The boring but necessary stuff
Title: The High Lord
Author: Trudi Canavan
Publisher: Orbit Fantasy
Illustration(paperback): Steve Stone
Price(paperback): 7.99
Series: The Black Magician Trilogy
ISBN 1841493155
Quick synopsis
To understand a lot of the settings in the book the ... Read review
In a time of dark intrigues and deadly politics where those who wield magic wield power ... more
a young street-girl with extraordinary magical gifts is drawn inexorably into a terrible plot that may destroy all the world ...Sonea has learned much at the magi...
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Advantages: A brilliant finale to brilliant series, development of characters superb Disadvantages: Possibly a bit weak in the middle of book...and the very end is a bit of a let down
The boring but necessary stuff
Title: The High Lord
Author: Trudi Canavan
Publisher: Orbit Fantasy
Illustration(paperback): Steve Stone
Price(paperback): 7.99
Series: The Black Magician Trilogy
ISBN 1841493155
Quick synopsis
To understand a lot of the settings in the book the first and second books are rather required reading. To back track very quickly: ... ...taken against the wishes of many into the magicians guild, however while she was hiding from the guild she saw Akkarin the high Lord using black magic. Shortly after she is admitted to the guild Lorlan (the administrator of the guild) truth reads her and finds out. The High Lord works out that Lorlan knows to much and kidnaps Sonea from Rothan (her magicain guardian) by taking over her guardianship and threatening each with the others lives.
... more
The boring but necessary stuff
Title: The High Lord Author: Trudi Canavan Publisher: Orbit Fantasy Illustration(paperback): Steve Stone Price(paperback): 7.99 Series: The Black Magician Trilogy ISBN 1841493155
Quick synopsis
To understand a lot of the settings in the book the first and second books are rather required reading. To back track very quickly: Sonea was a slum girl found with magic power and taken against the wishes of many into the magicians guild, however while she was hiding from the guild she saw Akkarin the high Lord using black magic. Shortly after she is admitted to the guild Lorlan (the administrator of the guild) truth reads her and finds out. The High Lord works out that Lorlan knows to much and kidnaps Sonea from Rothan (her magicain guardian) by taking over her guardianship and threatening each with the others lives.
Right and onto the book I am actually meant to be reviewing! In the 'High Lord' Sonea saw Akkarin kill a man with black magic and becomes neadless to say more scared of him than she was before. Akkarin however tells her some of his back story and allows her to see into the mind of a captured slave so that she can see that there really is a plot to destroy the guild. She begins to believe him and offers to learn black magic to help him in his quest; at first he isn't willing but he is soon convinced that he does need the extra help. The guild rather obviously do however find out about this black magic use and punish the two accordingly...I shall say no more for fear of giving away the ending.
Main Characters:
Sonea: The main character, rescued from the slums she has grown into a strong an opinionated young magician. Captured by the High Lord and hearing his whole story changes the way she thinks about the High Lord...but is it enough to change the way the rest of the guild think...and is it enough to save Kyralia.
Akkarin: The High Lord of the Magicians Guild, portrayed almost completely as the bad guy in the earlier two books. Hearing his back story lends a far more sympathetic ear to the High Lord committing black magic in spite of his previous behaviour and gives a certain insight into his motives.
Takan: The High Lord's 'servant' who gives energy for the High Lord to use through black magic. It turns out that he was a slave and the High Lord freed him and attempted to set him free, instead however Takan sees himself as the High Lord's willing slave.
Lord Lorlen: Administrator of the guild, one of 3 people who originally knows Akkarins secret but cannot tell the rest of the guild for the fear that Akkarin may be stronger than the whole guild. To 'keep him in check' Akkarin has made him wear a blood stone ring which allows Akkarin to see Lorlens thoughts, what he sees and hear what he hears. Lorlen would given the chance betray Akkarin.
Lord Rothen: An alchemist who originally is Sonea's guardian, but he sees Sonea more as a daughter than as a pupil. He is hurt when Akkarin takes her away from him, he also knows Akkarin's secret but won't tell the guild because he fears for Sonea's life. Personally one of my favourite characters.
