Darkfire

Nightblade Epic #3

by Garrett Robinson

A FLIGHT FROM DANGER LANDS LOREN IN GREATER PERIL

The saga of the Nightblade continues across the nine kingdoms.

Xain's madness has branded Loren and her friends, and even Jordel, fugitives from not only the king's law but Jordel's order of Mystics. Now their only hope lies in a hidden stronghold far to the north of the kingdom of Selvan. Now that their steps are hounded, they must take an even more dangerous route through the Greatrock Mountains to the west. But more than Mystics and constables will pursue them, as dark creatures stalk them from the shadows of high peaks, and the presence of a mysterious foe known only as "The Lord" looms over them.

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Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Ebooks

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2015

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

[edit 4/19/19 - After about 10 months of continually putting off reading the next book in this series I think I am going to have to consider it abandoned. It's not a bad series and I appreciate the effort at making brighter fantasy more mainstream, but overall the characters just did not grab me and I've seen several reviews saying the series keeps weakening as it goes on.]

Although this still didn't capture the magic of the first book for me, I do think it's a definite improvement over book 2. The main problem with this series is that the characters just spend most of their time rehashing the same arguments over and over. Walk a little bit, argue about Loren doesn't want to kill anyone, walk a little bit more, argue about how someone would rather kill Xain than drag him with them, walk a little bit, argue about how this journey is too dangerous for Gem and Annis, walk a little bit, argue about whether we should tell X person X secret, walk a little bit, REPEAT ALL THAT ABOUT FIVE TIMES.

I mean they're all important topics and help build up the characters but we do not. need to have. the same argument. five times. in one book. We just don't. Other than that this was pretty good. I felt like the last book didn't actually make much headline with the over-arching plot but this one actually felt like things were happening and the characters were definitely changed from where they were at the beginning.

Loren's supposed 'no murder' policy is getting on my nerves though. I get that she doesn't want to kill people needlessly but if someone is attacking you then you have to defend yourself, and refusing to even learn to use a sword is stupid, especially when it puts her friends in danger. Also she has no problem killing sentient non-human creatures and often enables other people to kill but as long as she's not holding the sword herself it's apparently okay? I get that the author is trying to combat all the grimdark crap that's been coming out recently but sometimes it goes a bit too far in the other direction.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely getting more into it now!

I think the biggest thing that's working against this series is the pacing, which is definitely an issue for me as well. So much is written in such unnecessary detail and some of the traveling is described for way too long and could be shorter, thus keeping the suspense. Now you kind of lose that sense of urgency in some parts.

Other than that, this series continues to improve. Sure, there's some small inconsistencies still, but I feel like that's to blame on the set up in the previous parts. The writer seems to be aware of them and is trying to solve them.

The characters are great. I'm so very curious to see how Loren will continue to develop as our MC - especially after this ending which I won't spoil because holy shit cliff hanger!!! - and I cried when we lost one of the party 😭 Her naivety is still grating at times, but I felt like she's finally starting to break away from it, and she really showed some progress in this book!

Annis and Gem continue to be her and the reader's light, although you can definitely see that the life on the road and all the tragedies are starting to get to them. I'm curious to see them grow but hope their light won't be snuffed out completely.

I'm gonna take a small break from this series cause it is heavy to me, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next part 👀

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, I will start with the aspects of my dislike of this book that are my own fault.
- I saw the three novels packaged together and assumed that they comprised a complete story arc. So when I read this volume, I was expecting the conclusion of a story. That's on me.
- I have a personal distaste for excessive descriptions of battles or physical fights. When folks start describing whose right leg is under someone else's left arm, I start to zone out a bit. A completely personal issue.
- I was suspicious of the first book in this series and fairly antagonistic toward the second. I only read this one because it was already on my Kindle. It might be considered unfair to post a negative review of a book I really had no business reading.

With all that in mind, I found this book the most frustrating out of the three. I don't want to give spoilers, but it seems most of the previously introduced story elements are no longer of much importance but you better duck, cos some new ones are flying straight at you.

