Customer Reviews

The Pearl of the Soul of the World (The Darkangel Trilogy)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

***This review contains spoilers***

As the last installment of the "Darkangel" trilogy, "The Pearl of the Soul of the World" had a lot to live up to, as well as a lot to wrap up. In the first book "The Darkangel," slave-girl Aerial saved the darkangel Irrylath from the misery of his own existence under the power of the White Witch and returned him to his mother's house. In "A Gathering of Gargoyles" she undertook another task, in searching for the lost lons to fight against the White Witch in the coming battle and in doing so discovered her own extraordinary heritage. Now the various countries of Aerial's world have gathered together in a great army to march against the witch, with her husband Irrylath at its head.

But the story begins in the most unexpected way. As the story opens, we find a young woman in a cave deep underground, with no memory of who she is, mute, with a silver pin driven through her temple and a sinister feeling that someone is following her. Although the "amnesia" plot device may seem cliched to some, Pierce uses it brilliantly by instigating it right from the beginning, so that the girl's identity and the events that led up to her awakening in the cave are kept shrouded until the time is right (and as it turns out, her forgetfulness plays an important role in the narrative; it's not just a silly plot twist and it's *not* brought on by a bump on the head).

Found by three duaroughs (beardless dwarfs basically), the young girl accompanies them through tunnels and caverns, all the time endangered by the presence of the witch's evil creatures. Eventually the girl finds a hidden passage to the ancient city of Crystalglass where the last of the Ancients - Ravenna - awaits reveal to her the truth of the White Witch and the world's history and to give her a final task: deliver a (literal!) pearl of wisdom into the Witch's own hand.

The girl (as you've probably guessed) is indeed Aerial, and when she meets Ravenna her memories return to her. We learn what happened in the space between "A Gathering of Gargoyles" and the time she found herself in the underground caves, (including the gathering of Irrylath's army, the rebirth of Avarclon, the equine lon that died in the first book, and Aerial's newfound reputation as a powerful sorceress). Most importantly of all is the dynamics between herself, her devoted servant Erin, her detached husband Irrylath and his cousin Sabr. Pierce excellently and poignantly weaves the bonds that tie these people together; Aerial's hopeless love for Irrylath, his seeming indifference toward her, Erin's devotion to Aerial and her scorn for Irrylath, and Sabr's sneaky innuendoes to discredit Aerial and snatch Irrylath for herself. It's certainly a tangled web of intrigue!

As well as these core characters Pierce also keeps good track of the rest of her (by this stage, rather large) cast of characters, all of whom have an interesting and vital part to play in the progression of the story. As such, we have reappearances from Talb, Syllva, Eoduin and the maidens, the Ma'a-mbai, the lons, Irrylath's brothers and Roshka. Only Roshka was a tad underused - as Aerial's newly-discovered brother I would have liked to have seen more of the bond between siblings. Pierce's gift is that none of her characters are strictly good or evil, and just as Aerial must cope with her jealously of Sabr and the pain she feels in regard to Irrylath; Sabr herself is not wholly bad, acting as she does out of love for Irrylath. And as for the White Witch...well, I don't want to give her story away, but let's just say she is given a name, a heritage and a heartbreaking motivation for the evils she does during the course of the story. Just as a darkangel was once redeemed, so too is there hope for the Witch...if she chooses to take it.

Pierce creates a vivid portrayal of a world; which is hinted at being our own terraformed moon set far into the future. However, no fantasy fan should be put off by the vague allusions toward science-fiction (such as archaic machinery and burning "chariots" that transport the Ancients from planet to planet), as this trilogy is fantasy at its core. However, ideas that Pierce brings into the narrative, such as the reasons behind why the moon was terraformed in the first place and the ultimate fate of `Oceanus', should resonant in the readers' minds as contemporary statements of our world's present condition.

And then of course there's the ending, and as one can see browsing over the other reviews most were quite disappointed. However, in my opinion there was no other possible way for the story to finish. Pierce carefully laid out the elements of the story, and the conclusion makes sense given the facts that she had established. The ending thus takes on a tragic, inevitable and fateful air, reminiscent of all the best love stories. Though saddened, I could understand why things happened the way they did.

BUT!

For all those who were upset at the conclusion, hope remains. In an interview Meredith Ann Pierce had this to say:

"Anybody who considers that a satisfying ending is nuts. Take heart! I intend to shift focus to Irrylath and show him as a very human character coming to grips with a life of duty, devoid of personal satisfaction or love. No longer overshadowed by Aerial, Irrylath must forgive himself for his crimes as a darkangel, regain his wings and discover the secret that will set both him and Aerial free. Aerial will learn the high personal cost of surrendering herself, however nobly, to Ravenna's planetary rescue plan."

