Вьюга теней

Хроники Сиалы #3

by Alexey Pehov, Алексей Пехов

Величественные леса Заграбы скрывают под кронами златолистов заброшенные города сгинувших рас, деревни воинственных орков, легендарный Лабиринт и могильники Костяных дворцов. Подземные катакомбы хранят в своих мрачных глубинах тайны Темной эпохи. Страшно подумать, что ждет того, кто по глупости своей решится растревожить покой этого места. Но там, где не пройдет герой, прокрадется мастер-вор. Уж не Гаррету ли, научившемуся танцевать с тенями, суждено сделать то, что неподвластно герою,- добыть легендарный Рог Радуги и выбраться из Заграбы? ...А пока Зло вьется над королевством, армии врагов наступают, и пошатнувшееся равновесие вот-вот грозит разбудить вьюгу теней...

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Audiobook, Magic

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Alexey Pehov is the award-winning author of "The Chronicles of Siala," a bestselling series in his native Russia. SHADOW PROWLER (first published in Russia in 2002 as STEALTH IN THE SHADOWS) was the first book in the series THE CHRONICLES OF SIAL, and became one of Russia’s biggest, most successful debuts. His novel UNDER THE SIGN OF THE MANTIKOR was named "Book of Year" and "Best Fantasy Novel" in 2004 by Russia's largest fantasy magazine, World of Fantasy.

The name Alexey Pehov is a transliteration of Алексей Пехов.

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

➽ And the moral of this reread is: that body count (it's a miracle I'm still alive) + I'm ditching the crustaceans and getting a bunch of dragoatflies and flinny instead + one of the greatest Fantasy friendships ever + it's Dungeon Crawler Carl without Donut + those dryad names! 😂😂 + "crunch, crunch, crunch" + Monkey-wolves that walk like crabs and Boar Kings that are ticklers for neatness + heartless Mr Pehov is heartless =



👋 Until next time and stuff.



[November 2018]

😈 Carrot-Eating Goblins For The Win Buddy Read (CEGFTWBR™) with Evgeny and Eilonwy 😈

Why you should read this trilogy in general and this instalment in particular:

① If you don’t, the Evil Russians™ will come and get you.
Need I say more? Didn’t think so.

② The author was born in March.
What Impeccable Birth Month Taste (IBMT™) indeed. And I’m not saying that just because Pehov and I share the Mostest Awesomest Zodiac Sign Ever (MAZSE™). Of course not, don’t be silly now. I’m way above pathetic considerations such as this one.

③ It’s contemporary Russian Fantasy.
Which is Slightly Very Cool in and of itself. And delightfully refreshing, too. And also refreshingly delightful, come to think of it.

④ The story arc might not be groundbreakingly original, but it’s entertaining as fish.
Yes, it’s true, the series arc kinda sorta smells like teen spirit The Lord of the Shrimps Rings, BUT: It’s pretty well-written. It’s fast-paced. It’s packed with Fun Adventure Stuff (FAS™). There are fights and battles and duels. There is slaughter and blood, and severed limbs abound. There’s hahahahaha stuff aplenty. And also Splendiferously Creepy Stuff (SCS™). There are great, engaging characters. And there are evil, backstabbing bastards, too *swoons* Also, there are bloody-fishing-hell-of-the-stinking-barnacle-I-didn’t-see-that-one-coming twists and surprises. Which never hurts, if you ask me. All in all, I think one might perhaps say that this series could possibly be a moderately pleasurable read. Maybe.



Don’t ask.

⑤ Welcome to the zoo I nearly almost copied the following paragraph from my Shadow Prowler review, but I didn’t, because I’m not like that. I’ll just copy three quarters half of it instead .
There are goblins, there are dwarves, there are gnomes, and there are elves. There are ogres, there are giants, there are trolls and there are orcs. There are centaurs, there are demons, there are dragons and there are phantoms. There are gargoyles, there are midget zombies, there are shaggy-haired rats with humongous teeth and claws (best pet ever, methinks) and there are dragoatflies (it’s a grasshopper! It’s a dragonfly! It’s a goat! It’s a bloody shrimping dragoatfly!). There are men-eating monsters with frog-like skulls, there are half-bird, half-bear creatures, there are beasts that are all jaws and row upon row upon row of blinding-white, dagger-sharp teeth, there are crosses between monkeys and wolves, and there are soap bubble/spider hybrids. There are also slightly brain-dead, stubborn, vindictive, ever-bleating Doralissians goatmen. And last, but obviously not least, there are homicidally-inclined, evil, aristocratic crayfish. Ergo, pure bliss is me and stuff.



