Black Sun Rising (Coldfire Series #1) by C. S. Friedman

Product Details

Synopsis

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.

Annotation

With her highly acclaimed novels In Conquest Born and The Madness Season, C.S. Friedman acquired a well-deserved reputation for exploring science fiction's most challenging themes. Now she turns her talent to fantasy in a novel that boldly and provocatively examines the ever-mutable nature of evil and mortality.

Library Journal

For over a thousand years, the colonists of the planet Erna have struggled to gain control over a land prone to seismic instability and infused with a wild, near-sentient natural force known as ``the fae.'' While sorcerers and adepts manipulate the dark and light sides of this power, the Church maintains its stance in opposition to its use. As the dark side of the fae grows in strength, feeding off the nightmares and greed of the minds that are drawn to it, four individuals form an unwilling alliance to battle the source of evil. Friedman ( In Conquest Born , DAW, dist. by NAL, 1978; The Madness Season , DAW, dist. by NAL, 1990) has produced a splendid hybrid of sf and fantasy in this first volume of a trilogy. Hauntingly memorable protagonists, high drama, and vivid world-building mark the beginning of what promises to be a magnum opus of the imagination. A priority purchase for fantasy or sf collections.