The Obsidian Trilogy Final Blog

I have finally finished the last book in The Obsidian Trilogy, When Darkness Falls. The series, although a little slow especially at first, accelerates until the end of the last book, which is fast-paced and full of twists and surprises. Here is a final review for the series.

In the beginning of this book, Kellen lives in the Mage-City of Armethalieh. The entire city is based upon magick: the very walls themselves to the smallest household items are impacted by magick. But Kellen comes to realize that the mages are corrupt. When he finds three books describing a different kind of magic he hasn't seen before, he is banished by his father. He uses this new magic to call a unicorn named Shalkan who helps him to escape the boundaries of Armethalieh. Once outside the boundaries, he finds a mage who has the same three books, and he discovers that she is his sister. She trains him in the ways of the Wild Magic, but he is not very good at it. Eventually, they have to evacuate to the Elven Lands because Armethalieh is expanding its borders. Once there, they find the Elves deep into drought with no supposed cause. But Idalia and Kellen realize that there is a barrier stopping all the weather from coming in. Kellen and Idalia's elf-friend Jermayan embark on a journey to destroy the barrier. On the way there, Kellen discovers that he is a Knight-Mage, an amazing warrior that uses magic to make him nearly invincible in battle and a great strategist. The books ends after he completes this quest.

To Light a Candle starts where The Outstretched Shadow left off. Kellen and Jermayan are just beginning their journey back after freeing the Elven Lands from their drought. However, the rains are being released with the force of many months' rainfall at once, which makes journeying treacherous. By the time Kellen gets back, the Elves have realized that the Demons are preparing to attack the creatures of the Light (elves, humans, unicorns, etc.) again, just as they did a thousand years ago. The Elves gather their armies to fight the Demons, but this time the Demons are using different tactics: instead of planning to meet their enemies on the battlefield, they have been slowly, over the decades, weaving traps and impurities through the Elven defenses. This book consists mostly of the setting up for the next book, namely, the Elves' trying to get rid of these impurities. The main foe the Demons have leaked into the Elven Lands are the Shadowed Elves, which are a Tainted race of Elves that the Demons created specifically for the purpose of secretly infiltrating caves around the Elven Lands. Much of the book tells of the army's attempts to find and destroy the Shadowed Elves' hideouts.

When Darkness Falls is the final book of the Obsidian Trilogy. It is the most action-packed and my favorite one. A lot of stuff happens that I don't want to give away, so I'll give a brief summary. It starts with Kellen, Idalia, Jermayan, Shalkan, and a few more characters counteracting a direct magical attack by the Demon queen on the army. Through the following greater portion of the book, the tension is increasing as the Demons make bigger and bigger attacks on the Elves, on their allies, and on Armethalieh. As the Demons get stronger, the Allied Forces have to find more and more ways of combating them. In the process, Kellen is given more and more responsibility with leading greater portions of the army. In the end, Kellen will have to be a hero and lead the whole army for them to have success. The story ends with a huge climax that brings together all of the elements that have been previously building up. Read it to find out what happens!

The Obsidian Trilogy is a great trilogy full of twists and turns. It has many forms of magic, and many creatures too. Although a little slow-paced, especially in the first two books, it accelerates until a gigantic climax that is filled with surprises. I recommend this series for anyone who likes fantasy books that create their own world and have a large plot.

I give this series a 9/10.

When Darkness Falls; The Obsidian Trilogy Book 3

When I left off a few weeks ago, Cilarnen had just found a source of power for his spells. He tapped into the energy of the ancient Elven land-wards, so he would have the required spell power to be able to help the army with more powerful spells. Since then, the story has mostly followed Kellen as he led a portion of the army to check on the other Elven cities that they haven't heard from. As Kellen journeys, he discovers that many of the previously wonderful Elven cities and towns have been destroyed or evacuated. Plague has been spreading and is one of the biggest problems in settlements; Kellen has found empty settlements that were destroyed by plague. There are also more free-roaming monsters than ever, which are causing additional problems.

The biggest twist in this section was the discovery of the reason why the King, Andoreniel, has not been sending commands to the army: he has been stricken with sickness and is unable to lead. And there is confusion as to who will command the army now; the Queen, Ashaniel, is pregnant and under protection, and the Prince, Sandalon, is only about five years old and also under protection. The only other idea of a leader would be the King's Council, but they always take a very long time to make decisions, which cannot be afforded at the moment.

Who will command the army now? I predict that Kellen, being the Knight-Mage, will be given even more responsibility then before, and have to not only lead, but make decisions for a larger part of the army. But I will find out in the reading to come.

I rate this book 8.5/10 so far.

When Darkness Falls: Setting Blog

The Obsidian Trilogy is set in a mythical world. It is similar to ours, except for the addition of magic and creatures such as elves and dragons. It has no specified name, and there aren't really many actual countries; mostly cities and territories. There is also no given year, but the world is medieval-style (swords and armor, primitive technology, knights, peasants).

