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The Chronicles of Magravandias #3
The Way of Light
The Third Book of The Magravandias Chronicles
The sudden death of the Emperor Leonid has plunged the empire of Magravandias into chaos. To preserve order, Valraven Palindrake, Dragon Lord of Caradore, reluctantly pledges his support to the young Crown Prince, Gastern.
Concerned for the fate of her adopted country, Varencienne Palindrake, Valraven's wife and Leonid's daughter, embarks on a perilous journey to Magrast to confer with her mother, the Empress Tatrini. But en route, she is captured by the dark magus Taropat and his student Shan, who hope to use her as a pawn in their own intricate game to revive three lost implements of the Dragon's Eye, the Dragon's Breath, and the Dragon's Claw.
As Magravandias descends toward a holocaust of bloodshed and warfare, a dark cabal of Firemages schemes in secret to engineer the coronation of their own chosen successor. And in Caradore, the twin children of Valraven Palindrake summon ancient magics to open the Way of Light and place a True King on the throne.
The sudden death of the Emperor Leonid has plunged the empire of Magravandias into chaos. To preserve order, Valraven Palindrake, Dragon Lord of Caradore, reluctantly pledges his support to the young Crown Prince, Gastern.
Concerned for the fate of her adopted country, Varencienne Palindrake, Valraven's wife and Leonid's daughter, embarks on a perilous journey to Magrast to confer with her mother, the Empress Tatrini. But en route, she is captured by the dark magus Taropat and his student Shan, who hope to use her as a pawn in their own intricate game to revive three lost implements of the Dragon's Eye, the Dragon's Breath, and the Dragon's Claw.
As Magravandias descends toward a holocaust of bloodshed and warfare, a dark cabal of Firemages schemes in secret to engineer the coronation of their own chosen successor. And in Caradore, the twin children of Valraven Palindrake summon ancient magics to open the Way of Light and place a True King on the throne.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
5 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Storm Constantine
144 books503 followersStorm Constantine was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.
Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.
In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.
Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works.
In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2023
"It will happen regardless of what you think or do."
Those truly are the arc words of this trilogy, because one basically knew from the beginning how this story would end. The struggle to get there was the point of the story.
I thought this was a truly unique fantasy trilogy, that tried to turn popular fantasy tropes on their heads. In this arranged marriages don't eventually lead to love, but maybe mutual respect.
The true hero of the story doesn't get his own POV till the third book of the trilogy and almost ends up as a villain himself.
His true love interest is not only a strong woman equal to any male character, but also headstrong, jealous and spiteful - not to mention his twin sister.
There are just as many prophecies that don't come true as those who do.
A male hero can be a victim of rape without having people tell him to "man up".
A man can fall in love with another man and have an existential crisis about it, while the fate of the world is decided at the exact same time.
A woman can be the most terrifying player in the villain camp without losing her humanity.
There can be dragons and gods that are dying or weak, but still powerful enough to drive people insane.
In this third book, the storylines of the first and second book finally overlap. Valraven finally gets a POV, we return to Caradore and finally get to see more of Magrast. We also get to know Empress Tatrini and the Palindrake children Rav and Elly, who all play important roles.
On the other hand, Merlan and weirdly enough also Prince Bayard take a backseat, but we do get to know Prince Almorante a bit better.
I'd say in the end the true main characters were probably Varencienne, Khaster, Valraven, Shan and Tayven. The latter truly surprised me, but in a very positive way. Who'd have thought that the character introduced as a manic pixie dream guy to Khaster's depressed past self would end up the most complex and intrigueing one? Every scene with him was a revelation and a delight. How he manipulated people and had them fall in love with him, while his heart actually stayed loyal to the same person for years was just heartbreaking to read. I'm just so glad that he finally
Just as interesting, but a lot more frustrating to read was Taropat's journey to self discovery. He made so many steps backwards before he finally started to make progress, that as a reader I was really concerned I would never see the Khaster again who saved a stranger from being raped by a royal prince just because it was the right thing to do.
It was also great to have Varencienne's POV back again. With all those really dramatic characters around, a voice of reason is always nice.
This was a pretty satisfying book for me in the end, yet I still pondered if I should maybe give this one just three stars like the others afterall.
