Gathering Darkness (Gathering Darkness, Book 3)

by Morgan Rhodes

Hardcover, 2014

Status

Available

Call number

F Rho

Call number

F Rho

Barcode

5679

Publication

Razorbill (2014), 432 pages

Description

Prince Magnus must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica by tracking down an ancient, storied magic known as the Kindred.

Original publication date

2014

User reviews

LibraryThing member JRlibrary
Gathering Darkness, book three in the Falling Kingdoms series is extremely enjoyable. Cleo is trying to figure out how to survive the rule of King Gaius and her marriage to Magnus, Jonas is trying to rescue his friends who are in prison, Magnus' sister is trying to control her elementia without
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killing anyone and many people are after the Kindred. The thing I liked best about this book is the deaths that I just don't see coming. I love that the only thing I was able to predict was the growing attraction between Magnus and Cleo. Looking forward to book four and wish it was here already.
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LibraryThing member DarkFaerieTales
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An established fantasy saga with a world reinvented over and over.

Opening Sentence: The young man woke up surrounded by fire and chaos.

The Review:

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes has become an intriguing read. The third book in the Falling
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Kingdoms series has catapulted several degrees toward epic. Not only has Rhodes reinvented the environment, but I feel she has also brought an extra dimension towards the characters and the story. There are a few surprises that I wasn’t expecting, and I feel with all of the books that I have read recently, I didn’t think it was possible. But Rhodes knows who her audience is, and she knows what we, the readers, want.

In Gathering Darkness, Mytica has seen death and miracles, but within the castle walls, Prince Magnus has seen more than others. King Gaius sets out to rule Mytica, with power and magic of the Kindred. With these four elemental crystals, Gaius will be godlike. But he is not the only one to seek their powers. The Rebels, the Kraeshians, the Watchers, and others all seek the powers for their own purposes.

From Magnus to Cleo, Jonas to Cleo, and now with Ashur and Amara, Rhodes has brought many different voices into the mix. But where I normally would have been confused with the constant switches from one point of view to another, she has actually managed to tell the tale seamlessly. Each character, each voice, has brought a different challenge, uncovered an integral piece to a secret, and have brought forth a deathly wrath of something or someone surprising.

Magnus has surprised me with his actions. No matter what has been dealt his way, he has pleasantly acted in an appealing way. Cleo is playing the game, and I feel she is waist deep into danger. I am constantly at the edge of my seat preparing myself for what is to come with her. Lucia, Jonas, and the others have brought so many interesting clues, pieces, and other important things into this epic saga that I cannot get enough.

Rhodes has written Mytica to be this wonderful and vast world. She has reinvented this world with each quest, battle, and scene. Regardless if we have already known the kingdoms, with each chapter, there is something new. With each page, I find myself wanting to know more.

I was surprised with Gathering Darkness. I felt that the Falling Kingdoms series may not have been for me. I felt that maybe, there were too many elements to hold my attention and focus. But I was proven wrong by Rhodes. She has shown me that with the blink of an eye, the story will end and I will be yearning for more.

Notable Scene:

“You will carry out my orders without hesitation. i shall give you a gift in return for all you’ve done and will do for me, my beautiful boy. Do you understand and agree to this?”

He could feel her scrutinizing him for signs of dissent. If he flinched, she would strengthen her spell even more. More pain, more torture. He would lose that much more of himself. Already the need to obey her was a snake wrapped around his throat squeezing until he could barely breathe.

He held on to an image of a beautiful girl with raven-colored hair and sky-blue eyes, the girl he’d once pledged to protect with his very life. He believed in her. She would give him the strength to survive this.

“Yes, my queen. I understand completely.”

FTC Advisory: Razorbill/Penguin provided me with a copy of Gathering Darkness. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
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LibraryThing member Hellen0
This book was great! I hope the rest of the series stays this good, because it's become my favourite YA series.

There were a few plot twists, especially towards the end, that surprised me. Most of the main characters were predictable, because we have seen them evolve since the first book, but the
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secondary characters were much more mysterious and unpredictable.


Longer review and review in Spanish soon.
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LibraryThing member Spurts
Great read; as melodramatic as the previous books in series with lots of game changers, new and broken alliances, actual and hinted romances (hurray for the lack of love triangles here), heroic acts and horrible failures, deaths of some and introduction of new characters ...just a great fantasy
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epic with twists around every corne
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LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
Prince Magnus must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica by tracking down an ancient, storied magic known as the Kindred.
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
Now that I finally picked up this series again, I'm wondering why I waited so long to continue it. Strong characters and plenty of plot twists define this book, the third in the Falling Kingdoms series. New things are revealed about the characters, magic, and everyone gets new motivation to fight
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for something. This book has all the things I love in YA fantasy.
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LibraryThing member Pascale1812
What I love about this series is the characters. The multiple main focuses allows you to watch the complicated story unfold from different perspectives, really diving into the unique backgrounds and personalities of each of them.

What I don't like about this series is the characters. Asides from
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the main four - Cleo, Magnus, Lucia, and Jonas - most of the side characters live for less than a book before they die. It's not that the minor characters - guards, rebel allies, lovers - are not developed. Rather, it is quite the opposite. Many of them I came to love and their place in the story, only to find that they died abruptly.
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LibraryThing member sennebec
A dandy series with characters that grow and become more complex with each book.

Rating

½ (85 ratings; 3.9)

Pages

432
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