[templarsaint]

The third book in the Crucible series has just been released in Australia in Hardcover - The Crippled Angel.

I am about half way through and if you enjoyed the first two books (The nameless day & wounded hawk) I can strongly recommend the third (well so far anyway)

I believe that each book has been better than its predecessor and will now mark Sara's future works as "must reads".

.:)

[Cannon Fodder]

Personally I was kind of disappointed with the Crippled Angel. I liked the first two books of the Crucible, depsite or perhaps becasue of the butchering of the history, and was happy to get the third as a birthday present. It was okay but kind of disatisfying. So many things happen without explanation and far, fasr too many questions aren't answered for my liking. I was hoping Douglass would give a few explanations to things such as the importance of Thomas, to a certain extent the stuff with Mary but to no avail. Plus the whole book seemed rushed, particularly the sections with Hotspur and Bolingbroke's conquest of France, and the stuff with Mary was a bit too treacly for my liking. I kind of got the impression that Douglass got bored of the series and wanted to finish it off quickly.

[e-Morgana]

You must know I wouldn't be able to let the chance pass for adding my little bit to a Sara Douglass topic. :D

Of course, I have read all three of the Crucible and must say I enjoyed then thoroughly. To be honest, I must admit that my favourite is still her first Axis Trilogy though (the first 3 of Wayfarer for the Americans out there). I too found parts of the Crucible a little cheesy - especially the whole Thomas and Mary relationship. I also felt the ending, where Bolingbroke was concerned, was a bit of an anticlimax.

I think she relied a fair bit on shock value in the books which I found a bit disappointing. No doubt the story would be fairly confronting for many Christians out there. Don't get me wrong - I'm one of them (a Catholic, that is) - and it wasn't the "blasphemous" content that I am talking about - it's more the impression I got in places that she was being deliberately contraversial - almost like she was hoping for some fireworks. That's the impression I got anyway - though I could be completely wrong of course.

Still a great read despite all this. :D