It truly does deserve praise for how unique it is and how interesting the characters are, but this trilogy is also plagued by (sometimes would-have-been-easy-to-fix) problems:
1.) The timeline doesn't make any sense. I couldn't even tell how many years had passed in the end. Pre-teen children showed up when they didn't exist just a few years before, some characters aged faster than others, storylines that should have taken place simultaneously were differently paced etc. etc.
2.) Sometimes the story would come to a screeching halt, so characters could talk about some legends/stories/traditions for way too long.
3.) Some topics got repeatedly talked about again and again without anyone changing their opinions
4.) Some characters were written in a weirdly inconsistent way. They would learn a lesson about themselves and then act like nothing of that sort happened in the next chapter, just to learn that exact same lesson again at some later time.
5.) While he certainly wasn't the worst character around, I saw nothing in Valraven that made me believe that so many people would be devoted to him. Tayven I got. Varencienne I got. But Valraven? Heck, I thought till the end that . Especially since until like four years ago, he was possessed by a sort of evil entity, which resulted in him being a cold and distant person (which is also I might ad, not a reason to not apologize to people for having been a terrible person)."Because destiny said so" is never a good enough reason in my opinion.
6.) Formerly important characters dropped off the face of the earth as soon as they were not needed anymore
7.) As petty of me as it is, but I just wanted someone to shut Pharinet up and make her reflect on herself. I simply didn't buy her ever feeling bad about anything that happened to Ellony. I know she claimed that from time to time, but every time her dead best friend got brought up, she still thought the worst of her.
So yes, I was torn. But in the end I got what I wanted the most aka and was truly immersed in the story from the first page of the first book.
These books are not perfect, but I've read a lot of technically better books that haven't stayed as much in my mind or affected me as much as these ones did. In the end I wanted to stay with these characters for a while longer. If there had been a fourth book, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat.
So four (deserved) stars it is, as a goodbye to them.
Those truly are the arc words of this trilogy, because one basically knew from the beginning how this story would end. The struggle to get there was the point of the story.
I thought this was a truly unique fantasy trilogy, that tried to turn popular fantasy tropes on their heads. In this arranged marriages don't eventually lead to love, but maybe mutual respect.
The true hero of the story doesn't get his own POV till the third book of the trilogy and almost ends up as a villain himself.
His true love interest is not only a strong woman equal to any male character, but also headstrong, jealous and spiteful - not to mention his twin sister.
There are just as many prophecies that don't come true as those who do.
A male hero can be a victim of rape without having people tell him to "man up".
A man can fall in love with another man and have an existential crisis about it, while the fate of the world is decided at the exact same time.
A woman can be the most terrifying player in the villain camp without losing her humanity.
There can be dragons and gods that are dying or weak, but still powerful enough to drive people insane.
In this third book, the storylines of the first and second book finally overlap. Valraven finally gets a POV, we return to Caradore and finally get to see more of Magrast. We also get to know Empress Tatrini and the Palindrake children Rav and Elly, who all play important roles.
On the other hand, Merlan and weirdly enough also Prince Bayard take a backseat, but we do get to know Prince Almorante a bit better.
I'd say in the end the true main characters were probably Varencienne, Khaster, Valraven, Shan and Tayven. The latter truly surprised me, but in a very positive way. Who'd have thought that the character introduced as a manic pixie dream guy to Khaster's depressed past self would end up the most complex and intrigueing one? Every scene with him was a revelation and a delight. How he manipulated people and had them fall in love with him, while his heart actually stayed loyal to the same person for years was just heartbreaking to read. I'm just so glad that he finally
Just as interesting, but a lot more frustrating to read was Taropat's journey to self discovery. He made so many steps backwards before he finally started to make progress, that as a reader I was really concerned I would never see the Khaster again who saved a stranger from being raped by a royal prince just because it was the right thing to do.
It was also great to have Varencienne's POV back again. With all those really dramatic characters around, a voice of reason is always nice.
This was a pretty satisfying book for me in the end, yet I still pondered if I should maybe give this one just three stars like the others afterall.
It truly does deserve praise for how unique it is and how interesting the characters are, but this trilogy is also plagued by (sometimes would-have-been-easy-to-fix) problems:
1.) The timeline doesn't make any sense. I couldn't even tell how many years had passed in the end. Pre-teen children showed up when they didn't exist just a few years before, some characters aged faster than others, storylines that should have taken place simultaneously were differently paced etc. etc.
