Book One (The Obsidian Mountain Trilogy) - The Obsidian Trilogy

The Outsretched Shadow is a very good book. A great book, even. It focuses around Kellen, the son of the head mage of Armethalieh, and magick. Two kinds of magick in fact: Wild magick and high magick. Kellen's society is ruled by high mages, and Wild magick is outlawed. This poses a bit of a problem to Kellen, as he runs across the three main texts of Wild magic. Eventually, Kellen is outlawed, and I will not say after that, as it would spoil the plot.
Good Guys: Kellen, Idaliah, Shalkan, Jeremy, a half-demon.
Bad Guys: Kellen's father, Angril, Demons, high mages.
Pros:
+ Good Plot.
+ Good characters.
+ Interesting, I could put it down, but it took a crow bar and the promise of caffine.
Cons:
- Rather like a lot of her other work. Lackey was answering the same problems she answered in the Storm series in the same way.
- I've seen this plot before. Not the entire plot, but bits and pieces here and there.

This is honestly your basic journey-to-adulthood fantasy formula, and anyone who's expecting innovation will be disappointed. That said, it's much better than Lackey's usual solo work (recently anyways) and I enjoyed it for what it was, though the pacing really drags at the beginning and end. It actually appears to have been edited, which is sadly no longer something to be taken for granted, and while the main characters are unrealistically perfect they're at least shown with enough flaws that it doesn't become very irritating. If you like sword-and-sorcery stuff, this is the book you have to read to get to the second book, during which the action really picks up.

a good story, well written, but prepare yourself for pages and pages of uneccessary descriptions and more pages of inner turmoil! i skipped quite a few pages to get through the book. Mercedes Lackey has always been one of my favourites and i'll finish the trilogy no matter how many pages could have been left out!

I adore Mercedes Lackey's work normally but when she collaborates with others she seems to produce the most spectacular combinations of brilliance. This book sucked me in and spit me out a day later and left me wondering if I'd survive until the second book came out. The characters are amazing, the plots are interesting and the mythology of such overused being like unicorns and centaurs are completely entertaining and not at all boring or dry as they can become in other stories. I loved it muchly.

After reading some of the reviews posted here, I was a little worried about buying this book, but now I am glad I did.
Yes, the book is a little slow a first, but things really pick up after the first 1/4. The book is filled with vivid imagery and detail that goes far in fleshing out the many interesting characters we meet along the way.
If you're a Lackey fan, you'll love this book. I know that I can't wait for the next one in the series!!

I believe the authors (and apparently the publisher) were looking for quantity over quality. Much of the narrative is superfluous, and doesn't contribute to the storytelling. I found myself skipping multiple pages throughout each chapter because of this. I counted 15 paragraphs (pages 429-430) just of the protagonist debating whether he wants a new suit of clothes. And this is a REPEAT of a theme found in earlier pages. I mean, really? Do the authors have to continually rehash the fact that the protagonist never really likes his clothes? How does his discomfort help the story? The authors continually repeat (re:hammer home) various themes throughout the book that add pages, but not substance.

Speaking of the protagonist, what a whiny wimp. It's impossible to believe that he's 17 years old. Scared of his own shadow (like the pun?). The authors try to paint the picture that he's led a sheltered life, but at the same time, he hasn't (because he sneaks out of the house habitually in order to interact with others). The authors portray him like an adolescent, when he should be portrayed as a young adult. He is easily overshadowed (ha) by ALL of the other characters in the book. I became immensely sick of him by chapter 19; there are 26 chapters in the book. The narrative is actually better when he's not in it. If the authors are trying to incrementally "build him up" in each book of the trilogy, they have succeeded to the point of failure. A pyrrhic victory, if you will. I will consider reading the other two books in the trilogy, but only to find out how the story ends. I really don't care what happens to the protagonist himself.

Having said all of the above, the plot is respectable. Different types of magic (not just the usual "white" and "black" magic), political schenanigans, manifest destiny, elves, unicorns, centaurs, etc. all get "screen time" in the book. DO NOT PURCHASE, as it's really not worth it. Check your local library to see if they have it.

