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Jewelfire #3
The Obsidian Tower
In this final volume of the Jewelfire trilogy, all seems lost for the humans of Aventuria. The shape-changing Bhahdradomen have invaded and Queen Helananthe has been forced to step down or see her mother and brother murdered. Meanwhile Tanthe is attempting to rescue her sister, Ysomir.
708 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
98 people want to read
About the author
Freda Warrington
52 books326 followersFreda Warrington is an award-winning British author, known for her epic fantasy, vampire and supernatural novels.
“The Blood Wine books are addictive, thrilling reads that are impossible to put down and they definitely deserve more attention” – Worldhopping.net
Her earliest novels, the Blackbird series, were written and published in the 1980s. In the intervening years she has seen numerous novels of epic fantasy, supernatural and contemporary fantasy, vampires, dark romance, horror and alternative history published.
Her novel ELFLAND won the Romantic Times BEST FANTASY NOVEL Award in 2009, while her 1997 Dracula sequel DRACULA THE UNDEAD won the Dracula Society's BEST GOTHIC NOVEL Award.
Four of her novels (Dark Cathedral, Pagan Moon, Dracula the Undead, and The Amber Citadel) have been nominated or shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society's Best Novel award. The American Library Association placed MIDSUMMER NIGHT in its Top Ten for 2010.
Recently Titan Book reissued her popular romantic-gothic Blood Wine vampire series set in the 1920s - A Taste of Blood Wine, A Dance in Blood Velvet and The Dark Blood of Poppies - along with a brand new novel, The Dark Arts of Blood. In 2017, Telos Publishing will publish her first short story collection, NIGHTS OF BLOOD WINE, featuring fifteen lush dark tales - ten set in her Blood Wine world, and five others of gothic weirdness.
In 2003, Simon & Schuster published The Court of the Midnight King, an alternative history/ fantasy retelling of the story of King Richard III. To celebrate all the events surrounding the discovery of Richard III's remains in Leicester, The Court of the Midnight King is now available on Kindle and in paperback format. Most of her backlist titles, including the Blackbird series, Dracula the Undead, Dark Cathedral and Pagan Moon, can already be found on Kindle or will be available in the next few months.
Warrington has also seen numerous short stories published in anthologies and magazines. For further information, visit her website Freda Warrington
Born in Leicester, Warrington grew up in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire. After completing high school, she trained at Loughborough College of Art and Design and worked in medical illustration and graphic design for some years. She eventually moved to full-time writing, and also still enjoys design, photography, art, jewellery-making and other crafts, travelling and conventions.
Series:
* Jewelfire
* Dark Cathedral
* Aetherial Tales
* Blackbird
“The Blood Wine books are addictive, thrilling reads that are impossible to put down and they definitely deserve more attention” – Worldhopping.net
Her earliest novels, the Blackbird series, were written and published in the 1980s. In the intervening years she has seen numerous novels of epic fantasy, supernatural and contemporary fantasy, vampires, dark romance, horror and alternative history published.
Her novel ELFLAND won the Romantic Times BEST FANTASY NOVEL Award in 2009, while her 1997 Dracula sequel DRACULA THE UNDEAD won the Dracula Society's BEST GOTHIC NOVEL Award.
Four of her novels (Dark Cathedral, Pagan Moon, Dracula the Undead, and The Amber Citadel) have been nominated or shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society's Best Novel award. The American Library Association placed MIDSUMMER NIGHT in its Top Ten for 2010.
Recently Titan Book reissued her popular romantic-gothic Blood Wine vampire series set in the 1920s - A Taste of Blood Wine, A Dance in Blood Velvet and The Dark Blood of Poppies - along with a brand new novel, The Dark Arts of Blood. In 2017, Telos Publishing will publish her first short story collection, NIGHTS OF BLOOD WINE, featuring fifteen lush dark tales - ten set in her Blood Wine world, and five others of gothic weirdness.