Looks like pure bliss is not everyone, though.

⑥ Hrad Spein.
Such a wonderfully welcoming place this is. The perfect holiday spot, really. You do not want to go there. Oh no, you don’t. You better trust me on this one. I mean, I know a thing or two about slightly petrifying locations (comes with the job description and all that) but even I—the supposedly fearless nefarious tyrant–was most creeped out by Hrad Spein, which is saying something and stuff. Anyway, you do not want to go there, but you definitely want to read about it. (Bold + underline enough, or should I also capitalize this to get my point across?) Actually, the Hrad Spein chapters in Shadow Blizzard alone make reading this trilogy worthwhile . So QED and stuff. Sorry what? You want to know more about Hrad Spein? Hahahahaha. Too bad.

⑦ Alexy Pehov is a ruthless killer.
You better not get attached to any of the characters in this trilogy, because they have the very unfortunate tendency to drop like anemic flies well past their expiration date. Which is somewhat very awesome, if you ask me. You have to admire an author who has absolutely no mercy on his fictional children and gleefully butchers them one after the other, no matter how likeable and/or central to the plot they are. Some people might think of it as cruel, and also a little heartbreaking, but I happen to be quite merciless, and my black, withered heart is black and withered, so none of this affected me at all. Especially not Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler’s death (not the character’s real name, in case you were wondering). And neither did Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler’s death (not the character’s real name either, in case you were wondering again). Of course not. Don’t be silly now. I am no weak, puny human and therefore absolutely not distressed when SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS in a book are viciously killed deadly dead. No no no, nuh-uh, not me.

⑧ Kli-Kli for President.
Because there is much much MUCH more to this little green bedbug goblin than meets the compound eye. Because Kli-Kli is quite probably the mostest awesomest character in the trilogy. Because Kli-Kli is most assuredly one of the bestest sidekicks ever. Because Kli-Kli is Super Extra Resourceful (SER™). Because Kli-Kli is hilariously annoying and annoyingly hilarious. Because Kli-Kli is really quite touching ← I never wrote this revoltingly heartfelt sentence, ergo you never read it. Just so you know. Because Kli-Kli is a super cool dance teacher. Sometimes. Because Kli-Kli is the best friend one could ever ask for. (Not me, obviously, because I hate friends in general, and best friends in particular.) And because Kli-Kli is full of I-am-slightly-gobsmacked-surprises which I could tell you about but won’t tell you about because spoiler spoiler spoiler and stuff you are quite welcome.

So. Time for some Doralissian-Approved Shrimp Maths (DASM™):

① + ② + ③ + ④ + ⑤ + ⑥ + ⑦ + ⑧ =



You could say that, yes.

Now. Time for the awfully disgusting truth: slightly awesome as this trilogy is, the translation is pretty clunky and the editing a little problematic. The good news is, the translation improves a lot after book 1. The bad news is, the editing gets much, much worse. I mean, I seriously wonder if anyone even bothered to reread book 3 before it was released. Or maybe it’s just that my editing standards are unreasonably high. Who cares about extra spaces between words, anyway? I’m probably the only one who finds reading words things like “ea gle,” “plea sure,” “grin ning,” “treacher ous,” and (my personal favorite) “phi los o phers” ever-so-slightly exasperating. Same thing about missing spaces (“offits” instead of “off its”). And extra, free of charge hyphens (“duke-dom,” “twi-light,” “travel-er’s,” etc). As for quirky little creations like “wordofonner,” I’m sure no one but me finds them a teensy little but, um, puzzling and stuff. Yep, pretty sure indeed.

➽ And the moral of this I Intended to Cut the Crap Drastically in this Review but Guess What I Didn’t Ha Crappy Non Review (IItCtCDitRbGWIDHCNR™) is: I rated all three installments in this trilogy 4 stars. Despite the not-so-convincing translation and slightly disastrous editing. Get it? Good.



