Customer Reviews

Restoration (Rai Kirah 3)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carol Berg's 'Rai-Kirah' trilogy "Transformation," "Revelation," and "Restoration" is so believable (well, except for the wizards and demons), it almost falls into the category of historical fiction. It is narrated by Seyonne who was once a mighty wizard and Warden against demonkind, then a slave to Prince Aleksander, then the savior of demonkind and a wizard-in-exile, and finally in "Restoration," a mighty winged warrior who fights for the deposed heir-apparent to a fantastical Arabian Nights Empire.

"Restoration" develops logically from the interaction of its two main characters, Aleksander and Seyonne, especially after Aleksander is accused of killing his father, the King and is deposed from his rightful throne. With Seyonne's assistance, Aleksander escapes from the usurper and then suffers humiliation, defeat, and near-death in his quest to regain what rightfully belongs to him. Author Berg believes in building character through suffering, and Aleksander loses everything, including his princely arrogance and most of his warriors.

Meanwhile Seyonne has his own internal demon to battle (joined to him in "Revelation"--you really, really need to read this trilogy in the correct order). He must also make his way to a fortress of profound darkness, where a wizard who frightens even the demons has been imprisoned, almost since the beginning of history. Seyonne meets the prisoner in a dream, and the old man seems harmless. When he finally enters the fortress, all Nyel, the old prisoner wants to do is help Seyonne find his own true form.

Seyonne realizes that he can help his friend Aleksander far more as a powerful winged warrior, rather than in his current human form. Thus begins his slow seduction to the beauty and utility of absolute power.

This third book in Berg's trilogy has prodigious battles, hair's-breadth escapes, and journeys to locales from her previous two novels, including the land of the demons. It is a vast, fabulous landscape and a pleasure to revisit, but the plot has a tendency to wander, bifurcate, and even lose this reader completely. This book definitely seems to bring the trilogy to an end, but I'm still in doubt about the fate of demonkind.

Seyonne spends almost the whole of "Revelation" in helping them escape from their frozen hell, but in "Restoration" all we get are a few guest appearances. So this trilogy comes to an untidy end with the dissipation of the demons, but it is still a great and glorious read.

Highly recommended.

Carol Berg is competing with a five-star book -- her own "Transformation". By that standard, the second and third books are lacking something.

The beginning is great -- assassins, a battle, and Seyonne helping Aleksander as the prince becomes a fugitive. When Seyonne decides to take another path, things become less interesting.

As with "Revelation", much of the middle section takes place in a supernatural realm. The author created a complex, fascinating human world in her first book, and wisely kept almost all of the action there. The magical realms in the other two books become rather boring. And very few authors can make a reader care about godlike superbeings.

The ending is problematic. A worthy, important adversary was introduced early on in the book. However, he only reappears at third hand, and is disposed of offstage. Very disappointing. And, in order to wrap up the series, dot every i and cross every t, the author gives us a politically correct, fairytale resolution of the world's problems. Aleksander's role, and that of the Derzhi, are completely changed. Aleksander may have agreed, though even that seems a stretch -- he was just a bit too "transformed" from the Aleksander we know. But the Derzhi? The conquerors who make ancient Egypt look progressive, and the Romans look like softies? I can't see them swallowing the new society for one second (no matter whether they supported Aleksander in the war).

The very last bit has yet one more sacrifice by Seyonne. It seems unnecessary -- there must have been another way. As for what he gains -- well, he seems happy, but I have always found Seyonne's women, and his relationships with them, hard to believe. Unlike so much of what Carol Berg writes, they just sit there on the page and don't come alive.

Of course there are good things -- the beginning, the climactic duel which uses the strengths of the first book. And Carol Berg seems incapable of writing a *bad* book. Even through the less interesting parts, I wanted to know what happened and was anticipating the next meeting of our heroes. She created vivid new characters and fleshed out some old ones. Her writing style is far above most of the fantasy today. I suspect she has spoiled me, and many other readers, for a lot of what's out there. I look forward to her next book.

By the time Seyonne survived 16 years of slavery under the Derzhi, reclaimed his life among the Ezzarians, had his people try to murder him and joined with a demon, he knew that there were gods at work on his world - and they must have had a doozy of a sense of humor. Seyonne is exiled from his homeland and wants nothing more than to watch his son grow up from afar, try to heal and to find out what to do with the demon that is inside of him. But when a group of assassins show up, sent to kill him by a Derzhi heged, Seyonne has no choice but to go to Aleksander, his former master, and warn him. It turns out that Aleksander already knows, but his father, the emperor, just died and the Council of the Twenty is fighting Aleksander's ascension to the throne. Tricked into starting a battle that he knows he cannot win, Aleksander is betrayed and only Seyonne can save him.

While Seyonne waits for Aleksander to heal, he comes in contact with a mysterious sage in a long-deserted city and Seyonne knows that he can only delay his destiny, not change it. For Seyonne has long seen a terrible warrior in the dreaded palace in the land of the demons - a warrior with his face. Seyonne waits as long as he can to try and help Aleksander, but the demon part of him is tearing his soul apart and the nightmares keep him from any kind of rest. Seyonne forces himself to journey across the borders of the world to the palace where something dark waits to destroy him and the world as he knows it...

