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The Legacies of Arnan #3
Long Light
Long Light
Storms sear over the plains of Arnan, blanketing the trade town of Melbis in silt and suffering. In a land mostly blind to its history, truth has awakened, with dire consequences.
Kilras Dorn spent decades seeing what others do not. Not even those closest to him imagine how many secrets he carries. The long road of his life has demanded both resilience and silence. As hard lessons built toward wisdom, the most important thing he learned was also the most difficult.
Patience is not born.
It is earned.
But Shaa, mightiest of Draigon, has fallen to a Draighil blade, and the secrets of generations are set to peel away like the bark of a birch tree. Now, Kilras’s reticence no longer has value, for the full depth of his knowledge is needed in the fight to come.
Storms sear over the plains of Arnan, blanketing the trade town of Melbis in silt and suffering. In a land mostly blind to its history, truth has awakened, with dire consequences.
Kilras Dorn spent decades seeing what others do not. Not even those closest to him imagine how many secrets he carries. The long road of his life has demanded both resilience and silence. As hard lessons built toward wisdom, the most important thing he learned was also the most difficult.
Patience is not born.
It is earned.
But Shaa, mightiest of Draigon, has fallen to a Draighil blade, and the secrets of generations are set to peel away like the bark of a birch tree. Now, Kilras’s reticence no longer has value, for the full depth of his knowledge is needed in the fight to come.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 9, 2019
About the author
Paige L. Christie
16 books61 followersPaige L. Christie is author of The Legacies of Arnan Fantasy series. The first novel Draigon Weather, published in 2017, has received praise from Janny Wurts and Lucy Holland. With the series complete, Paige is working on a couple stand-alone novels and trying to remember how to write effective short stories!
Paige was raised in Maine, and lives the NC mountains, writing speculative fiction, walking her dogs, and being ignored by her 3-legged cat. She is a a proud founding member of the Blazing Lioness Writers.
Always a nerd, obsessive about hobbies like photography, Ghawazee Dance, and listening to the characters in her head, Paige can be found slightly left of center.
Paige was raised in Maine, and lives the NC mountains, writing speculative fiction, walking her dogs, and being ignored by her 3-legged cat. She is a a proud founding member of the Blazing Lioness Writers.
Always a nerd, obsessive about hobbies like photography, Ghawazee Dance, and listening to the characters in her head, Paige can be found slightly left of center.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 21, 2024
Although a good book overall, it is very much a set up for the final volume which I am eager to get too.
April 2, 2024
[There are no explicit plot spoilers in this review.]
Long Light is Book Three of the four-book series, Legacies of Arnan, by Paige L. Christie. This story decisively belongs to Kilras, who was easily my favourite supporting character in the previous books. We learn (in a mostly sequential manner) of his growth from a child in a specific village to the empathetic caravan master that eventually befriends Cleod.
It would be too easy to dismiss it as "just a prequel" (in spite of the vexing fact that Book Three ends without any closure about the climax of Book Two) -- Kilras' journeys across Arnan also serve to introduce new people, customs, and factions that have only been hinted at. This adds some "epicness" to the consequences of Leiel's, Cleod's, and Kilras' decisions and breaks away from the mostly-regional perspective we've been given so far.
This broadening device reminded me a little of the recalibration required with Janny Wurt's Wars of Light and Shadows, where everything we learn in previous books has a deeper interpretation as the camera steadily pulls away from the seemingly simple tropes introduced at the beginning. I expect that future rereads of the Legacies of Arnan series will be just as rewarding.
Long Light is structured very similarly to Wing Wind, with an emphasis on one character's evolution instead of the future-facing plot. I wondered why I devoured Kilras' story so quickly yet struggled when the same structure was applied to Leiel in Book Two, and came to two conclusions: (1) Kilras remained enigmatic enough in the early books to have a lot of blank canvas to cover here and (2) Kilras' introspective musings are swirled into a revolving backdrop of interesting cities and situations, while Leiel's growth was more contained to a single location, so it was often the only thing happening for pages.
The bottom line: Book Three worked completely for me. I enjoyed the journey to this point enough that the forthcoming conclusion, Storm Forged, will definitely be a release-day purchase.
Long Light is Book Three of the four-book series, Legacies of Arnan, by Paige L. Christie. This story decisively belongs to Kilras, who was easily my favourite supporting character in the previous books. We learn (in a mostly sequential manner) of his growth from a child in a specific village to the empathetic caravan master that eventually befriends Cleod.
