems directionless at times and the author retreats frequently to the strong prose and plot of the city and there is the occasional loss of reality (even in a fantasy novel you need reality of action) such as the undiscussed evacuation of the city which conveniently happens instantly. Nevertheless, it bodes well for Canavan's future penship. I'd like more novels set in this world as it does offer immense scope and the main characters have a bigger story to tell. Whether or not Canavan returns to this world I will certainly look for her next effort to hit the shelves.

Trudi does it for me with this final book in the trilogy. There is tons of action, further character development (when you thought you knew everything) and so much going on you thought you couldn't keep track of it, but because it flows so well you do. Sonea is fully "there" as a character in this book. We get to know Akkarin, The High Lord, much better - where we just glimpsed him before. Akkarin actually turned out to be my favorite character. He is very complex, not unlike most humans. Cery, has a much larger role. I missed him in book 2. The story of Dannyl and Tayend, which was a little tedious in book 2 for me, is very enjoyable in The High Lord. All the way around I feel like Trudi did a fantastic job of keeping you guessing. If you want an author that will always surprise you Trudi Canavan is the one for you.....and me.

What an end to a great series! Sonea has really grown up in this book, acting more like an adult than a child. Out of all of the three books, this one has the most action. I got the feeling of an emotional rolercoaster when reading this book, but in a good way. I was totally involved, devouring one page after another.

Sonea has to face her greatest fears, and she soon learns things aren't exactly what they seem. One thing this book has that the others don't- good old fahioned romance (always a favorite of mine). Now Sonea must face the problem outside of the Guild, and all the pain, death, and suffering that goes along with it. All of the other main characters have their own troubles to go through as well, from their own point of view. Everything culminates at the very end, and although all the issues are addressed and nothing is left hanging, I found myself yearning for more. So if I had a problem with this book, it is that I grew way too attached to the characters (plus a fair bit of crying at the end- damn you Trudi!).

So if you're thinking about reading this series and want to make sure the quailty is sustained throughout the series, I assure you it is. I'd recommend this book to those who have already read the first two, but I'm sure most of you don't need the recommendation. Definetly a fabulous and engrossing read. Pick it up!

I really enjoyed the first and loved the second books in this trilogy. Although I was dying with anticipation to get my hands on this one, I was a little disappointed. I would have liked more time spent with Sonea and Akkarin. Although I saw it coming, I felt their relationship was a little rushed considering Sonea was afraid of him in the first two books. I felt that the use of the secondary characters was best in this one, but I still would have liked less time spent in their points of view. Additionally, I am not one of those people who appreciate it when authors kill off their characters for the greater good of the plot, and wish Canavan could have kept at least two of those characters alive. Despite my disappointment in this last novel, I enthusiastically recommend this trilogy. For fans who've already read the trilogy, I've heard a sequel and prequel are planned for the somewhat distant future-which was posted on the author's website.

There be spoilers.

I loved the first book of the trilogy, but already the second took a turn for into the land of the pointless. I mean, Dannyl was a great character in book 1, why waste his potential and send him on pointless travels that add absolutely nothing to the storyline? Okay, so Canavan wanted to imitate Tolkien and create an entire huge geography with different lands, cultures, languages? Well, didn't much work out, she's no Tolkien. It only wastes space in book 2 and after a while, I started skipping the travel parts. Also, she's brave in making Dannyl homosexual, but once again, what is the point? Why add this tidbit and build on it when ultimately it adds nothing to the storyline? After the end of book 3, it has neither brought any benefit nor any additional peril to them, so why, why, why? Was Canavan under orders to write a minimum number of characters or what? This magical cave that he discovers and closes - once again, why, what is the point? Canavan just loads up stuff and then drops it along the way.

Savara - it's rare that I've seen a worse done character than her. She's the ultimate Mary Sue - super powers, all knowing, super barbie beautiful, jumps in, beats up the boys, gets to shag the author's favourite character, and when things go awry in the universe, what does she do? She stands aside! She never tells us what her part is, what group she belongs to and what is their mission. She is so obviously not part of this universe - your typical author's self-insert "Oh, I'm sorry but the Powers That Be do not allow me to intervene, I'm just here to look pretty and get a character laid..." Gah. Fanfic written by 13-year-olds is typically like that, Canavan should know better. She *could* do better, as book 1 showed, but apparently book 3 was hurried or under-edited or something.

Same with the super-spy character (Raven? Who after having lived 15 years names their chatacters Raven?) - he's brought in with great aplomb, they start off, and before they even reach their destination, the journey is broken off and the character disappears without having accomplished anything or added anything to the outcome.

And while the author's attention is caught up in all those pointless detours, the main plotline suffers. The fact that Akkarin and Sonea have barely stepped out o Kyralia when they return again, makes the whole subplot of their banishment quite ridiculous.

Another geographical issue - with only nine days of travel from the border to Imardin (I may be wrong there, but somewhere I think they mentioned nine days), and with merchants going there all the time, is it really plausible that Kyralia knows so little of what has been going on? I didn't buy it. Medieval Europe knew what was going on in Middle East, for gossakes!

So, to sum up, book 1 was excellent, book 2 could have done better without those travels, and book 3 should be entirely rewritten. Sad, because book 3 contains the pivotal events that explain things that have been going on since book 1, things that are really essential for the trilogy. So it's all the more unfortunate that book 3 is so bad, really.

Personally, I have found Trudi's writing incredibly engaging, which is quite interesting. Her style flows beautifully, making it almost impossible for readers to tear their eyes away from the page - I have rarely come across this trait of writing, which cuts down on utilising overly frivolous vocabulary, while still effectively keeping readers engaged.

Although I had expected that there were bound to be some 'cliches', which is hard to avoid especially with magic, Trudi has done really well in coming up with her own creative ideas. Overall, The Black Magician Trilogy is a must read for fantasy lovers. Being an avid reader, I never read books twice, since it lessens my chance of exploring other books/genres/writing styles. However, I have already broken this rule for this trilogy. Other readings that I am 'emotionally bound' to (that you might be interested in) include Juliet Mariller's Sevenwaters Trilogy and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.

I was hooked on the story almost from the first sentence and I thouroughly enjoyed this book.(Actually, this applies to all three books in the Trilogy.) Trudi kept the action moving and kept adding surprise twists to the plot throughout..including the Epilogue!

All of the varied major characters were well introduced and their individual stories wove well into a complex and complicated plot. I found myself quickly involved emotionally with almost all of them, both the heroes and the villans. I loved it! It's a good thing I purchased the entire trilogy at the same time as waiting for the second and third books to arrive via second order would have felt like forever! An excellent author and I look forward to seeing more of her work soon.

It's been a year since the Challenge, and Sonea is finally treated with some respect by the other novices.

This third and final volume first concentrates on the mysterious murders that have been recently committed in the city of Imardin. One thing is certain, Black Magic has been used to kill these people. Aware of the High Lord's secret knowledge of this forbidden power, Administrator Lorlen and Lord Rothen's are more and more lead to think that the murderer might be Akkarin.

However, Sonea knows these dead are actually Sachakan slaves sent by their master to kill the High Lord, so the latter was merely defending himself. But she still finds it hard to feel at ease around her Guardian, and Akkarin needs her trust. He has no choice but to share his secret story with her, telling her of Kariko's desire to avenge his brother Dakova's death, and of his impending invasion with other Ichani, outcast Sachakan black magicians, each a hundred times stronger than several Guild Magicians. As utter destruction threatens the city of Imardin, Kyralia and the rest of the Allied Lands face reduction of its entire people to slavery.

In the meantime, Cery has earned respect among the Thieves, and befriended a Sachakan woman who says she can help him predict the next murders. As for Ambassador Dannyl, he's back in Elyne to investigate on a band of rebel magicians.

I absolutely loved witnessing the evolution of Akkarin's character, as well as that of his relationship with Sonea. Their trek in the mountains created images that reminded me of the Kalbarri and Karijini gorges in Australia, the ambush in Calia was in the vein of a great Clint Eastwood Western, and the final chase in the twisted streets of Imardin was like a giant game of hide-and-seek. My only regret is I wish there were more loose ends tied up after the grand finale, which concludes a little too abruptly in my opinion. Otherwise it's a fantastic series, a very engrossing story.

I enjoyed the first book of the trilogy, The Magician's Guild, enough to purchase and read the second. Personally, I was not thrilled by the second book, The Novice, because so much of it was devoted to Sonea being relentlessly teased, bullied and set-up by another student determined to get her tossed out of the guild. All the while the adult magicians in charge ignored, condoned, or seemed hopelessly inept at dealing with, the abhorrent behavior of this particular student. I found it irksome.

But the third novel, The High Lord, was totally engaging and the story really comes alive. The High Lord, it turns out, is a very complex man indeed... It seems to me that you really have to read the first two novels of this trilogy to truly appreciate the third one.

The only other comment I have is that the ending of The High Lord begs for the story to continue; so much so, that I assumed there was a sequel, but, unless I am mistaken, there does not appear to be one in the works. Without giving too much away, Canavan has set up the last book with interesting characters whose stories I would like to see fleshed out further. I just want to see what developes for them in the future. Cery,for example,....