Book Review: Black Sun Rising – Coldfire Trilogy

Back to fantasy again! The reason why I haven’t posted a book review for this long is because I gave up reading “The Rainbow” by D H Lawrence 46% into the book! It was so boring I had to put it down. As a result, I was left salivating for some real action again.

So I picked up “The Coldfire Trilogy” by C S Friedman, and I must say it’s very different from any other fantasy book I’ve read. Lots of fantasy books including this one are set in a time when medieval technology rules. Haven’t you ever wondered why on earth no one invented gunpowder, or discovered oil or began to explore electricity? Of course we all know that for fantasy to be a powerful read, technology can’t advance very far, but it’s always been a bit odd.

“Black Sun Rising” gives an excellent explanation of why technology hasn’t really caught on big time. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s convincing. Also, I really like the orgin story. It’s set on another planet and all the humans know that Earth was a stud place where mankind took to the stars. No one really knows more than that – so while it brushes the fringes of Sci-fi, it remains firmly in the realm of fantasy.

There’s also a very cool anti hero. It takes a while for the story to get to him, but it’s well worth the wait. He’s surely one of the most fascinating characters I’ve met in any fantasy series till now, and while you know how you’re supposed to feel about him, you can’t help but root for the guy.

I also like the author for his willingness to kill off main characters. One of them wasn’t really going anywhere and was gotten rid of. Unlike other writers who might have used this to give a great heroic end, this one was just scary. And you never see it coming.

The book also rates well on the “no fluff” factor. There are hardly any long boring descriptions of places and scenes, and I had to skip just two pages in the entire book. Moving onto the second part now – and it’s with quite a bit of anticipation :)