• Book 1: Shadow Prowler ★★★★
• Book 2: Shadow Chaser ★★★★



[Pre-review nonsense]

Mr Pehov. Alexey Dear. Far be it from me to threaten you or anything so vulgar, but if you don't write a Kli-Kli spinoff, I'm unleashing the murderous crustaceans on you. No need to fret, though. I mean, coming up with new adventures for Kli-Kli shouldn't be too hard for you. The Tiny Carrot Addict is, after all, Prime Goblin Material (PGM™) and stuff.



Yep, that's my Kli-Kli right there, the Mostest Awesomest Goblin That Ever Was And Ever Will Be (MAGTEWAEWB™)! So much scrumptiousness shouldn't be left languishing in a completed trilogy, if you ask me. Ergo, Alexey Dear, you owe it to the little green bed bug to dedicate a book to him. A trilogy would work, too. And so would a 10+ book series.

Oh, and by the way, it's not like I shamelessly threatened you with bodily crustacean-inflicted harm or anything, so no pressure and stuff.



➽ Full Super Extra Crappy Non Review (SECNR™) to come.

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αυτή την τριλογία την ξεκίνησα έχοντας δύο βεβαιότητες για το περιεχόμενό της: ότι όντας κάτι έξω από την αγγλόφωνη παράδοση στο χώρο της επικής φαντασίας θα ήταν κάτι υποδεέστερο κι ότι ήταν θα ουσιαστικά αντιγραφή αυτής. Τελικά μπορώ να πω ότι το αποτέλεσμα διέψευσε σε μεγάλο βαθμό και τις δύο. Στο πρώτο σκέλος μπορώ να πω ότι πρόκειται για ένα έργο που που μπορεί να σταθεί άνετα δίπλα τα πιο γνωστά αντίστοιχα αγγλόφωνα, στο δεύτερο ενώ είναι σαφείς οι επιρροές από τον J.R.R. Tolkien και άλλους συγγραφείς ο συγγραφέας καταφέρνει να βάλει μία ιδιαίτερα έντονη προσωπική πινελιά.

Να τα πάρουμε τα πράγματα από την αρχή. Η τριλογία είναι ένα εξαιρετικό δείγμα παλιομοδίτικης επικής φαντασίας που όμως δεν ξεχνάει και το σήμερα. Υπάρχουν, ας πούμε, μέσα σε όλα τα πλάσματα - Ορκ, νάνοι, ξωτικά και πολλά άλλα - που συναντάμε σε κλασικά έργα, ο τρόπος όμως που τα χρησιμοποιεί και περιγράφει τη μεταξύ τους σχέση ελάχιστη σχέση έχει με το παρελθόν. Ο συγγραφέας δίνει ιδιαίτερο βάρος στην περιγραφή του φυσικού περιβάλλοντος και γενικά σε μία γραφή όμορφη, δεν λείπει όμως και το χιούμορ, η ειρωνεία και μία δόση κυνισμού χαρακτηριστική των έργων της εποχής μας. Φυσικά το όλο ύφος παραπέμπει περισσότερο στο παρελθόν κάτι που θα ξενίσει πολλούς, άλλοι, όμως, πιστεύω ότι κάτι θα βρουν και θα εκτιμήσουν ιδιαίτερα ένα έργο όπου δεν ξέρεις ποια μαγικά πλάσματα θα συναντήσεις στην επόμενη σελίδα.

Προσωπικά το αποτέλεσμα με αφήνει ιδιαίτερα ικανοποιημένο. Η ιστορία μου κράτησε το ενδιαφέρον στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος της, στην αφήγηση διεισδύουν ενδιαφέροντα ερωτήματα, η γραφή είναι όμορφη και σε πολλές στιγμές ιδιαίτερα ποιητική, οι χαρακτήρες είναι όλοι τους πολύ ενδιαφέροντες και σε καμία περίπτωση μονοδιάστατοι. Το φινάλε είναι απόλυτα ικανοποιητικό, με πολλές συγκλονιστικές στιγμές - όπως η σκηνή που φαίνεται στο εξώφυλλο - και αρκετές ανατροπές. Ότι χρειαζόμαστε δηλαδή, οπότε θα κάνω μία προσπάθεια να έχω τον συγγραφέα υπό παρακολούθηση, κάτι που όμως έχει κάποιες πρακτικές δυσκολίες. Βλέπετε ο Alexey Pehov γράφει στα ρώσικα και οι μεταφράσεις των βιβλίων του σε γλώσσα που γνωρίζω έρχονται μάλλον αργά και αρκετά αραιά.

