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“Your lands will stretch from sea to sea. But peace comes at the price of bloodshed. Five battles will bring you peace, four to win and one to lose. Many must die, but you yourself are safe from death, except at the hands of your own son.”
Lian Hearn
Brilliance Of The Moon
The Horse And His Boy
(The Chronicles Of Narnia, Book 3)
C.S. Lewis
Genre: Children’s, Juvenile Fantasy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback, 252 Pages
Date: 20th March 2012 (First Published 1954)
ISBN-10: 0007323085
ISBN-13: 978-0007323081
Purchase From: Amazon | Book Depository
If anyone were to ask me which of the seven books of The Chronicles Of Narnia is the best, without hesitation I would reply, The Horse And His Boy; although I would have no argument with anyone who considered Prince Caspian to be the better book. While they are both excellent reads, what elevates the former over the latter, as well as the other Narnia books, is its unique status within the series. It is the only instalment whose premise doesn’t involve young protagonists from our world being transported to the world of Narnia at a time of great need. In fact, though the story takes place during the reign of the Pevensie siblings, and features cameo appearances by them, Narnia only plays a small part in the book’s setting and plot. The story unfolds mostly in the land of Calormen, far to the south, before moving to Archenland and Narnia, much later on.
Voice Of The Gods
(The Age Of The Five Trilogy, Book 3)
Trudi Canavan
Genre: High Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback, 672 Pages
Date: 3rd April 2008 (First Published 2006)
ISBN-10: 1841495174
ISBN-13: 978-1841495170
Purchase From: Amazon | Book Depository
It’s fair to say that the first two books of The Age Of The Five Trilogy were underwhelming to me. In spite of this I held on to the hope that history would repeat itself; that the third instalment of this Trudi Canavan trilogy would blow me away in the same manner as book three of The Black Magician Trilogy, had done. Regrettably, my hope was misplaced. Not only is Voice Of The Gods not in the same league as, The High Lord, it is also the weakest book of this trilogy.
Quicksilver Twilight
(Quicksilver Trilogy, Book 3)
Stan Nicholls
Genre: High Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
Date: 4th June 2007 (First Published 2006)
ISBN-10: 0007141548
ISBN-13: 978-0007141548
Purchase From: Amazon | Book Depository
Quicksilver Twilight is the concluding part of Stan Nicholls’ Quicksilver Trilogy, and I must confess that I approached it with a certain amount of trepidation. For one thing, there are numerous examples of trilogies which had very good first and second books, only to be tarnished by a poor third. But what really concerned me was that, to my mind at least, the way book two ended severely limited what could unfold in this one. I wish that I could say that my concerns were unwarranted, but sadly Quicksilver Twilight is not the ending that this trilogy so richly deserved.
Brilliance Of The Moon
(Tales Of The Otori, Book 3)
Lian Hearn
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Picador
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Date: 1st April 2005 (First Published 2004)
ISBN-10: 0330426931
ISBN-13: 978-0330426930
Purchase From: Amazon | Book Depository
With Brilliance Of The Moon, author, Lian Hearn takes readers back to the world of the Three Countries for (what was intended to be) the final time. While there has subsequently been further instalments, book three of Tales Of The Otori does bring to a close the story of protagonists Takeo and Kaede.
The High Lord
(The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 3)
Trudi Canavan
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback, 656 Pages
Date: 4th March 2010 (First Published 2003)
ISBN-10: 1841499625
ISBN-13: 978-1841499628
Purchase From: Amazon | Book Depository
When embarking upon a literary trilogy, one always hopes that the third book will “hit the ball out of the park”, metaphorically speaking; that any remaining unanswered questions from the first two instalments are resolved; that all loose ends are tied up. While some trilogies fail to achieve this, The High Lord most certainly succeeds in this regard. The final instalment of The Black Magician Trilogy is a triumph for author Trudi Canavan in every respect.
