The Darkangel Trilogy

The DarkAngel - A young slave girl is witness to the abduction of her mistress by a vampyre. These DarkAngels have long haunted the lands as a kind of bogeyman, although many doubted their existence. In fact, many doubt the slave girl's account, and none go forth to hunt the beast. It's up to Aeriel herself to avenge her mistress. She journeys alone to the place and waits for the creature to return. She plans to kill it but upon being seized she falls immediately under his spell. He takes her back to his castle to weave garments for his 13 wives who have become howling wraiths. In the castle she learns to be charitable and cares for the wraiths and the starving gargoyles the vampyre keeps as guard dogs. She meets a small gave-dwelling show more creature who practices magic. This kindly friend helps her survive and teaches her about the history of the vampyre. There is a poem that foretells the death of such a creature and it will be up to Ariel to discover the means. If she doesn't kill him within the year, he will take his final bride and become invincible and together with his brother DarkAngels with dominate the world. Aeriel travels the world to recover the artifacts required to undo her capture, but along the way the unthinkable happens - she falls in love with him.

A Gathering of Gargoyles - Aeriel and Irrylath have escaped to Isterness where the prince is reunited with his mother at long last. Although she is finally safe from the water witch, Aeriel cannot be happy. It is clear to her that her husband does not love her and, in fact, can barely look at her. The previous darkangel wives come to her in a dream and tell her the second part of the rhyming prophecy. It is up to Aeriel to gather the lons that were overthrown by the vampyres and bring them back for Irrylath's brothers to ride. The prince is not strong enough on his own to defeat six darkangels. Though the task seems impossible, Aeriel sees to reason to remain in this kingdom in a loveless marriage. She sets out with little hope but finds unexpected allies along the way. Despite her fears, she begins to be successful and will shortly uncover a secret about her own past.

The Pearl of the Soul of the World - This book opens with the protagonist, Aeriel wandering senselessly through underground caverns. She has no memory of who she is or where she is going. If she tries to recall anything or even focus her thoughts, a silver pin in her skull gives her excruciating pain. She is discovered by a group of friendly duroughs who care for her. They eventually notice a softly glowing pearl at her throat. Who is this upperland creature? Eventually, they stubble upon a bricked up underground road that leads to the crystal-domed city of Ravenna. Gaining entry, the goddess Ravenna removes the pin from Aeriel's head and heals her. With her memory restored, Aeriel recalls that she wandered away from the camp after witnessing her husband's affection for another woman. Accosted by one of the White Witch's birds, she was pinned and lost herself.

Ravenna gives Aeriel an enchanted sword, a newly altered pearl, and the final verse of the prophetic rime that has driven the other novels. Aeriel is to bear the pearl to the Witch, who is revealed to be Ravenna's daughter. Ravenna hopes that the power and knowledge contained within the pearl will redeem her daughter to be the new caretaker of this world. She then dies and imparts her essence to the pearl. Ultimately, the Witch is destroyed by the gift of the pearl and Aeriel gains its powers instead. Locked now within her blood, the voice of Ravenna speaks to Aeriel and commands her to continue her work. Like a whispering devil, it convinces Aeriel that her husband doesn't really love her and she's better off leaving him. It tells her that her body died after the pin was removed and Ravenna fashioned her a new body that won't age as other mortals. It's her duty now to return to the crystal city to learn the ways of the Ancients and fully restore the world. Ultimately, the book ends with Aeriel retreating into the desert with Erin to live a life of solitude and sacrifice.

This series is one I read as a teenager and it has not aged well. Both the protagonist's main motivation and the bedrock structure of the world itself are super problematic. The way the first book romanticizes an incredibly abusive relationship is frankly not healthy for young readers. Moreover, the way Aeriel is considered ugly for the first half of the book and then beautiful after her skin is bleached by the sun is disturbing. Now that she is "fair" to look at, her appearance is acceptable and the monster she inexplicably loves is willing to take her as a bride.

This gross theme continues in the later books as her husband ignores her and flirts with other women. Her continued, irrational love for him is unpalatable and insane. Later, in the second book, when she finds out that they are cousins, it gets even worse. By the third book, when there is a three-way cousin love triangle, I got really uncomfortable. Especially when the author kept talking about how one of the cousins looked exactly like Irrlayth and how that's somehow, romantic? WTH, Pierce?

The other bizarre reveal in the third book is the true nature of the Ancients, worshiped by all races as gods. The Ancients, it turns out, were actually aliens that came to this moon to create pleasure palace for themselves. They seeded it with plants, and sexy lower life forms, but didn't really bother to make it self-sustaining. The other Ancients were happy to abandon the world to destruction when they got bored with it, but Ravenna stayed behind to try to develop a self-sustaining ecosystem. Ravenna had also boned among the locals, which is where the White Witch came from. Ravenna thought it would be a good idea to lie to her daughter about her pedigree. The Witch grew up thinking she was an Ancient too and that some day they would all go home to Oceanus together. When she found out she was only a half-breed and would not be allowed to return with the other Ancients she flipped out and became a super-evil child-rapist. I can't even blame her for this, since all the Ancients merely created life so that they could have sex with it (thus completing the incest theme which runs through the novels).

The way the novels end with Aeriel essentially being possessed by Ravenna and commanded to give up everyone and everything in order to "save" the world is actually pretty dark. Though the book presents Ravenna as a benevolent god, there's actually little reason to believe this is true. The way she lies, manipulates, and bullies Aeriel into this task is pretty disturbing. It seemed like once Aeriel had finally achieve a requited love with her husband, she was forced into a new, more abusive relationship with a being that clearly didn't care for her. As if the unwavering message of this book to young women is that they don't deserve love, but only servitude. Weird. show less

Nice to read of a young woman heroine who saves the world primarily through her own perseverence and loving nature rather than combat. There is some swordplay combined with an unknown energy. While somewhat along the line of Lewis' Lion/Witch/Wardrobe series, with it's lion-like guardian and a strong ethical value, this has a slightly older heroine and a much different world, with genetically modified beings who are self aware/sentient.
I see many people have tagged this "Vampires". While the Icari do bite their victims on the neck, they are sucking out the soul rather than their blood, and the story is more about the mad power grab of the White Witch.
It is written in a very dreamy-state, where Aeriel ponders things and is never sure show more where she is going on her lengthy journeying, always on an important mission. She follows her intuition and is true to her heart. She learns to see even the most grortesque and fearsome beings with a loving heart. Somehow helpers come at a crucial moment, or she seems to hear suggestions in her head which guide her response. There are others who are pure evil from whom she escapes or is rescued. While I can't pinpoint any particular dissatisfying aspect which would make me say this is not positive, this book seems foster a dependence on outside influences.
Gave to a Little Free Library: some merit to the book which others may find enjoyable, but not specifically aligned enough with my collecting impulse to keep. show less

I remember reading this series when I was very little, and being so in love with it that I was unable to stop reading them. Eventually, the books fell apart, but years later I still have two copies of each on hand.

Totally unique.