Our hero Loren has an ongoing struggle with the idea of killing anyone (mostly because she wants to be Batman), which I thought had a lot of potential as a source of conflict, but unfortunately that potential is squandered on circular arguments and a lack of introspection. Loren seems to think it would be wrong to kill to save her friends' lives (and conveniently always finds a way out of it) but would she kill to save her own? Maybe she will be forced into this dilemma at some point but there have been several pitched battles and it hasn't occurred to her yet.

She is pretty happy to injure folks though, having seemingly never encountered the concept of dying from an injury. She also does not even hesitate slightly about the deaths of the non-human sentient creatures who pop up in increasing numbers in this instalment. Another character points it out to her, and it seems like the kind of philosophical argument that should keep someone with Loren's morals up at night, but it's never mentioned again. (Instead she dwells a lot on the poor sod she left behind in her village in chapter one, book one, who up until now she has had no romantic interest or even honest friendship with - he was obviously in love with her, but she seemed ambivalent verging on active dislike of him.) I also found the sentient-but-dim characterisation of the non-humans a bit concerning, but we haven't got all day, I need to complain about the story arc some more.

I was pretty frustrated by events towards the end of this book. There was a great deal of dithering about whether to trust people in the previous volumes, but that all seems to be set aside, we're just playing it straight now. We know so little about each character's motivation, I was half expecting a dramatic twist. Jordel remains inconsistent about including Loren in his plans, and even about his overall goals, sometimes insisting on extreme prudence, sometimes throwing everyone in danger. Half the time I wasn't sure if he was grooming Loren or preparing her for some big reveal (spoiler: it's neither). He gives away almost no info despite the high stakes, and Loren seems to have given up asking.

Our resident wizard, Xain, is suffering horrific withdrawal and mostly gets little sympathy (however Loren gets over his mass murder in book two pretty quick, all things considered). The kiddos are still around but contribute almost nothing to the plot this time. There is a reasonably good boss fight (suspension of disbelief notwithstanding) and some mild peril while adventuring for Loren (laws of physics notwithstanding), but far too much hanging around chatting about things that didn't appear to move the plot along, before a sort of anticlimactic climax. And again, no spoilers, but the ending suggests that what we have to look to forward to is more of the same - Loren having no idea what's going on or why, having custody of two small but surprisingly articulate children for no reason, and presumably doing some foolish s*** with magestones, despite no longer having the excuse of ignorance.

Look, it's not all bad - it was mostly fast paced enough that I found it kind of a page turner, and there were movements toward exposing some of the lore, which as i said in my review of the last book, seems to exist but remains mostly mysterious to both characters and reader. I read a little about the author, and it seems he was determined to create something different to the tropey cliché fantasy where some farm boy finds out they're the chosen one and embarks on a quest to kill God or whatever. And that is commendable, but sometimes tropes exist for a reason. It's one thing to say - my main character isn't the chosen one, she's just some random girl caught up in things she doesn't understand. That's got tons of potential. But I think it's frustrating for the reader to be three books in and still have no idea what's actually going on or who the enemy is, or even a coherent explanation of the magic system or the political situation. Maybe its just been a while since I've read straight up fantasy and I'm expecting too much? I don't know a thing about publishing, but I suspect a committed and stern editor could have resolved a lot of my issues with this story pretty easily.

The addenda were a mixed bag. Some of them read like drafts of the authors notes, and should have been incorporated into the story instead, or at least dropped at an earlier point. I did enjoy the letters from Damaris as an insight into her character.

I won't be continuing with the series as my frustration has outpaced my curiosity. I can honestly say I have absolutely no idea where it's going next, but this is my stop and I'm getting off.

[Jim Wilbourne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darkfire is the 3rd installment of the Nightblade saga within Garrett Robinson’s secondary creation: Underrealm. Like Mystic before it, it picks right up from where the last book ended and dives deeper into the lore of the world.

After the climactic events of the previous volume, Loren and her party are pursued by not only the Yerrin crime lords but now by the Mystic order after Xain openly commits the high crime of dark fire. Loren’s bridges are rapidly burning, and she’s now being squeezed from all sides. But in spite of all that, she and Jordel must still warn the Mystics at the high seat of the coming calamity.