Lord Dannyl: Ambassador in Elyne, also an ex pupil of Lord Rothen. His main purpose in the book is to act as the gossip collector and carry out Lord Lorlen's research. Also to add a hint of romance to the book as it is finally announced to the reader that he's a 'lad' (as if the reader hadn't guessed earlier)...however the guild of magicians is very intolerent of homosexual behaviour so this has to be kept quiet as such. His main part in this story is to investigate a band of rougue magicians in Elyne and arrest them if he feels it is necessary - this is a useful side plot to keep your interest.
Regin: A novice with Sonea who makes her life hell all the way through the books by ganging up on her with other novices, exhausting her strength with magic from 15 others, ruining her work, trying to pin the blame for thievery on her and generally trying to get her out the guild as he believes along with some others that only people from the houses should be accepted into the guild and Sonea comes from the slums. His personality transplant at the end of the book is one of my few complaints as I felt this was very unlikely.
Cery: A thief who has been helping Akkarin cath and kill the murderers. A very close childhood friend of Sonea and is dedicated to helping her in any way he can. He has gained the respect of the thieves and also that of a Sachakan woman who he has befriended who is helping him track the killers down.
Ichani: Strong magicians from Sachaka who use black magic regularly, hold a grudge against the guild of magicians and wish to take it over. These are the threat that Akkarin was killing as they cannot believe that the guild has given up black magic and if it has they know that they can take over with ease.
My views
Personally I felt this was a brilliant conclusion to the trilogy, the book had me on the edge of my seat several times. I did however get slightly bored towards the middle as there was no action and it seemed to drag a bit. This didn't continue for long though as the book soon got back into it's natural swing. The characters were interesting and their development through the books made the books better to read...although as mentioned above Regin's development as he re appears...this seems highly unrealistic and didn't seem to fit at all. However most of the time I truly found myself emphasising with the characters loving and grieving with them, laughing and crying with them. In my opinion if an author can get me to do that it is the mark of a brilliant book. Romance has been included in this book where there is very little in earlier books whether it be Dannyl and Tayend, some of the novices starting to show an intrest in Sonia, Sonia showing an interest in Rothen's son...or something else. The choice of partner for Sonea was intriguing and not exactly expected although perhaps romantic cliches are a little overused! The battle scene was engrossing, you were hooked to find out what was done next and how it was done...childhood memories of hide and seek surfaced during this part...but a far more serious game of hide and seek. I enjoyed the ending which I will say very little about for obvious reasons, some people however didn't enjoy it because they prefer a fairy tale ending to a more realistic one...negative comments on the VERY ending are written below.
Critics
As I have done before I will put in a few of the more negative comments from the book, mostly gained from Amazon so I am not giving a one sided review. If I disagree I will explain underneath the quotation.
'The plot is uninspired and predictable, and by the end you're hoping the Ichani actually obliterate the guild and get it over with. It almost feels as though the author has neglected the planning phase of writing, and just jumped in, but this does not give the plot an organic feel.' Needless to say I can't agree with this, granted it is flawed in places as most books are but I found the plot anything but predictable with a fair few twists in the tale. Planning is quite obvious as without it the books just wouldn't have such a high success rate with so many people. I think they are a bit of an acquired taste however...you either love them or hate them.
'I would have liked the loose ends tied up a bit more. You go from the final battle scene to 'four weeks later...', which spoils it a bit.' A valid point I have to admit...a large portion seems to have been missed out and you do rather feel as if you have been cheated. It doesn't ruin the book, and I can kind of understand why it was written that way...but it isn;t the way I'd have done it.
'it's almost as if the author stole a story line from a few books and slapped it all together into this story line' I can't see this at all...I have however been told that their are very few original story lines in the world and most books are using old story lines;s in their own way. But yeah, if this is how some see it then fine, but personally I can't.
Thanks for reading personally I would recommend this book to everyone I see... Secre
Advantages: Amazing book, had me hooked from start to finish! Disadvantages: It ended the series!
