Flight into Darkness

Alchymist's Legacy #2

by Sarah Ash

From Sarah Ash, acclaimed author of the Tears of Artamon trilogy, comes the conclusion to the story begun in Tracing the Shadow , a fantasy masterpiece of truly epic proportions. In a clash of kingdoms and rebels, of magicians and inquisitors, two young mages must find the resolution and courage they need to save both the world...and themselves.

As an impulsive young man, Rieuk Mordiern accidentally freed Azilis—a guardian spirit charged with keeping the balance between the kingdoms of the living and the dead. And now his sole purpose is to bring her to restore the balance that he so carelessly upset. Only Azilis does not want to return. Instead she has attached herself to a very talented mortal—the renowned singer Celestine—becoming, as Celestine believes, her personal guardian.

And Celestine has never needed a guardian more. Her desire for revenge against the people who consigned her magician father to the flames is leading her farther down a dangerous path as she learns to use the powers he deeded her at his death. Powers that are bringing her to the attention of an Inquisition determined to stamp out every last trace of magic from the world.

But chaos is growing. Seven daemons from another realm, once imprisoned, are now threatening to return and lay siege to the mortal world. The boundaries between life and death are slowly eroding. And to prevent the end of all things, both Rieuk and Celestine must discover what it means to truly be a hero....

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magic

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Sarah Ash was born and brought up in Bath. At university she trained as a musician, but returned to her childhood love of writing as the author of highly-praised novels, including the Tears of Artamon Trilogy. Sarah also writes about her love of anime and manga for Anime UK News. Check out her Guest Blog to read posts by other SFF authors about their fiction!

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

An "okay" is not really a fair rating and Tobey is correct when she advised....'if it is a series, read the series in order'. I did not and therefore was not engaged at all so this book lingered and I concede defeat.

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compared to Tracing the Shadow this follow up is not good. I bought it as soon as it came out because I was desperate to see the conclusion to the story (which I did get, and am thankful for), but this book had a plodding plot that mostly recounted what happened in the trilogy (I swear some scenes, especially with Eugene, were copied verbatim). The development of the characters was predictable, and the ending was not satisfying. I constantly found myself counting how many pages were left. Overall, I just felt...disappointed by it. Luckily the other 4 books of Ash's that I've read have never left me with that feeling.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel leaves me conflicted. I am decisively annoyed that I evidently need to read another trilogy to get the entire story; I should have checked out the Goodreads recommendations before I read this novel, evidently.
The novel continues the tales of Celestine, a fabulous singer that is linked to a goddess; Jaku, the musician that loves her but has vowed to a military career; Rieuk, who gets pulled into all kinds of political and religious conflicts; magical magi; dragons and demons. There is lots of action; in fact, the continued action tends to limit the background explanations and character development that would rate a 5.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now this has looped back up to the main story this has improved but still not as good as i remember the original trilogy being. Still takes too long to get to an obvious plot point.

[Jimme Mcdougall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the first one. Pacing was better, the writing overall seemed to improve.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this satisfying conclusion of the series. Sarah Ash's fantasy creatures are well-thought, and her world of fantastical beings and humans is well-integrated and believable. The religious sector and psychology of some characters makes the story quite relatable to us here on Earth.

At times, the story was encumbered by a re-hash of events from previous books. Many scenes were re-told almost verbatim, from another character's perspective. However, once I emerged from these sections, the story truly soared and I greatly enjoyed it.

Sarah Ash notably blends both good and faulty elements into her characters, so no one is purely good (though a few are pure evil). It makes for a richer read, but at times I felt detached from her characters. Her tone is often quite analytical.

Many of my favorites, like Kaspar Linnaeus and Eugene of Tielen, return to the story, and my curiosity about Linnaeus deepens. I saw on the author's website that she was writing a story about Linnaeus, but I do not know if it has or will be published.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found in this book I lost what the plot was really about and what characters I was supposed to be focusing on. I was a bit saddened by this. I found myself reading and wanting to read on more for Ash's writing skills more than the characters or plot. The ending seemed a bit rushed like she ran out of time to finish the story after meandering about for the first 3/4ths of the book. I just wish it had been more focused on whatever it was this book wanted to be. I found the fact that it was going on the same time as the Tears of Artamon trilogy more annoying than interesting and I found I kept wanting to reread those books than keep reading this one. Her writing is still very good but the plot for this one was a little weak.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the world Sarah Ash created and enjoyed this book also. Unfortunately I felt that the “Tears of Artamon” should have been a 5 book series including the “Alchymist” series. The “Alchymist” was firmly tied in to “Artamon” and “Flight Into Darkness” was flashing back to the other books. I just think of how much better this could have been it told in a flowing time line. But I always wonder the story of Celestine the Opera singer. I strongly suggest you read it in this order:

1) Tracing the Shadow
2) Lord of Snow and Shadows
3) Prisoner of the Iron Tower
4) Children of the Serpent Gate
5) Flight into Darkness

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that if I had read the first trilogy in this world before these two books, I would have appreciated the political finer points more. The first book, _Tracing the Shadow_, I enjoyed very much, but this one seemed to be full of holes that could only be filled in by reading the _Tears of Artemon_ books first. If an author is going to write a series of books that happen at the same time as other books, they should still stand on their own, and this volume just doesn't. That said, I love Jagu and Celestine and the world they live in, and may have to take a look at the previous series sometime in the future to fill in the gaps of story.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book! Sarah Ash at her very best.
She expertly weaves together the political machinations of the varying countries of her world with such ease, whilst writing fantastic characters and building a world so real it feels as if you're actually there.
I highly recommend the 'Alchemyst's Legacy' Duology though I would say that 'The Tears of Artamon' should definitely be read first! (It is just as superb!).
I loved the way that 'Flight Into Darkness' melded so well into the action of the previous trilogies time span and then continued on after to have it's own dazzling and intense ending.

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid fantasy novel. The author tries to create various countries and cultures to base the story around and in doing so never full develops any of them. She does a good job developing the main characters but there are so many secondary characters that at times I was confused as to which character was a part of which country. If the author has just spent more time at the beginning explaining the politics between the different countries, then the story would have flowed better.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alchymist's Legacy #2. This is the end of this series which is set in the same world as Tears of Artemon, but centered on Celestine de Joyeuse, rather than Gavril Nagarian. The continuity confused me, particularly since scenes from "Children of the Serpent Gate" were repeated here. If you liked Tears of Artemon, you'll like this, but I recomment that you read the first book, " Tracing the Shadow", first.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Christine and Jagu's story before and after the Tears of Artemon series. It was real cool to find out what happens after the closing of Serpent Gate. I hope Sarah Ash continues to write, she keeps you on your toes with fast paced and intriguing stories...and allows you to fall for her characters...

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the enjoyable finish to "Tracing the Shadow." The books are definitely not spectacular literature, but the plot moves and the characters inspire emotional reactions (both good and bad). It was a good read, even if it the plot was a little bit contrived and predictable.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd title in the series and just as strong as the first. The characters are multi-faceted and the political intrigue intersting. A good summer fantasy read.

[Quantum Thief- Behind the Mask · Rating 5 out of 5]

i finished it and it was amazing beyond words!

[N.A. Fedorak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent continuation, although more in fighting between the characters would have been helpful.