Customer Reviews

Riddle of the Seven Realms

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

 

 

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.

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??

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!

as good as the other two books of the trilogy. Does this author have any other books? I can't find anything else from him...

This was the first novel I ever read that had a demonic hero-protagonist. Years later as I enjoyed the Drizzt novels by RA Salvatore, I'd remember the similar feel in Lyndon Hardy's 'Riddle of the Seven Realms.'

The (multiple) world building, characterization, and settings are wonderfully done. We also learn what happened to Alodar the Archmage from the first book; in a way this is really the triumphant conclusion for this loosely connected trilogy.

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first two books because Hardy is a bit too clever; the interconnections and convolutions are less obvious and more subtle. I found some of the characters journey to a bit slow. The conclusion however, makes the entire book worth it. The ending was magnificent; a true riddle solved.

I highly recommend this book, which can stand alone. It is better if you read 'Master of the Five Magics' first though. 'The Secret of the Sixth Magic' is not necessary, but will add a depth to a couple technical explanations.

The 3rd book in Hardy's magic series stands up well. Such a strong magic system and wonderful storytelling. I see that a lot of people are asking about Mr. Hardy so I will print up a quote which updates you on him. "Lyndon Hardy was born in 1941. In his college years he became fascinated with fantasy-dom. Outside of being a fantasy author, he has correlated work with the New Zealand Geology Society, started an Artificial Intelligence Company named Alodar Inc., and helped develop the Isis intelligence tool for medical research. He has two daughters and is married.

Publishing News

Magic in Triplicate was supposed to be Hardy's next work but he has supposedly reported on SFauthors.com that he has not even started the work and has no future plans on doing so on the moment but hopes that an opportunity will arise."

Lyndon Hardy wrote a wonderful trilogy
Master of the Five Magics
Secret of the Sixth Magic
Riddle of the Seven Realms

I highly recommend all three books and I hope someone out there will reprint them in hardcover editions! Hint Hint ;-)