Those of you who enjoy Elder Scrolls games, like Morrowind or Skyrim, can properly understand that sense of excitement when you are about to explore new city, dungeon, territory. You wonder what it looks like, who you will meet, what stories you will hear, what quests you will go on, how it will change you. You are nervous with excitement, and you love every moment of it. I had the same feeling while reading this book. It doesn't have most of the faults from the first book - Kellen is not so whi...

An excellent fantasy novel. Following up the first volume in the trilogy (literally picking up just where the last book leaves off) we pick up the action quickly here. The first book in the series The Outstretched Shadow takes a good deal of time to build plot, set up story, introduce and build characters. Here we still meet some "newer" characters and have more building but not so much is needed. For you who are action fans (as I am) you'll get a bit more of that.These books (so far) are an exc...

To sum up the problems of this novel: Too much tea not enough dragons!Or action at all really. This book spends far too much time focused on the characters thinking and discussing what they are going to do and not enough time on the actual doing. Usually it involves tea. There are many pages discussing different teas, but the major decision where Jermayan and Ancaladar choose to become bonded gets a page if that. The result is that the novel moves in spurts. It goes a little bit like this: "Ooh

This book almost took me a full month to read. I wanted to love it as much, if not more so, than the first novel in the series but the truth is: - it’s WAY too repetitive. I loved the initial recap chapter, it did it’s job. There was no need for the frequent summaries and references to events and thoughts experienced in the first book. It wasn’t helpful. It was obnoxious and only served to distract from the overall storyline and mess with the scene’s pacing; the pacing of which was already strug...

A bit of a let down from the series opener. The Good----------------------------------------Depth: We get to learn significantly more about Elven culture that is far more nuanced than was portrayed in the first book -- and is usually depicted in other fantasy novels. You do get a bit tired of the tea references though...Bad Guys: In the first book the authors went too far to ensure that the readers knew that the bad guys are super-evil. In this book much of the gore is moved off screen which is

I’m searching for an epic fantasy that I’ll enjoy like the Stormlight Archive. I think Sanderson just can’t be outdone. I gave the Obsidian Series a go, but it wasn’t all that exciting for me. The main character is kind of annoying. I liked lots of small sections, but in between was sooooo hard to work through. I’ve started the second in the series but can’t get into it.Kellen, son of his city’s great Mage, has broken the rules and worked with Wild Magic. He is tossed out and followed by enchant...

So... I was not a fan of the first book. But after listening to THIS book in audio form, I can definitely say I appreciate the story more in that way. It was pretty interesting, and I love the narrator's voice - she made it less boring. ;P *Blunt* The only downside to the audio book is that it's 37 HOURS LONG.*screams*I'm sorry, but I don't care about the story THAT much to pass such valuable time. There are other books better edited, better at getting their point across in fewer words for me to...

I enjoyed much of this book but the middle third of it falls into this really unsettling indoctrinating justification of genocide. Fantasy often walks a fine line with its many races and the wars between them but this one gets pretty brutal and doesn’t even examine that, basically at all. It’s taken as a given that the actual ethnic cleansing of a race of “tainted” elves from the lands is just and necessary, and it’s gross. It’s even weirder in a book that is otherwise so centered on kind of hip...

Oh, I enjoyed this second book of the Obsidian trilogy sooo much!It was as if all the pieces of a game had been set out, ready to play, and the players have read all the rules and, understanding them all at last, have started the game!I loved the development of the characters - with their foibles and quirks an amusing aside to the main story - especially the elves fascination with the utter politeness of the ceremony of drinking tea, and talking about the weather - as someone from the UK, it mad...

I'm doing a lot of getting around to reading the second book in a series lately. It's been a little over a year since I read the first one, so the beginning (which starts with an otherwise unnecessary rehash of the end of book one) was helpful to get me back into the swing of things. There were a lot of good things about this book, but it was all middle. I don't just mean that it felt like the middle book that it is, I mean the while book felt like the really long middle of a story with a kind o...

It’s been a while since I’ve immersed myself in any of her work, but previously, I read it extensively (and almost exclusively). One thing I can say Mercedes Lackey writes well is the day-to-day events of a coming-of-age story. Those tasks and skills required for the young person to become the hero they’re destined to be, whether that’s fighting, spellcasting, horsemanship, or some other obscure but necessary ability to defeat evil. Though less than the previous book, this one still contains a v...

More creatures, more characters, more complexity… To Light a Candle is the second in the Obsidian Trilogy and it makes a compelling addition to the set. A nice blend of light and dark leads to questions of who we trust and why. Diverse religious ideas and diverse systems of magic all lock perfectly together. Characters change and learn, inviting readers perhaps to view their own world too through different eyes. And adventures await in different places as threat and danger close in.Not a simple

The second book in the Obsidian Mountain trilogy makes some good improvements over the absolutely terrible first book. There is a new human character who is much more likable than the duller than dull Kellen, the main protagonist. The authors also introduce a dragon which is tons better than the stupid talking unicorns. Even the story got better. The authors do persists in killing off minor characters and acting like I should care. I just feel no emotional connection with any of the characters.

