Product Description

Over a millennium ago, Erna, a seismically active yet beautiful world was settled by colonists from far-distant Earth. But the seemingly habitable planet was fraught with perils no one could have foretold, and the colonists found themselves caught in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a terrifying natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, drawing forth images from a person's worst nightmare or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life. Twelve centuries after fate first stranded the colonists on Erna, mankind has achieved an uneasy stalemate, and human sorcerers manipulate the fae for their own profit, little realising that demonic forces which feed upon such efforts are rapidly gaining in strength. Now, as the hordes of the dark fae multiply, four people - Priest, Adept, Apprentice and Sorcerer - are about to be drawn inexorably together for a mission which will force them to confront an evil beyond their imagining, in a conflict which will put not only their own lives but the very fate of humankind in jeopardy ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127746 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Review
'A magnum opus of the imagination' Library Journal

About the Author
Celia S. Friedman has been a voracious reader from her earliest days and began writing at the age of thirteen. She studied then taught costume design at university but now writes full-time and teaches a creative writing course at a local high school.

Customer Reviews

brilliant
As many of the other reviewers in this genre love to brag, I, too, have read a lot of fantasy. I usually lean towards writers like Tad Williams, David/Leigh Eddings, Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, Melanie Rawn, and Katharine Kerr (to give you an idea of what kind of reader I am). C.S. Friedman, in her trilogy, has created something so unusual that it swept me off my feet. Her characters are captivating; I found myself as fascinated by the Hunter as the other reviewers on this page seem to have been. The way she uses the traditional fantasy backdrop of a world where magic is a reality and twists it into something so bizarre and unusual, sets the scene for a striking story that questions the boundaries between good and evil even as you, as the reader, are convinced you're rooting for the good guys. It's true that we've seen the very basic plot before, if you want to get to the bare bones; however, there are very very few stories in this world to which you can't do that. The characters, setting, creatures, and details in this world are ones that would make any mundane tale a complete delight. This trilogy comes highly recommended.

Simply amazing
Read this. You must, especially if you think of fantasy as a normally shallow genre. More than a battle between good and evil, it is a tale of falls from grace, redemption, sacrafice, and a yearning for control. What happens when you pray and God responds? What do you do with that power? This is just *some* of the territory covered in this book and the two others.

Yes, it is a trilogy, but if you don't like trilogies give this a try anyway. The first book can stand on its own, though I guarantee you that by the time you finish this you'll want to read the other two. Friedman has captured fascinating characters and planted them into a frighteningly familiar yet still alien world. This book is worth ever second you dedicate to it.

Outstanding read!
This book, and the sequels that follow, weave a complicated tapestry of world where science has been forced to take a back seat to the power of man's imagination. A world where belief can all to easily become reality. Black Sun Rising introduces us to a Saint who has fallen to very depths of Hell, a Warrior-Priest who has seen too much outside of his faith, a woman to whom the Magic is as natural as breathing, and her partner, who wishes it were true for him as well. Their journey together is as much about learning to trust each other (for this trust is NOT natural), as the quest itself. They must confront their fears, overcome their weaknesses, and rely on those whom they have always thought their enemy. The characters in this book are complex individuals, and show an originality of development that places this book, as well as the series, above others in the genre. Their motivations, ambitions, fears and flaws all flow together into a believeable whole that give the book a complexity and diversity