Comments on: Book Review: Coldfire Trilogy

By: Meg

Meg — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:08 +0000

I haven’t read this trilogy, but Andrew & Teisha have mentioned it to me for so long that it now needs to rise to the top of my summer reading list (that is, the list of what I can read when I’m not scrambling to keep up with grad school reading!) I have often thought, in the course of my 54-year life, that technology is a kind of ‘magic’ or ‘dreams can come true’ aspect of human existence — we learn to do things technologically (advance medicine, control reproduction via birth control, build better bombs, program video games, invent cell phones, etc), and the things that mankind ‘wants’ take on a life of their own and subsequently shape human society in a way that might not have originally been intended or foreseen. I have thought that technology is helping to ‘shape’ human society in a way that represents both its best dreams and worst nightmares, and provides a physical manifestation of the human spirit that is not necessarily recognized in advance of its manifestation. (I guess one of the reasons why something like the loss of the super-orbital manned space flight program is so very sad to me, even though I realize that ‘robotic’ flights are much more practical. Landing on the moon in 1969 is something that everyone from my generation will remember as long as they live — I remember my mom saying that when she was young, she could imagine that we might go to the moon within her lifetime, but she never imagined that it would be telecast live on everyone’s tv. A manifestation of technology like that — landing on the moon, and letting everyone see it — is a dream come true in many ways… and excites other dreams….)

By: ShortSpeedFreak

ShortSpeedFreak — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:03:29 +0000

Well, even though historically I haven’t enjoyed fantasy novels, there are a few I’ve read recently that I really liked.

After reading your review, I’ll have to add this trilogy to my list!

By: Paradoxdruid

Paradoxdruid — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:05:47 +0000

I thought this was an excellent review- you expressed what the book is about, and what styles it has, without giving anything away.

I really enjoyed the trilogy, and I have an aversion to fantasy novels.

The ending even presented the reader with a dilemma I found interesting. Which is better: A world with magic, which can hurt and heal, or a world with no magic at all? Damien is presented with a nightmare in book one, where his church has triumphed and magic is unknown. Then he sees a battle field, and realizes that there is no magic to instantly heal the wounded. For someone who sees minor magic as something akin to breathing, it was quite traumatizing to him. Neat books!

By: Mallorn

Mallorn — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:38:44 +0000

I just wiki’d this trilogy and I recognize the cover art… I know I at least started this one. I’ll have to go back and re-read it now!

By: teisha

teisha — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:41:26 +0000

Friedman actually hasn’t written a whole lot of other books (and these are the only books of hers I’ve read, though I just ordered her newest one). The Coldfire Trilogy, which she wrote about a decade ago, was her first big breakthrough.

She’s also written the “The Braxi/Azea duology” (including “In Conquest Born” which I got for Andrew but he did not like). Her newest is the “The Magister Trilogy” (only the first book is out). Her only other books, which are standalones, are “The Madness Season,” “The Alien Shore,” and part of the “Vampire: The Masquerade” RPG series, a section called “The Erciyes Fragments.”

By: Mallorn

Mallorn — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:25:12 +0000

Has Friedman written anything else? I know I’ve read at least 2 books of hers a long, long, long time ago, but I can’t remember what they were. I’m thinking it may have been this trilogy…

After reading your review, I’ll have to track this series down!