Book Review: Crown of Shadows – Coldfire Trilogy

This is the last book of the Coldfire Trilogy by C S Friedman. As expected, we find the conclusion of all the issues that were unresolved in the last two books. Some characters such as the demon Karril take on a more complete role instead of just appearing now and then. But the main villain himself – Calesta, the “god” of sadism – is present only through his actions. But those are chilling enough.

As in the previous books, the star of the show is the Hunter. The Neocount of Merentha. Gerald Tarrant. He’s been an ambiguous figure throughout, and even this last book does nothing to answer the real question – is he a good guy or not? Personally, I wouldn’t think so, but his actions though selfish tend to benefit the world. So he gets some brownie points for that.

Also, we find the resolution of the larger question of humanity’s existence, as well as a fuller explanation of who birthed the Iezu – something that was hinted at towards the end of the last book, “When True Night Falls.” We figure out how the “fae” is going to affect the future of humans and the new rules that will govern from now on.

Tarrant’s redemption is a continuing process throughout the book. He’s in such deep shit already that one wonders if it makes much difference what he does now. His soul is damned, and he’s just trying to delay death as much as possible – in the process making matters worse. It’s a pickle, no doubt about it.

But in spite of his evil, the Hunter has something in him that appeals to the noble side in us. He’s a tragic figure throughout and I was always hoping he’d come through it all and escape hell in the end. How he could manage to do that is something I would never figure out, till the end of the book.

It’s quite a bittersweet ending. Of course, no novel like this can end with the bad guys winning. But important characters die. And some will never be the same again.

All in all this is one of the richest fantasy books I’ve ever read. The story is tight, and the concepts are so new and yet so appealing that I marvel at Friedman’s art. I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.