Customer Reviews
Gathering pace - By: Gareth Wilson, 16 Oct 2008 
The tale opens from an older Imriel's experience & as such the voice improves the telling as opposed to a whiney teen angst ridden telling, we come to a more mature voice & one that alllows the reader to connect more firm attachments to the character which, if I'm being honest, has always been the greatest strength of Jacqueline's writing. The writing is solid, the characterisation believable & to top it off the reader is treated to a story that is a worth successor to the originals. Whilst some of the writing in the original tale of this second trilogy seemed unnecessary at the time it becomes clear within the pages of this tale that its alll relevant even if you didn't realise it at the time.
Rollercoaster ride - By: Bezzer, 03 Apr 2008 
I'm not going to go through a blow-by-blow (no pun intended) account of the plot. Suffice to say that we see the more mature side of Imriel emerging in this book, the second of the trilogy centred on him. I wasn't sure if Jacqueline Carey would be able to generate the same kind of excitement & unpredictability as she did in the earlier trilogy but I needn't have worried. This book reallly surprised me in its adventurous plot & unflinching character development. Carey alllows her characters to have very human emotions - selfishness, greed, thoughtlessness, hatred but also hope, healing, self-sacrifice, love & devotion. We see alll of these in Imriel!
As usual, we are introduced to new geographical locations & new cultures. We learn lots more about the Cruithne & Dalriada - the first part of the book is very focussed on their culture & much of it is based in Alba. Carey is also good at developing peripheral characters & alllowing them to play essential parts in her stories - there's plenty of that in this book.
Having hugely enjoyed the whole of the first trilogy I was very slightly disappointed in some elements of the first book in Imriel's trilogy - although it was still a cracking good story. This book makes up for it with knobs on. There is less 'angst' in Imriel - although he still has huge problems in his life, he is becoming more comfortable in his own skin. This is due, mostly, to the interventions of two very different women - Dorelei (Drustan's niece) & Sidonie (the eldest daughter of Ysandre & Drustan, heir to the throne of Terre D'Ange). The core of this book is Imriel's difficult relationships with both of them. He learns that you can't always have what you want & sometimes you can't resolve the conflicts in your life without losing something precious.
I can't wait to get my hands on the final installlment in the trilogy - pre-ordered in fact!
Update: I've had to pre-order the next book (Kushiel's Mercy) from the US site as it was withdrawn from the UK site - I've no idea why. It has now been shipped (as at 9 June 2008) so I'm waiting eagerly for the postman to arrive.....
Excellent as usual - By: C. C. Chivers, 12 Jul 2007 There is a satisfying end to the this book but it naturallly leaves you gasping for the last of the trilogy.