In 2003, Simon & Schuster published The Court of the Midnight King, an alternative history/ fantasy retelling of the story of King Richard III. To celebrate all the events surrounding the discovery of Richard III's remains in Leicester, The Court of the Midnight King is now available on Kindle and in paperback format. Most of her backlist titles, including the Blackbird series, Dracula the Undead, Dark Cathedral and Pagan Moon, can already be found on Kindle or will be available in the next few months.
Warrington has also seen numerous short stories published in anthologies and magazines. For further information, visit her website Freda Warrington
Born in Leicester, Warrington grew up in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire. After completing high school, she trained at Loughborough College of Art and Design and worked in medical illustration and graphic design for some years. She eventually moved to full-time writing, and also still enjoys design, photography, art, jewellery-making and other crafts, travelling and conventions.
Series:
* Jewelfire
* Dark Cathedral
* Aetherial Tales
* Blackbird
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 22, 2016
Had to be five stars. Wonderfully crafted. Deeply disturbing in places. People in whom you can believe, and a villain you have pity for in the end.
What more can you ask
What more can you ask
October 30, 2018
It is not ok to play with my emotions like this Freda Warrington! Excuse me while I go sob in the corner, please.
So, at the start of The Obsidian Tower, everything looks bad. The Bhahdradomen have invaded and taken the throne, Helan, Tanthe and the others are in captivity and Rufryd has been left for dead. Well, things only get worse from here!
I've grown to love this series. I wasn't convinced by the first book but it grew on me and I ended up heavily emotionally invested in it. The writing is lush. The descriptions of the worlds are beautiful: this world is alive in my head, I could almost step into it.
And there is SO much character growth. Characters I hated at the start ended up being my favourites and characters that I thought were going to be the heroes or the villains are anything but. There are no truly good or bad people in the worlds Freda Warrington creates. There are no superheroes and no evil villains. Her characters are very real, often messy and usually contradictory. And don't get too attached to any of them because Warrington is not averse to killing off the people that seem like the stars of the show. None of them is safe!
The storyline is very, very clever. There are lot's of different characters and different stories going on but they all weave in together and bring a very satisfying, if bittersweet, resolution with all the different storylines rounded up and finished off.
I got off to a wobbly start with this series but by the end, I'd fallen in love with it. It's clever, dark and as realistic as high fantasy gets. Give it a go, it's worth the investment.
So, at the start of The Obsidian Tower, everything looks bad. The Bhahdradomen have invaded and taken the throne, Helan, Tanthe and the others are in captivity and Rufryd has been left for dead. Well, things only get worse from here!
I've grown to love this series. I wasn't convinced by the first book but it grew on me and I ended up heavily emotionally invested in it. The writing is lush. The descriptions of the worlds are beautiful: this world is alive in my head, I could almost step into it.
And there is SO much character growth. Characters I hated at the start ended up being my favourites and characters that I thought were going to be the heroes or the villains are anything but. There are no truly good or bad people in the worlds Freda Warrington creates. There are no superheroes and no evil villains. Her characters are very real, often messy and usually contradictory. And don't get too attached to any of them because Warrington is not averse to killing off the people that seem like the stars of the show. None of them is safe!
The storyline is very, very clever. There are lot's of different characters and different stories going on but they all weave in together and bring a very satisfying, if bittersweet, resolution with all the different storylines rounded up and finished off.
I got off to a wobbly start with this series but by the end, I'd fallen in love with it. It's clever, dark and as realistic as high fantasy gets. Give it a go, it's worth the investment.
September 15, 2013
"However dark things are, I never ever give up hope. I trust that you haven't either."
I feel like this quite completely sums up the theme of this book, or rather this entire trilogy. No matter how bad things get, or how many awful tragedies occur, the reader should never think of giving up hope because the characters don't. And good always triumphs evil in the end! (Except of course if you're reading a fantasy written by George RR Martin lol)
This third installment of the Jewelfire trilogy is just as intense as the previous two. Perhaps more so, because you know this is the end of the story. Basically in this book, the forces of good (Tanthe, Rufryd, Ysmoir, Eldareth, Queen Helan, and the rest) rally together to fight the destructive force of the Bhahdradromen that is sweeping across Aventuria. Their options and numbers are limited, but they refuse to give up and give in the evil that threatens their beautiful lands. And lets' talk just briefly about how beautiful Aventuria is because seriously folks...I want to live there so badly. My favorite attribute of Freda Warrington's writing is her vivid descriptions, and the way she really pulls you into the world about which she's writing. The lush forests of Sepheret, the majestic and golden Parione, the harsh bright beauty of the Ruby Plains, these are all places that I have come to know and love through this trilogy and I am endlessly glad to have read these books!
Also the ending is quite different from what you would expect from a fantasy novel. Things didn't turn out quite the way I expected them too!
This was a fantastic book in a fantastic trilogy written by a fantastic author. I urge any and every fantasy fan to pick up this series!
This review can also be found on my blog:
http://ayanami023.wordpress.com
I feel like this quite completely sums up the theme of this book, or rather this entire trilogy. No matter how bad things get, or how many awful tragedies occur, the reader should never think of giving up hope because the characters don't. And good always triumphs evil in the end! (Except of course if you're reading a fantasy written by George RR Martin lol)
This third installment of the Jewelfire trilogy is just as intense as the previous two. Perhaps more so, because you know this is the end of the story. Basically in this book, the forces of good (Tanthe, Rufryd, Ysmoir, Eldareth, Queen Helan, and the rest) rally together to fight the destructive force of the Bhahdradromen that is sweeping across Aventuria. Their options and numbers are limited, but they refuse to give up and give in the evil that threatens their beautiful lands. And lets' talk just briefly about how beautiful Aventuria is because seriously folks...I want to live there so badly. My favorite attribute of Freda Warrington's writing is her vivid descriptions, and the way she really pulls you into the world about which she's writing. The lush forests of Sepheret, the majestic and golden Parione, the harsh bright beauty of the Ruby Plains, these are all places that I have come to know and love through this trilogy and I am endlessly glad to have read these books!
Also the ending is quite different from what you would expect from a fantasy novel. Things didn't turn out quite the way I expected them too!
This was a fantastic book in a fantastic trilogy written by a fantastic author. I urge any and every fantasy fan to pick up this series!
This review can also be found on my blog:
http://ayanami023.wordpress.com
September 4, 2018
The first book in this series was definitely my favourite, although this book was good it really needed a character/glossary list because there was so many... All with strange names. Then there were the places and different language, not a easy read... It was hard to get my head around it all sometimes. The thing I feared that would happen to my favourite character didn't happen, which was awesome. It was very unpredictable, didn't guess one thing right throughout the whole book. A satisfying ending to this series.
August 24, 2025
Please note; my star rating on any book is completely subjective and limited to the label for each star.
1 Star I didn’t like it
2 Stars It was okay
3 Stars I liked it
4 Stars I really liked it
5 Stars It was amazing!
If I do actually have something to say about a book other than what my enjoyment factor was, I will write a review and share my thoughts. If I say I didn’t like a book but there wasn’t anything about it that I thought needed to be shared, then that’s it, I just didn’t like it.
If you’d like to start a discussion about a book or you’d like an actual review, ask any question you like and I’ll be happy to try and comply/respond.
Additional note; I do not feed the trolls. If you don’t have something constructive to say, or if you can’t say it in a respectful way, you won’t get a response from me. Ever.
1 Star I didn’t like it
2 Stars It was okay
3 Stars I liked it
4 Stars I really liked it
5 Stars It was amazing!
If I do actually have something to say about a book other than what my enjoyment factor was, I will write a review and share my thoughts. If I say I didn’t like a book but there wasn’t anything about it that I thought needed to be shared, then that’s it, I just didn’t like it.
If you’d like to start a discussion about a book or you’d like an actual review, ask any question you like and I’ll be happy to try and comply/respond.
Additional note; I do not feed the trolls. If you don’t have something constructive to say, or if you can’t say it in a respectful way, you won’t get a response from me. Ever.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews