Critical Lens Quotation Connection

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that
something else is more important than fear.”          Ambrose Redmoon

What this great quote means is that being courageous is not the same as being fearless. Having no fear is not what it takes to have courage. In fact, it may even be fitting to say that it is impossible to have courage in fearlessness, for there is no trouble in doing what someone with fear would be afraid to do. This idea connects with a series I have read this year, The Obsidian Trilogy. In this series, Kellen, the main character, has many reasons to be afraid. First of all, there are all the enemies that are trying to destroy him and the people around him. Additionally, he is heaped with huge responsibilities that would be nearly impossible to handle for anyone, much less a 17-year old boy. And he knows that he must even go beyond those responsibilities in order to save everyone. He is not able to go through these ordeals without fear; however, he judges that the safety of everyone else is more important than his fear, and he rises up to the challenge. He tries as hard as he can and, in the end, his resilient courage pays out.

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: 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.

To Light a Candle; The Obsidian Trilogy Book 2 ©

To Light a Candle is the 2nd installment in the Obsidian Trilogy. I feel that it is even better than The Outstretched Shadow, which is book one. I feel this because the book has more action, more suspense, and just seems overall more colorful. More characters and plot twists have been added, such as dragons (as you can see from the cover) and other creatures. 

I rate this book 8.5/10.

**SPOILER ALERT**

The rest of this review contains spoilers from the first book, The Outstretched Shadow. To continue, click Read More.

The Outstretched Shadow; The Obsidian Trilogy Book 1 ©

17-year old Kellen Tavadon should have the perfect life. He lives in the great human city of Armethalieh, which is ruled by powerful mages. He is even the son of the Arch Mage Lycaelon Tavadon, the most powerful mage in the whole city. And yet... he's not happy. All he's ever wanted is to gain his father's love. But he can't seem to gain even that, no matter how hard he tries. But this all changes when he finds three books of magic that seem to hide their appearance to anyone else. The Wild Magic in these books is different from the High Magick that he has learned his entire life. It takes less preparation, but it also has a "Price" that must be paid for each spell. And... it's forbidden. Will Kellen keep the books or throw them away? Will his father find out? Find out what happens in The Outstretched Shadow.


The Outstretched Shadow is a fantasy book filled with magic, elves, demons, unicorns, and other magical topics. Although that might seem childish, I quite enjoyed this book and the rest of the series. I recommend The Outstretched Shadow and the Obsidian Trilogy to anyone who likes fantasy books like it.

I rate this book 8/10.

Next week's review: To Light a Candle, Book 2 of the Obsidian Trilogy.