Legacy of Kings

The Magister Trilogy #3

by C.S. Friedman, Celia Friedman

"C.S. Friedman makes fantastic things-and frightening things-seem very real." -New York Times bestselling author Tad Williams.

The young peasant woman Kamala has proven strong and determined enough to claim the most powerful Magister sorcery for herself-but now the Magisters hunt her for killing one of their own. Her only hope of survival lies in the northern Protectorates, where spells are warped by a curse called the Wrath that even the Magisters fear. Originally intended to protect the lands of men from creatures known only as souleaters, the Wrath appears to be weakening-and the threat of this ancient enemy is once more falling across the land.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Audiobook

624 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2011

About the author

Celia S. Friedman is a science fiction and fantasy author. She has also been credited Celia S. Friedman and Celia Friedman.

Reviews

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fiiiiinally learnt what Colivar had been hiding. Thanks a lot Colivar, you could have told us before...haha, I love him.

Right, the beginning was a bit confusing and jumpy but then it got better. Colivar is thinking about saving the world. Salvatore is the same religious ass as always, queen Gwen kicks some serious butt, Kalima is conspiring with Colivar and the witch queen is being a real witch.

The whole book is leading up to the final battle and the whole what are magisters thing. There will be battles, revelations and oh who cares, I just wanted to read about Colivar. Ever since they killed A in book 1 Colivar was all I cared for ;)

A good end to this series.

[Viridian5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In C.S. Friedman's Legacy of Kings, the conclusion to her Magister Trilogy, the Souleaters have become such a major threat that former enemies are considering becoming allies to end it. Can Salvator reconcile his Penitent faith with the people and powers he might have to work with to save the world from the Souleaters? (Also, is it possible the Souleaters are part of God's plan and he shouldn't get in their way?) Can the Magisters set aside their selfishness and all-consuming urge to protect themselves so they can help out? Can Kamala work with all these people without revealing what she is and thus putting her life on the line with her new allies?

Legacy of Kings is a good, fast, page-turning read, but I had some problems with it:

There's a last-second, out of the blue revelation about a character we were previously led to be sympathetic about that was so last-second and out of the blue that it didn't have the effect on this reader that I think Friedman was going for. I shouldn't be surprised, since Friedman has a history of being willing to drag through the mud and dump on characters in ways that don't always feel fair. (I'm still angry over what she did to the character I liked most in Black Sun Rising.)

One major threat was resolved so suddenly and easily that I was left somewhat incredulous. The reader figures out the Magister's deepest secret long before it's officially revealed. Kamala's love interest in this novel didn't feel as real as what she had with Rhys in Wings of Wrath, and after all the time spent on Gwynofar in Wings I was disappointed in how little face time she had here.

That said, Salvator continues his character growth and the Souleater and Kamala's status are tied up.

I liked the book and would recommend it, even if it didn't completely satisfy me.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahhhh, this series had so much potential...

I really enjoyed the first in the series, mostly because of the anti-heroes and moral dilemmas. I thought it was an interesting look at power and what some people are doing for power.

The second book was not great but not bad, just kinda somewhere in the middle.

This last one, sadly, ended being a bit disappointing. The "surprise" was not much of a surprise and the build up to the reveal felt too drawn out and, honestly, it just got annoying. Then the ending and plot resolutions felt very anti-climatic and ...:::sigh:::... boring...
I desperately wanted to like it more, but just couldn't.

I definitely would recommend the first one, Feast of Souls, but I almost wish I would have skipped the rest of the series.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise of magic in this series. And I liked the story. But there were so many characters and points of view in this book, and I just didn't bond/care a ton about any of them. But I'm still glad I read the series!

[Jennie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I turn over the last page of the epilogue, I am taken over by a complete and utter sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. When was the last time I picked up a book so enticing that I absolutely could not put it down? When was the last I was so mesmerized by a story that it felt like I was there and witnessing the events myself? I can't remember while basking in the warm after-glow of the pure awesomeness of this piece of writing.

