Dark Paths

Die Legenden der Albae #3

by Markus Heitz

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DWARVES COMES A NEW FOE . . .

Outside the älfars' conquered lands lies a forgotten empire. Here, the survivors of a mysterious outbreak wait under the leadership of Caphalor's friend Aïsolon. Cut off by a three-hundred-foot-high rampart, they wait to be called back to their people in the recovered lands.

Meanwhile, triplets Sisaroth, Tirigon and Firüsha are accused of murder and banished to a dark underground place, full of terror. There, Sisaroth meets a dwarf, Tungdil, who will change the fate of the älfar and the dwarves forever.

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Ebooks, German Literature, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Audiobook

656 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2012

About the author

Markus Heitz is a German fantasy, horror and science fiction author, most famous for his five-book Dwarves saga.

Markus Heitz was born in Homburg in 1971. He studied history, literature, and the German language. He now lives in the town of Zweibrücken.

Reviews

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Albae-Reihe ergänzt die Zwerge-Reihe fantastisch. Was für ein Geschichtenerzähler muss ein Autor sein um eine Geschichte noch durch die Perspektive der Antagonisten zu erzählen. Der Detailreichtum und die Ideenvielfalt nehmen auch im nun 6. Buch der Geschichte des Geborgen Landes nicht ab. Einfach Klasse

[Daydreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book even less than the others of that series, simply, because I didn’t really find the main characters that interesting. They seem pretty naive and at times stupid to me, acting like they’re above everyone one, while really looking like children. Some parts just made me roll my eyes because it seemed pretty obvious to me
Oh well...
The style, world and narrator are still on point, so I don’t want to give it just two stars, so three it is in the end. I’m looking forward to reading more about Tungdil, though!

[Mike O'brecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

As you can see, this book took me awhile to read. Part of this is due to less time to read (changed my going to work routine, which resulted in less reading time) and part of this is due to the slow progression of the book.

With that said, this book had THE most interesting ending and tying up of loose ends ever!!!

Unfortunately reading the Alfar books after the dwarf books kind of puts them a bit out of order, but that’s the writers intention.

I’m reading everything, albeit over a very long period of time of which I forget some of the finer details (like Tungdil’s reaction when meeting the Triblets again), my understanding is that all of the Alfar books were supposed to have occurred with the dwarf books in this order:

1. The Dwarves
2. Alfar: Righteous Fury
3. The War of the Dwarves
4. The Revenge of the Dwarves
5. Alfar: Devastating Hate
6. Alfar: Dark Paths
7. The Fate of the Dwarves
8. A new book yet to come


With this knowledge the series becomes that much more interesting and makes me want to read it all again in the correct order, and all at once, to understand it all a bit better. Well orchestrated by Markus Heitz.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the Alf ancestral home was destroyed and the Inextinguishable Ones abandoned them the Alf refugees founded a new city. Like any self-respecting group of Evil Overlords it is inside a semi-dormant volcano. In this idyllic setting, a group of triplets, two guys and a girl, are framed for murder and banished to the underworld of Phonandroid. This is their story.

The three are separated and each is discovered by an exiled Alf. The girl finds a giant Alf who wants to keep her in a canary cage to sing for him, one guy finds a girl Alf so pretty she has to uglify herself for protection, and one guy finds a Rapunzel Alf trapped in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The six Alfs (Alves? Alfi?) eventually get together and find a nice home in hell. They then find out that Phonandroid has a powerful ruler and they have to work for him or be dead. They also meet Tungdil, who is completely insane. They have many adventures, fight many monsters, meet the gods, kill lots of people, die several times, get magic, and go for a swim.

It's a good adventure tale with the three young siblings each learning and growing, a coming of age tale for young Nazis learning the art of genocide. Because, above it all, the Alfar are nasty as hell. This book covers some of the ground left out of the Dwarf series, explaining somewhat how Tungdil got a twin, and how he met the Triplets, and other stuff. It is sometimes hard to reconcile the two series as the timelines don't seem to match up exactly, but timing has always been questionable in all these books dealing immortals and near immortals. It's still quite entertaining and that's really all I'm looking for.

[Paulo Brito · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this unique group of gifted people, we could build an empire that is impossible to destroy. He was lost in this dream of grandeur. We would be the unquestioned rulers. No one would tell us what to do. - Tirîgon (Page 246)

The book serves as a background to everything that happened during the timeskip of the book "The Revenge Of The Dwarves", mainly showing the origin of the Älfar Triplets and showing what really happened to Tungdil in that underground Hell.

‘I can think of many other things I would rather do than be subject to a gålran zhadar. But one does not always have a choice in these matters. My name, in another place and in another time, was Tungdil Goldhand.’ - Tungdil Goldhand (Page 263)

Phondrasôn has always been an interesting concept for Markus Heitz's world, as it is always said to be a mystical yet dangerous place, all of which was extremely well presented, especially by the book's antagonist, the execrable Gålran Zhadar.

‘I will not tolerate resistance that has neither thought nor content. I am the ruler here and you are the subjects. My leigemen. Dependent on my good will. Dependent on the grace of your master,’ the gålran zhadar bellowed. ‘If you serve me loyally and well, I will show you how to get out of the labyrinth. But you have to work for it.’ - Gålran Zhadar (Page 310/311)

In conclusion, the book served perfectly to introduce a new world as well as possible new threats to Girdlegard. Extremely Recommended.

[Mary-Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Charaktere sind gewöhnungsbedürftig... Ich kenne die Vorgeschichte nicht und die Geschichten um die Zwerge habe ich auch noch nicht gelesen. Aber die Charaktere hier sind irgendwie so unrelateable. Klar, ein bisschen Bosheit tut gut, aber man muss auch einen Grund haben, "böse" zu sein. Alle guten Bösewichte haben Gründe... Aber bei den Albae scheint es einfach so zu sein, dass sie an Tod und Qual einfach Spaß haben, sonst nichts. In gewissem Maße ist das okay, aber irgendwie bekommt man besonders mit den Elben Mitleid. Irgendwie sind die Albae so unnahbar und einfach unsympathisch. Die Einzige der Drillinge, die irgendwie noch klar geht und wenigstens etwas relatable ist, ist Firusha. Man baut im Laufe der Geschichte keine Bindung zu den Protagonisten auf - und das hat auch damit zu tun, dass sie sterben wie die Fliegen. Hat jemand diesem Autor mal beigebacht, dass unnötige Tode die Geschichte kaputt machen? Am Ende des Buches sind mir die Charaktere sowas von egal - und ich habe irgendwie gehofft, dass sie sterben.

[Al Ashcott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godzijdank, deze is ook al achter de rug! Alhoewel, ik moet bekennen dat ik het derde deel van de 'Legenden van de Alfen' met iets van plezier las in tegenstelling tot de eerste twee boeken.
Ik zou zelfs zeggen dat de echte reden waarom en hoe de drieling 'verraden' en naar Phondrason verbannen werd mij echt deed opkijken, ofschoon de legenden mij hebben geleerd dat de alfen tot alle laag bij de grondse handelingen in staat zijn.
Blijkbaar bestaat er ook nog een vierde deel, maar ik denk dat ik ervan af zal zien. Ten eerste, ik wil hier geen geld meer aan spenderen. Ten tweede, ik heb schoon genoeg van de alfen en hun nazi idealen.
Bovendien, in het nawoord stond dat er een halfbloed alf verschijnt die het leven van de alfen en van de drieling zuur zal maken en dat Tungdil ook uit Phondrason zal terugkeren, dus het belooft nogmaals een fiasco voor de alfen te worden. Ik kan mij daarin schikken.

[Kenny Gastmans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een interessante sprong in de tijd, met nieuwe personages.

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourites are still Markus Heitz’s books on the dwarves. The books on the älfar, however gives you a different perspective on the outlook of the “evil” race. Good writing.

[Bill85143]

A great ending to the series.

[Kieran Poolman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my favourite book universe

[Docgastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auch Band 3 absolut spannend und ein pageturner. Ein Buch von Markus Heitz halt……👍👍👍👍👍

[Jörg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr spannend dunkel, hat mir sehr gefallen, freue mich auf den nächsten Teil

[M J GREENBANK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dangerously Good

Addictive action and a fantastic plot. I couldn't get enough and have ploughed through when I should have been trying to sleep. Brilliantly written.

[Lenakoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Geschichte war spannend erzählt und es war besonders cool, dass wir sowohl coole Albea als auch Tungdil dabei hatten.

[Lewis Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7 - loved this one

[Booktalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heitz belongs IMHO to the best fantasy writers of this time. He has the ability to write a believable story set in a fantastic world, to me he’s one of the few able to do this.