"Here end for a time the adventures of Aerial. The adventures of Irrylath have only begun" - this was the line that Pierce wanted to end "The Pearl of the Soul of the World" with until her publishers vetoed the decision. Now that we have hope for Irrylath and Aerial, all we can do is wait impatiently. Until then, "The Darkangel" trilogy is a fantastic set of books.

I was very disturbed when I read the other on-line reviews. I think that this book is the culmination of the other two in the trilogy. If the ending were truly as bad as everyone seems to make it out to be, I think I would have been the first to notice. After all, I waited for years to discover the ending. I first read The Darkangel in third grade. Later after Pierce wrote the second book, I searched and searched for the book only to find it in a second hand store my freshman year of college. My college roommate was the one who searched for the third book, and she gave me the book for my college graduation. As you may guess, I had my own desires that Areil and her Prince would end up "happily ever after." However, I was not disappointed. The whole series has focused on the theme of responsibility and sacrifice. In the first book, Ariel sacrifices herself first to serve her mistress and later to save the good and destroy the evil within the darkangel. In the second, Ariel sacrifices her time and energy in trying to to recover the gargoyles and restore them to their former selves. The third book shows Ariel once again sacrificing herself so that the world may be a better place. Ultimately, the message of this trilogy is very religious and inspring in a world overrun by selfishness. Further, I think Ms. Pierce is a woman of incredible talent. I am now a graduate student of literature and I can honestly say that reading Pierce's novels early in life instilled in me a love of the written word that has yet to be quenched.

I WAS NOT LOOKING FOR A FAIRY TALE ENDING. I really wasn't. I mean, I realized (very early on) that this story was not about romance. If it were, then Pierce would have focused a little more of her attention on Irrylath rather than only having him pop up every once in a while. That much was easy enough to decipher. What I WAS looking for, however, was less angst and for the heroine to at least stop getting the raw end of the deal time after time after time after TIME. So she had Erin in the end. Great! Okay! That's wonderful! But can someone please explain to me how much of a difference it made to have Erin go away with Aerial rather having her take Irrylath? If her husband was such a distraction, then wouldn't her best friend have been too? I mean, one could argue that the love that she had for her husband was much different than that which she had for her friend; true enough, but love IS STILL LOVE. In my opinion, the love that she had for Erin was much more tangible than her infatuation with the prince...because she actually knew and spent time her. I understand what Mrs. Pierce was trying to accomplish here, I really do, but it just didn't work for me. It would have made a lot more sense to have Aerial leave by her self. I would have actually bought that and, quite honestly, would have been satisfied in the end. Having her leave one partner behind, only to be replaced by the other made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Sorry, but it didn't.

This third book was a bit choppy, too. I had no idea what the hell was going on at the very beginning of it. It was pretty obvious that there were several years in between the publication of the second and third book. Seriously, it shows and in a major way. It seemed as though the author was just trying to finish things as quickly as possible. The pace, flow, and overall feel of this volume was just off. I don't know how else to explain it.

I wanted (so very much) not the hate this series, but halfway through the last book, I knew exactly what was going to happen. I only finished it because I'd consumed the first two so quickly and had enjoyed them so thoroughly that it would have been pretty lame to stop in the middle of the last one ...So (begrudgingly so) I pushed myself to finish it.

The only impression that this series gave me was that the heroine simply switched places with her husband, and was made to become the vassal of an old, hypocritical, selfish crone who was no better than the witch her self. My opinion has NOTHING to do with romance or lack there of.

The heroine is majorly screwed from the time she left her mother's arms to the very the end of this series.

Five stars for the first two books, minus two stars for the crappy ending.

Way to finish off such a great series...how disappointing.

The series, as a whole, was one of the most mesmerizing pieces of literature for young adults today. It involved themes such as good vs. evil and the power of love. Once the Darkangel Trilogy is started, you can think of nothing else until it has been finished. You read and read, the suspense driving you further, until you reach the pinnacle...only to find it is the most depressing end to the most enchanting series. The despondence doesn't end there though. You will dwell on the ending, searching for every possible loophole to change it only to realize that a "trilogy" leaves no real space for an epilogue. All in all, any book that can provoke emotions as intense as one feels after reading "The Pearl of the Soul of the World" is well worth reading.

