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    Review of WHEN DARKNESS FALLS by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

    THE OBSIDIAN TRILOGY: BOOK 3

    TOR, July 2006

    Although the demons have been defeated in every battle, they continue to grow stronger. And now the demon queen is nearing the time when she can make the ultimate step--a sacrifice so vast that it will call He Who Is, the long-banished father of all darkness, back from the regions between the stars. Once He Who Is returns, the feeble magics of humans and elves will serve little and darkness will cover the earth, forever.

    The demons plan to return He Who Is is only one part of their overall scheme. They can be killed only by a combination of wild magic and high magic--a combination made difficult by the high magic mages who scorn their wild magic brothers. Now, though, the demons have infiltrated the city of high magic. What beautiful irony if they can convince the high mages to ally not with their brothers in the battle against evil, but with evil against the wild mages.

    Kellen continues to grow as a leader, continues to battle his desire for the half-demon Vestakia (while following the pledge that makes him eligible to be a unicorn ridre), and continues his attempt to genocide the shadowed elves who have done so much to open the way to the return of the demons. His sister, Idalia, continues too to deny her great love--because Idalia knows that her life is the price promised for her wild magery--a price that will certainly be collected. Finally, exiled High Mage Cilarnen attempts to do himself what the entire city of of high mages should be doing, burning himself out in the process.

    If the first book in the series is about Kellen and the second about Cilarnen, the final book is that of Idalia. Although all continue to play a vital role, acting together despite ancient prejudices and rivalries, ultimately it is Idalia who sees what must be done, and does it. Indeed, the extent to which Idalia's sacrifices form the backbone of this book are the story's major weakness--much of what Kellen and Cilarnen do is really unnecessary--Idalia does it all.

    From a story perspective, WHEN DARKNESS FALLS is not perfect, but strong writing by authors Mercedes Lackey (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Lackey) and James Mallory (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Mallory), engaging characters, an oddly sympathetic antagonist, and rich and complex magic system and world-building add up to a powerful and emotionally strong novel and an exciting conclusion to a very enjoyable series.

    Three Stars

    Reviewed 10/12/06

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