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.

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; 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.