The Coldfire Trilogy is hands down one of the greatest sources for a campaign setting....My group has been borrowing ideas from the series for almost 25 years now. Tarrant has been both an ally and an enemy throughout the many settings. I personally have read the boos so many times that I have had to purchase them at least 4 times due to them just falling apart. I am still hoping that these will get made into a movie or series one day, and be done justice, not torn apart and given a "re-write" to fit someone's agenda. Thanks for the review and insight, well Done.
Really nice review! This was one of my favorite series years ago, and I'm just rereading them now. Really fun idea to work the setting into a D&D campaign. Really nice to spread the word about the series. A minor point, to understand the character of Tarrant: if I understand the books properly, he sold his soul not just from arrogance, thinking that he was the only person who could properly guide his plan. It was because the very religion he had created was in the process of making the afterlife real, and people's distrust of adepts was condemning him to a hell that was suddenly literal.
Not that its really germane to the video, but I'd argue that his refusal to trust anyone but himself *is* arrogance. He thought himself so important, so clever, that it didn't matter who suffered. So long as he was the one who made it happen. Was he, actually, the only person? Maybe. I mean, he thinks so and I'd argue the author provides us evidence to believe it. But even if he was, he was still an arrogant son of a bitch. Not great in real life. HOT FIRE! in a readable Faustian character in top notch dark fantasy.
I've read this serie as a child and was completely fond of it. As I left the house and moved several times, I lost the books. Years later I remembered them again and I have been searching so many shops but the serie wasn't sold anymore. So 15 years later, when I found all three of them back, I was sooo happy. This time I am not just rereading them myself, my eldest daughter is also able to read them now. As a teenager I was completely fond of Tarrant and Hesseth (the Rakh woman). Now I am older I see so much more in Damien and even the Patriarch. In a way, they are all sacrifycing for the good of others. I admire that so much. The Patriarch, as he defends the polytheists against agression of his own church goers, explaining them that belief can never be compulsed upon others, and we should never hate others for believing differently nor prevent them to act on their beliefs. Hesseth, whose race has almost been annihilated by humans, who has all the reason to hate humans...but she is the one who accompanies humans to help them, and even almost adopts a human girl, and gives her life for the cause of these humans. She is a powerful image of motherly protection without ever being described docile. Damien, who is open to look at what positivity the fae can bring, and how to use this sorcery in a religious approvable way, and uses it to Heal. And who has a huge influence on Gerald Tarrant, reguiding him to his humanity. Tarrant must be the most interesting character. Being born a human, but also an adept, he has a deeper bond with the fae. His ideas have completely changed the world of Erna, but in the end he chooses a life of undeath to be able to live long enough to see his dreams of a unified monotheistic people who have surrendzred to the fae and made it surrender to them as well come true. He is torn to his demon size (and lives it as he feeds on thousands and rhousands of women) but he still has his human sides, which he tries to hold back, afraid as he is that the power with which he made an agreement will punish him and take his life away (the very reason why he surrendered to them). He learns frol Damien to sacrifice not others, but himself. Damien throws himself in front of Death's feet more than once to save Tarrant. Tarrant is the one in the end who sacrifices himself to save Erna, and the Patriarch does the same...changing forever how the fae works. Instead of a sacrifice of death of another soul, the fae will only work when one sacrifices something of himself, and becomes tame and calm. The interaction between Damien and Tarrant is priceless! They grow from hate and despice into respect for eachother
This is amazing. I've had the audiobooks on my phone for awhile now as I tend to hoard ABs and this video has made me wanna go home and start listening RIGHT NOW. Thanks bub
Love you too ::kisses:: Really enjoyed your analysis, and I'll be sharing your link on Facebook. I also have a project coming up that will interest gamers in particular, and I'll give you a heads up when it gets to the Kickstarter phase. Maybe you can be its first review :-) I m currently working on a prequel that will tell the story of man's first contact with (and adaptation to) the fae, and some of Tarrant's story, and you certainly inspired me to go bak to work on it instead of cruising around online! Lol
Well, that's excellent news. I'll look forward to reading it greatly. It's very flattering of you to comment here, I really enjoy your work and Tarrant is my main dude.
Hi Celia, my wife and I just finished Black Sun Rising. We loved the book and will be reviewing it on our channel @iWizard tomorrow. We'll be reviewing books 2-3 this summer as well. Thanks for all that you do!
@@csffriedman9059 We will definitely include your patreon and facebook info in the review and will be back in touch over email with a video link and our contact info once the review has been uploaded tomorrow night. It's so exciting that you're working on a Coldfire prequel!