I was surprised by how fun and engaging this Obsidian series was. Most readers of fantasy will enjoy it. Given the absence of sex, this is actually a pretty good gift for the younger set 12 and older.

That said, the next Phoenix series was a little weak. I read it since I invested the time so far, but it was derivative of the first series and didn't seem very original or deep.

I loved the descriptions involved and the general world and characters. It was a new and interesting approach to magic, using the Wild Magic, High Magic, and the Dark Magic.. it all interested me, and it interested me further the descriptions of each person. Shalkan, the unicorn, particularly interested me, as well as the Centaurs. The unique descriptions of them brought flavor to the book. While it was a bit long and the descriptions could go on for a couple pages, it was a lot more interesting to me compared to, say, Lord of the Rings, which is just boring.. (in my opinion..) And it left me hanging. I want to see if the pompous mages of the City of a Thousand Bells will finally realize that they've dug their own grave! If Kellen will develop his Knight-Mage talents and if he'll ever wield a sword as well as.. before. I can't wait for the next one!

I'm not usually Mercedes Lackey's biggest fan - her books are frequently a lot of the same thing, over... and over... and over. Joust and Alta, two of Lackey's latest (and both unrelated to the Valdemar books) read much like her other, more prolific series. This one, however, was quite different - and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The main character, Kellen, is a believable person - perfectly willing to sit on his backside and watch the world fly past him until something *really* needles him - in which case he picks himself up and decides to do something about it. The other characters in the book are equally enticing - particularly the centaurs, a race you don't always find in good fantasy novels - I suppose because it's difficult to draw them in nicely. Lackey and Mallory have definitely done that.
On a whole, the Outstretched Shadow was a wonderful book, and I'm eagerly awaiting it's sequels.

I have been reading an awful lot of Mercedes Lackey books recently, and I just finished this one. Since it was in a different series than the ones she normally writes, I was a bit skeptical, but I read it anyway. Kellen Tavadon is the cliche kind of kid, and I could barely supress a groan when I found out he was the son of the "arch-mage" of the city.

It goes on with some interesting plot twists and a good story development that kept me reading the entire way through. It was a great book, and the only down side was that often times Kellen's thoughts went off in a repitional (is that even a word) tangent that often lasted for several pages. He was not the brightest character in the story.

I would definitely recommend this as a book to get.

I have always been hesitant to read fantasy novels, because everytime I picked one up I always got bogged down in the author's world or it just...didn't make sense. But 'The Outstretched Shadow' by James Mallory and Mercedes Lackey proved that you could have a lucious, well imagined fantasy world and magic system without being overbearing.

The story focuses on Kellen, a 17 year old looking for his way in a world full of hypocrisy and oppression. He finds three Books, Books that are the guide to a repressed form of magic called Wild Magic. I'll only say this much more: the subsequent action follows in short order, and the world outside of Armathelieh is full of surprises.

The only un-positive note (for it's not really negative) is that sometimes the descriptions get a bit long winded, but nothing that I found too detracting. Overall a great story, and I'm inspired to pick my way through some more fantasy to find others that are as good.

For all those interested in a well written, descriptive novel, this is it! But to be fair I almost gave up on it. Normally I'm the kind of person that if I can't get into a book by the third or fourth chapter, that's it and I won't touch it. The first book of the Obsidion Trilogy is Slow. It took till around a hundred and twenty pages to start thriving for more. All in all I'm really glad I did because the Authors' description of environments and characters is like putting you in the book. Compasion, Fighting, Magic, Mythical Creatures, and Epic Quests await all those who read. And Book 2 and 3 continue the story for hours of page by page enjoyment.

While I thought that this book had an interesting story, and agree in part with many of the other reviews, there is one overall reason that I gave such a low rating. Kellen, one of the main characters of this book is an endearing young man, with many questions and outlooks upon his life in general. Throughout the novel, Kellen comes upon his realizations and revelations on the blink of an eye, going back and forth from one view to another, doubting just about everything there is to doubt. This is a book of adventure and far off lands, but this feeling of excitement at untold journeys is somewhat put off by the fact that you know the main character will always find the answer when he needs it, at the snao of your fingers. If it wasn't for this, the book would have been, in my opinion, far more enjoyable.

If you enjoyed Elizabeth Moon's 'Paksenarrion' series, you will definitely enjoy this start, to what one would hope to be much longer than a mere trilogy. Battle scenes are realistic, the emotions are right on target, and even contains humor!! This read would also appeal to those who eagerly await the next installment of the 'Green Rider' (Kristen Britain) series. My only beef is WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE JUST A TRILOGY?!!!

I tend to be wary of certain established names in this genre and now I'm reminded why. They write the same story over and over again (young man has to save the world from demons), dust off characters that were well into retirement (elves, trolls, goblins, demons, mage maiden ...) and use every bloody clich? they helped to create in the first place (elf falls in love with human, unicorn rescues virgin ...).

In short I suffered through a Tolkien clone/fantasy role play/geriatric care center for fantasy veterans trying to liven up with weak humour at times.

Oddly enough the first two hundred pages (when Kellem is in Armethalieh) were easily the best part of the book. The struggle between a cold and demanding father and his rebellious, lonely son holds more feeling, more life than the rest. It is odd because those chapters contribute nothing to the actual story, laying only the foundation for further proceedings and giving background information.

"The Outstretched Shadow" was readable. I'm just glad that I borrowed it.

I read this book because the intro sounded interesting enough to read the sample that kindle gives you. I will read the rest because I would like to know what happens to Kellen and Idalia. I have read other books by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, which is why I picked up this book. I would recommend these books to anyone who reads books by these authors.

While it is well written, barring some monotonous internal angst by the protagonist, it's just too grim for me. It only gets crueler in the next book, which I had to stop reading.
I read to escape to a nicer reality, not one that's a horrific maelstrom of demonic sadism and inescapable doom.

This definately isn't what I expect from Mercedes Lackey. Usually I can't put down her work, because her storylines and the worlds that she creates are original and stimulating. This story, however, has a somewhat decent storyline, but....... not much else. The world and characters are cliche at best (the bad guys are DISMAL), and the long-winded inner dialogue of the main characters just makes the story drag. I was constantly wanting to tell the main character to "Just shut up already and get on with it". If he had, the book would have been at least 200 pages shorter, and I might have been willing to purchase the next book. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of thick books, if there's a good story in there somewhere, but this was just filled with fluff. Very amatuerish, like a middle-school student trying to draw out his essay to meet the teachers 500 word length requirement. This breach in style makes me wonder if Lackey had much of hand in writing this cumbersome story, or if she is just doing a friend a favor by adding her name to his writing to give him a start.

I really liked this booked. However I feel a need to warn everyone that it is slow at first. I like getting alot of background on a new world and the main characters, But I usually prefer that you grab my attention first. The book spends a great deal of time at the begining going over history from one view point, and giving us a great deal of information on the homeland of the main character. But it is not until much later in the book that anything actual begins to happen.
I would have prefered the book to start out with some action or decision then started giving us the background information which I think could have been done easily.
All of that aside The Story is great and I can't wait for the second book.

Interesting setting, interesting characters, but far, far too long. Needs to be cut by about 100 pages. The pace is glacial, the same ground gets covered again and again. This isn't being paid by the word, it's being paid by the pound.
It could have been such a good book-the elements are there.

The first book started slow. However, with patience, it moved along very nicley about 2/3 into it. Great characters, great plot and a great story line.

In short, well done and right up ther with the Dragonlance series.

Though I would agree with reviewers who found this series to sound very familiar, I consider it a good thing. That's why we read fantasy - elves, goblins, dragons...

These books are quite captivating and hold your interest. While it would have been good to incorporate more adult themes, The Outstretched Shadow was an excellent break from Jordan and Goodkind for me.

This is the first book of a clasical Fantisy triligy. As a youth comes of age his magic finds him. He must face hardships and dangers to find his mission in defeating evil and reseting the balance in the world.

Well writen and fast paced. Slow to start as the stages and characters are established. A definate read for the fan of fantisy and magic.

While I grant there were no obvious flaws with her prose beyond its lack of originality, I can not express deeply enough my dissatisfaction with this book.

Allow me to state clearly that I am not a 'high-fantasy fan'. I'm a lover of all literature - spanning everything from Robert E. Howard's original pulp fantasy (that was eventually corrupted by
Tolkien lackeys like Lackey), to Kerouac, Maugham, Lovecraft, Kundera, et al. Therefore, while I have no particular hatred for the genre, if you are the sort that eagerly browses the fantasy shelves at your local bookstore and gladly buy up the various offerings by Lackey and her look-alikes, my opinions will be useless to you. You have, after all, found what you enjoy; I commend you.

If you are a generally avid reader that occasionally dips their toes into fantasy literature, or someone whose definitions of fantasy tend more towards the Gene Wolfe end of the pool, then you probably are seeking an opinion of the book that will guide you on whether or not to purchase it. As such, I will say that the positive reviews you find here are written by the former group of readers. (For Pete's sake, they describe cliches as the book's selling point!)

Let us forgive Lackey's lack of originality for a moment: understand that she is one of those authors that has never tried to escape that vile child of Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons that pervades much fantasy literature today. If you know that you do not like this, stop reading now, and move onto your next book. If you are luke-warm on that genre, let us move on from there.

Her main character is presented with all the depth of water pooling in a belly button. He is young, brattish, and sort-of seeks his father's affection (except he doesn't; it's rather passive aggressive). This is not poor dramatic fodder, save for how terribly it is executed. His youth and brattishness is never utilized in dramatic fashion as, for some reason, this young man knows better than every adult around him, including those on the ruling council. Let us be clear: it is not just that he *thinks* he knows better (that would be fine characterisation). He *does* know better, every time. A great deal of the book reads like the wish fullfilment of a teenage boy (is that the primary audience?).

Even her "magic system" falls peril to this: the father is obviously using the "boring", "formulaic" sort of magic. The son/main character, however, is so very special that he is chosen by a magic book to learn the "better" "wild" magic. Everyone is taught that this wild magic is evil and bad and destroys society; the main character thinks it's good. Therefore, everyone else is immediately and completely wrong; and also, part of an evil conspiracy. Everyone in the world who thinks this wild chaos/wild teenager stuff is "good" is a white-hat, objectively proven so by the author. Everyone who thinks ritual and order is good is a black-hat, proven so by the author. After this is established, it turns out that ritual magic even relies on harvesting the soul-stuff of the population. Because, if we weren't sure if we ought to side with the brat of a main character yet, his father / the ruling council / those boring old adults are sucking the souls of the city populace for their own welfare.

Sigh. In the hands of a good author, that might have been used as a social commentary, in the vein of the original myths of aristocracy-as-vampires coming from the general feeling that they "fed off" the peasants. In the hands of Lackey, however, it's merely there to bludgeon the audience into making sure they side with the White Hat instead of the Black Hat.

The boy's relationship with his father is worse. If the father oppressed the child for what he truly felt was his own good, we could see some dramatic tension in the boy's resultant emotional distance and magical/political opposition to the man. However, the father apparently hates him. He does not even hate the boy in three-dimensions: it is without any apparent remorse that he, according to legal dictates, sends out various forces to kill his son (his teenage rebellion was what earned the death sentence). And the boy, as I recall, is not even all that upset or surprised by his father's reaction. Any possible drama to be mined from that vein is never found. What more needs to be said? The protagonist is the ideal wish fullfilment avatar of a teenage boy.

The remainder of the characters are written in the same two dimensions, wearing their white hats and black hats in the face of the oncoming evil army (the evil army is obligatory in all Tolkien-clones, after all).

The plot is essentially linear and obvious. As to one of the previous reviewers that said the linear and foreseeable plot is a *good* thing in a writer... No, child, No. It is one thing if the writer is following epic archetypes and so, to some extent, we know the brushstrokes the story is following. Many great writers use particular well-known story elements; if one is writing an epic in the Greek heroic fashion, there should be a concern with glory over death, and a character's importance should be commensurate with his looks and physical ability. However, a good writer would or could turn any of these elements on their head, and whether they did or didn't, these are /elements/ - they're not the entire damned book, plot included! (Note: this book is not based on Greek epics, I was just using that as an example).

It's quite another issue to write *the exact same book* that's being published by *every* other bland, formulaic fantasy writer in the market, all of whose plots could be predicted before pen touched paper. When the book's plot can be predicted within the first chapter, that's not clever artifice on the part of the author. That's a hint you can use the book for propping up a shaking table.

Lackey's prose and characterisation is as uninspired as the fan-fiction role-players write on the back of their character sheets. If you do not already love this sort of pastiche, move on. Otherwise, read at your own peril.

(Addendum: 3/11 find this review useful? Really? Is it that my review does not offer an overview of the book's contents, or that you're fan-boys voting negatively on anyone that doesn't support your fanboyism? Really, it's that sort of fan-club-voting that kills the review system on the store.)

Kellen Tavadon lives in the Mage city of Armethalieh, where nothing ever is allowed to change. Son of the Arch-Mage, he's expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but he doesn't fit in, doesn't live up to expectations, and doesn't agree with the agenda that's been set for his life. His discovery of a mysterious set of books on the forbidden topic of "Wild Magic" sets him on a course that will ultimately thrust him form the life he knows and introduce him to his destiny.
Sound familiar? It should. The plot, characters, themes and settings are typical of fantasy in general and Mercedes Lackey in particular. Except for the hair colour and the fact that he whines a little less, Kellen could have been Vanyel. Whether this is comforting or annoying will depend on the reader.
I found this book very difficult to get into, mostly because the writing style is frankly amateurish, particularly for the first five or six chapters. For every location there are hundreds of words of unnecessary back-story and description. No event is truly connected to the larger story, as most of them occur mainly to elucidate conditions in Armethalieh. This was especially grating in chapter 2: an entire chapter devoted to a situation and characters who never appear again, merely to point out that women are not allowed to practice magick and mages go to great lengths to prevent them doing so. I couldn't help but feel there would have been a much more elegant and less wordy way of getting this point across. I wouldn't have found it worth my while even to give those characters names!
Once Kellen's destiny is thrust on him things pick up, but there's still a lot of the same-old here. The same old good vs. evil conflict, the same old debate between Earth magic and ceremonial magic, the same old magical creatures and, saints preserve us, the same old Elves. The action is okay and the concept of Wild Magic has some originality, but there's way too much introspection and moralizing on Kellen's part. I felt very strongly that the writers did not trust their readers to "get it," and so over-explained things to the point of boredom.
_The Outstretched Shadow_ has its moments. There were some things about it that I quite liked, occasional brief flashes of originality and wit. Unfortunately, it seemed that instead of pressing the boundaries of genre fiction, the writers allowed themselves to be limited by its banalities. So this was never quite the book I felt it COULD have been. I'll probably read the rest of the series, but I won't expect any more of it than I've seen here.

This is a great beginning of a fantasy series. It had similarities to Valdemar and maybe a little Harry Potter thrown in. The plot flowed smoothly and left the reader wanting more. There were nicely developed characters, and an overall plot that would encompass an epic series. I truly enjoyed this read.

Kinda long and detailed,
BUT entertaining ideas and characters.
This a great foundation to build on.
So many things can and will happen.
I a excited about the future books in this series, and hope
the authors will follow through.

I've read other books by Mercedes Lackey and rather enjoyed them,and I won't say she's my favourite author.I won't even say I have a favourite.I will say,however that if you didn't enjoy it,that sucks.It's all very well to say your piece.Not so well,however to be so rude about it.Now,for lack of my own words to get this point across I'll fall back on this simple,yet efficient phrase:If you can't find anything nice to say,don't say anything at all.My next words may take points from the rest but they're pretty dramatic so that makes sense.I'm only fourteen and I know that.If you like this genre,go for it.You're the one reading it.No one else's opinion matters at this point.