The Crimson Sky

Keepers of the Hidden Ways #3

by Joel Rosenberg

Seeking a third jewel in the alternate world of Tir Na Nog, three young college friends witness warlike tensions erupting between its ruling houses, while at home, an evil being stalks one of their families. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

341 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Note: This is a different person than the political/thriller author, Joel C. Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg was the author of the bestselling Guardians of the Flame books as well as the D'Shai and Keepers of the Hidden Ways series. He made his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read this series a few years after it was published and recall enjoying it, so decided to do a reread this year. The first couple were about as I remember a lot of Rosenberg's work - perfectly serviceable, with a few delightful moments that make them absolutely worth the read to me.

This one, though...yeesh. I had forgotten how much casual homophobia and "The City is bad and full of bad people who do not care about anyone the way that we, the small town folk, who are intrinsically the best folk, because we care about each other unlike the bad people from The City, do" sentiment he got into here. Part of this, I'm sure, is because so much of this installment is set in The City (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and it's also fair to say that I'm more likely to notice those sentiments now than I was 20-ish years ago. Still, it's a repetitive, small-minded, and gross set of tropes that detracts significantly from what otherwise would've been a 3-star book for me.

[James]

In earlier books, three young college friends discovered timeless, secret portals into the alternate world called Tir Na Nog and successfully located two magical jewels. Now they seek a third jewel as struggles between noble ruling houses push them perilously close to war. Meanwhile, at home in the "real world," an evil being is stalking family and friends of one of the young heroes. Now they must find the stone, defuse the increasingly volatile political situation n Tir Na Nog, and stop the evil one before he can destroy more innocent lives.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the first two books of this series, over two decades ago, and could never find the third book in hard back. Finally, this year, I broke down and bought a paperback version of the story. It is indeed a story well worth reading, but I was disappointed to read that everything was left up in the air, like the author fully intended to write more books on "The Hidden Ways", yet in the end chose not to.

[Carol & Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was hard to put down.

[Joel Flank · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third and final book of the Keepers of the Hidden Ways series was a bit of a let down. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two, for several reasons. While all of the books involved the main characters getting dragged into a fantasy world of myth and legend (sometimes literally), this one was so manipulative in how things progressed that it felt like the entire group of protagonists really weren't doing a lot other than following the hidden piper. I prefer my characters to be more proactive.

That being said, it's still always fun to read Rosenberg, as he writes realistic characters, who often surprise you in how they react to situations. Unfortunately, a large chunk of the book took place in the real world this time around, which wasn't inherently bad, but it was a very slow moving part of the book....it really spent a lot of time with the characters planning things, executing them, and getting no results.

The other problem with the book is that while the ending was quite fun, it's clear the plot of the series is not finished, yet the series must not have done well enough for additional sequels. I imagine that if it had, Rosenberg had another 3-4 books planned. While no glaring plotlines were left unanswered, the overall story is not concluded.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been long enough since I first read this that I'd pretty much forgotten everything and the ending twist was actually a mild re-surprise. I do recall that I was going to get tired of the series if this was going to be the trend.

Sadly, Rosenberg had a feud with the publisher and stopped the series here. Even more sadly, his untimely death meant we'll never know where he was going to go with this. More's the pity.

[Fatbaldguy60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a letdown from the first couple.

[Seantheaussie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars this time.