teri_b's review against another edition
5.0
I just adored listening to the second part of this epic fantasy, that just amazed me in the richness of its tale, its characters, it s world building and the places it took me, emotionally and mentally.
A special mention for the narrator of the audiobook. This was the prefect voice for this story. So absolutely and utterly enjoyable.
A special mention for the narrator of the audiobook. This was the prefect voice for this story. So absolutely and utterly enjoyable.
helensbookshelf's review
4.0
The second and concluding part to A Blackbird in Silver gets much darker and way more intense. Ashurek, Estarinel and Medrian are on a quest for a powerful weapon to defeat the serpent M'gulfin, meanwhile, the rest of the world is falling under M'gulfin's spell, and despair and hatred are winning the day.
All the characters have grown and changed in different ways, naive Estarniel is more wary and less trusting of others, Ashurek is more thoughtful and understanding. And Medrian shows us some emotion!
We finally learn Medrian's story and why she's set out to kill the serpent, and it's everything I'd been hoping for. She was by far my favourite character in the last book and is even more so after finding out about her life.
I like all the rest of the characters too, even the side characters are flawed and complicated. None of them are completely good or evil and they all have their own reasons for what they're doing, beyond 'we need to save the world!' or 'we need to destroy the world'.
Especially Arlenminia who worships the serpent like it's a god. She is convinced that the pain and suffering it brings is for the eventual good of humanity and refuses to listen to anyone who says anything against it. Scary for how realistic this is.
Not even the serpent is not completely evil, we see a very human side to its emotions. Scared and confused, he was attacked and injured by the Guardians and now he can only think of revenge.
The writing is simple but very readable, and I love the use of colours in the way the world is described.
The story does get a bit cheesy at times, but it's a fantasy written in the 80's and what seemed fresh then can be a bit cliche today.
I really enjoyed this book, and while I'm not sure I liked the conclusion to the story, I do think that it's a good ending.
All the characters have grown and changed in different ways, naive Estarniel is more wary and less trusting of others, Ashurek is more thoughtful and understanding. And Medrian shows us some emotion!
We finally learn Medrian's story and why she's set out to kill the serpent, and it's everything I'd been hoping for. She was by far my favourite character in the last book and is even more so after finding out about her life.
I like all the rest of the characters too, even the side characters are flawed and complicated. None of them are completely good or evil and they all have their own reasons for what they're doing, beyond 'we need to save the world!' or 'we need to destroy the world'.
Especially Arlenminia who worships the serpent like it's a god. She is convinced that the pain and suffering it brings is for the eventual good of humanity and refuses to listen to anyone who says anything against it. Scary for how realistic this is.
Not even the serpent is not completely evil, we see a very human side to its emotions. Scared and confused, he was attacked and injured by the Guardians and now he can only think of revenge.
The writing is simple but very readable, and I love the use of colours in the way the world is described.
The story does get a bit cheesy at times, but it's a fantasy written in the 80's and what seemed fresh then can be a bit cliche today.
I really enjoyed this book, and while I'm not sure I liked the conclusion to the story, I do think that it's a good ending.
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