This was 35 hours of audio, and it took me two check-outs from the library to get it all listened to. I got a shawl finished, needlepoint project started as well as a hat. (Yet another half-hat for my stack of stuff) This is the middle story of the trilogy. Often, middle stories are "downers," but this one really isn't. A lot of things happen, many of which are bad-- but encouraging. The dragon on the cover makes its appearance, the story progresses with exciting events and yet, in the distance,...

The start of the book was basically a copy and paste of the obelisk being destroyed in the first book which was unnecessary in opinion but otherwise the book was enjoyable. I found myself eager for when Selarnin and Kellan met up. I wanted to know how the former would react to the boy he teased in the city and the man he encountered now. I rather like the characters in the series. Their development has been fun to experience and I look forward to see how it progresses in the third and final book...

This was my second time trying to get through it and I made it this time around. I found I needed to space out these books because they can be slow for me if I read them too close together. My interest was held this time around, which I was glad for. There are several battle scenes with lulls to gather information or take you to another character to follow for a little bit. The main battle has not happened and still building up to it, which I believe will all come to pass in the next (and last)

I think my favourite part of these books is a thoughtful, mindful, emotionally mature main character! Kellen actually sits and meditates to figure out his motivations and figure out the wisest course of action. He still feels things and has petty thoughts, just doesn't act on them to give us simplistic conflict like in so many stories and TV shows and films! And I really like the magic systems! And I like that the Elves seem so perfect and us and the human in the books are slighly in awe of them...

To Light a Candle by Mercedes Lackey and James MalloryThis is the sequel to The Outstretched Shadow with book three of the trilogy in my TBR pile. Kellen has grown enormously in his role of Knight-Mage. Ancaladar and Jermayan add some spice to the mix of characters. The plot is simple, Demons vs. Humans. Although the plot is clear the characters aren’t always clear. The nuances of behavior are what makes so many of Lackey’s books so worthwhile. There is coming of age and frustrated and deadly de...

The second book really builds on everything established in the first book. I haven’t come across such integrated yet separate sequential books very often and it is a hallmark of such masterful writing. You really can read from one book to the next and experience almost no time loss or an over abundance of re-explanations. They felt more like reminders than having to slog through a condensed version of the first book.Full review at ReadingOverTheShoulder.com

Totally loved this very fine, tradtional epic Fantasy. Might even be one of the best middle of trilogy books I've come across. Certainly, the finest middle book I've read since Anthony Ryan's Tower Lord from a couple of years back. Nearly works as a stand-alone, but with some over-arching plot threads dangling from the first novel and more leading into the third. Terrific plotting, pacing and characters, both heroic and villainous. Have already started the next novel.

Volume two of the series (paperback said to be 856 pages), the exquisitely detailed world-building continues with new races and beings of wonder. The interactions of characters and races continue with great depth and passion. The battle scenes are deeply considered with well-developed strategies and tactics. While the story drags slowly at times the readers are eventually rewarded with extended action after each delay.

Slow start, but overall good. I'm not too into the romance subplot between Kellen and Vestakia, but it doesn't affect the plot too much at the moment. The overarching theme about the world and conflict is slow to be revealed, which is both frustrating and interesting as it keeps me turning the pages, hoping for answers. I look forward to the next book and resolution to the story.

This is a great continuation of the series. It's interesting watching a character's personality evolve and see them become stronger or more open minded. Anagrelle seems less in this book, even though he took a more active role.I loved the phrase Kellen said and this isn't exact but: be careful when using words like never or forever. Those are usually the ones you end up eating later.

As another reviewer stated....there is far too much tea. That being said, this story had a way of springing into action just when I was beginning to be bored with the tea and the minutia of running an army and Elven small talk. And towards the end I almost couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen.

This book was even better than the first in the series. I know some people feel the book is too slow paced, but considering the set up of the elves, if it had been rushed, then it would have felt wrong and too rushed. I also get the feeling that Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory really really like Tea.

Really 2.5 stars but I’ll push it up to 3. The problem is the pacing, which although problematic in the first book is absolutely terrible in this sequel! There characters and the concepts are great but it’s almost as if the authors have no idea how to actually *tell* a story

I should have known better, but I liked a couple of characters in the first book, and thought the second might be a bit better. Wrong. A totally predictable plot, with way too much attention to the endarkened and their torture. Pass. Something palate cleansing next!

This book is the sequel to a great book- The Outstretched Shadow. I have only recently discovered Lackey, but color me a fan. The writing is gorgeous, and on a mostly unrelated tack I just love the word destrier. Obviously a sequel because it’s equally hard to put down!

A truly insightful retelling of the ongoing battle between Good and Evil. Particularly interesting are the illustrations of the use of fear and rumour to divide, mislead and conquer. Masterful, beautiful writing.

I enjoyed my second trip back to this world because I love the Wild Mages and the way their magic works. This installment starts up a little bit before the ending of the first one, where Kellan and Idalia save the elves from drought, and we see the further challenges posed by Shadow Mountain. Nothing in these books is groundbreaking or new but it feels like comforting fantasy where you know you'll have a good time reading about the troubles in the world and watching the heroes try to overcome th...