C.S. Friedman

The Magister Trilogy — (2007-2011) As the name implies, there will be three books. Publisher: At the end of her bestselling Coldfire Trilogy, C.S. Friedman challenged readers to imagine what a world would be like if sorcery required the ultimate sacrifice — that of life itself. Now, in a groundbreaking new fantasy novel, Feast of Souls, she introduces us to a terrifying new world in which the cost of magic is just that — a world in which the fuel for sorcery is the very fire of the human spirit, and those who hunger for magical power must pay for it with their lives. In this epic tale of terrifying shadows and desperate hope, the greatest threat of all may not be that of ancient enemies returned, or ancient wars resumed, but of the darkness that lies within the hearts of men.

Feast of Souls

There is only one way to do magic, and that is to expend life force to power it. Witches spend their own life force, and die young. Magisters have discovered how to spend the life force of another, and are nearly immortal, burning through consort after consort, while keeping the source of their magic a tightly guarded secret. No woman has ever become a Magister because they are unwilling to sacrifice others. No woman until Kamala, steeled by a life of child prostitution, secretly becomes a Magister.

CS Friedman has created an incredibly interesting system of magic, and logically depicts the consequences of using power. She manages to explore this system of magic without sacrificing character development or world building. The plot unfolds slowly, largely because of the number of different stories that are being told, but without unnecessary obfuscation. There are a lot of characters in Feast of Souls, and at times the book suffers from having to weave together so many different plot lines into a coherent whole. However, the action slowly accelerates and comes to a dramatic climax, logically (and sometimes heartbreakingly) resolving the plot of this novel while simultaneously setting up the action for the planned sequel.

Friedman writes dark fantasy, both in tone and content. She doesn’t shy from depicting the logical consequences of the plot line or system of magic she has developed, refusing to rely on clichéd deus ex machina moments to get her out of a tight spot. This impeccably plotted book is an intriguing start to a new trilogy, and one I can recommend. —Ruth Arnell

Feast of Souls

When I read the review on the cover of C.S. Friedman's Feast of Souls, it led to me to believe that I was in for a dramatic roller-coaster ride. What I found was something that moved at a slower pace, but was still a very satisfying read.

The basis of Feast of Souls is rooted in magic that is powered by the “athra” — the energy of the soul. When the energy is used up, the person dies. This is made very clear in the first chapter of the book as a “witch” uses the last of her life force to heal a young child. It’s a tragic scene to begin the book with and also introduces us to one of the main characters, Kamala. We will also get to know several Magisters, the High King, his wife, and a sprinkling of others. Some are very detailed, some are not, but on the whole they represent a fairly good cast. I found some of the characters to be a little too obvious, and some of the baggage that Kamala carries around with her would be almost crippling.

The story line moves back and forth between character sets constantly, but it’s not difficult to keep up. There is a nice balance of good characters and bad characters, and there are a few for whom you really can’t decide which side they're on. 

So, to read or not to read? It really depends on what you are interested in and how much action you demand. The story is good and Friedman’s idea for how magic is powered, plus the very logical side-effects of wielding too much magic, is excellent. Character development is decent, at times very good, and the storyline itself is worth following. So one the whole it was a good book — but not a great book. —John Hulet

Wings of Wrath

CS Friedman’s Wings of Wrath is the second book in her Magister Trilogy. It focuses on the story of a god-blessed race, the lyr, who have spent the last 1000 years preparing for the return of the Souleaters. At the end of the previous war with the Souleaters, the gods sent a magical wall, known as the Wrath, to bar them from ever being able to cross back into human lands again. Ever since, the lyr have been guarding the Wrath and watching for the Souleaters to reappear. But now the Wrath is weakening, and Souleaters have been seen again.

What would have been a standard band-of-heroes-on-a-quest-to-save-civilization-from-the-evil-monsters story in the hands of a lesser author shines here with Friedman’s writing. Her prose is lush, and she uses incredible imagery to create a world that lives. She elicits an emotional response from the reader, at one point bringing tears to my eyes, and at another point leaving me stunned in shock. The pacing is impeccable. Even though this is the second book in the series, it manages to simultaneously advance the story and set up the finale, while yet having a major climax and resolution of plot lines that makes the story stand on its own.

Friedman excels at dark fantasy and characterization, and both of those talents are on full display in Wings of Wrath. Magic in this world requires the expenditure of life energy, either your own or someone else’s, and that sets up a system of magic that is vampiric in flavor. The Souleaters are just what they sound like — enormous creatures that are somewhat of a cross in looks between a dragon and a dragonfly, that feed on the souls of humans. These two elements combine to create a world that is dark, though richly detailed and fully fleshed out. Friedman balances three different major plot lines with several different characters providing points of view. Each character has his or her own motivations, and each person has flaws. These characters undergo major challenges in this book, and deal with them in psychologically realistic ways. C.S. Friedman is also willing to kill off major characters when the plot needs it, which provides an added note of realism and tension to the story.

Wings of Wrath is an excellent book. It is tightly plotted with interesting characters and well paced action, which makes this a novel I can highly recommend to anyone who enjoys their fantasy emotionally realistic and dark. I am wondering how Friedman will manage to tie up all the story lines with just one book to go, and am eagerly anticipating finding out. —Ruth Arnell