Sword of Flame

I enjoyed the fantasy series written by Maggie Furey. While her novels may not be the best of the genre out there, they are certainly worth the read for any fan of fantasy novels. I wish she had written more.

enjoyed greatly

good

thanks steve

I think this book could have been condensed into one of the other sequels. Sword of Flame just made me NOT like Aurian more because she became more self-centered and EVERYTHING relied solely on her. As the book cheesily states, she is "the One". She has a strong cast of supporting companions that I'm sure could have competently taken care of their problems without her, but the author makes it so that Aurian waltzes in, fixes everything and gains adoring fans along the way. Although the author tries to make her more flawless, Aurian becomes more flawed. You can call her ambitious and wishing to fulfill her quest, but there were times I wished she would step back and take more time with her son and lover, who should've gotten more attention than her new friends! It was like once she had a new toy, she was bored with the old..even though she occasionally came back to them. Though I am aware of those not wishing fantasy books to become cheesy romance novels, the relationship she possessed with those she claimed dearest to her made it seem as if they were merely friends, like the rest of the gang. If the author was going to take a step that way, I don't see why she couldn't have made it more heartwarming. However, I did enjoy the previous two books, Aurian and Harp of Winds, and this one for its detailed descriptions (though it did get long-winded at times) although it doesn't leave me as curious to know how everything fares out, for I'm sure the One can make everything right anyway. Nevertheless, I, like many others who can't stand not to finish a story (no matter how disappointing), have hope for the last sequel, Dhiammara. Overall, the writing is definitely not bad, aside from those items I've noted, and I hope to read some more improved books from Ms. Furey.

This is the third book in The Artefacts of Power tetralogy (after Aurian and Harp of Winds, and before Dhiammara).Reunited at last, the Mages Aurian and Anvar are ready to set off again in search of the last Artefact of Power, the legendary Sword of Flame. Together with their new friends, they travel to the Xandim fastness, where the shortsighted Windeye Chiamh can help them locate the lost artefact. There they'll have to face the demented former Healer-Mage Meiriel who has but one obsession, to kill Aurian's son. Meanwhile, rebellion is slowly fermenting among the Xandim people.At the same time in Nexis, young Zanna is trying to rescue her father from the clutches of the fiendish Archmage, while as always, the cupid Eliseth is coming up with more devious ploys to thwart Miathian and seize the power of the Cauldron of Rebirth.The Sword of Flame is what you could call a typical middle volume, in which many events take place but where the overall story in itself isn't really getting much further. Mark you, I found it quite enjoyable, but as a whole, I was less impressed, less taken aback than I had been by the richness of Harp of Wind. I guess I read it faster because I was in a hurry to jump to Dhiammara, the final volume. Consider this one a bonus.

First I read Aurian... and it was pretty good. Then I read the second installment and I thought, well, one more and it'll be over. The third, Sword of Flame, seemed headed for a neat ending, but alas, in the last few pages Furey manages to turn us around for a fourth volume. I was so frustrated that I sat down at the computer and wrote my own ending. You may want to do so too; or you could stop after reading "Aurian" and move on to some more productive activity, such as rereading Tolkien. Furey's problems as a writer have been accurately described by other reviewers of this book: for one thing, she needs to reduce her vast number of adjectives, and she'd be wise to stop telling us what the bad guys are thinking. And then there are the cliches. And people's inexplicable motivations and compulsions (Aurian's mother is a whole catalog of these). And... oh well.

Sword of Flame is a very exciting book!! But i thought that the final battle was overwith to fast!!The whole serie about Aurian is very good, and I hope that someone will make a film out of the books soon!!