Tomes of Spellcasting
Tomes of SpellcastingWelcome to the land of mystery, where the impossible is possible, and the improbable the reality. Join me as I investigate worlds filled with magic and meet the souls that wield this wondrous powers.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Well, finally we see the resolution of the imminent archprelacy election. It appeared in the first book, become somewhat less present in the second, and swells back into--dare I say it--epic proportions in the third. Well, what else can you call an election whose resolution hinges on the overall survival of a city besieged by mercenaries and heretics? And scenes that range from the field of battle to the city walls to the ruins of the outer city to the catacombs beneath the Basilica itself? I'd certainly call it epic. And what about that final resolution when the recently recovered Queen Ehlana wraps the entire assemblage of church patriarchs around her finger and chooses the new archprelate herself and in such a way that they think they did it?
Magic appeared--inevitably--but this time we get to see some of the shortcomings involved in casting spells and communing with gods. Sparhawk's problems with Ghnomb were almost hilarious...except that I remember watching a classic Star Trek episode where Kirk was moving so quickly that everyone else was standing still. Sparhawk's misinterpretation--or the miscommunication between him and the Troll God--reminds me of something I learned in a Speech class, how a person has control of what he or she says but none over how a listener hears and interprets it. I'm glad the author was able to incorporate this facet of mundanity into a fantastic piece of fiction. The differences in the way men (Sparhawk) and gods (Ghnomb) think were made especially obvious here. The author has also been emphasizing the differences between the Elene and Styric cultures throughout, and here he brings in the Zemoch culture for the reader's perusal. This made the work that much more appealing as we now see motives for the Zemoch invasion and Azash's desperate attempts and Elene converts.
The Sapphire Rose brings to a close The Elenium trilogy of books. The highs and lows of emotional involvement and the careful integration of humor and comedy make this work a stupendous climax and conclusion to one of the best trilogies I've ever read.
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