2.) Sometimes the story would come to a screeching halt, so characters could talk about some legends/stories/traditions for way too long.
3.) Some topics got repeatedly talked about again and again without anyone changing their opinions
4.) Some characters were written in a weirdly inconsistent way. They would learn a lesson about themselves and then act like nothing of that sort happened in the next chapter, just to learn that exact same lesson again at some later time.
5.) While he certainly wasn't the worst character around, I saw nothing in Valraven that made me believe that so many people would be devoted to him. Tayven I got. Varencienne I got. But Valraven? Heck, I thought till the end that . Especially since until like four years ago, he was possessed by a sort of evil entity, which resulted in him being a cold and distant person (which is also I might ad, not a reason to not apologize to people for having been a terrible person)."Because destiny said so" is never a good enough reason in my opinion.
6.) Formerly important characters dropped off the face of the earth as soon as they were not needed anymore
7.) As petty of me as it is, but I just wanted someone to shut Pharinet up and make her reflect on herself. I simply didn't buy her ever feeling bad about anything that happened to Ellony. I know she claimed that from time to time, but every time her dead best friend got brought up, she still thought the worst of her.
So yes, I was torn. But in the end I got what I wanted the most aka and was truly immersed in the story from the first page of the first book.
These books are not perfect, but I've read a lot of technically better books that haven't stayed as much in my mind or affected me as much as these ones did. In the end I wanted to stay with these characters for a while longer. If there had been a fourth book, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat.
So four (deserved) stars it is, as a goodbye to them.
February 12, 2021
When I closed this book, tears lingered in my eyes. There was something so touching, so human about the last scene, yet the elemental forces and exquisite prose which made this trilogy such a rich read were given heart by their humanity in every single book. The mystical battles and shadowy intrigue had a human heart in this book as well well. The elements were shaped by human dramas along with their agents, grounding even the most spiritual encounters in a tangible core, a human core. This was the culimination of everything where the quests wrapped up their doubting threads, all the political schemers revealed their bloody hands.
After being beloved, hated, the symbol of light, despair, and dashed hopes through so many other characters’s eyes, Valraven Palindrake finally revealed his own thoughts as a character ever as Valraven got to know himself. Not that his wife, children, sister, his reluctant mage, and seductive bard, and erring warrior didn’t have major parts to play. The last was perhaps the one who faltered a bit. Shan lost sight of his questioning, yet loyal heart, falling into a trap of almost stereotypical jealousy, a jealousy which didn’t engender the sympathy Pharinet’s did. Happily his jealousy didn’t last long and others made up for it in sheer magnificence; I was awed at how Tayven stepped up and developed as a spy, bard, and a hero in this volume. Varencienne lives up to all her earlier promise in earlier books and remains one of my favorite characters in fantasy fiction. Taropat is forced to confront himself just as Valraven is, retracing certain steps in his earlier journey and reclaiming his previous identity as Khaster in a condensed epic journey in which Varencienne and her daughter, Ellony guide him, developing him into a finer man than the one he wanted to become. Tatrini, the Queen Mother of the Magravandias empire revealed her hand as an intelligent antagonist and it was Tayven whom needed all of his wits to face her, although she ended up being the adversary of Valraven and his entire family. Tatrini’s adversity to her daughter Varencienne and her children was every bit as complex and layered as I could have wished without the Queen Mother sacrificing any of her strength or menace. Not that Almorante or Bayard were passive in her game or passive players in any of this. The one whom took my breath away when he revealed his shadowy hand was Maycarpe, who immersed himself in the heart of some of the bloodiest intrigue, yet at times he brought tears to my eyes. No matter how dark the deeds of the characters were, all of them were vibrant, striking, and carried a hint of complexity to him which made them all the richer. All together this was a breathtaking and satisfying conclusion to one of the best trilogies I’ve ever savoured.