‘Dark Paths‘ opens with a mumbo-jumbo of alien sounding names which can confuse the reader, but for those who just keep on going this will sort itself out pretty fast. It’s a fast paced journey through the deadly underground realm of Phondrasô, meeting some old friends of those who read Heitz’ ‘Dwarves’ series. It’s entertaining, well written and bloody.
Heitz is not someone who describes war as an adventurous and glorious thing, no he makes you smell the decaying bodies and feel the blood on your hands and shows the gruesomeness of it. On the other hand he also makes you smell the roses and enjoy the landscapes through the eyes of the main characters.

‘Dark Paths‘ is the 3rd book in the ‘The Legends of the Alfar‘ series but can certainly be enjoyed on it’s on. If you enjoyed it go get parts 1 and 2 as well.

http://www.ramalamadingdong.me/dark-p...

[Đenis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takto nejak si predstavujem temných elfov..pardón Alfov. Zákerní, úskoční, krutí, krvilační. Príbeh posunutý ďaleko za príbehy Caphalora a Sintharosa. Trojčatá sa v Póndrasone snažia prežiť svoje vyhnanstvo za vraždu, ktorú vraj spáchali na príslušníkovi vlastného národa. Zformujú novú armádu im podobných vyhnancov s cieľom za každú cenu vrátiť sa na povrch. V rade udalostí vysvitnú na povrch sveta prekvapujúce súvislosti. Ako to bolo s Bezectnými, kto stojí za vraždou, z ktorej boli obvinení, čo sa stalo s ich národom, a aj s inými rasami, ako si žije Žádar. Na konci knižky sa dozvedám, že ide vlastne o "výplň" Trpaslíkov a pred týždňom sa ovjavilo u vydavateľa štvrté pokračovanie z dôb ďaleko za touto knižkou. Nič to nemení na tom, že som si Temné stezky užil.
Asi sa budem musieť konečne vrhnúť na pôvodnú sériu o trpaslíkoch.

[Shane Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to the Heitz previous Dwarves series, in its fusion of action, vaguely medieval geopolitics & higher fantasy though it's connection to this series also hampers it slightly. That series established the protagonists of this series as antagonists a little bit too well, so it can be difficult to warm to them as characters. This comes to the fore at the end particularly which implies that this lack of character identification might be intentional. That being said the plot & the writing are up to Heitz usual standard (whoever translates these books deserves a lot of credit, I find a lot of foreign language titles can come off a bit clunky in English but this doesn't really happen in Heitz books for the most part). Good bit of High Fantasy though readers that favour characters that are highly likeable may find it hard to get into.

[Patrick Bättig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tungdil, der berühmte Held der 'Zwerge'-Reihe, kehrt zurück und stürzt die Albae in ein neues Abenteuer: Außerhalb des Geborgenen Landes liegt ein vergessenes Reich. Hierher haben sich die Überlebenden der mysteriösen Seuche unter der Führung von Caphalors Freund Aïsolon zurückgezogen. Abgeschnitten durch einen dreihundert Schritt hohen Schutzwall, warten sie darauf, zu ihrem Volk ins Geborgene Land gerufen zu werden. Derweil werden die Drillinge Sisaroth, Tirîgon und Firûsha des Mordes bezichtigt und an einen unterirdischen Ort voller Schrecken verbannt. Dort trifft Sisaroth auf einen Zwerg: Tungdil, der in der Schwarzen Schlucht eingeschlossen wurde! Diese Begegnung verändert das Schicksal der Albae und der Zwerge für immer.

[Dokusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gefiel mir noch besser als die ersten beiden. Neben den üblichen Ereignissen von Mord und Totschlag zwischen den verschiedenen Rassen ist in dem Band noch eine Krimininalgeschichte eingebaut, die das Ganze noch vielseitiger macht. Außerdem wird der Bezug zu den Zwergen-Bänden erstmals richtig hergestellt und die Geschichte von Tungdil nach dem Einschluß in die schwarze Schlucht zumindest teilweise gelüftet.
Es macht weiter Spaß, die Bücher zu lesen.

[Katha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Legenden der Albae Dunkle Pfade spielt lange Zeit nach den ersten beiden Bändern was etwas verwirrend sein kann aber es geht genauso düster weiter wie vorher vielleicht sogar noch etwas dunkler und brutaler als vorher. Trotzdem fand ich es wieder sehr spannend.

[Cornelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Heitz again, unfortunately with some annoying mistakes in grammar and syntax. It makes me itch to start reading the Zwerge series again as it is connected to the Albae series.

[Sascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Überragendes Buch! War vom 2. etwas enttäuscht. Aber dieses Buch hat vieles wett gemacht.

[Tymyvymy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Těším se na čtvrtý díl :-)

[Porzellanfuchs · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10