Tides of Darkness [Kindle Edition]

Judith Tarr (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After a wait of more than five years, Judith Tarr delivers the sixth Avaryan Rising novel, the fast-paced and well-written Tides of Darkness. The sequel to The Hall of the Mountain King, The Lady of Han-Gilen, A Fall of Princes (collected in Avaryan Rising), Arrows of the Sun, and Spear of Heaven, Tides of Darkness will please both fans and newcomers to Tarr's ambitious, popular, and critically acclaimed fantasy series.

Daros, the handsome young heir to Han-Gilen, is a drunken, womanizing, useless peacock of a prince. But he is also a powerful untrained mage--and a living Gate between worlds. When he opens his Gate and breaks the strictest laws of his world, he glimpses a living darkness that is devouring worlds--and drawing ever closer to his own. Then he is arrested by the Gate-mages.

Daros is sentenced to serve the ex-emperor, the still-youthful mage Estarion. Joining with Estarion's beautiful granddaughter and heir, the powerful mage Merian, they search through other worlds for an explanation of the implacable darkness and a way to oppose it. Then Estarion vanishes on the far side of that malignant shadow--and Daros, seeking him, vanishes as well. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

The latest novel in Tarr's popular Avaryan Chronicles (after Avaryan Rising, 1997) returns readers to a realm of powerful magic, romance and high adventure. As punishment for illegally opening Gates between worlds for his own personal entertainment, Indaros "Daros" Kurelios, feckless heir to the Princedom of Han-Gilen, is exiled by Merian, Lady of the Gates, to the care of her great-grandfather, the Emperor Estarion, creator of the Gate Laws that Daros so blithely ignored. When an evil force that has devastated many other Gate Worlds destroys the Heart of the World (the Gate Mages' home) and sends Estarion to an unknown destination, only Daros can save the day. Success won't be easy, however, and it won't come cheaply. It's a tribute to Tarr's ability that, while the novel ends with enough loose ends to indicate the direction of this continuing series, the book can also stand alone. This is a rousing tale, with all the broad scope, strong characterization and brisk storytelling that has earned Tarr such a loyal following among fantasy readers.fantasy, Devil's Bargain.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 589 KB
• Print Length: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (October 18, 2002)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FA5TXI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #305,221 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I have a lot of academic credentials (PhD from Yale, MA from Cambridge University, AB from Mt. Holyoke) and taught writing and Latin at Wesleyan University in Connecticut--before I ran away from it all to live on a mesa in Arizona. I breed and ride Lipizzan horses, read and study history (and make up my own alternate and fantastical versions), and write--novels, short stories, articles. I teach writing online (details at http://capriole.smoe.org) and blog on the livejournals as dancinghorse. My alter ego is author Caitlin Brennan, who also has a plog on amazon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tremendous epic fantasy, October 11, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tides of Darkness (Hardcover)

A hedonist of the worst order, Indaros Karelios seeks a good time whether he is wenching of drinking. Nothing else really matters to the member of the aristocratic house of Han-Gilen. Daros actually has talent, but chooses to hide his abilities so he could avoid having to attend Mage School. He fears that would cramp his style.

When Daros gets in deep trouble and has to appear before the current Lady of the Gates, the Golden Emperor Merian sees inside to the very soul of Daros. She concludes that the wastrel is a strong but untrained mage. She decides he will be allowed to live but he must be punished. Lady Merian exiles Daros by sending him to her grandfather to receive the training he needs to control his power. Now a student disciple of the mighty Emperor Estarion, Daros soon is alone battling against the growing darkness of demons destroying his world one land at a time. His mentor has been dispatched by the evil one to a more mundane orb called earth.

TIDES OF DARKNESS, the latest Avaryan Chronicles, is a tremendous epic fantasy that will send genre readers in search of the previous novels, all wonderful entries. The story line makes the fantastic seem authentic as if Judith Tarr has visited this magical plane in her real life. The growing terror adds to the belief that this realm exists outside of the fertile imagination of the author. Daros, Merian, and Estarion are strong characters inside a powerful plot and that leads to another terrific Tarr tale.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, March 20, 2003

By 

JLT "jtouchst" (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tides of Darkness (Hardcover)

If you are an avaryan fan then this book will not disappoint. Its not perfect but the character of Daros makes this a fresh and interesting read. He adds an element of unpredictablity to the story that is a nice change from the torqed, god-bound characters that we have met since Mirain. The book has a nice paced plot, lots of high majic, decent characterization. As I said, it isn't perfect...the women in the story are pretty typical of the women that have gone before in the series but that didn't detract much from the book. If you are a Tarr fan, I don't think this book will dissappoint you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting blend . . ., December 29, 2006

By 

Patrick J. Callahan (La Crosse, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tides of Darkness (Hardcover)

This interesting novel is quite a blend. It mixes "swords and sorcery" with "romance novels."

Several of the male protagonists are "hunks," the women set their sights on them, and some hot romances ensue -- resulting in several pregnancies and births.

At the same time, the battle against the evil forces is intense and rather frightening.

As for Sword and Sorcery as a recipe, definitely the emphasis is on "sorcery." The Tides of Darkness are launched by powerful and almost diabolically evil mages, with only two powerful mages to stop them -- one, an ancient who has lived for perhaps thousands of years, and the other, a likeable young person with a phenomenal natural gift for sorcery.

One small aspect of the book I so much liked, the cats of the city turn out to be mystical or occult cats. At any rate, once their spiritual powers are identified, they are set to guarding the city, setting rather effective wards against the influx of the evil mages.

Quite a marvelous book. I MUST read more by Judith Tarr. This is my first book by her.