After being beloved, hated, the symbol of light, despair, and dashed hopes through so many other characters’s eyes, Valraven Palindrake finally revealed his own thoughts as a character ever as Valraven got to know himself. Not that his wife, children, sister, his reluctant mage, and seductive bard, and erring warrior didn’t have major parts to play. The last was perhaps the one who faltered a bit. Shan lost sight of his questioning, yet loyal heart, falling into a trap of almost stereotypical jealousy, a jealousy which didn’t engender the sympathy Pharinet’s did. Happily his jealousy didn’t last long and others made up for it in sheer magnificence; I was awed at how Tayven stepped up and developed as a spy, bard, and a hero in this volume. Varencienne lives up to all her earlier promise in earlier books and remains one of my favorite characters in fantasy fiction. Taropat is forced to confront himself just as Valraven is, retracing certain steps in his earlier journey and reclaiming his previous identity as Khaster in a condensed epic journey in which Varencienne and her daughter, Ellony guide him, developing him into a finer man than the one he wanted to become. Tatrini, the Queen Mother of the Magravandias empire revealed her hand as an intelligent antagonist and it was Tayven whom needed all of his wits to face her, although she ended up being the adversary of Valraven and his entire family. Tatrini’s adversity to her daughter Varencienne and her children was every bit as complex and layered as I could have wished without the Queen Mother sacrificing any of her strength or menace. Not that Almorante or Bayard were passive in her game or passive players in any of this. The one whom took my breath away when he revealed his shadowy hand was Maycarpe, who immersed himself in the heart of some of the bloodiest intrigue, yet at times he brought tears to my eyes. No matter how dark the deeds of the characters were, all of them were vibrant, striking, and carried a hint of complexity to him which made them all the richer. All together this was a breathtaking and satisfying conclusion to one of the best trilogies I’ve ever savoured.
March 12, 2020
The return to Ren as a character was great. I enjoyed her in the first book and even more here. Her journey, and her growth as a person held my interest. It was also nice to get Valraven's perspective - him being the focus of so much love and hate in the first two books, but essentially a non-character in them. I even liked the children, though they felt mature for their ages. It fit the story and lore well though - they aren't exactly ordinary afterall.
Tayven and Shan were excellent in this book too - being my favorite characters from the three books, I liked their appearances here even if we don't get their POV.
I felt like the resolution to the story arc built over the three books was excellent - it held to the lore and backstory, and wrapped up all the hanging threads in a satisfactory way, even if not always happily. I put it down with mixed emotions, being wrapped (as I tend to be) in the relationships between the characters. Shan and Ren, Tayven and Taropat/Khaster, Valraven and Pharinet . . .
Tayven and Shan were excellent in this book too - being my favorite characters from the three books, I liked their appearances here even if we don't get their POV.
I felt like the resolution to the story arc built over the three books was excellent - it held to the lore and backstory, and wrapped up all the hanging threads in a satisfactory way, even if not always happily. I put it down with mixed emotions, being wrapped (as I tend to be) in the relationships between the characters. Shan and Ren, Tayven and Taropat/Khaster, Valraven and Pharinet . . .
June 10, 2022
I feel that if this had been my first read of this trilogy, (instead of first reading it in, what, the 90s?) then I might have rated it significantly lower. But this reread was…I dunno. Not soothing per se, and with how much I’d forgotten, “nostalgic” might also be inaccurate. The current rating is the rating of my heart, upon finishing a few seconds ago. It’s a warm feeling.
(I gotta say, though, I would have loved a great deal more of the hinting at Tayven’s future than the spelling out at great length of Maycarpe’s. Oy.)
(I gotta say, though, I would have loved a great deal more of the hinting at Tayven’s future than the spelling out at great length of Maycarpe’s. Oy.)
June 29, 2020
I might have rated this one higher, but they left a lot of points wide open without concluding them. There was a few arcs that just went away as the author tied up this series. Like, what happened to Shan? What happened to Merlin? We'll never know. What really happened to Khaster and Tayven? We'll also never know.
February 7, 2010
A satisfying conclusion to the Magravandias Chronicles. I noticed that Constantine starts shifting viewpoint characters with a greater frequency near the end of this trilogy, whereas book one and two tend to be fairly static. Not that I mind because by then she's already gone to great length to establish characters, so they are more like old friends you visit with because you know it's going to end soon.
The ending surprised me and I think Constantine does a good job misdirecting readers' expectations but then again, this novel is not Hollywood.