It would be too easy to dismiss it as "just a prequel" (in spite of the vexing fact that Book Three ends without any closure about the climax of Book Two) -- Kilras' journeys across Arnan also serve to introduce new people, customs, and factions that have only been hinted at. This adds some "epicness" to the consequences of Leiel's, Cleod's, and Kilras' decisions and breaks away from the mostly-regional perspective we've been given so far.
This broadening device reminded me a little of the recalibration required with Janny Wurt's Wars of Light and Shadows, where everything we learn in previous books has a deeper interpretation as the camera steadily pulls away from the seemingly simple tropes introduced at the beginning. I expect that future rereads of the Legacies of Arnan series will be just as rewarding.
Long Light is structured very similarly to Wing Wind, with an emphasis on one character's evolution instead of the future-facing plot. I wondered why I devoured Kilras' story so quickly yet struggled when the same structure was applied to Leiel in Book Two, and came to two conclusions: (1) Kilras remained enigmatic enough in the early books to have a lot of blank canvas to cover here and (2) Kilras' introspective musings are swirled into a revolving backdrop of interesting cities and situations, while Leiel's growth was more contained to a single location, so it was often the only thing happening for pages.
The bottom line: Book Three worked completely for me. I enjoyed the journey to this point enough that the forthcoming conclusion, Storm Forged, will definitely be a release-day purchase.
November 8, 2021
Change in POV, still gripping . . . but . . .
I won’t say anything about the characters or plot, only that the POV shifts from Leiel and Cleod to Kilras. This is his story. The pace and character development are excellent. Each vignette builds our knowledge of Kilras and Arnan beautifully. Thoroughly engrossing.
But . . .
The number of mistakes (typos, missing words, etc.) is appalling. The proofreaders, copyeditors, editor, and author should be mortified with how many there are. All of them were readily apparent as they all broke the flow of the prose.
I won’t say anything about the characters or plot, only that the POV shifts from Leiel and Cleod to Kilras. This is his story. The pace and character development are excellent. Each vignette builds our knowledge of Kilras and Arnan beautifully. Thoroughly engrossing.
But . . .
The number of mistakes (typos, missing words, etc.) is appalling. The proofreaders, copyeditors, editor, and author should be mortified with how many there are. All of them were readily apparent as they all broke the flow of the prose.
September 18, 2022
I completely love this series and cannot wait for book 4 to be released.
This was a book that I didn’t think I needed but has proven me wrong. I absolutely loved where it took me and now I feel that I need to visit Cuyunant (sp?) someday.
Thank you, Paige, for a fantastic voyage in my mind!
This was a book that I didn’t think I needed but has proven me wrong. I absolutely loved where it took me and now I feel that I need to visit Cuyunant (sp?) someday.
Thank you, Paige, for a fantastic voyage in my mind!
April 20, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this. The story is more focused than the rest, yet still brilliantly demonstrates the path Cleod and Leial have taken/must take to bring about change in Arden. I have very minor gripes about Kil, but they likely stem from jealousy at his sheer perfection.
September 16, 2020
This was the best so far. I was a bit disappointed it didn’t pick up from where Wing Wind left off, but the backstory of Kilras was a good read.
The message about equality was rammed home for anyone missing it in the first two.
Looking forward to book 4.
The message about equality was rammed home for anyone missing it in the first two.
Looking forward to book 4.
January 5, 2023
Fabulous story.
October 17, 2019
This was the best of the three Arnan books so far. Kilras was an incredible character, and I loved seeing his story play out along the trails and towns of the continent.
There was a nice return to the "Western" feel of Draigon Weather but the storytelling still carried the personal, intimate feel of Wing Wind. I guess that's why I liked it so much. It combined the best of both previous books.
Christie is growing as a writer, getting more and more sure of herself and her story with every outing. I can't wait for Book 4. The ending to this saga is going to be EPIC.
There was a nice return to the "Western" feel of Draigon Weather but the storytelling still carried the personal, intimate feel of Wing Wind. I guess that's why I liked it so much. It combined the best of both previous books.
Christie is growing as a writer, getting more and more sure of herself and her story with every outing. I can't wait for Book 4. The ending to this saga is going to be EPIC.
October 6, 2019
Excellent Continuation of An Engrossing Story
Kilras’ back story was what those of us who are reading these books as fast as they are published needed as a break from that whiny Cleo’s.
Can’t wait for the next book to find out more about the saga.
Kilras’ back story was what those of us who are reading these books as fast as they are published needed as a break from that whiny Cleo’s.
Can’t wait for the next book to find out more about the saga.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews