The Tale of the Five Omnibus by Diane Duane

The Tale of the Five Omnibus by Diane Duane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The darkness, the shadow, death or entropy call it what you will it is forever surrounding us, a part of life and a necessary precursor to whatever comes next and thus in the world of Brightwood, Steldin, Darthen and Arlen it emerges through the acts of individuals from little things to world changing. Long in the past the Kings and Queens of the nations gave their lives to bring peace and prosperity to the nations and through magic, bloodline alliances and oaths unbreakable peace reigned until the death of a king, the rise of an usurper and the lack of strength and resolve from a son born to rule but who ran.
It is a few years later and events conspire to bring an unlikely group together, the world is dying as harvests fail and encroachment from raiders rise. The land needs a King, rites have to be done and is this world the land and its King are truly one, without the a human heart to care and maybe to sacrifice the darkness rises and thus Herewiss a young sorcery looking to rekindle the magical "flame" in himself (lost to man centuries before) rides to the rescue of his friend Freelorn (Prince of Arlen) and the fight against the darkness begins anew.
The Tale of the Five Omnibus consists of the three novels The Door into Fire, The Door Into Shadow and The Door Into Sunset by Diane Duane with the fourth novel in the series in development. I am very familiar with the Star Trek novels by Diane and this was the first of her original work I have read and I enjoyed immensely, there were certainly echoes in the language and worldview that I recognised from her take on "Romulans" but no question that this solid epic fantasy with magic, warriors, dragons, elementals and all manner of normal human strengths and weaknesses.
She created a huge world to play in and characters and races all add depth and complexity to the events of the three novels thanks to their diverse nature. I really enjoyed her take on Dragons, The Divine and Elementals and the decision not to stick to a more traditional narrative when it came to personal relationships worked very well.
I'm looking forward to The Door Into Starlight but this omnibus can stand alone so don't hesitate, this is a well written and entertaining fantasy adventure.




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