Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay

I now understand why everyone praises this series so much. I mean, I thought I understood it when I read Book 2 of the Fionavar Tapestry, but in Book 3 I really felt the magic and power of the tale.


Behind that book, I am weeping as the plots come to a close and the characters face their final battles.

As in the previous books, Kay ties the internal struggles and individual goals of the characters into the goal of the collective--to defeat the Unraveller and have Light triumph over Dark. And the beauty in how the individuals approach their choices is moving. Jennifer continues to connect more and more with her Guinevere side and stands by her choice to let her son be a "random" element. Dave embraces Davor and commits himself fully to the grandest fight in which he will probably ever take part. Kim makes again and again the difficult choices necessary to achieve their goals, sacrificing a bit of herself along the way but gaining much wisdom. And Paul--well, let's just say that I totally predicted what Paul's next steps were going to be, but I can't believe it took him so long to get there!
"No blade I have ever known to be worth anything at all has had only a single edge."
This series really was magical and will inspire any reader. Protect free will! With the good comes the bad, so grin and bear it! Choose Light over Dark! Love in your own way! The messages sound out, loud and clear.

Also, characters die. Kay isn't afraid to kill off main characters in service of the greater good, which is as it should be. I couldn't be more happy with the end of a series.

~9/10~

P.S. Flying red unicorn vs. dragon of darkness…EPIC!!!

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