I'm getting kind of old has anyone found an audiobook version , or a large print version of the trilogy. I've read it before but it is one of those stories that you can read or hear for the rest of your life like the Hobbit.
The kid whose mother had worms in the brain was probably the Patriarch. One of the best characters in the whole story, despite not having much in the way of actual involvement in the story.
Thank you. I really like China Mieville's work. I liked Malazan but that's pretty well known. The strange Virconium books. I think Greg Keyes is deeply underrated, especially The Age of Unreason is fantastic historic fantasy. And the Briar King is a pretty fresh take on post Tolkien fantasy. If you can handle a very, very unheroic lead, Thomas Covenant is both a serious bit of art but it's also a cool, ecological fantasy world. I love Memory Sorrow and Thorn and the genuinely dark Black Company books, anything by Glenn Cook, he did a great fantasy take on private detectives. He doesn't really do good guys vs bad guys, its just guys trying to get ahead. They've got a few thematic blind spots but I liked The First Law books, smart, pulp action that answer what if Gandalf was a massive bastard. They're a bit hard to find but the Darwath books, great post apocalypse set after the monsters won. Star Requiem by Adrian Cole are fantasy space fantasy. And I read almost everything by Dan Abnett. I love Guy Kay's careful, beautiful fantasies. I like the first few Dragera books by Steven Brust. I wrote a fantasy novel called Nil-Pray, by Christian D. Read! I think it might be out of print, though...
Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that. But I do hope you listen to the rest as I'm kind of a fan of her other works. And if you read through the comments, you'll see Ms. Friedman herself took no umbrage. I hope one tiny difference of opinion over a book won't close your mind to the rest of the video.
Geralds character arc in Black Sun Rising is incredible! So amazing! One of my all time favorites!
This is my favorite series. I've read it countless times. Hope more people read this!!
CRIMINALLY underrated and underdiscussed.
I have read them so many times I need new copies. Love these books, Tarrant is my favorite fantasy character.
The Coldfire Trilogy is hands down one of the greatest sources for a campaign setting....My group has been borrowing ideas from the series for almost 25 years now. Tarrant has been both an ally and an enemy throughout the many settings. I personally have read the boos so many times that I have had to purchase them at least 4 times due to them just falling apart. I am still hoping that these will get made into a movie or series one day, and be done justice, not torn apart and given a "re-write" to fit someone's agenda. Thanks for the review and insight, well Done.
It's an underdiscussed book, for sure
Really nice review! This was one of my favorite series years ago, and I'm just rereading them now. Really fun idea to work the setting into a D&D campaign. Really nice to spread the word about the series.
A minor point, to understand the character of Tarrant: if I understand the books properly, he sold his soul not just from arrogance, thinking that he was the only person who could properly guide his plan. It was because the very religion he had created was in the process of making the afterlife real, and people's distrust of adepts was condemning him to a hell that was suddenly literal.
Not that its really germane to the video, but I'd argue that his refusal to trust anyone but himself *is* arrogance. He thought himself so important, so clever, that it didn't matter who suffered. So long as he was the one who made it happen. Was he, actually, the only person?
Maybe. I mean, he thinks so and I'd argue the author provides us evidence to believe it. But even if he was, he was still an arrogant son of a bitch.
Not great in real life. HOT FIRE! in a readable Faustian character in top notch dark fantasy.
I've read this serie as a child and was completely fond of it. As I left the house and moved several times, I lost the books. Years later I remembered them again and I have been searching so many shops but the serie wasn't sold anymore. So 15 years later, when I found all three of them back, I was sooo happy. This time I am not just rereading them myself, my eldest daughter is also able to read them now.
As a teenager I was completely fond of Tarrant and Hesseth (the Rakh woman). Now I am older I see so much more in Damien and even the Patriarch. In a way, they are all sacrifycing for the good of others. I admire that so much.
The Patriarch, as he defends the polytheists against agression of his own church goers, explaining them that belief can never be compulsed upon others, and we should never hate others for believing differently nor prevent them to act on their beliefs.
Hesseth, whose race has almost been annihilated by humans, who has all the reason to hate humans...but she is the one who accompanies humans to help them, and even almost adopts a human girl, and gives her life for the cause of these humans. She is a powerful image of motherly protection without ever being described docile.
Damien, who is open to look at what positivity the fae can bring, and how to use this sorcery in a religious approvable way, and uses it to Heal. And who has a huge influence on Gerald Tarrant, reguiding him to his humanity.