Overall: this trilogy is rich in esoteric symbolism, so I'd recommend this to anyone who already has an interest in contemporary magical systems. Constantine knows what she's talking about. Non-practitioners may not take as kindly to all the technical aspects. For me it was a treat to read because of my understanding of Western magic, of which I can see the author has a very firm grasp of.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy. Constantine embarks on a similar journey of taking particular cultures, like those of India, Egypt and Tibet, and finding ways to elaborate on them. I'm still not entirely sure who the Caradoreans were based on but I suspect the Irish.
At times the story lags or rushes, but overall the pacing is great and the descriptions are worthwhile reading this for. The only pet phrase I've picked up is Constantine's love of describing sunlight dappling through trees as "making gold coins", which is lovely but I picked it up at least once in every book, and had to smile.
The ending surprised me and I think Constantine does a good job misdirecting readers' expectations but then again, this novel is not Hollywood.
Overall: this trilogy is rich in esoteric symbolism, so I'd recommend this to anyone who already has an interest in contemporary magical systems. Constantine knows what she's talking about. Non-practitioners may not take as kindly to all the technical aspects. For me it was a treat to read because of my understanding of Western magic, of which I can see the author has a very firm grasp of.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy. Constantine embarks on a similar journey of taking particular cultures, like those of India, Egypt and Tibet, and finding ways to elaborate on them. I'm still not entirely sure who the Caradoreans were based on but I suspect the Irish.
At times the story lags or rushes, but overall the pacing is great and the descriptions are worthwhile reading this for. The only pet phrase I've picked up is Constantine's love of describing sunlight dappling through trees as "making gold coins", which is lovely but I picked it up at least once in every book, and had to smile.
August 2, 2012
Final book of The Chronicles of Magravandias (thanks god!). So, so far we have two families, the Malagashes and the Palindrakes, with the former ruling and empire that includes the latter. The emperor dies and all hell breaks loose. Also we have a crown with some kind of power, that took the most part of the previous book to find, but that never gets really used. We also have long descriptions of a self-knowledge journey, and in the end… SPOILER ALERT… Valraven Palindrake defeats a rag-tag imperial army without even a decent battle. Can I have a refund?
Miserable one star out of five.
Miserable one star out of five.
May 21, 2016
I know Storm Constantine is better known for her Wraeththu books, but this trilogy is my favourite. It also contains my absolute all-time favourite character in the form of Tayven Hirental. Story-wise, I loved the detailed plot and the politics, and trying to figure out who really was on who's side. The last book had me on tenterhooks all the way through, and there were some surprises, pleasant and otherwise, that left me with an overall feeling of great satisfaction.
May 29, 2011
This was over far too fast. This trilogy is such a violent, bloody, passionate one that you feel for the characters unconditionally and are devastated when bad things inevitably happen to them. Has a bit of a Game of Thrones politics/sex/violence thing happening and I wish more anything it'd been a massive nine-volume epic or something. Completely awesome. It's as cool as the name "Storm Constantine" isn't.
July 4, 2012
As I said in my "review" of Sea Dragon Heir (the first book of this trilogy), I got really irritated with the series by the time I got to this one, and I may not even have finished it. That said, if I ever find them in mass market PB or for really, really cheap (like at a thrift store) I may re-read them.
November 30, 2022
I feel like this is not a popular series from the very few reviews this book got. But it might also be because it's an older fantasy book that was around before Goodreads was even a thing.
Or it's probably the weird incest.
Valencienne definitely picked up and became more of a character to me in this book but this whole ending was kind of strange but epic.
Or it's probably the weird incest.
Valencienne definitely picked up and became more of a character to me in this book but this whole ending was kind of strange but epic.
April 25, 2011
Really enjoyed it, and so glad I picked up this series after a disasterous start with "Sea Dragon Heir." All the characters come together, everything is resolved and wrapped up. I particularly like the resolution with the empress Tatrini.
March 9, 2008
Conclusion
April 17, 2009
a good finale to the story that i thoroughly enjoyed.
September 13, 2009
An excellent conclusion to a wonderful story. The characters are absolutely real and their differing motivations and growth make this an excellent series of books.
August 27, 2012
For whatever reason, this trilogy took me forever to get through. It's a good series, but felt like it dragged. The ending was surprisingly brutal, but it wrapped everything up well.
October 17, 2018
The best out of the three.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews