While this trilogy was ok, Sarah Ash's writing and storytelling don't inspire me to search out any more of her works. ( )

Reviewing "Prisoner of the Iron Tower" and "Children of the Serpent Gate" together.
These are #2 and #3 in the trilogy, and I feel much the same way about them as I did about the first book: I really liked them.

Thee aren't books I would recommend to a non-fantasy fan in order to win them over to fantasy - but if you're a fan of long, complex fantasies with lots of plotting and politics as well as action and magic and just a little romance - well, these deliver.

The ante is upped here, as more of the drakhaoul are released, and enter humans - giving their hosts the ability to shapeshift into a dragon of terrifying power. But such power comes with a price - and the dragons may have their own motivations and agenda.

I felt that both books maintained the pacing set by the first in the series, and that the story was drawn to a satisfying conclusion. Enjoyable light reading - I'll be reading more from Ash in the future. ( )

“Children of the Serpent Gate” is a spectacular, stunning conclusion to this wonderful series that has claimed a place in my top 5 best fantasy sagas. This has been such a powerful story and I’ve enjoyed every word of it. It’s a layered, complex and enthralling story that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

Kaspar Linnaius is a prisoner of the Commanderie in Francia, Gavril has just found Kiukiu but is about to lose here again, Kiukiu is struggling with the Drakhaoul’s Children’s cry for help from the Ways Beyond, Eugene is at the brink of war and Astasia is torn between her loyalty for Andrei and her love for Eugene.
It’s a tale about love, loyalty, hope, bitterness and choosing between right and wrong. It’s about living with the choices you make and fighting for the things you believe in.

Gavril embarks on an unexpected journey that takes us to another foreign country, with a resemblance to France. Gavril gets to meet new people, struggle with old temptations and gather information that will help him on his important mission. Because failing will come at a great cost, but to get to his goal, he has to sacrifice a lot of himself.
I don’t want to give away too much about this final installment, because I’m a little scared of spoiling things for the people who have loved the first two books as much as I did.
There are some unexpected twists that left my breathless and dumbstruck. For one in particular I had to take a little time to take it in. I had to close the book, sit back and think about what just happened. It was so sad, but at the same time it defined the character in this particular scene so well, I didn’t know how to feel about it. (I’m sorry for the cryptic description, I just don’t want to spoil anything! Maybe you will have the same feeling after reading the book and understand what I’m talking about.)

In the second book I began to feel sympathetic for Khezef, but I wasn’t sure if I was right about him. He’s still a daemon after all. In this book he totally won me over. I felt so sorry for him at some points. Great right? I’m actually feeling sorry for a daemon. And that reminds me of something one of my best friends said today (she’s kind of my soul mate ^^): there’s always something good and something bad in a person. Portraying someone as plain bad, or plain good isn’t realistic. There are two sides, we all have our good qualities and our bad ones.
The truth about where the drakhaouls came from was really fascinating. I’m really glad we got to know them and their heritage a little better.

To wrap it up: this is a must read for every true fantasy fan, especially those who love political intrigue and a darker side of fantasy. It has a lot of depth and kept me glued to the pages for many hours.

Visit my Fantasy bookblog http://draumrkpa.blogspot.be/ for more reviews, new releases,... ( )

The Fanominal Ending to the Tears of Artamon trilogy. By far the best in the series. I finished the book in about a day and a half I was that hooked. ( )

http://yoyogodreviews.blogspot.com/2006/09/great-trilogy.html ( )