Three thousand years before, the monstrous Dark had sprung from loathsome underground lairs to destroy most of humanity. Now they were again ravening and ruining in their blood hunger. Only a few thousand people had managed to find refuge in the ancient fortress Keep of Renweth. There, even the magic of the wizard Ingold Inglorion could offer them little hope against the Dark. To defeat the savage horror, they must gain help from the Hidden City of Quo, to which all other wizards had been summoned. But Ingold could not pierce the walls of illusion that separated Quo from the world. With his student, Rudy Solis, the old wizard set out to cross two thousand miles of dangerous desert to the City of Wizards. What he might find there he could not know and dared not guess. Many middle books of trilogies feel a bit weaker. We've met most of the main characters, and the author doesn't really resolve the storyline. Still somehow, there needs to be enough story to keep our interest. This book does that. This fantasy follows the pattern of Tolkien's The Two Towers and splits up the characters. Rudy and Ingold head off to the wizards' city while Gil and Minalde stay behind in the Keep. Through Rudy's eyes, we learn more about the nature and perils of magic. Gil is a historian and intent on finding out more about the physical infrastructure of the Keep while trying to dodge most of the political and social infighting. I found both alternating stories interesting in their own way. Unifying them both is the threat of the Dark and how people deal with adversity and tragedy. I enjoyed the story and, while I noticed it was the middle book, I also thought it had enough going on that it wasn't significantly weaker than the first book. Highly recommended for fans of The Time of the Dark.
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Content warnings may include scenes of violence and thematic elements of societal collapse.
From The Publisher:
A “tense and nerve-wracking” adventure in the epic fantasy trilogy from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Time of the Dark (Tor.com). Once upon a time, Gil and Rudy lived simple lives.
Until they met Ingold, she was an ordinary PhD candidate and he was a drifter, whiling away his life riding motorcycles under the California sun. But wizards have a way of complicating things. Ingold brought them across the Void, where an evil known as the Dark threatened to devour civilization whole.
Civilization’s hopes rested on an infant prince, and to protect him Gil and Rudy had to draw on newfound powers—she as a warrior, and he as a wizard. With Ingold’s help they escaped the Dark, and led a hardy band of survivors to a far-away keep, where humanity could be safe for a time.
But now that time is past, and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
What can you read after
The Walls of Air?
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