I really liked the first two books. Darkangel and A Gathering of Gargolyes. I particularly liked the second volume because Aerial displayed great character and courage. However, the last book, The Pearl of the Soul of the World did not live up to my expectations. Aerial lacked character, she didn't do anything extraordinary in this book. There was no adventure like the second volume. I was disappointed at the way the story ended. Aerial sacrificed herself throughout the story. Despite the finality of this triolgy, the story line is wonderful. Everyone who loves adventure and fantasy stories should consider reading this trilogy. The ending leaves me longing for more. Could Aerial take part in any other story that you're writing Ms. Pierce? I would love to see Aerial again, along with her trusted friend Erin. Thnak you for a wonderful journey.

I'll start out by saying the Darkangel Trilogy is fantastic.
The first two had me completely entranced, as did this third one. But the first time I read the ending to this book, I cried. I hated the book, the series, everything about it. It took my a while to get over it and finally about a year later, I started thinking rationally again. Maybe I over reacted and the ending, though sad, had it's point. So I went back and read it again. To my surprise, I had the same reaction, this second time as I did the first. I was completely unsatisfied.
I'm a reader who does not need a faerie tale ending to everything, but there were so many other options for the end that would have made it better, if not 'happily ever after,' that I must say it is unexcusable. It was as if the author got bored and decided to wrap things up as quickly as possible rather than think it out. It's too bad there was such an ending to a remarkable series.

While I loved the first two books and waited forever for this last book, the ending absolutely ruined the book for me. Ms. Pierce seemed like she was trying to be "deep" with her ending, but it was baffling, completely unsatisfying, and very weak. She didn't have to write a 100% happy ending, but I expected some satisfaction & fulfillment and received only frustration. Aeriel completely acted out-of-character: she worked so hard to free her Dark-angel and have his love, only to nonchalantly hand him over to his annoying cousin! Though I hated the ending, Ms. Pierce did create a remarkable and inventive universe with her first 2 books (the 2 stars are for her first two books)

A little confusing, the book starts out with a Nameless Girl suffering from chronic pain that keeps her from remembering or even speaking. There aren't many clues as to the identity of the girl, so the revelation of just who this character is, is rather pleasing.
In the third installment of the Darkangel Trilogy, the readers get to see the war between the Lorelei and the mortals played out. The moment we've been waiting for. The triumph will belong to whom? There's also a special little task that the lovable heroine must undergo that will determine the success or failure of the war for the mortals.
Sometimes a little hard to follow, but still very worth it in the end, even though I wasn't too satisfied with the ending, I was still content with the ending.

This trilogy might be my new favorite trilogy since Lord of the Rings. The world Pierce creates is absolutely stunning and her heroine is uncharacteristically human, flawed and yet perfect, completely perfect and believable. It was wonderful watching Aeriel grow and become a young woman. It was equally hard to watch her sacrifice so much.

The ending did cause me a lot of despair which was terrible and surprising since it takes a lot for books to truly move me these days.

Towards then end when Irrylath and Aeriel reunite I felt that he was undeserved. Though, true to Aeriel's character she would never make him prove himself because she loves him none the less, I wanted to see him work for her. He is so mean, so unyielding to her that, to me, his character did not grow enough to deserve her in the end. And alas, he was not allowed to have her.

The end is so bittersweet. The idea of the end is to close things up, not make you want/yearn for more. I don't think Irrylath was given the chance to truly grow and I think Aeriel, who struggled to make the world right and save the man she loved, was dealt a supreme injustice. It seems, with the ending, that she was punished instead of rewarded. I feel she has now the same fate Irrylath had in the beginning. It was hard for me because it seemed as though history was repeating itself. Ravenna did not give her much choice, what choice did she really have when the pearl dust was flowing through her veins and she would never rid herself of Ravenna? No, in the end it seems that Ravenna manipulated Aeriel. Ravenna took advantage of Aeriel's humanity and love for not just Irrylath but for the world he lived in.

After everything she did to save the world, can no one, truly, save her? It's hard to believe it. All the extremes, the magic Aeriel went to you would think some of that might help her.

Anyways, I gave it a 4 out of 5 because even though the end is unsatisfying the rest is delicious.

I read the review by "Ravenna" and I hope that Pierce writes more... it's been what though? Twenty years since it was first published and I don't seen any sequels. It makes me sad.

After very much liking the first two, the third installment dissapointed me a bit. The ending was triumphant and glorious but not in the sense for the main characters, Aeriel and Irrylath.

I wish there could be a way to gather them, but the destruction of the world was a too big problem to be postponed. I was reminded of Spiderman's phrase : With great power comes great responsibility. While Spiderman get his chance to be able being close with MJ, while Aeriel was not, given only a few hours with her prince, and the next, Ravenna's task made her to part with him, for good. Not the ending I was expecting. The way of the world is already unjust but should Aeriel got that too after all she had bore and done?