I have completed the trilogy before and enjoyed it so much, I'm reading my way through it again. This fantasy world has enough in it to keep interest high and enjoyment full. The many characters, both good and evil, do not overload the story line to make things confusing or so complex that you lose track of the plot lines. Some places move a little slow, but never so much as to become boring. This is a good place for some light and fun fantasy reading. ( )

This is a fairly classic Sword & Sorcery fantasy tale of good versus evil. There are the usual suspects of Elves, Centaurs, Demons, Witches, Wizards, and Humans. There are knights in armour, dangerous battles, arduous treks, and all the other trappings of your typical fantasy tale – including a fire-breathing dragon with a wry sense of humour.
Kellen is the son of Lycaelon, the Arch-Mage of Armethalieh, where the Council of Mages basically control every aspect of the citizens' lives. No one ever leaves and very few outsiders are ever allowed inside. Changes are few and those allowed are very subtle. Kellen yearns for something different and constantly rebels against his strict father. One day, while browsing through a bookseller's wares, he finds three mysterious little books which deal with a type of magic he has never heard of before - very different from the High Magic that is the only type allowed in the City. Eventually Lycaelon discovers these books and Kellen is Banished. This is when the adventure begins - saved by a unicorn, nursed by to health by a woman who knows a lot about him and eventually going on a quest with an Elven Knight to save the Elves from a Demon caused blight. Along the way, we discover why no one is allowed to leave the City; why so few changes are allowed; why so few outsiders are allowed to enter the City; what kind of Magic Kellen is learning from his new books and who this mysterious woman is and why she knows so much about him.
But, though the good guys are well portrayed, the villains need more depth. The Mages are caricatures of bad guys - chauvinistic pucker-mouthed windbags. The Demons, the other villains, are just as one-dimensional in their evil. There’s nothing there but Bad with a capital “B”: torture, incest, cannibalism, tax-collecting (oops, sorry, that’s the Mages), classic red hides and horns, obviously all the really nasty stuff the authors could think of. I’m sure this was intended to be scary, but it was so laid on so thick that I laughed. Well, at least it makes choices simple for our hero, and for the reader too. There’s not much doubt which side should wear the white hat in this story!
There’s nothing really new here, it doesn’t set the world on fire, and it is certainly not Lackey at her best. Nonetheless, it is a good read for a wet Sunday afternoon. I care enough about the characters to read the rest of the trilogy to see what befalls them. ( )

You know, people don't write teenagers nearly petulant enough. This book tries and does pretty well, though sometimes more telling (people thinking that hey, this magic kid is a teenager after all, not a total douche) than showing, but really, I don't expect much out of modern books.There was also a unicorn and he was absolutely awesome and kind of a jerk in that endearing way.Rebellion, magic, realisations, magic, quest, magic, understanding of True Calling, we learn evil is Evil, etc.But again, there was this unicorn— ( )

Another trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, co-authored by James Mallory.

Book 1: The Outstretched Shadow
Book 2: To Light A Candle
Book 3: When Darkness Falls

Lackey and Mallory create a new world for everyone to enjoy and visualize. A trilogy that captures your interest - although fast moving. Clues to the ending are gathered through out the three books. The adventures of Kellen and his troupe are filled with anticipation - building until the very end.

A good read - worth every word written.
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Includes: Magic, Majik, and Magik. Unicorns, dragons, mages, elves, centaurs, demons, elementals, .. etc.
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A betrayed young man must find this way in the world. Sheltered for 17 years in the City of a Thousand Bells, Kellen chafes under the social structure of the city. Things finally come to a head when Kellen finds 3 books of Wild Magic. He is forcibly expelled from the city and things get really interesting.

I enjoyed this book. The magic system was novel and the world as well. High fantasy I would call it. Humans, Elves, Unicorns, Centaurs, and Demons. The demons were interesting. A historical look to them. The epitome of evil with a reference to a higher evil early in the book. The High and Wild magic was also interesting and well thought out.

Continuing with "well thought out," some things were not. It may just be me, but the regional society just did not seem to work for me. There just did not seem to be enough interaction between the peoples. I understand that was the point in the Golden City, but for the rest of the region, something was missing.
Also, time and distance distracted me. The demons captured beings of the region willy nilly and had them in their lair far to the north pretty easily. But, it took days and weeks for others to get around.

Put aside minor distractions, the prose at times was quite wonderful. I truly loved the descriptions of the elven city and its people.

All in all a good book and I recommend it. ( )