Oh, C.S. Friedman. Your name stirs up nostalgia and memories of hours spent curled up in an old worn armchair. I used to adore your books. It seems like only yesterday that my friend told me to pick up Black Sun Rising because he thought that I would like it. He was right. I remember voraciously devouring When True Night Falls and Crown of Shadows and wanting more. In Conquest Born blew me away and This Alien Shore left me agog. True, The Madness Season was a little diffe...

This is only $2.99 right now and that blurb had me at "vampire-like powers."I'M ON A FANTASY BINGE RN

are you retarded?!i just got to the bit where the magistrate dies and she is all upset. UPSET. what the hell? i cant even. their power comes from taking the LIVES of PEOPLE. ...any reaction? nope, none at all. all happy about it. but one damn evil wizard dies, when she defended herself in self def-fence, and suddenly a hard ass character is crying. CRYING. omg its like Buffy crying after the death of every vampire she kills. i'm so pissed of by this, i dont even want to hear the rest of the book...

4.5Audio book. Full review soon

This book-- I have conflicted feelings about this book--but only mildly conflicted because for the most part, I didn't really like it. The female characters were problematic at best. Strong, yes. And under a heavy patriarchal rule, I get that, that's fine. But the three dominant (and only real female characters in the book) have been raped, get raped, or use sex and are utterly dependent on men for their well-being. They are strong women yes, but character wise? Not so much. The strongest was pe...

I just finished the audio version of this book. C.S. Friedman is one of my favorite authors. She does dark fantasy like it's meant to be done. Plus, she has a way with scratching my itch for an antihero like no author author can manage. This isn't her best trilogy (I think that honor goes to the Black Sun Rising series), but it's pretty close. I love her writing. I love her characterization, and her complex world building. Perhaps the thing that caught me the most about this book that I never re...

I REALLY like the premise that magic has a cost. That just makes sense.

i had a whole long rant here about what a sexist piece of shit this book was, but you know what? i'm sick of making myself more irritated about it. i have finally finished it so i can stop wasting my brain cells on it, yay! (i do miss collander and omnibus (collivar and ramirus, whatever) though. fortunately, i will have completely forgotten about them by the time the second book comes out so i will not even be tempted to read it. sometimes i really love my brain.)(review pulled from lj.)

Just finished this and I'm pretty pumped about starting the 2nd book in the series. It seems like the first really original fantasy book that I've read in a long while. It's actually NOT about some amazingly all-powerful magical object that can only be wielded by one person in the entire world, who must then take it across the realm to some dark and terrible place. Madness. I guess if I have to compare it to another fantasy series it would be George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire but so far

I feel, after reading multiple reviews and seeing a majority of people provide a lot of stars on this, that i should provide some insight into my low rating.Friedman has a great concept but unfortunately never gets off the ground with the characters. Most come off as paper thin ideas, devoid of much description minus a few details on hair and eye color with one predominant character trait. They have about as much personality as the players in a one shot D&D game.The world of magic seems infinite...

This is a wonderful fast-paced fantasy book. It's dark in places and it's not saturated with sexuality or the usage of sexuality in order to play games with someone, either as a pawn or not. It's pretty refreshing, actually. Characters are believable and I hope for more characterization of some rather intriguing characters. While at some point the faint misogynist and acute misandrist perspectives can seem somewhat simplified in their roots and solutions, it carries the story well. Believable en...

“Have you ever made a flame dance upon a windowsill?” he asks softly. “Or called a lighting bug to your hand on a summer’s night? Have things ever happened because you wished they would, or those who would hurt you gone away suddenly and no one knows the reason?”The crystalline gaze is steady. “No, sir, because those things bring death. And I do not mean to die.” Reasons you should read Feast of Souls:-The badass quotes-Kamala, the protagonist, is dark af-Yassss women thriving and winning in

Marketing of books is strange, this beginning of a new trilogy, by an experienced author of some cult books nearly passed under my radar. Thank goodness it did not, it´s probably the best fantasy novel I have read recently. The setting is interesting, the economics of magic are original and suitably creepy. There are courtly intrigues, mythical history, well drawn characters and a feeling that this series will bring a lot yet. I look forward to the rest of the series. As drawbacks, it´s one book...

Eh. Seriously, eh. Read both this and the next in the trilogy based on excellent reviews - but these books really aren't great. Not awful - but pedestrian at best. Strongest element is the worldbuilding, which is fairly creative. Otherwise, however - pretty generic high fantasy, with somewhat cardboard characters. Apparently significant characters can and do die, which I applaud, but unlike in G RR Martin's books, I don't particularly care about any of them. Basically, pales in comparison to Mar...

I was interested to read a fantasy novel with a unique twist on vampires but this ultimately wasn't as exiting as I'd hoped. There were a lot of characters I didn't care about and it was difficult to connect with the female protagonist. It wasn't terrible but I skimmed a lot and it left me feeling meh.

DNF. The book isn't horrible, but I couldn't take the misandry in it anymore. Besides, the main character is terribly frustrating. Weirdly, this novel was written in 2007, this is stuff I would expect in 2018. I keep seeing female readers complaining about male writers drawing attention to female body parts/ bad representation and calling it sexist, but frankly I find self-loathing in regards to one's gender a tad more problematic and sexist. Yet I see nobody complain when 90% of female heroine

1.5/5; 2 stars; C-I finally finished this book, but, sadly, only because my garden is so freaking huge that it took me about 10 hours to weed it and I just left the audiobook running while I worked. I know a lot of people loved this story but it did not grab me. I couldn't really feel connected to any of the characters and couldn't get excited about the plot. I started this book last year and tried a few times to get into it. I should have just let it go.

Once again Friedman produces a masterpiece. Her books are consistently creative, deep, and satisfying. This is no exception. I find that in today's fantasy novels, true originality is very rare. Mostly there are variations on an old theme, and rehashing and combining a couple of archetypal plots. Friedman's works are all strikingly innovative. But she also manages to pace her books well, develop intriguing and memorable characters, and tells a really good story. This is a great book - the only p...

Note: This book has a very binary view of gender that may be harmful and insulting to its readers. For more information, read the last paragraph.At best, Feast of Souls serves for mindless entertainment* but little else. The writing is passable, and there are enough interesting ideas about magic and stewing plot elements to keep the reader engaged. Friedman has a refreshing take on magic in her universe. All power has a real and tangible human cost. Unfortunately, Feast of Souls focuses too much...

“Tonight . . . tonight that last precious spark will go out. And if she is lucky, if she is strong, if she is above all else determined … something else will take its place. Whether she can endure living with that something is another question entirely.”Semi-epic fantasy fiction following a woman who becomes a Magister, thought to be impossible in her world. Based on the athra (soulfire) witch magic of a previous Friedman series, these stories ramp up the sorcery through men, who obtain their po...