Black Sun Rising

I was blown away by the authors imaginative and complex world, the fascinating characters, and the spell-binding (literally) plot. The story introduces and expounds on serious questions about religion, society, humanity, charity, guilt, forgiveness, and duty.
However, I was not as pleased with the following two books in the series, and did not like the conclusion at all.
YMMV, but they are worth reading for the fine craftsmenship of the writing.

This turned into quest fiction after a hundred pages or so, much to my chagrin. I stuck with it for a while longer since the beginning showed such promise, but I have zero tolerance for a book length journey. I really dislike plot for the sake of showing off world-building, and oh man, that was this. Extended triptych, no thanks.

A parte la solita storia dei buoni che partono e devono salvare il mondo dai cattivi, il libro in questione propone alcune novità rispetto al fantasy classico:
1-La magia chiamata "fae" non è più intesa come sapere intrinseco dei maghi, ma come forza naturale indipendente dal corpo da plasmare e piegare al proprio volere...con qualche precauzione!
2-L'approdo da parte di viaggiatori terrestri, ad un nuovo mondo (Erna) che "sembra" uguale alla Terra, ma che in realtà nasconde numerose insidie.
3-Un buon mix complessivo tra fantasy/fantascienza/horror che, a parte qualche forzatura, risulta piacevole.
In conclusione: questo è il primo libro di una trilogia introvabile, se non tra l'usato, ma perchè in mezzo a tanti libri-fotocopia (come show more ad esempio il filone vampiresco, trito e ritrito!) non si prodigano per ristampare questi libri che porterebbero una ventata di novità e freschezza nel fantasy?
Forse per paura di prendere un colpo d'aria? mah... show less

Dark fantasy, no happy thoughts. Emo-goth before...before, something. But still about the epic struggle of good vs. evil - it just takes a more serious look at what good (true good, not politician-good) might be willing to do to defeat true evil.

The supporting characters do seem rather weak and undeveloped, readers should not be surprised when they die or don't appear in the next book. This series is about the Hunter & the Priest, everything else is just window dressing and plot points.

This is high fantasy at some of it's finest, grabbing you right from the outset and not letting you go. Friedman's characters are well-developed and intriguing, and their relationships are complex enough to be believable. More than that, her insight into the human conscience and the inner dialogue that accompanies self-doubt and moral conflict is right on. Good and evil here is not a matter of black and white - instead, the lines are blurred and the reader will have a hard time knowing who to love and who to trust.

The world Friedman has built is also original. It reminded me a bit of Piers Anthony's Tarot series, only far more developed. When I read the back cover and saw that the book was about magic, with a Priest, Adept, show more Apprentice... etc, I was a bit turned off, but Friedman's take on "magic" is actually original and well thought-out.

Towards the end, the characters do become a little cardboard-cutout, which was disappointing. Right up until the last 100-200 pages, this was a "can't-put-it-down"er, filled with unexpected twists. I can only hope that the predictability of the last few chapters will be redeemed in the next installment. show less

Near the galactic center humans must adapt to life on an alien planet, but it turns out that the planet and its life adapts quickly to humans as well. Black Sun Rising is the first book in C.S. Friedman’s Coldfire trilogy follows a band of humans journey to the lands of the native rahk to hunt down demons that have stolen memories from one of their number and pose a different threat to another of their number.

Twelve hundred years before the time of the novel, a colony vessel arrived on the earthlike Erna only for humanity to find the fauna not only alien but fantastical. The mix of science fiction and fantasy instantly makes an interesting environment to set a story, but Friedman adds to it by having humans upset the balance of Erna show more that must account for and adapt to the presence of humanity especially when human minds and emotion resulting in physical change of the world. Throughout the book this background is slowly revealed to set up new twists of the story that the five significant characters of the novel must deal with, along with their attitudes with one another. The main two characters of the book, Priest Damien Vryce and Gerald Tarrant are uneasy allies as they venture to the protected area in which Erna’s native inhabitants live for their own particular reasons to face the same antagonist; what makes things more interesting is that Damien is a part of the order that Gerald founded as the Prophet of the Church before turning heretic and becoming near immortal by joining with the dark side of Erna’s magical forces. The unique world and the uneasy alliance between the two main characters makes this a fascinating read.

Black Sun Rising is a well-written very interesting science fiction-fantasy opening installment of a trilogy. C.S. Friedman not only creating an amazing world that the reader explores, but fascinating characters as well. show less

I know this series has a fair number of fans (including several folks who included it in their top 5 favorite fantasy series of all time lists at another site I follow). I read it right after finishing Steven Erikson's Reaper's Gale, and Friedman certainly suffered in comparison (after reading Erikson I might call this Dark Fantasy for Kindergarteners). The characters and the world they live in are intriguing, but offer very little depth or movement. The storyline raises challenging questions about things like whether ends justify means and whether one should accept evil as a tool to fight a greater evil. But the book didn't have anything particularly new or insightful to say about these questions. And I found the conclusion to be show more patently ridiculous. show less