Tarrant must be the most interesting character. Being born a human, but also an adept, he has a deeper bond with the fae. His ideas have completely changed the world of Erna, but in the end he chooses a life of undeath to be able to live long enough to see his dreams of a unified monotheistic people who have surrendzred to the fae and made it surrender to them as well come true. He is torn to his demon size (and lives it as he feeds on thousands and rhousands of women) but he still has his human sides, which he tries to hold back, afraid as he is that the power with which he made an agreement will punish him and take his life away (the very reason why he surrendered to them). He learns frol Damien to sacrifice not others, but himself. Damien throws himself in front of Death's feet more than once to save Tarrant. Tarrant is the one in the end who sacrifices himself to save Erna, and the Patriarch does the same...changing forever how the fae works. Instead of a sacrifice of death of another soul, the fae will only work when one sacrifices something of himself, and becomes tame and calm.
The interaction between Damien and Tarrant is priceless! They grow from hate and despice into respect for eachother
This series shook my whole understanding of how evil could be portrayed in fantasy. Great work in every way.
This is amazing. I've had the audiobooks on my phone for awhile now as I tend to hoard ABs and this video has made me wanna go home and start listening RIGHT NOW. Thanks bub
The books rule, man. Hope you enjoy them as much as me.
Love you too ::kisses:: Really enjoyed your analysis, and I'll be sharing your link on Facebook. I also have a project coming up that will interest gamers in particular, and I'll give you a heads up when it gets to the Kickstarter phase. Maybe you can be its first review :-) I m currently working on a prequel that will tell the story of man's first contact with (and adaptation to) the fae, and some of Tarrant's story, and you certainly inspired me to go bak to work on it instead of cruising around online! Lol
Well, that's excellent news. I'll look forward to reading it greatly.
It's very flattering of you to comment here, I really enjoy your work and Tarrant is my main dude.
Hi Celia, my wife and I just finished Black Sun Rising. We loved the book and will be reviewing it on our channel @iWizard tomorrow. We'll be reviewing books 2-3 this summer as well. Thanks for all that you do!
@@csffriedman9059 We will definitely include your patreon and facebook info in the review and will be back in touch over email with a video link and our contact info once the review has been uploaded tomorrow night. It's so exciting that you're working on a Coldfire prequel!
The prequel is a novella, not a novel.
@Celia Friedman We're putting the final touches on editing so it should be posted by midnight :) We'll definitely email you the link!
Thanks for this! :)
I'm getting kind of old has anyone found an audiobook version , or a large print version of the trilogy. I've read it before but it is one of those stories that you can read or hear for the rest of your life like the Hobbit.
The kid whose mother had worms in the brain was probably the Patriarch. One of the best characters in the whole story, despite not having much in the way of actual involvement in the story.
I always thought it was him as well.
Great review! Just finished the trilogy and looking for another fantasy series. Any suggestions? Longer the better.
Thank you. I really like China Mieville's work. I liked Malazan but that's pretty well known. The strange Virconium books. I think Greg Keyes is deeply underrated, especially The Age of Unreason is fantastic historic fantasy. And the Briar King is a pretty fresh take on post Tolkien fantasy. If you can handle a very, very unheroic lead, Thomas Covenant is both a serious bit of art but it's also a cool, ecological fantasy world.
I love Memory Sorrow and Thorn and the genuinely dark Black Company books, anything by Glenn Cook, he did a great fantasy take on private detectives. He doesn't really do good guys vs bad guys, its just guys trying to get ahead. They've got a few thematic blind spots but I liked The First Law books, smart, pulp action that answer what if Gandalf was a massive bastard.
They're a bit hard to find but the Darwath books, great post apocalypse set after the monsters won. Star Requiem by Adrian Cole are fantasy space fantasy. And I read almost everything by Dan Abnett. I love Guy Kay's careful, beautiful fantasies. I like the first few Dragera books by Steven Brust.
I wrote a fantasy novel called Nil-Pray, by Christian D. Read! I think it might be out of print, though...
Fantasy space fantasy, blood hell.
The Night Angel Trilogy or The Twilight Reign Series is pretty good.
Mystborne trilogy
This series ended, not the way I wanted, but the way it should and not what you expect.
It's certainly a bittersweet conclusion
30 seconds into this video and I am almost ready to quit. In Conquest Born is in no way ordinary.
Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that. But I do hope you listen to the rest as I'm kind of a fan of her other works. And if you read through the comments, you'll see Ms. Friedman herself took no umbrage.
I hope one tiny difference of opinion over a book won't close your mind to the rest of the video.