Darkwitch Rising: Book Three of the Troy Game

Third in the Troy series. It's about re-birth. The characters live out their lives; and after a few hundred or thousand years are born again. Each time; they get better and better. In the first, Cornelia was just a spoiled princess. The second; a mature women. In this; the third book she is the developing goddess of fertility. Even a goddess cannot have it all her own way though. Her nemesis, the evil Asterian is stronger. He places an imp in Cornelia's body; if she doesn't do what he wants; the imp will tear her apart. How do you get arround that? That is the meat of the matter.

Very little is what it seems in this book. And if you're rooting for Brutus and Cornelia to get it together you will shocked and dissapointed-I was. That said, this does resolve nearly all the issues set up in the past books and set the stage for the next book perfectly. There is more change in the major players of this book then ever-be prepared to except that evil can be overcome and love can be lost and people can be something they never should have been or would have been. Remember that all the titles of books before refer to Cornelia-this one does too. Anyway, just read the book. I'm now counting the days until the last one comes out. And desperately hoping that Brutus can finally love Cornelia as he says he does. Three months later-in retrospect I don't think I like this series very much. It's not very well written, it has no likeable charecters and a lot of the actions are brutaly offensive. Faced with the forth book recently published I find I've just lost intrest. In retrospect I think I find Sara Douglass's writing to be very dark and depressing and gloomy-but not always in a way that works. I wouldn't advise reading her stuff, excepting Threshold, unless you can work a two week depresion into your life.

let me preface to say that I thought this was the best book in the series so far. So while what follows are critisims, they are only minor nick picks that I felt did not detract from the novel overall, not substantially anyway! * One thing that was kind of annoying was Noah, once Cornelia, once Calea, is loved by all and everyone. Practically all the major male characters fall inlove with her, and the major female characters either love her unconditionally or are jelous of her. Luckily Noah has her own inner problems that make her seem more 'real' and not just a 'miss perfect'. * Lots of characters pausing mid sentence, and then the second character saying 'I know'. for example: - Character one: "I wish..." Character two: "I know, I know." It happens over and over and over. Sometimes at the end of a chapter. It happens all the time, got a bit repetitive. Overall, I loved this book. I thought it was great. I loved the character development. I can't wait for the last book. I hope there is more of John Thorton in it!

As with every Sara Douglass series I've read so far, the story gets better with each new book. The Troy Game is no exception. It starts off typically, very similar to the previous book in the series. We see all the reborn characters in their new roles. Brutus is trying to get back to England, but must take it over by force. Asterion is after the Kingship bands, biding his time. Cornelia is living a semi-comfortable life, coming into her powers as a Goddess. And then events start to happen, things that seem innocent and semi-interesting at first, but slowly build momentum until by the end of the book, your entire view on this series - the story, the characters - will have changed. I cannot believe the character development that takes place. Characters change in such unexpected (but realistic) ways...I daresay it's the greatest character development I've ever read about in any literary book, period. Brutus is still a jerk, though. Unfortunately, it's not the last book in the series (at least I hope not), but I'm only sad about that because now it means I have to wait years to find out how the story truly ends. Otherwise, the book ends on a fittingly depressing note, very satisfying considering the huge steps the characters have taken to resolving all conflicts in this one. There's no other series I have ever read that's quite like the Troy Game...spanning thousands of years of our real-world history, full of characters that are extemely well-written and events that continue to surprise you. I look forward to reading the next entry in this amazing series.

Darkwitch Rising was a completely engrossing novel. The plot twists and thickens in way I did not expect, and at the end, I was left with a sense of despair, knowing that I have to wait for the final installment. As stated before, you have to have read the previous two books in the series before you cannot even begin to appreciate the majesty of this book. If you have not read Hades' Daughter and God's Concubine, you will not have the background to fully understand and appreciate the characters and the plot. This novel is not a light read. It is extremely dramatic with no humor to lighten the mood, much like the other two in the series. While some people would find this a bad thing, I think it keeps the overall feeling of the series consistant while keeping you "on the edge of your seat" and focused on the story. This entire series has been one that keeps me thinking about the what has happened, what the characters should've done different, and what the heck is going to happen next... even when I am not reading it. To me, this is a mark of a especially talented author to keep a reader's interest as they go about their other daily tasks. The characters is this series are extremely well-constructed. In most fantasy series, the characters will start out rather 2-dimensional, and as the author continues to write, will evolve into more complex personalities, purely through accident it seems. Not so in the Troy Game. The characters do evolve as the story progresses, but as a reader you can tell it is a purposeful evolution. The characters will occassionally refer back to their previous experiences/lives and what they have learned from them, and how it has shaped them into the people they are at this time. The occassional character who isn't evolving as fast as the others seems dim-witted and stubborn in comparison until you just want to reach in the book and slap some sense into them. I realize that in this review I have not given an plot summary or set up to the novel. This is purposeful. There are a few great surprises in the novel that should not be ruined for other readers. I urge you to find them for yourself. Enjoy!