Riddle of the Seven Realms [Mass Market Paperback]

Lyndon Hardy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1988

Riddle of the Seven Realms (Mass Market Paperback) by Lyndon Hardy (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 403 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; First Edition edition (May 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345328205
• ISBN-13: 978-0345328205
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent- want more, May 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Riddle of the Seven Realms (Mass Market Paperback)

Once again, Hardy displays deep thoughts on the workings of magic.The third in the series flicks the protagonists through a series of parallel worlds, each providing a clue toward solving the riddle.

The characters are appealing and the description of various worlds and their inhabitants is well done.

What has happened to this author? I bought Riddle several years ago and would like to purchase more of his books.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Logical Conclusion, July 23, 2005

By 

Luke Waygood (Jamestown, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Riddle of the Seven Realms (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the first in the series - Master of the Five Magics - as a kid. Liking it so much, I bought the other two (the second being Secret of the Sixth Magic). Looking back I think I stumbled a little on the second book and never got to read this final book, which was truly a shame.

This book is, I believe, the best of the three, with Master of the Five Magics being a very close second.

The author took much more time in this book to examine more closely the characters and personalities of the main characters - Kestrel, Phoebe, Astron and Nimbia....Kestrel and Astron above all.

In a nutshell, Kestrel, a glib (for want of a better word) con man, tries to fob inferior wood onto the wizard Phoebe. While testing the wood, she summons forth a demon like no other - Astron, the one who walks (named so because, unlike other djinns, he has no wings, nor can he hurl bolts of lightning). The demon, however, is on a quest for his prince, Elezar, to seek out Alodar the Archmage, who bested Elezar in a battle of wills years ago. For Elezar is in trouble - if he cannot solve a riddle posed by another demon prince, he must surrender everything...and in doing so, the one agent acting in the interests of humans by diverting the attention of demons elsewhere, would be gone. As such, the Archmage sends Kestrel, Astron and Phoebe on a quest to help solve the riddle.

I found myself wondering, about halfway through the book, whether this was merely the author's excuse to create and describe new worlds and different creatures, whether there really was a solution to the riddle. And yet, I should not have doubted - the author once again leaves subtle clues throughout the journey, and uses the events to expand the characters, making them more endearing, if you will. The dramatic conclusion was exciting to say the least and draws on the understandings of each other for the main characters to struggle against seemingly impossible odds.

A great read, which I'd thoroughly recommend.

But as the other revier mentioned, there is one greater riddle still unanswered - what happened to this author??

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written, January 3, 2010

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riddle of the Seven Realms (Mass Market Paperback)

Kestrel is a man who learned to trust no one, and loves conning the powerful. Astron is a demon who can only think in terms of logic and list, but whose prince has sent him on a quest to answer a strange riddle. Phoebe is the only female wizard around, but she's rich and used to buying everything she could possibly want. And, Nimbia is a queen of the fey, one who is used to there being a place for everyone and everyone in their place - with her on top. Together, these four find themselves catapulted from universe to universe, pursued and trying to stay one step ahead of death and disaster. There's a riddle that needs an answer, and these four mean to find it!

I must say that I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found. I like a good fantasy story that takes place within one or more alternate realities with their own rules - the more exotic, the better. Well, a major theme of this book is the nature of the various alternate universes that the characters encounter; each different (radically so) and yet internally consistent, and very interesting.

But, even beyond that "quirk" of the story, I found the book to be very well written. I liked the character and the various races, and found the story to be quite interesting and suspenseful. I must admit that I did not read the other books of Lyndon Hardy's Magics trilogy, but now I wish I had. I enjoyed this book (yes, it stands alone beautifully) and highly recommend it!