My favorite part of the story has to be the ending. I wish I could say more about it here, but I try to walk the line of spoiling the story and properly talking about it. And in this case, I think talking about it would give away too much if you haven’t yet read it. Additionally, Robinson’s voice and prose are as consistent as ever in this story, and he again adds more wonder and magic to his world as Loren continues her quest through the Nine Lands.

I felt like the first two volumes could have been one story. And I’ve heard from others that the first three should be one volume. I think that’s also a fair assessment, but I would have also been satisfied with Darkfire being the first half of the second installment. Like the previous two novels, the story plays out as a quest with Loren and her companions trying to stay a step ahead of those who pursue her. And while that delivers a lot of what I’m looking for in a fantasy novel, having the same basic framework three stories in a row has me itching for something different. This lends validation to the argument that this story should be combined with the previous stories.

For me, this is all about preferences for pacing, and probably has little bearing on the overall story. I will say though that in the fashion of the comic world, Robinson has made the first three novels available as one story if you want one long experience rather than a more episodic one (titled The Nightblade Epic Volume One). The price is reasonable, and it’s a no-brainer if long novels don’t intimidate you.

The Nightblade series continues to be a fun adventure, worth diving into if you’re looking for a story with a Salvatore, Weis & Hickman, or Goodkind tone. And you can read book one for free by going here: https://underrealm.net/).

*Full Disclosure — I work for the publisher. I wasn't paid to review this book. It was on my TBR list from before I worked for the publisher.*

[Pauline · Rating 1 out of 5]

A forgettable, underbaked end to the first half of the Nightblade series. My reviews of the first two books remain just as relevant here. The characters are as thin as cardboard. The setting is soulless and virtually indistinguishable from a stock Tolkienesque medieval setting. And the plotting is so, so awful, bogged down by constant traveling scenes, one-note villains, and tabletop enemy encounters that consume almost three quarters of the book. In all the worst ways, Darkfire is a DnD campaign masquerading as a high fantasy series.

Loren is a shell of a protagonist and nowhere closer to fulfilling her dream as Robin Hood than she was on page one. Her skillset, her belief system, her emotional maturity, and even the clothes on her back and the weapon at her side have gone virtually unchanged since she escaped from the Yerrin caravan in book one. Her creed to never take a life is never interrogated effectively. She rarely steals (Isn't the whole point of this series that she's a thief?), and when she does, the narrative contorts itself this way and that so that Loren's morals survive unchallenged. Her magical dagger, the MacGuffin for the series, continues to be useless. And she's just *boring*, incurious and humorless with about as much charm and grace about her as a plank of wood. Where Loren succeeds, it's because the plot demands it. Where she fails, other characters are quick to pull their weight so she suffers no consequences. A sheet of paper is less flat than Loren's character arc.

Other characters are somehow even less developed. Jordel, Albern, Trisken et al. are classes in an RPG more than they are living, breathing people, with Annis and Gem in particular seeing next to no development. These two are deader than dead weight, doing little but take up space on the page as their individual arcs stagnate and fizzle out to nothing. She doesn't know it, but Annis is a hostage to the story, only brought along for the ride because without her the series's big bad, Damaris, would have no reason to pursue Loren. And Gem? Gem sucks up the oxygen in the room with constant whining no reader could find endearing, and deprives Loren of character growth by playing the role of thief many of the times Loren should. If both characters were removed wholesale, we'd have a better story. It's a war crime against readers that these two survived onto the second draft.

The real sin of Darkfire, however, concerns its ending whose reveal trivializes the events of three books by having Loren's father die by her hand before the plot started at all. Inept, clumsy, shallow—pick a word. Everything that Loren has done or experienced since leaving the Birchwood is irrelevant. Robbing the merchant and his son? Doesn't matter. Indirectly killing soldiers by feeding Xain magestones? Not important. Slaying satyrs and harpies? Like Loren cares. Hundreds of pages are dedicated to our protagonist's childish pacifistic philosophy, and *this* is how we end this plot thread? By having her accidentally kill her father before the reader even *learns* about her belief to never commit murder, before anything else has happened, before we have a story, by having Loren discover this critical information *after the fact*?

