The boiling conclusion to another trilogy7 February 2012tI have noticed that for a lot of these older books that I have read (older referring to an earlier time in my life as opposed to the books being written a long time ago) I seem to open the comment with 'my friend gave it to me and said that it was good.' Okay, with books like this one I should say that he gave me the first in a trilogy, or series, and told me that the series is really good. What I find annoying though is that when I hand them a copy of the Odyssey and say 'here, read this, it is a good book' it tends to be put on the shelf and ignored. Okay, we all have our tastes, and to be honest, these days I tend to do the same thing, however I find it annoying how some people will spend their days reading the rubbish that is being churched out of the machine, but completely ignore the literature upon which our modern world is founded.tThis is the conclusion to the trilogy, and while I was about to suggest that it is good that they wrote the trilogy and stuck to the trilogy, it turns out that two more books were also written, one of them being a collection of short stories. Well, granted, if a world or a series is popular then no doubt the authors will want to write more, though some of the popularity, particularly with the Dragonlance novels, tends to lie with the tie in game setting than anything else.tI guess the quest narrative can apply to this trilogy as it turns out that Joram is more than just a guy living in a magical kingdom with no magical power. He is in fact a king, or at least the next in line to the throne. However, because he has been deemed to have no magic he has forfeited his right. Obviously this is some sort of power struggle, because it while it appears that Joram has no perceivable magic, he in fact does: magic nullification power, something that has been transferred to his sword.tThere is apparently a priestly class that does wield significant power over the kingdom. It is interesting that where there is political intrigue, there always seems to be some sort of church sitting behind it, but then this is something that comes down from our European way of thinking. We tend to view power in the form of Church and State. The church has power over our spiritual lives, while the state has power over our physical lives. However there is endless debate as to the extent that these powers cross, though this is a debate that has been raging for millennia and I doubt we will ever come to a conclusion that satisfies everybody. At this stage I think I will move on from this discussion of power, but I am sure there will be times in the future when I can return to it.tThis book has the sci-fi elements of the story emerge. What we have is a land (like Xanth's Mundania) where there is no magic, but what actually is the case is that the magic of this land is technology. It turns out that all of the technocrats were expelled from the land centuries ago and they have lived elsewhere developing their skills at talents. However, along comes Joram with his darksword and rises up to lead the technocrats back. Thus they return with their laser tanks and destroy everything, leaving Joram as king. In a way I have probably breezed through a lot of the ideas in these books, and feel that at this time I should probably move on, especially since it has been years since I have read this book and my memory of it is sketchy.
Volume III of the Darksword TrilogyJoram has come back from the Border and with him he has broken the magical barrier that protected this magical world. And with him has come another outcast with a grudge. Menja is another person outcast to the Border who has been looking for a way to get back to the source of magic, and Joram made this possible.This is a story of the prodical son coming home to exact his revenge, and in time finds out his has been betrayed on the "other side" as well. And thus has to fight to save his home. What I like about these authors in this one is they actually allow the hero to fail. There is still some of the classical storylines, yet it is a good read. Still not the best by this duo (The Death Gate Cycle) but a step up when it comes to detailed story telling without going over board with those details.
What do You think about Triumph Of The Darksword (1988)?
I love the final book! The sudden but hinted-at crossover between fantasy and science fiction was intriguing, and the characters came together in a way that I wasn't at all expecting, which is always nice in fantasy, which can sometimes suffer from being a bit too predictable. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, I wouldn't have minded another book between the start of the conflict and the end scene, but as I knew there was a sequel coming, it didn't bother me as much as it may have had. Great trilogy!
—Sara Forsberg
This is a book I read a long time ago. I had read the second first (I hadn't noticed it said it was the second, and on top of that I hadn't hunted down the other two), then the first, and was pleased. I looked forward to seeing how the third would take this world I'd become fond of and make things come to a satisfying conclusion.Then I read it. The sudden genre-shift felt like it came out of nowhere, making it difficult at best to enjoy the rest of the book with the exception of Simkin's antics.While I liked the first two books quite a lot, the third makes me pretend it ended at the second book.
—Shannon
I had not been able to find this book anywhere and happened upon it in a used paperback book store. I loved the first two books and was really looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy. I donno what the authors were thinking but this went from a great fantasy series to a what the heck is going on? Imagine your reading a classic tale about King Arthur and he is at the point where he forms the Knights of the Round table and all of a sudden laser beams from spaceships start raining down on camelot and merlin has to defend against laser beams with magic. That is how this book made me feel. I still liked it and it was still good but it really threw me for a loop and pissed me off at the same time.
—LeAlan