[Eilonwy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final volume of the Chronicles of Siala trilogy, sob. This was just as good as the first two, full of Garret/Harold's wry observations and comments, and some great problem-solving.

I'm really disappointed that this is reportedly the last book that will take place in this world, or with any of these characters.

Much thanks to whoever thought these books should be translated into English.

And thanks to my Buddy Readers, who, as always, made the journey so much more fun than it would have been alone. I think this one ended up being just three of us, but check out Evgeny and Sarah's far more coherent reviews, since they didn't wait to review this:

Evgeny's very thorough review
Sarah's review (watch out for crayfish!)

[Maksim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Замечательный конец отличной серии. Классическое приключенческое фентези в самом лучшем смысле этих слов.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where to begin? The journey started in previous books has come to an end, well ok not really. It's just getting started.

Harold (I do love thieves) and his gang are approaching Hrad Spein. Kli-Kli, it's always good with a comic relief, the dark elves, and human warriors are with him. And they have lost a lot of friends already. Pehov does have a way of killing off people. But then not all should make it, people must fall during the way cos it's a dangerous road so I liked that he is not afraid to do just that.

Much of the book takes places in the darkness that is Hrad Spein. Fights, horrors, revelations, all to save a kingdom and the world. So much more than others think are actually going on. The Dancers, the creators of world, the Houses, and the person that created Siala. Not to mention that Harold is supposed to be a dancer too, which means that he could create a world. He is such an unlikely hero and that makes him better.

The second part took place outside of Hrad. The quest is not yet done and more battles are to come. It's fighting and quest fantasy.

I did feel that there is so many more stories still to tell and I would like to stay in this world, but sadly this was the end of this trilogy. But Pehov has created a very interesting world, and a world I would he happy to visit again. And it feels like home too, it's a world I know, yet it's so very new.

Some of the fight scenes at the end did feel a bit jumpy, but eh, that's life and war. And something did happen that made me sad, but again that's life and sadness is needed in books too.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the three books in the Chronicles of Siala series, this is my favourite. As a series, it got better as it went on, I think. And this book in particular has a really very well done section when Harold is in Hrad Spein searching for the Rainbow Horn - it was eerie and creepy and really fascinating to read.

That being said, most of the characters continue as cardboard cut-outs, and the appearance of the Dryads is something of a deus ex machina, where they conveniently pop out of nowhere to save the heroes. (Have they even been mentioned in the many hundreds of pages of the series, up until that point? I don't remember, but they came across as awfully convenient...) And I grant that the Horn is powerful, but it does seem to wrap stuff up awful quick. Three books about finding the thing and getting it back to Avendoom, then what... 30, 40 pages or so and everything's all over - including the twist?

I read this series because my Dad recommended it - he thought it was just great. It doesn't do as much for me as it did for him - I found it relatively generic as epic fantasies go, with the high point of Hrad Spein not compensating enough for the rest of the series. Still, it's competently executed epic fantasy, if not exactly ground-breaking.

[Elena Granger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classical yet unique epic fantasy book. I loved the whole series but the last book was the best. I love those long journeys, labyrinths with traps and tricks, bad situations and great mixture of luck and wittiness of the main character.
I also loved the writing style and not an ordinary main character. He is not a hero just a good thief. This was the first thing why I started to read the series.
The store has many twists and small unexpected moments in line with a long long journey, elves, dwarves, orcs, magic, powerful shamans, deaths, resurrections and the-hell-know-what-else :D
Also the action and battle scenes were greatly described and very imaginable. Though I don't usually like those scenes (in most books they are very boring) here I loved them a lot.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there is no doubt that our lowly thief hero ended up with quite a few more arrows than he could have possibly have carried through all their adventures, and the time spent in Hrad Spein seemed endless, it was still quite fun.

I liked that there were some standard tropes but everything seemed to be twisted around so that the story was fresh and interesting.

I liked how the author wasn't afraid of killing off those in the group either. Often I wonder how so many people get through so many dangerous situations without death and/or dismemberment.

In any case, a wild ride of a book despite the length of the Hrad Spein trip that kept the pages turning.

[FantasyWereld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meesterdief Harold de Schaduw is eindelijk op zijn bestemming aangekomen: de ingang van het eeuwenoude Hrad Spein. In dit ondergrondse bouwwerk, dat ook wel het Bottenpaleis wordt genoemd, ligt in het graf van de ooit machtige generaal Grok de Regenbooghoorn op hem te wachten. Als Harold die kan meenemen naar de Orde van de Magiërs, heeft hij zijn opdracht voltooid en zijn eigen lot weer in zijn handen. Na een inspannende reis die niet zonder kleerscheuren werd afgelegd in de afgelopen twee boeken, zijn de verwachtingen over dit afsluitende derde deel hooggespannen. Want niemand weet wat voor gevaren op Harold liggen te wachten in Hrad Spein. En vanaf nu is Harold weer op zichzelf aangewezen…

Epische fantasy
Alexey Pehov werd bij de publicatie van het eerste deel van zijn trilogie, De Kronieken van Siala, gepresenteerd als de Russische Tolkien. Zijn wereld, die bevolkt wordt door elfen, orks, dwergen en gnomen, voelde inderdaad heel bekend aan en ook de queeste naar een magisch artefact door een gemengd groepje avonturiers om een groeiende duistere macht tegen te kunnen houden is een bekend thema in de epische fantasy. De uitwerking van Pehov is echter zo prettig dat je hier al snel vrede mee hebt en het verhaal in zijn eigen recht ziet.

Wil je de gehele recensie lezen? Klik dan hier:
http://www.fantasywereld.nl/recensies...

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our cynical thief and his band of doughty warriors arrives in the orcs' forest, where they hope to enter the dungeon that contains the artefact that can save their kingdom from the sorcerer king.

This one wasn't as good as the first two.

It is clear that Pehov has lovingly created a world and its peoples (some of whom are obvious rip offs, some of which are new twists - love the flinnys).

However, there are deep flaws in this volume. There is a very extended journey through a dungeon where the thief character spends dozens of pages at a time by himself, with only Pehov there to tell us what he encounters (and not always clearly). There is a 50 page battle scene that is related to us via the mechanism of a dream, which is a cheap move. The ending is forced and hurried and, while perhaps 'realistic' in the sense of that is what happens when someone is working for someone else, did not really give a sense of completion.

This could have done with an edit that removed a large chunk of the dungeon sequence and inserted a more comprehensive third act.

Rated MA15 for frequent fantasy violence and supernatural themes. 2.5/5

[Fen4etoYNWA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Нямам достатъчно думи в речника си да опиша колко много ми хареса тази поредица!
Постоянен екшън, не можеш да спреш да четеш. В същото време, описанието на събитията е достатъчно обстойно, без да е прекалено - дава ти точно толкова, колкото ти трябва, за да разбереш какво иска да каже авторът, но оставя възможност на въображението да се развихри и да видиш всичко в своята глава.
Толкова завладяващо е всичко, че вечер сънувах неща, свързани с книгата и отново преживявах приключенията на Гарет, Еграсса, Миралисса, Фенерджията, Медения, милорд Алистан, Кли Кли... При всяка смърт на човек (въпреки че това не е най-точната дума) от отряда си казвах "Не! Само той не! Не може да продължи историята без него!" и го преживявах доста тежко.
Поредица, която у��пя силно да ме впечатли, да ме разсмее, разплаче, плени.
Сещате ли се за онова кофти чувство, което те обвзема, когато прочетеш наистина добра книга? Как не искаш да започваш друга? Една буца е заседнала на гърлото, защото знаеш, че книгата е свършила? Е, тук това чувство ви е гарантирано...

Искрено се надявам Алексей Пехов да напише още нещо за света на Сиала!!!

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt like two separate stories. The first half of the book the time spent in Hrad Spein was really good. That was the highlight of the series. The second half of the book seemed anti-climactic. For reading about the Nameless One for three books, I expected to get more than a few spells before he runs away. You never even see him. The second half was still interesting, but it wasn't as intriguing. One of my complaints with this series is it was often hard for me to fully understand who everyone was and what their motivations were. Things began to make sense in the end, but we should've been given more information on who people were, like the Messenger and the Player. The series was good.

[Jonas Skoglund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic and generic in an almost ironic way. The ending book of "Chronicles of Siala" was still enjoyable (as well as the trilogy in general).

