Black Sun Rising

Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1

By: C. S. Friedman

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

The Coldfire trilogy tells a story of discovery and battle against evil on a planet where a force of nature exists that is capable of reshaping the world in response to psychic stimulus. This terrifying force, much like magic, has the power to prey upon the human mind, drawing forth a person's worst nightmare images or most treasured dreams, and indiscriminately giving them life.

This is the story of two men: one, a warrior priest ready to sacrifice anything and everything for the cause of humanity's progress; the other, a sorcerer who has survived for countless centuries by a total submission to evil. They are absolute enemies who must unite to conquer an evil greater than anything their world has ever known.

©1991 C.S. Friedman (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Slow start but really quite fun

The opening of this book was hard to get through as the setting at first seems alien enough to be difficult to grasp and familiar enough to be generic (it's a post sci-fi fantasy). We immediately meet a character who is committing a heinous act and, with no appreciation for who he is, it's jarring and unpleasant to read. Eventually, the book comes into its own, with the introduction of some very enjoyable characters (although they seem a little flat at first).

The magic system presented is more detailed than much fantasy but doesn't quite achieve a level of detail where the reader can appreciate the limitations/strengths of the magic characters without being told directly about them by the narration. It doesn't have as much detail as the Mistborn series, but that also means that it doesn't get bogged down by that detail the way that I feel that Mistborn was.

By the epilogue, I realized that I had actually grown attached to the characters, as I was smiling and chuckling at their actions.

I loved it.

Great narrator, captivating story and world. It's the first time I listen to an audio book so I don't have anything to compare it to but I think it is of utmost quality.

Awesome book.

enjoyed the book when I read it about 15 years ago. even better the the Legendary R. C. Bray narrating it.

yes

Friedman's finest fantasy work yet. Comparable to all of the author's works in quality.

YA Sci-Fi Fantasy

A solid, almost classic for 11-18 boys. Revisited, in middle-age, the characters are tiring, and the plot is borderline absurd.