Ugh. Read something else.

[A.S. Ember · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the best of the saga so far. There are a few character inconsistencies lingering from the second novel, but the plot moves at an engaging pace towards a definite goal and the climax is thrilling. Light and quick entertainment.

[CherryRevival · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said it about the last book and I'll say it again - the first three books should have been a single book. There was absolutely no reason to separate them.

This is still a fun read, but in this one the repetitive structure is really grating. Some have already pointed this out - we just keep hearing the same argument again and again throughout the book, and it's tiring. That's basically most of the plot, that one argument the party fights over and over along the journey until it kind of gets resolved for them by outside forces. All this just makes it more plain that all three books should have been shorter and just one book instead of three.

Another annoying thing is Loren and her damn moral. The question of killing or not is a fascinating and important one, especially in this genre, but there doesn't seems to be much depth here, just mostly hypocrisy. Loren keeps being saved from having to kill anyone by the magic of the fictional hit in the head that makes anyone lose consciousnesses or some deus ex machina, usually her friends, that kill for her, and this is really getting annoying.

I intend to read the next books since I do like the overall story, and, well, the story is only now kind of beginning... I like the characters very much, and truthfully - I might have shed a tear or two by the end of the book. I do hope the killing discussion will have a bigger pay off than the way Darkfire ended (hypocritically in my opinion, though not in the way it seems to be presented in the book) and be a little more deep than the way it was handled so far.

[Ann Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the new-style books which emulates a TV series, with episodes which lead you on into the story. It works very well, but is infuriating when you find that there is no resolution at the end of a collection. It is intended to leave the reader on a cliff-hanger so they will buy the next book, but I'm used to normal books and expected some sort of ending, which I didn't get.

As long as you're aware of this (I wasn't), the writing is good, the plots are intricate, and the characters believable. Several key characters change, now they're good, then they're bad, or vice versa. Nightblade changes too as she grows up and learns that her actions can have great consequences. She also learns that she has depths and skills she never imagined. It was great discovering along with her.

Having pursued the cliff-hangers through three book, I finally balked and will not be buying the fourth - I don't like this style and will watch out for it in future. Each book should offer readers some sort of resolution.

[Shadallark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marking this as containing spoilers as the review is just for me; reminding me what I thought of the book. It might contain spoilers it might not.

The plot of this book was fine; nothing spectacular but it did move the story forward a small amount.

As was the case in the previous books the fight scenes were unrealistic and annoying to read. In one of them while fighting a major opponent who is kicking everyone’s butt the main character has the time to recover from being thrown around, crawl over to someone else, help them shake off being stunned, have a short chat, have that person change weapons, and attack. All in the time it takes the major opponent to spar with one of the other members in the party and knock them back.

Large numbers of enemy troops are unable to keep track of where the party members go after a fight in a cave with the enemy’s leader. Like they would not have been crowded in the cave entrance to watch or just outside to prevent escape.

People also seem to heal really quickly without having any special healing abilities or potions. One of the characters gets major rope burns on both their hands and is still able to use them a few hours later; not likely. Others have damaged shoulders and ribs but can still ride horses?

This is not to say that I did not enjoy the story. The story had many fun scenes and heroic actions.

The most enjoyable part of the book for me was actually the addendums as they provided a fair amount of clarity around the realm and the backstories for a few of the characters.

[Maria W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm getting quite attached to this book series now. Characters are definitely the most important part of a story, and these are characters you can relate to, find yourself in. Combined with a story that escalates towards the end half of this book, it has somewhat messed with my circadian rhythm (as I found it hard to sleep before I could find out how it ended). That if anything, I think, counts as a warm recommendation from me.

This is the kind of story I tend to find comfort in, even when the story itself gets tense. An engaging fantasy world with interesting worldbuilding elements and characters you want to spend time with and get to know. The fact that there is out and about representation of all sorts of identities in it is an integral part of the experience as well. I'm enjoying this series and I will be continuing from here.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING book! OK, I used to read a lot of fantasy but have migrated to mystery & espionage as I've grown older. Garrett Robinson has hauled me back with his books! Well written with captivating characters and an ongoing story line that continues to grow as the story goes. If Nightblade can be compared to Tolkien's The Hobbit, then Robinson's subsequent books compare favorably to The Lord of the Rings, each better than the last. No spoilers here though, I highly recommend you to buy the book and prepare yourself for a journey into a well woven world!

