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Winged Assassin #3
The Crimson Goddess
Arris attempts to join forces with Saresha, whose love he shunned
Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
About the author
Catherine Cooke
23 books7 followersI live in Oklahoma, but grew up in Laramie, Wyoming. My first book, "Mask of the Wizard," was published in 1985 when I was in college, and is followed by "Veil of Shadow" and "The Hidden Temple." These are adventure fantasies, sword and sorcery-style. My second fantasy trilogy, "The Winged Assassin" series, was written under the influence of the Arabian Nights, Mary Renault's books, Michael Moorcook, and my love for ancient history. All six books came out when I was in my twenties. Raising two kids, teaching college, and lots of community theater happened after that! More recently, "The Wendigo Border" by Catherine Montrose came out in 1995, a contemporary dark fantasy set in Laramie. I'm writing a new epic trilogy and a young adult series currently, and hope to see them in print in the next few years.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2016
This final book is the weakest of a trilogy whose main interest for me lies in the homosexuality of the main character.
In the previous two book my interest as reader was barely kept alive by the pacing of the story.
Here also the pacing falters: Arris, the main character, changes his loyalties as one would change one's shirt and he seems highly unconcerned about it, his love for Sasha being all the reason we are given.
I also disliked the rather too active role of gods in the story: they pestered the first two volumes and now they take part in the war of the three realms in a way which is hard to stomach even in fantasy fiction.
By employing them the way she does, the author misses the best chance she had at achieving real depth: one can only dream how a slightly more sensitive writer could have narrated the ipothetical issue of the emperor facing the heart-rending fact that, despite an hypothetical military victory, he has lost his beloved's heart to the losing prince.
Ms Cooke instead contrives the gods' intervention in the final battle to give Sasha an unplausible victory.
Set against this all other flaws seem less important: the inconsistent treating of magic, the confusing warfare strategies, the capricious plot twists, the inconsistent and lacking characterization, etc. etc.
In the previous two book my interest as reader was barely kept alive by the pacing of the story.
Here also the pacing falters: Arris, the main character, changes his loyalties as one would change one's shirt and he seems highly unconcerned about it, his love for Sasha being all the reason we are given.
I also disliked the rather too active role of gods in the story: they pestered the first two volumes and now they take part in the war of the three realms in a way which is hard to stomach even in fantasy fiction.
By employing them the way she does, the author misses the best chance she had at achieving real depth: one can only dream how a slightly more sensitive writer could have narrated the ipothetical issue of the emperor facing the heart-rending fact that, despite an hypothetical military victory, he has lost his beloved's heart to the losing prince.
Ms Cooke instead contrives the gods' intervention in the final battle to give Sasha an unplausible victory.
Set against this all other flaws seem less important: the inconsistent treating of magic, the confusing warfare strategies, the capricious plot twists, the inconsistent and lacking characterization, etc. etc.
Displaying 1 of 1 review