The third of the trilogy really tied up the loose ends. It answers all the whys and hows and then some. This always has been something I appreciate but observe too infrequently in books and movies alike. Leaving no questions unanswered requires thought and planning, in addition to great writing.


Just some afterthoughts I want to share with fellow readers:

1. I always knew Kamala was going to take on a leading role among the magisters. Merely evading death for her past transgressions was just not satisfying enough.

2. I have been holding my breath until the very end, and was glad that Colivar survived the whole ordeal. In each of the last two books, Kamala's lover boys have not been so lucky.

3. In retrospect, the similarity between magisters and souleaters is so strikingly obvious I don't know how I managed to miss the connection.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2011: Look away now! Not sure what is wrong with me but i found this book - boring in places!! I know - sacrilege!! I thoroughly enjoyed the first two in the series and was really looking forward to the conclusion. I found the whole Magister secret thing a bit overplayed and extended. And the more that I thought that it was boring the more guilty I was feeling. If I enjoyed the first 2 how could I not like this one?! Anyway, so it was for me. The final wrap up was a bit unsatisfying for me as well with some of the "decisions" being a bit out of character (for me) FWFTB: ancient, magic, alliance, treachery, death. FCN: Colivar, Kamala, Gwynofar, Ramirus, Salvator. "He chuckled softly, "I can't even take a piss these days without a hundred people watching."/"And I am sure that such a custom contributes to the welfare of the nation."

[Pewter · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very weak ending to a trilogy that held such promise. I really enjoyed the first book when I read it over 4 years ago. However this book seemed to sideline characters I felt were central in favour of sex-as-redemption. Both aware of the difficulties that women face in patriarchal societies, while falling prey to the typical tropes of the genre. Rather than breaking new ground, this is same old same old in the fantasy stakes.

[Horus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last of the Soulfire trilogy, Friedman, yet again, provides an excellent culmination to a refreshingly interesting and satisfying series of books. All of the threads from the previous two novels are brought together in this climax and nicely wrapped together. I don’t mind a story that ends well, and I found this worked well. If you want to get nit-picky, her premise of sourcerers who’s powers are obtained by using the life force (athra) of unwilling and unknowing volunteers is not much of a moral conundrum here. It is brought up and there are characters who deem it a sin, but it is also not the main focus of the plot. Her writing is always layered and complex allowing for these kind of considerations as the story moves along and after you are done reading.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very satisfying conclusion.

[Steven Montano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 stars.

C.S. Friedman may be one of the most underrated fantasists working today. Her original and compelling settings, fantastically developed characters and ability to keep a story moving while never taking it exactly where the reader expects makes every one of her works an absolute pleasure to read.

As the war between humankind and the Souleaters continues to develop, strange alliances are forged and new dangers come to the surface. King Salvator will have to reconcile himself with the deadly Magisters, who in turn will be forced to deal with the secret Magister Kamala; Colivar and Ramirus will be forced to resolve their differences; and the origins of the very power that binds the world together will be called into question as the forces of good align themselves against the Witch Queen and her new and deadly alliance with the ikati.

Friedman can't be accused of doing anything predictable, nor can it be said this third volume isn't ambitious. If anything, Friedman may have opened up a few too many cans of worms in the first two volumes of The Magister trilogy, and some of the plot ends feel a bit too neatly nipped and tucked as this third volume comes to a close, just as a few characters from the large cast seem to be shuffled aside and nearly forgotten in all of the chaos of the final battle.

Still, this is a small quibble. Friedman is a master storyteller, and any fan of epic fantasy is only doing themselves a disservice by not checking out her impressive body of work.

[Kanani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such issues with this series! Here are a few:

1. I felt the whole storyline with Andovan was so conveniently and abruptly ended. Though the reader was teased to believe it would develop into something, it never did. I thought that at the very least Kamala would ponder further the morality or issues surrounding Andovan as her consort, but that never happened, either.

2. Gwynofar had such potential to be a huge player, and though she was quite powerful and one of my favorite characters in the series, she was outshined by a MAN. Her son! Her son who was as abruptly made the center of the story as his brother was kicked out of it. But it seemed many of the characters were introduced then written off quite abruptly with very little thought given to them by those that were still involved.

3. What of the runes that Kamala distorted when Rhys carved them into his arm? I anticipated that she would then show them to Ethanus, but nothing came of that! It never came up again that she distorted some of them, and yet the lyr were still able to decipher them and she neither seemed disappointed or surprised by their revelations.

4. I was really hoping Kamala and Siderea would have met before Siderea became evil. It would have been beautiful if the two powerful, strong-willed women came together and commiserated, even if for a while.

Overall, it was fairly entertaining and some of the characters were fun.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third book of a trilogy but I didn't get the impression that I'd missed out on much so either Friedman is the master of stand-alone but linked books which is possible not having read any other stuff by her, or we didn't need the previous two books. Basically this is what happens when the dragons of Pern and their riders go bad and start sucking life force out of humans in order to survive, and the plot wasn't helped much by the fact that the dragonriders were actually more sympathetic than the 'good guys'. Why can't the life force sucking, human killing, things win sometimes? (I always wanted Tom to just eat Jerry already if that helps). And the thing that really annoyed me was that one of the main protagonists was a religious white dude who is the beneficiary of a breeding program that makes him super awesome, more super awesome than his mum.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like C.S. Friedman and have enjoyed most of her books. But the Magister Trilogy was kind of disappointing. In this third book, even the editing seemed to get lazy, with almost whole sentences being repeated with half a page of each other. Rewrites of passages seem to have been poorly done.
In addition to that though, it seems like somewhere along the way this series lost direction. The story was told, but there weren't any interesting plot turns, or even particularly interesting character growth. The value of magic in this world was impersonal (ie. the most powerful take their power people who aren't even mentioned, and the less powerful remain almost completely nameless) that as a reader, I didn't care about anyone's personal sacrifice.

[Miki Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had actually avoided this one for awhile, because after loving the first book, and moderately enjoying the second, I'd seen too many reviews which suggested that this last book in the trilogy would be another step suckwards. But it was on the "good new reads" shelf as I walked by at the library, so I grabbed it - and so very, very glad that I did. It was the kind of compelling read that begged me to skip a night out on the town, I just had to finish the book. Satisfying all the way thru to the very end, this one is well worth the read if you've read the first two books. And if you haven't, this awesome conclusion helps make the whole trilogy a great read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to give this book four stars but I feel it deserves more than three. The plot is great and the characters interesting. On the other hand I often found myself frustrated with the pace of the book, wanting it just to be over with. And about that time something interesting would happen and I would be hooked again.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book with some very novel creatures, Souleaters. Very good characterisation with Magister Colivar heading up a strong cats. Kamala is a great introduction and breaks all the rules. Lots of intrigue and plots. it's a complete story in a novel with enough remaining for a follow up tale. Good in depth history behind the tale. Good read!

[Risa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as most of her other ending works, but still surprisingly satisfying. More thorough review pending a sleep on it.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I read one too many of these.

Salvatore got extremely annoying in this book. I found his chapters downright intolerable. There was too much of everyone debating whether or not they should tell each other their secrets and patting themselves on the backs for the things they knew that the other parties didn't know they knew. If all of that internal horn-tooting and pondering was cut, this book would probably be half as long.

The basic underlying premise of this book is interesting. But we don't get to read about the interesting parts, instead we read about magisters and Salvatore and Gwynofar planning. And OCCASIONALLY actually doing things, but then going back to talking about it and planning some more. And this conversation could have been engaging if it weren't for the way Friedman writes these scenes, which I don't have the energy to complain about again (I did it in my last review).

It didn't feel like there was enough depth to Sideria's POV that would have allowed us to delve into one of the most interesting parts of the series. And despite the previous book and first half of this one building up Gwynofar, it feels like Friedman just forgot about her.

It was fine. I like the story and the concept, but I dislike the writing style so much that I didn't feel much of anything at the conclusion.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third and final book in the Magister series. I liked how this series wrapped up but also thought that this was the weakest book of this trilogy. The story progressed very slowly and was flatout boring at points. I did like how things pulled together though even if it was a bit predictable.

I listened to this on audiobook and all the audiobooks for this series have been very well done. Rodgers does a great job with character voices and emotion and I really enjoyed listening to this series on audiobook.

This book deals with what you would expect based on the first two books. Kamala and the other Magisters must cooperate together in order to stop the Soul Eaters from gaining a hold in their land and destroying it. This will require Kamala to come clean on her status as a Magister.

For this series as a whole the world building, complex characters, and intricate storyline were amazing. This is a great epic fantasy series with a very old-school fantasy feel to it.

My main complaint is that this final book just could have been a bit more concise. It bounces between a ton of characters and this was distracting and drew out the story even longer.

Overall this was a good wrap-up for this series. I would recommend this series to those who enjoy “old-school” epic fantasy. This book does get a bit drawn out and long. I have pretty much read everything Friedman has written now and am eager to see if she takes on another series at some point.

[Geoffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough rating- maybe a 3.5. I've often mentioned the Middle Book Syndrome (MBS) in my reviews, but I'm starting to realize there's a Last Book Bias (LBB) that really has to be overcome as well. It doesn't matter how good an ending is if you've built up expectations and hoped for answers to all your questions. It's unreasonable and I've got to be more open to accepting what I get.

I didn't expect Salvator to be such a main character, though he was written so well I can't say it was a bad choice. I also didn't expect so much Colivar, though he is in some ways the biggest piece of the story and quite interesting. It's been awhile since I've read a story with the amount of lust being described- nothing wrong with that normally but having it be from soul-sucking demon dragons just made it unpleasant. There's also a rape scene, and though it is a brutal and horrible reality of the world, I can't say I've ever read a story that needed one.

Many questions are answered and characters get resolution, so the ending was pretty decent. I felt there were a lot of angles that never got enough explanation, but that's LBB for you. Overall glad I read the series and I appreciate the unique elements and well-written characters that made up this story.

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conclusion to the trilogy, and with most trilogies everything gets nearly wrapped up in the last 50 pages. I'm always amazed how something that is portrayed as a dark, apocalyptic world ending threat always gets vanquished with no issues in the end. We've spent three books dreading the souleater invasion, only to have two of the main characters take care of the problem. Colivar's constant worrying about the 'bestial nature of the soul' just feels over wrought and in the end, doesn't amount to much either. So much build up, so little meaning.

[Archer Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, I was surprised at the editing issues. More errors in editing than the first two books (One example of many: pg.96 "as surrenderd herself to the moment" -should be- "as (she) (surrendered) herself to the moment"), and there were also some chapters that were longer than they should have been, but again, editing should have caught this (An example: Chapter 35 was a staggering 60 pages long). But despite the editing, the story was still a good one. There was more action in this one than the first two books combined, and it ended very well. Overall, it was a good job!

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why I read this trilogy over so many years. I should have read them all together at once because I LOVED THIS SERIES SO MUCH! The final book did NOT disappoint and I adored it. I couldn't put it down until it was finished. Low key obsessed with Coliver now and Kamala was amazing as always. This trilogy is definitely in my favorites now.

[rememberorbeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS MINDBLOWING
I will carry these characters in my heart forever, and Colivar my tormented ikati, magister and human being... I will love you forever you stole my heart and I will always be grateful!!

[James Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a great story from this author! Her world building and storytelling are enthralling.

Mystery, magic, action, faith, love, intrigue, politics, lust, trust, betrayal and religion are all deftly handled topics in this work. Fun to read.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think book 2 was probably my fave. One of the most original fantasy series I've read in years. I'd give this a 4.5 overall. Why this series isn't more popular, I don't know. So much better than Wheel of Time for instance.

[Daniel Beckwith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great conclusion to the series. they were hinting at the ultimate reveal throughout the whole series but I still didn't beleive it. It was great. I was very happy to be surprised.

I really thought the soul eater queen was gonna end up turning good again, but I'm happy they didnt, although I wouldn't have minded seeing behind her curtain a little more.

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

just okay

[Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending to a pretty cool series, loved the concept of magic that Friedman creates.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic trilogy