This is an absolutely stunning trilogy by Carol Berg. It began with Transformation (my personal favorite), continued with Revelation and ends here with Restoration. Seyonne and Aleksander are some of the most memorable heroes in all of my fantasy reading and all of Carol Berg's characters are well drawn and absolutely fascinating. The world that Seyonne inhabits is never static - the rules of the game change in every book so the reader never really knows what to expect. This book was absolutely heart wrenching and really showed the costs that are associated with changing the world for the better. Seyonne lost everything and then regained everything and it was so hard to watch him change and to lose that core of honor and belief in the value of lives for a brief time. For anyone who loves fantasy, this trilogy should be on your must read list - and they are well worth keeping to read again and again! I am eagerly awaiting more fabulous tales from Carol Berg, a tremendously talented author.

I practically devoured this brilliant series in a week and I have just finished Restoration. Restoration does not disappoint. It is a worthy ending to this magnificent series. So much so that I feel somewhat empty towards the last sentence simply because the series has ended and I will no longer have the pleasure of reading about Seyonne. But I am grateful that I have discovered Berg and her world and look forward to this must read writer's next effort. Restoration does not stand on its own and must be read after the first 2 in the series to really appreciate it and the whole series. I am lucky to have read all 3 continuously with no long waiting in between. I always feel that no writer should attempt the narration of his tale in the first person unless he is a gifted writer who writes from the heart. Berg is just such a writer. Her brilliant writing in first person just sweeps me along as I become enmeshed in Seyonne's world and struggles. In Seyonne Berg has created a wonderful hero whom I will always remember. Thank you Berg for such an amazing series and please do not let us wait too long for your next story!

With "Restoration" Carol Berg brings her excellent Rai-Kirah series to an end. This book can only really be appreciated if you have read parts 1 & 2 of the series (Transformation and Relevation). It's hard to know what to write and not give away any major plotlines.

In this book Seyonne finds some hard won, and unexpected truths about the ancient war that ripped his homeland apart. He also finds he must make a larger sacrifice than he ever dreamed to prevent himself creating a worse situation in the future.

The other characters you grew to enjoy in books 1 & 2 are not forgotten here, but the real strengh of these books is in the character of the narrator, Seyonne. He keeps the books "centered" and you have a central character who you really care about and can understand.

All three of these books were an enjoyable read and I look forward to more books by this author. I hope they live up this fantastic first run series.

This is the third book by Carol Berg that I have read. The first was Transformation the second was Revelation and the third was Restoration. Enough !! The first two books were exellent but the theme gets repeatative. I couldn't get farther than the first hundred pages for book number three. The plot is convoluted but I could kind of guess what was coming next. More hard spots for the hero and then the ultimate sacrifice. I have seen that before in book number two and one. I do not recommend this book. You need to know about the first two books to get full value for the third book, but after the first two you get bored reading the same basic plot. I really do recommend book one and two since Carol Berg is an original writer who breaks new ground in the science fiction genre. The hero Seyonne is a new type. A broken down hero who finds the courage to rise again. However enough is enough !

It is possible that I am giving this particular series installment four stars because I am cranky that it is the last book.

Seriously, the whole Seyonne/Aleksander series is a rare jewel at a time where the genre feels increasingly moribund. _Restoration_ is, unfortunately, my least favorite in the trilogy, but still worth the read for all of that.

In _Restoration_ Seyonne learns the fate of his former wife and comes to terms with the demon now a part of him. Aleksander is removed from his throne and Seyonne must once again come to his aid.

In the first book of the trilogy, Aleksander's great destiny was the reason Seyonne was drawn to protect him. Berg seemed to have lost the plot a bit on that aspect and the revelations about Aleksander that appear in the last book do not seem significant enough. I had wondered how Berg was going to bring that thread together with the thread about Seyonne as the potential destroyer of his race. The answer was that she did not really try. Too bad.

I also did not quite believe in Aleksander's fall-- not the same way that I believed in Seyonne's slavery. Somehow Aleksander did not suffer enough.

Still, with whatever flaws, it is a decent ending to what it certainly one of the best new fantasy trilogies in a while. Hope to see more of Berg in the future.

In baseball terms Carol Berg has scored a triple with Restoration. This is the final installment of the Rai-Kirah trilogy and she does not disappoint. This book will make you cheer, it will make you cry, it will keep you thinking and caring about the characters Alexander and Seyonne long after you finish it. If you haven't read Transformation and Revelation yet, then by all means do so and prepare to be in thrall to one of the best new writers in the world of Fantasy. I don't want to keep retelling the plot line but suffice to say Seyonne has to confront his inner demon (literally!) and Alexander confronts more than a few outer ones. Can't wait for her next book, Song of the Beast

RESTORATION by Carol Berg

4 of 5 stars

5/29/05

STORY: Seyonne is back and fulfilling his vow to serve Alexander. Yet his vow is pushed to the limits as Alexander's throne is stolen from him and Seyonne must help him get it back while discovering and confronting his own past and heritage which lies across the barriers of worlds.

MY FEEDBACK:

Book 1 = fantastic!!

Book 2 = better than good, suffering from traditional mid-book blues with slow portions but good story

Book 3 (this book) - back to more of book 1's style and a satisfactory wrap up to the series

Alexander as a main character returns for a larger role than in book 2, which I think readers of the series will be very pleased with.

Carol Berg continues to drive our emotions and connection with the characters through their suffering and eventual victories. Can't help but care for the cast.

This has a good American happy ending, none of those tragic European downers. Summer is here, get the trilogy, some sunblock and a place to sit and read and enjoy.

Definitely ends the trilogy well. Everything comes together, in one way or another. The characters are realistic and heart-wrenching. A beautiful ending to a beautiful trilogy.

Highly recommended.