Black Sun Rising

Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1

By: C. S. Friedman

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

yes

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

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.

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.

Loved the story but the voices….

The voices used outside of the normal conversational voices were exceptionally grating and made parts of the story impossible to listen to. There were many times with the exaggerated R’s and shrill whispering voices where I had to stop listening or fast forward to a different part of the story. It is a real shame they did not consider how awful some voices and pronunciations can be to hear.

A must-read!

Very enjoyable, with relatable characters. A good book for the occultists and those who love the other-worldly.

I was mistaken

I started reading this book years ago for a book club, and I quickly lost interest. When the rest of the club gave up, I let this become a "DNF". Then I challenged myself to read a book I gave up on. ....back into the cold fire of true night I trudged, dreading what was to come. But I was wrong! I found myself itching to continue my read this time. The book, for some reason, grabbed me. The writing is a little aged, but the character arcs, the steaks, the magic system, and the world building are all really well done, and I'm excited to keep the series going.

A lasting favorite.

This has been a long time favorite of mine, and revisiting it as read by RC Bray has been a pleasure.

As good as I remembered...

I was in high school when this series came out and originally enjoyed the author's willingness to tackle a protagonist with a measure of faith in a higher power. Revisiting Erna has proven to be as rewarding now as it was then, and the narration was top notch. Calesta's voice, in particular, was quite apropos, and the switch between voices for the character in the epilogue was quite well executed. Great read!