13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fine middle book quest fantasy, June 1, 2008
Escator King Maximilian and his former Queen Ishbel battle their strong feelings for one another. However, both have doubts about reheating their romance as the first time it ended sadly and though they care for one another they both fear it will end badly again.
At the same time the rulers debate the merits of their on and off relationship, Escator's military chieftain Isaiah and the Icarii enchanter Axis SunSoar plot strategy to fight the powerful evil demonic god Kanubai. Since DarkGlass Mountain has absorbed Kanubai, the demon has become even more dangerous to the country and this malevolence is growing stronger. Both Isaiah and Axis know they must act promptly before it is too late; their fear is that it is already too late.
Although not as strong as the Axis Trilogy or the first DarkGkss Mountain entry (see THE SERPENT BRIDE), THE TWISTED CITADEL is predominantly a middle book quest fantasy. Still bone weary and mentally exhausted Maximilian makes the tale with his tired muses that being a hero and champion is not fun; he just wants to stay home for a change and ignore his responsibility of battling evil. The cast is solid regardless of species especially the human and Icarii team-up and the story line is fast-paced, but progress in spite of some vividly described encounters is limited as this second act mostly sets up the grand finish.
Harriet Klausner
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Douglass's best, August 24, 2009
This review is from: The Twisted Citadel: DarkGlass Mountain: Book Two (Mass Market Paperback)
I loved Sara Douglass's earlier novels, especially the six that comprise the Wayfarer Redemption series. The "Darkglass Mountain" series is a continuation of that saga, with a few of the characters returning. "The Twisted Citadel" and its predecessor, "The Serpent Bride," are certainly better than the "Troy Game" series (which started well, but I found quite tedious by Book 3), and the dreadful "Crucible" trilogy, which I couldn't finish.
To give Douglass her due, she is very good at creating a vivid fantasy world, peopled with interesting and often bizarre characters. Her plotting is intricate (I won't attempt to summarise it here) and generally holds the attention, though I confess I found "The Twisted Citadel" quite slow moving at times, and I had a sense of deja vu in respect of the plot, too: eg. Maximilian's distrust of Ishbel parallels Axis's attitude to Azhure in the first of the "Axis" books, although most likely this was deliberate. Douglass's flair for description is very much evident, and she certainly doesn't spare the reader during the darker moments of the novel.
What bothered me about "The Twisted Citadel" though was the quality of the prose, which is unfortunately a bit patchy. I am not sure whether the writing style has deteriorated, or whether it was always like that and I just notice it more than when I first started reading her novels. Whatever the case, there is a lot of redundant or overly expository dialogue, and the characters have an irritating habit of repeating the name of the person to whom they are speaking in almost *every* line, so you start to wonder whether they are all telemarketers in their spare time: I was half hoping Ishbel would eventually say to Maximilian, "I know my own name, thanks - you don't have to remind me of it every ten seconds." I also found parts of the narrative a bit repetitive, and could have been tightened up somewhat. The characterisation also needs a bit of work; the major protagonists - Ishbel, Maximilian, Isaiah, Axis etc - are portrayed in a way that renders them rather remote, and as a result while I was objectively interested in what would happen to them, I did not feel any real sense of attachment to them.
Nonetheless, it did keep me reading, and wanting to find out the ultimate conclusion in the third book. Overall, therefore, it's okay, and warrants a solid three stars. It's certainly essential to have read the prequel first - this book is not written in a way that someone new to the series could totally make sense of it as a stand alone novel. I'd also recommend that readers seek out the Wayfarer Redemption books first and read them chronologically, because the references in this and "Serpent's Bride" make much more sense if one has read the preceding series; in addition, some of the central plot points and themes of this novel hark back to an earlier stand-alone one, "Threshold."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not one of her best books, May 7, 2009
I was hoping this new series would be on par with the "Wayfarer Redemption" series, but so far I must say I've been disappointed. The Twisted Citadel was extremely slow...so much so that I put it down several times and had to talk myself into picking it back up again! I mean, it wasn't a TOTAL waste of time or anything, but it certainly wasn't a page turner. I'm hopeful that the next book will show a dramatic increase in action and some plot twists or something!
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