In the first book, The Outstretched Shadow, the first part is set in the biggest human city, Armethalieh. This city is ruled by mages, and every aspect of life is affected by magic. The middle portion is set in the Wild Lands, an unorganized large area near Armethalieh's territory that is not unified, but has many scattered settlements. The latter part is set in the Elven lands, mainly in the city of Sentarshadeen, and wandering in other places on Kellen's journey.
The second book, To Light a Candle, is mainly set in the Elven Lands, on Kellen's way back from his journey, Sentarshadeen, and the army's march all around the nation seeking the hideouts of their enemies.
When Darkness Falls, the third (and current) book, so far is also mainly set in the Elven Lands, except almost entirely at the military encampments with the army. There have been so far a few trips to other Elven cities such as Lerkalpoldara and Ysterialpoerin.

I think that that most important settings are probably Armethalieh and the Elven Lands. Armethalieh, being the biggest human city and led by mages, is a key location to the outcome of the war. And the Elven Lands are where most of the series takes place.
"Magick set the scales in the marketplace and ensured their honesty. Magick at the Mint guaranteed that the square coins of the City, the Golden Suns of Armethalieh, were the truest in the world, and the most trusted. Magick kept the City's water supply sweet and uncontaminated, her markets filled with fresh wholesome food at every season, her buildings unthreatened by fire. There were entire cadres of Mages on the City payroll, dedicated to magick for the public good. If they were well paid and well respected, they had earned both the pay and the respect. Even Kellen, no friend of Mages, had to admit to that. Life in the City was sweet and easy." (The Outstretched Shadow, Pg 15) This quote describes how magic is a huge part of Armethalieh, which makes it very important to the plot.

Setting in The Obsidian Trilogy is important in the way that there are many key locations, but since the geography isn't too different from ours, it isn't as big a matter.

My prediction has been that Kellen will become more self-confident to match the increasing challenges of the war. This prediction has proven to be true, and I still predict he will continue this trend.

I rate this book 8.5/10 so far.

When Darkness Falls: Character Blog

The main character in my book is Kellen Tavadon. Two adjectives that could describe him are self-doubting and brave. These seem like opposites, but Kellen has constantly shown both of them throughout the The Obsidian Trilogy.

Kellen has shown insecurity, especially in the first book, when he doubts whether he is good enough. In book one, The Outstretched Shadow, he doubts whether he is good enough to meet the expectations of his father. Now, he is unsure if he is able to make a positive difference in the war against the Demons.

Kellen has also shown bravery. He risks his own life instead of others' when possible and tries to do the right thing, even when other people don't believe in him.

I think that as the book progresses, Kellen will lose his self doubt and become brave enough to face the growing problems.

I rate this book 8.5/10 so far.

When Darkness Falls: The Obsidian Trilogy Book 3 (Week 4)

 When Darkness Falls has had many small twists and events so far, and I'm not even that much far into the book. I am wondering what this is all building up to, and I can't wait to find out.

This week, Kellen has had to learn to take leadership in unexpected situations. He has had decisions lie on his shoulders that wouldn't have gone to him before. I have questions about what will happen in the future; will Kellen be successful in his decisions and then making his way up the leading chain? What will the army have to do to combat the the growing threat of the Demons? I hope I find out soon.

The Obsidian Trilogy is a good series full of mythical concepts including different creatures and many kinds of magic. I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy books that have entire worlds of magic.

I rate this book 8/10 so far.

When Darkness Falls: The Obsidian Trilogy Book 3 (Week 2)

So far, When Darkness Falls has been interesting. Not much overly exciting has happened yet, as I'm not too far in, but I can feel the suspense very slowly building up for a climax that will probably surprise me.

Not much surprising happened in my week's reading. But now that Jermayan is returning to the army base camp, I have questions about what will happen next. Has the army been successful? Has it experienced defeat? I think that probably nothing has happened but something interesting might happen soon. Otherwise I can think of nothing else.

I rate this book 8.5/10 so far.

When Darkness Falls; Book 3 of the Obsidian Trilogy (Weekly Review)

Since books in the Obsidian Trilogy are very long (~600 in large hardcovers, ~800 in small paperbacks), this week I can't review a whole book but must make my first weekly reading review.

In my reading this week, Jermayan, Kellen's (the main character) elf friend, has been sent to the Elf city of Lerkalpoldara to evacuate the children and pregnant women to a fort so they will be protected during the war. Surprisingly, when Jermayan arrives, he finds that the city is under siege by some of the Demons' creations. Also, none of the pregnant women that are there want to leave because they want to stay and help. So will Jermayan be able to defeat the monsters attacking Lerkalpoldara? Will he find a way to get the pregnant women to leave, or will he have to let them stay? I'll find out this week in my reading.

I Rate this book 8/10 so far.