Author: Trudi CanavanGenre: Fantasy
Age Range: 12+
Theme/Subject: Magic, Politics, Guilds
Publisher: Atom
ISBN: 9781905654093
Synopsis:
The Ichani are coming! The black magicians of Sachaka know of Imardin’s magicians and their weak, lesser magic. Led by an old enemy of the High Lord, they intend to build a force great enough to wipe out the whole city of Imardin. It will take all of Sonea’s guile and cunning, along with her companions, to defeat them. Will they be strong enough or will the land of Kyralia finally fall to black magic?
Review:
This is the final book in the trilogy which began with ‘The Magician’s Guild’ and followed with ‘The Novice’. With ‘The High Lord’, Canavan uses her ability to suck you straight into the story and sets a fast pace in this final instalment (600+ pages). With her cast already comfortably assembled, Canavan utilizes the multitude of story-lines to keep the pace and rhythm of the adventure at a speed that makes for an enjoyably quick read.
The story sees Sonea reluctantly having to learn Black Magic and exiled with Akkarin, the former High-Lord of the Magician’s Guild. As the plot grows, Akkarin shows Sonea why he has been learning the dark arts and reveals the hidden threat that has been plaguing her city for the past five years. Sonea must embrace all that she has hated about the High Lord in order to help him stand a chance of stemming the tide of destruction that heads towards the city and people she loves so much. Together they must track down the rogue black magicians that mean to destroy the magician’s guild and all it stands for.
Canavan comes far more into her own in this book and seems to have a greater grasp of her characters and novel’s pace. It is nice to see the list of characters from the first book grow stronger here and become far more involved as the novel progresses. Previously, I had complained that the other instalments of the trilogy lacked the ‘action and adventure’ they stated they had, but ‘The High Lord’ is brimming with it. Whilst still managing to increase your care and involvement for the main characters, Canavan also injects a pace that builds up to a huge speed half way through the book, leaving the final 300 odd pages a real roller-coaster of a read.
Having completed the trilogy I would advise any confident Year 6 pupil or teenager who is interested in going down the fantasy route to give this series a go. Although the pace of the first two books is rather slow, the characters and intrigue built up is enough to keep you wanting to return to the land of Kyralia. Such a trilogy can also help pave the way for young teens who may want to go on to explore other excellent fantasy writers such as Raymond E. Feist and Tolkein. I recommend Canavan’s trilogy heartily; a great stepping stone into an extensive genre.
The story sees Sonea reluctantly having to learn Black Magic and exiled with Akkarin, the former High-Lord of the Magician’s Guild. As the plot grows, Akkarin shows Sonea why he has been learning the dark arts and reveals the hidden threat that has been plaguing her city for the past five years. Sonea must embrace all that she has hated about the High Lord in order to help him stand a chance of stemming the tide of destruction that heads towards the city and people she loves so much. Together they must track down the rogue black magicians that mean to destroy the magician’s guild and all it stands for.
Canavan comes far more into her own in this book and seems to have a greater grasp of her characters and novel’s pace. It is nice to see the list of characters from the first book grow stronger here and become far more involved as the novel progresses. Previously, I had complained that the other instalments of the trilogy lacked the ‘action and adventure’ they stated they had, but ‘The High Lord’ is brimming with it. Whilst still managing to increase your care and involvement for the main characters, Canavan also injects a pace that builds up to a huge speed half way through the book, leaving the final 300 odd pages a real roller-coaster of a read.
Having completed the trilogy I would advise any confident Year 6 pupil or teenager who is interested in going down the fantasy route to give this series a go. Although the pace of the first two books is rather slow, the characters and intrigue built up is enough to keep you wanting to return to the land of Kyralia. Such a trilogy can also help pave the way for young teens who may want to go on to explore other excellent fantasy writers such as Raymond E. Feist and Tolkein. I recommend Canavan’s trilogy heartily; a great stepping stone into an extensive genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment