We have reached the first November reading post already! This week I am writing about two books in the Darwath series by Barbara Hambly. Regular visitors might remember that I have been recently rereading the first three books that I first came across decades ago. Then I discovered that Hambly added two more books to the original trilogy in the 1990s. And I hadn’t known about them, let alone read them already! I was so pleased and quickly went to download them. Anyway, here they are…

So, we shall begin with The Mother of Winter, Darwath #04. This is the blurb…

“A RETURN TO THE REALM OF DARWATH…

Five years after the departure of the Dark from Darwath strange occurrences begin to develop in the Vale of Renwath. There are geological upheavals and an increasing amount of ‘slunch’ – a heavy, inedible, juiceless fungus. Cave bears, woolly mammoths and sabretooths seem to be flocking to the area. Even stranger are the sightings of ‘thaght’n’ – creatures who possess a kind of magic which even magician Rudy Solis cannot defeat or deceive. Thus as Gil, who crossed the void from present day California, and her lover, the wizard Ingold, return to the Keep from the flooded delta city of Penambra, they realise that something is desperately wrong …

Something, somewhere, is attempting to terraform the world by the use of  magic to accelerate the rate of chilling until the temperature reaches the point that it – whatever ‘it’ is – finds comfortable …”

And here is my response on Goodreads…

Mother of Winter by Barbara Hambly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so pleased when I found out that Hambly had written two more books in the Darwath series. As I had just been re-reading the first three after a break of many years, the discovery was like the cherry on top of the cake! Hambly has clearly developed as a writer over the intervening twenty years or so from the first book in the series to this one.

It was so nice to get re-acquainted with my favourite characters in a setting five years on from the original trilogy. They are facing new enemies and obstacles in this book. The plot is exciting and gripping, although I continue to wonder how Ingold Inglorion manages to survive, given the detailed descriptions of his numerous injuries at several points in the tale!

All in all, this was a really enjoyable read.

View all my reviews

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When I finished this book, I went straight on to Icefalcon’s Quest, Darwath #05, feeling a little sad that this is the final book in the series. Oh, I am such a sentimental reader! I grow to love some of the characters in long series and feel rather bereft when I have to leave them. That’s probably why I reread my favourite books so often.

Here is the blurb…

“The Icefalcon’s first mistake was to rescue the old man named Linok. His second mistake was to leave Tir, his young charge in the old man’s care…

Linok was not as he seemed, and when he disappeared, snatching Tir away with him, the Icefalcon begins a desparate quest to rescue his charge. But this will be no ordinary struggle, for against the Icefalcon come hellish furies – an army of ghostly soldiers horrifically constructed, demons of the air and magic so dark it terrifies him. There is also Hethya, the young woman who was once in Linok’s care. She claims to be possessed by a spirit who lived in the Time of the Dark and believes it knows the secret in the crypt below the Keep, the target against which all the forces of darkness are gathering…”

Once again, I enjoyed being drawn in to the world of Darwath and this is what I wrote on Goodreads…

Icefalcon’s Quest by Barbara Hambly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This final book in the series was my least favourite, but there were definitely good parts of the book:

* The Icefalcon’s character had not been very developed in the preceding books. We were told quite a lot about his appearance, skills and weapons, but he seemed to be quite distant and austere. In this book, he really grew as a person and it was really interesting to read about the changes.

* There were intriguing descriptions of magical technology that had been, apparently, hidden away for thousands of years of years, but were resurfacing for a variety of reasons.

* Many parts of the plot were exciting and well written as were the descriptions of the various settings.

* It was nice to encounter well-loved characters from the previous books now and then. I also enjoyed reading about Tir and how he was growing up.

However, some sections of the book did not work well for me. The “spirit walking” became irritating and there was a strange jump in the plot with the arrival of our hero-wizard. Also, everything was too rushed at the end to kind of round off the tale.

It is definitely worth reading this book if you have read the rest of the series first, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a standalone.

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Right, so that’s the end of this week’s post! I wish you all Happy Reading.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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