Triumph of the Darksword

Triumph of the DarkswordTriumph of the Darksword

Darksword #3

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

So instead of writing a good story, this duo [and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love some of their stuff] simply use a scifi cliche to advance the story 10 years for Joram.

And this story wasn’t even about Joram really. It was all about the revelations of the outside world and how everything we thought we knew gets turned on its side and shaken. With some token villain who’s a freaking stage magician. Seriously?

At least the tech warriors could have been cool. Special Special Forces [yes, that was a double]. And they fall apart and cry like babies. Seal Team 6 wouldn’t have fallen apart like that!

Finally, to wrap things up, we get a love fest and everybody is going to be everybody else’s best friend, except for the badguys, who we are told, are now going to be even badder. But the goodguys will be even gooderer. And can you not be inspired by a Gooderer Guy?

So while I might appear to have hated this book, I actually enjoyed it. It was just juvenile and not up to the level of sophistication that I enjoy now [anyone read those Myth books by Asprin?] If you enjoyed the first 2, this won’t disappoint, but it wont get better.

And I found out that there is a 4th book after this. I won’t be reading it.

Doom of the Darksword

Doom of the DarkswordDoom of the Darksword

Darksword #2

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

So you all thought Edward, from that wretched Twilight, was the original “Dark and Moody”?

Joram, and the little innocent girly, are the gag-worthy successor of Romeo and Juliet, and the precursors of Edward and Bella.

The story overall screams “Generic Fantasy”. So you’ll enjoy it but not be blown away. Kind of like a hamburger at McDonalds. It is “food”. Good thing this is only a trilogy.

Forging the Darksword

Forging the DarkswordForging the Darksword

Darksword #1

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

I certainly enjoyed this more than Weis’s The Lost King. I think she can do fantasy very well.
It was a little confusing as the story kept jumping from one character to another at the beginning, but it then settled down on one of the “priests”.
The world is based on magic but there are people who are born without magic, and they are ritually killed after their birth to protect the gene pool. Barbaric.
There is a prophecy about a “dead” king who will completely change the world.

Overall, an enjoyable read but nothing spectacular. Good enough that I’ll be reading the next book however.

Mystic Empire

Mystic Empire
Bronze Canticles #3
Tracy & Laura Hickman
Fantasy
3 stars
391 pages

The conclusion to the Bronze Canticles trilogy.

The goblins get a rift gate to the human world and invade. The Shuraj[dead magic] elves are going to be destroyed by the Kyree and get a gate to the human world. The elves make alliance with the humans and work together to close the gates. The gates are closed and the goblins are hunted down.

The end.

I really didn’t care for this ending. The story was cool and all the action was nice. But the whole point was the “Binding of Worlds”, which never happened. The Hickman’s just let it slide for a later time. Bleh to them!

Mystic Quest

Mystic Quest
Bronze Canticles #2
Tracy & Laura Hickman
Fantasy
3 stars
453 pages

The saga continues, in 3 stories again. Deals with a new set of people, mostly the children or relatives of those from Mystic Warrior. The human world is about a group of mystics trying to find the original city of the gods. The elven world is about a group trying to find an artifact in the capital city of the Kyree. The goblin story is about a goblin sent to spy out on a trollish city and discovers a whole library of books.

Overall, I actually liked this better than the first. More going on, and a better understanding of everything. Not sure how the 3 worlds coming together is going to work out, interesting to find out.

Mystic Warrior

Mystic Warrior
Bronze Canticles #1
Tracy & Laura Hickman
fantasy
3 stars
433 pages

3 worlds. One of men, dragons and dwarves. One of goblins and mechanical titans. One of elves, dryads, nyads, etc. One man, Galen, is taken as an “Elect”, or madman under the laws of the dragonkings. He dreams of another world. The fae world. His dreams and communications within them become real. Begins the start of humanity throwing off the chains of the dragonkings. It seems that all 3 worlds are somehow going to become one and the dreams are precursor to it. It seems that communication between worlds opens up the user to a well of “deep magic”. Plan on finishing the series.

The Seventh Gate

The Seventh Gate
Death Gate Cycle #7
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

finishes up the tale. The good and bad dragons\serpents, along with the patryns and sartans are all locked into the labyrinth, death’s gate is shut, so no more travel between worlds but the flow between worlds still works, so life can continue. Find out alot about the Sundering and history. Glad to finish it tho.

Into the Labyrinth

Into the Labyrinth
Death Gate Cycle #6
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

The seventh gate is revealed, as the gate where all power resides. The serpentsnakes play a much bigger role and their opposites are shown thru the single personage of Zifnab’s dragon. But the ‘goodpower’ just seems to stay hidden, very disappointing. Lots of cool things happen tho. Haplo finds his old lover and Alfred stops running and accepts his status of serpentmage.

The Hand of Chaos

The Hand of Chaos
Death Gate Cycle #5
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

Hugh the Hand is back and makes sure Bane is killed. Haplo realizes the serpentsnakes are simply our own evilness phantasmagorized[?]. Deals with the elves and their magic system a bit more. Very interesting.

Serpent Mage

Serpent Mage
Death Gate Cycle #4
Margaret Weis
Tracy Hickman
fantasy
83 / 3 stars

the fourth world. Alfred finds the remnants of his people, Haplo finds the Sartan responsible for the Sundering and both find that they are indeed not the highest powers. More dualism, but you really only see the side of evil. Depressing to see the downside and not the upside. Made me thankful I know there is One All Powerful God, not 2 coequal opposing forces duking it out.