...a year since sonea won the challenge against Regin in the Arena and a lot has changed! Now knowing the truth about Akkarrin should she accept what he has shown her? Should she believe him, and yet more important what does this mean for her? Should Sonea help Akkarrin? Is there truely an ancient power that threatens all of Imardin? If so if she chooses to believe and help Akkarrin could she face what this means to her place at the guild. The 'crimes' ... ...more so can she face the guild and her former guardian, Rothens shame if she helped akkarrin and was caught? Murderers are occuring more frequently and sonea has to make her choice soon, but what will she choose?
After reading the first two books of this series in a short space of time i could not wait to get my hands on this one! I was not disappointed! The book had me hooked from start to finish, and the ending also had me in tears and feeling ...
nicki_221987 05.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
Advantages: The best in the trilogy Disadvantages: None - there WILL be another series to follow :)) (just found out today)
The Plot
It is a year on since Sonea won the Challenge against Regin. At that time she "saw" something that she has been unable to understand completely, and she is now seeking to discover more about her (Magician's) Guild guardian High Lord Akkarin.
Her original guardian Rothen is worried for Sonea; he has suspicions similar to Sonea's and is worried for her safety. He is also concerned that her new guardian is not taking sufficient care of her.
... ...could be either someone within the guild itself, or a rogue magician is around. He needs to investigate without alerting anyone to the problem; specifically one person who he fears could be involved.
Ambassador Dannyl is doing his own research whilst traveling with his companion Tayend, and is also doing some extra research for Rothen.
Meanwhile the High Lord has his own problems, and is doing his best to solve these without causing issues for ...
wolfatgoogle 30.04.2006 (04.05.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
Advantages: Wraps the trilogy up neatly. Disadvantages: It's the last book.
This is the final book in the Black Magician trilogy after The Magician's Guild and The Novice.
As Akkarin's chosen student and hostage, Sonea feels trapped. The other students resent her for the perceived privilege that they feel should rightly have gone to one of them, and that she would happily hand over to be free.
Despite the High Lords' references to an ancient enemy, this being his reason for studying and practising the black arts, Sonea ... ...there are murders occurring in the city. People found dead with hardly a mark on them, certainly not enough to explain their deaths. However to those in the know they appear to be the work of a Black Magician. Is Akkarin responsible?
A wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. The story pulls you along through each twist and turn. Some things that happen are predictable, others are wholly unexpected and serve to keep you thoroughly engrossed.
Yet again ...
dracoiratus 28.12.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
Advantages: The finale to an amzingly rich fantasy tale Disadvantages: just like the others this book is hard to put down
...or series of books, by the time i get to the third one it feels as though the author has run out of steam - not so with this book, it is as compelling as the 2 before it. This book can be read alone without detracting from the detail but you may want to read the others first in order to experience the full richness of the work the author has put into this tale.
We rejoin Sonea at the guild just under a year later. Sonea is now accepted and in most ... ...she is still troubled by the man who has claimed her guardianship and the 'murder' she saw him commit.
Lord Dannyl's travels lead to an unexpected result and the truth comes out about the High lords actions which in turn lead to some startling revelations about Sonea herself.
This is very hard book to describe because I really do not wish to ruin the enjoyment of a new reader by explaining the plot twists. It is a compelling read and although it ...
hugdealer 09.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
Advantages: Great story , action packed Disadvantages: Some small loose ends not tied up
As the final installment of the dark magic trilogy of books,The high lord certainly does not dissapoint, Akkarin's relationship with Sonea is tested during treks through mountains and several frightful chases-Akkarin eventually shows his trust in sonea when he reveals his darkest secret telling her of Kariko's wish avenge his brother Dakova's murder, and of his invasion with other Ichani, (outcast Sachakan black magicians), each a much stronger than ... ...packed and very thrilling novel and a suitable finale to a somewhat epic series of books although- this spectacle is however slightly dimmed by the failure of the book to conclude the entire story entaglement,not every stone is left unturned making the book slightly dissapointing in the later chapters. ...
af6789 23.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The High Lord - Trudi Canavan
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