[Joe Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoy the adventures of a forest farm girl

It took longer to read this story, since I wanted to keep the characters alive by thinking about them and maybe perhaps worrying about the outcomes of their decisions. Life imitates art, when we as readers come together, for instance to share our thoughts and opinions about someone or something we care about. This is the story of life and adventures we take, to love, to live in some ounce of measure we believe in. Loren found that place and she realizes her role amongst those she care for. We do what we must.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell this is a sort of "awkward middle-of-the-series" book, because most of it takes place on the road and deals with fallout from the previous book, as well as some setup for the next book. Despite that, it's still engaging and a quick-paced read, so I can't complain.

My only real gripe is that Annis is once again sort of the "drag" character of the book, just like the previous book - constantly wanting to back out of everything and having to be shuffled from place to place. Sort of a bummer. I'm hoping for more character development for her in future books.

[Hari Krishnan Prasath (The Obvious Mystery) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could have been written better.
Jordel's death did not have that impact on me or the characters in the book. Xain's change of heart and allegiance towards the gang was so abrupt and should have had more drama too it. Other than that, the book was pretty neat.
Loren's character development can be appreciated. Gem's loyalty to Jordel was the only thing that made his death meaningful. And ending it with Nightblade's sacred vow broken was a stroke of a genius mastermind.

[Tariq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I wasn't sold on this series before, especially given the second one, but this book not only turned that around but sold me on the series and really the nightblade books (at least the first 3) should be read as one long book, the story was tighter and the story points I had a lot of issues with were finally paid off , I enjoyed this one far more that the previous two.

[Jeffrey A. Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ba-zinga!

The twists and turns and not just in the mountains leaves one wondering where is this going? What is going to happen next and how will it be resolved. Only the next step into the saga will tell.

[Josef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!

Love love loved this book!! Great characters that you feel for through our the book. The storyline keeps keeps you wanting to read more and more. Looking forward to starting this next book, like right now!!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkfire is an exciting read with several interesting twists and turns. Read and enjoy!

[Steve Woolsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling

I truly enjoy reading these books, and they are quickly rising among my favorite series of books. I highly recommend them.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun adventure to fall into


Very fun and enjoyable book. Garrett Robinson does an excellent job of getting you to feel something for the characters.

[Jana Rawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed his first two books more.. don't like when the authors feel the need to add adult themes. The story is a great, imaginative read. probably won't finish the series because of the adult themes.

[Daine Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of surprising twists this is an excellent sequel in the amazing Nightblade series. I am wanting more!

[Anna Cuthrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much. It's so refreshing to have dynamic and diverse characters who keep their uniqueness throughout every twist and turn.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun

[Tony Fecteau · Rating 4 out of 5]

The part of the epic had me on the edge of my seat! You know that the luck seems to be giving out a little. The adventure and the characters are incredibly fun. Loren continues to amaze me.

[Kaitlin Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

They just talk too much about the same damn things. But its better than book 2 so its a 2.5.

[Noxwitchbooklife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 in the Nightblade Epic.
Not suitable for younger readers.
This is where the story starts to get interesting. We sort of find out what the big bad Jordel has been on about is and Loren gets a big shock.
Not wanting to post anything spoiler like so I'll just say I really enjoyed it, plenty more magic hijinks, good and dark. A good portrayal of withdrawal from what is essentially drugs on Xain's part which is a good portrayal.
It's got to the point where you feel the characters have grown up a lot and so the story is getting darker with them. A great third book in the series.

[Greg Garguilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, 3 1/4 stars, perhaps 3 1/2. Its YA stuff, no depth, no re-readability. But its a decent way to pass a few hours and better written, particularly the conversations, than most similar novels at the price.

[Luana Reitan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful adventure! You will truly care about these characters.