Name: The High Lord (The Black Magician trilogy #3)
Author: Trudi Canavan
Publisher: Orbit
Date published: Originally 2004, Illumicrate edition 2023
Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, adventure
Pages: 647
Rating: 3/5
This review contains moderate spoilers.
In the city of Imardin, where those who wield magic wield power, a young street-girl, adopted by the Magician's Guild, finds herself at the centre of a terrible plot that may destroy the entire world...
Sonea has learned much at the magicians' guild and the other novices now treat her with a grudging respect. But she cannot forget what she witnessed in the High Lord's underground room - or his warning that the realm's ancient enemy is growing in power once more. As Sonea learns more, she begins to doubt her guildmaster's word. Could the truth really be as terrifying as Akkarin claims, or is he trying to trick her into assisting in some unspeakably dark scheme?
- From Goodreads.
The story was very exciting, I was not sure what was going to happen and just had to keep reading, I couldn't predict anything!
The scenes where they were hunting the enemy in the city and had to make their way through all the different areas, using the tunnels and hidden passageways was very fun and thrilling to read.
I was happy that we got more of Tayend and Dannyl together, but it was a little disappointing we did not get to see more of their developing relationship, or more moments of them together, to see their romantic moments.
I was left feeling dissatisfied by the ending, although the final showdown did have great drama to it, it could have felt a little more epic and I was not happy about the deaths at the end. Of course with it being fantasy and everyone in such danger, I did expect some death, and there were some deaths I could accept (although sadly of course since I was attached to and invested in a lot of the characters), there was one in particular I don't think was the right choice. It did not give a satisfying conclusion to the character's story arc and I felt like there had not been enough leading up to it. I also felt it was not a very satisfying ending for Sonya, who I really loved, I wanted more of how she was feeling and what she was going through at the end, and it felt strangely distanced from her in the last couple of chapters, given that she had been such an important main character throughout the series and we had seen a lot of the story through her thoughts and feelings previously. I am glad she got her wish of things becoming more equal in the city by the end and better treatment for the poorer classes, and a less elitist guild and university, but I think there could have been better ways to reach that ending.
I was excited and thrilled the whole time I was reading, there was some great action, and development in characters (I enjoyed learning more about Akkarin and his backstory and seeing how his and Sonea's relationship changed over time) but the end unfortunately didn't really have the impact and closure I was hoping for.
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