There is something to it, the quest feels grand, the action is a bit over the top for me (the fighting sequences does not want to stop), the book(s) is imaginative enough, but just barely and the characters should have been more developed (in my taste).
Maybe yet more takes on the classical (Fantasy)themes never gets old. For me it feels a bit like an homage to the genre as well.

Completely fine for relaxed reading.

[Tnkw01 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this trilogy but the abrupt ending kind of dampened it for me. I almost felt like it could have kept going for another book. However, this was one of the best trilogies I have read in a long time.

[Sergey Lenkevich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the "Chronicles Of Siala" trilogy

Это - моя любимая книга в "Хрониках Сиалы"

[Eva_812 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Op zich een vermakelijk slot van de series. Wel een beetje veel gevechten, maar goed.
Verder zijn niet alleen al die verschillende wezens nog steeds super onduidelijk en met veels te veel (ik weet nog steeds niet het verschil tussen een gnoom en een dwerg of het verschil tussen orken en elfen (die dus superveel op elkaar lijken, maar die je blijkbaar alleen aan hun haar uit elkaar kunt houden??? Dan is het toch gewoon dezelfde soort??)), nu blijkt ook nog eens dat diverse hoofdpersonen meerdere namen hebben. Natuurlijk hebben de Wildharten een soort schuilnaam, maar als je alleen die gebruikt en dan op het moment dat er iemand sterft zijn echte naam, dan gaat het effect een beetje teniet omdat ik geen flauw idee heb wie dat is, want ik ken hem alleen bij zijn schuilnaam. En toen bleek ook mijn enorme verrassing aan het eind van boek drie dat Lantaarnopsteker en Moemr dezelfde persoon zijn! Reis al 2 boeken met hem samen en nu pas blijkt het één en dezelfde persoon te zijn. Nou, dan doe je al schrijver iets niet helemaal goed met je namen en personagebeschrijvingen.

[Stuart Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to think that there are more chronicles to come based on the way this ended. Look at the map: we literally have explored 1/10 of the world indicated on that map so the author must have something in mind in the future (please take into account that I am an American and do not know what works he has published in Russia, but this is all we can find in America in English atm). A great series, the battle sequences were awesome (I wish I had a local map for a better visual) and for whatever reason, Alister’s last stand at the gates with Death waiting was really cool ( the cover of the book maybe forced this from me) and the journey down to the eighth level was particularly cool as well (the book of goblin spells just lying around there bothered me in particular, but was never mentioned again). I will look for more books from this author and perhaps more adventures of Harold?!!!

[Dimitar Sredkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Съвсем случайно попаднах на Алексей Пехов и трилогията "Хрониките на Сиала"....и съвсем НЕслучайно я завърших с абсолютно удоволствие (а уж щях да прехвърля набързо само първата глава :) ). Лек сюжет, без словоблудства - авторът майсторски слага всяка дума на мястото й и кара читателят да стегне багажа си и да тръгне с Гарет и компания за Храд Спайн. Героите ме спечелиха със своята колоритност, макар че някои ги "светнаха" (както се казва в книгата) непредвидимо преждевременно (но такава е била волята на негово величие авторът). Неизменна част от чара на книгите се оказа хуморът....е, не е като на Тери Пратчет, но определено се смях от сърце. И така - Алексей Пехов си спечели адмирациите ми и прескочи няколко lvl-а до графа "Любими". Жалко, че освен тази поредица няма други преведени, но ще се надявам някой интелектуалец да оцени творчеството му и да ме зарадва с нови приключения.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars

The conclusion to this vastly entertaining series. The first half of the novel reads like the best dungeon crawler, with a multilayered underground labyrinth filled to the brim with mazes, puzzles, secret doorways and horrors to satisfy even the most finicky RPG addict.

I could have done without the battle, as it felt over-long; that being said, the description of the battle is incredibly detailed and authentic, and gives the reader a greater understanding of the horrors of ancient battles.

There are a number of unexpected twists that really took me by surprise, and the series finished on a high, with me definitely wanting to hear more about this amazingly diverse group of characters.

[Rilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars
It wasn't bad, just meh, nothing special, nothing memorable. I would loose my patience listening to this if not for possibility of speeding up audio. Especially at one long battle scene. In this book Kli-Kli didn't annoy me. I even laughed out loud at one particular revelation considering that character. I didn't liked killing off MC's travel companions (not just here, in the whole series). Not the fact itself, but it was written so strange. Ok, so someone died and it was like they have lost a horse. There was no heartache, no sorrow, no real loss. Even when someone more important died. Yes, they were sad, but I didn't felt it. No real impact. Like, ok, they are dead, moving on. And the end was anticlimactic.

[Maryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Последняя часть цикла прочитана и должна сказать, что "Хроники Сиалы" скорее не понравились, чем наоборот. Первая часть меня хоть как-то заинтересовала, но вторая и третья скатились в никуда. Сюжет стал абсолютно линеен и ни о каком развитии героев речь не шла. Они просто перемещались из точки А в точку Б, выполняя при этом какие-то квесты и задания. Шутки вообще перестали смешить, что было уж совсем плохо. Многое можно простить развлекательной книге, если она действительно развлекает. А здесь - одно сплошное зеленое болото. Не берусь рекомендовать эту книгу вообще никому, потому как гораздо лучше будет почитать более позднего Пехова, где миры становятся гораздо интереснее, а герои адекватнее.

6 / 10

[Merinereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein überzeugender Reihenabschluss, der noch ein paar coole Wendungen zu bieten hat.
Womit ich nicht gerechnet hatte ist das Schicksal mancher Charaktere, sowohl im guten als auch im schlechten. Es gab eine echt coole Enthüllung zu einer Figur, welche diese für mich in ein ganz anderes Licht rückte und viel interessanter machte.
Ansonsten wurde die Handlung spannend und überzeugend fortgesetzt, mir persönlich war die eine Schlacht etwas zu lang dargestellt aber es passt gut zum Rest der Geschichte und wurde auch gut geschrieben.
Ein wenig enttäuscht war ich von der schnellen Auflösung am Ende, der große Plottwist wurde dann doch sehr schnell aufgelöst. Ansonsten gefiel mir die Reihe gut, auch wenn ich nach wie vor finde, dass es durchaus mehr weibliche Figuren hätte geben können.

[Feyfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the Chronicles of Siala. Shadow Harold was a fantastic character to follow along with and all the other characters in the book. I mourned when characters died - Alexey Pehov is like George R.R. Martin and other authors who aren't afraid to kill characters off-so be prepared for that.

Looking forward when other Pehov books are translated to English.

[DulleNL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerste deel, en vooral waar Harold in zijn uppie is, 5 sterren. Laatste kwart struikelt over zijn eigen veters en verliest wat het 1e deel zo goed maakte.

Het laatste hoofdstuk had overigens de potentie om een heel boek op zich te zijn, hrad spein maar dan nog gekker. Hele tocht erdoor.
Uiteindelijk zijn het 2 trappen en klaar.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der dritte und letzte Band bringt die Geschichte um Garrett den Schatten zu Ende. Die erste Hälfte des Buches beschreibt einen klassischen "Dungeoncrawl", während in der zweiten Hälfte die Rückreise und die finale epische Schlacht stattfinden. Wie immer auf ansprechende Weise aus der Ego-Perspektive erzählt, gibt es die ein oder andere Überraschung und die Saga findet damit ein gelungenes Ende

[Ivanka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandioses Ende der Reihe. Die Geschichte hat einiges an Tempo aufgenommen und die Schlacht am Ende war gut spannend. leider sind für mich einige Fragen offen geblieben. Spieler, Herr, Schattentänzer. Hab ich alles nicht verstanden, mag an mir liegen. man weiß es nicht :)
Ich bin jedenfalls trotz offener Punkte zufrieden mit dem Ende.

[Anton Vasin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга не плохая, но все таки какая то плоская, без изысков. Все 3 книги читаются как будто намешали все стереотипы и шаблоны про фэнтази, это жирный минус. В плюс я бы занес легкость, простоту, и пожалуй юмор. Не жалею что прочитал.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first two books of this series were quite good. And then this book was sooooo long. and soooo painful. I wanted to quit so many times but had to find out what happened to Harold It was not worth it.

[Tamp_kh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Конец серии автор всё-таки слил. Хотя невооружённым глазом видно, что можно было развернуть сюжетную линию гораздо масштабнее, но...

[Dzmitry Kuzniatsou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Все серия превосходная. Много интересных сюжетных линий и не ожиданных поворотов.