The High Lord

The High Lord is the last book in The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. Sonea has grown much in strength and skill as a magician due to her hard work and diligence. Many things have changed and with her new-found knowledge and insight on things, she makes choices that lead her to sacrifice for what she belives in and for the people that she cherishes. In this finale, events from the previous two books steamroll and finally come to a climactic battle and conclusion.

I enjoyed reading this trilogy and I was mildly surprised at the ending. Though the main story itself follows classical fantasy patterns, it has several unconventional subplots. I rate the trilogy 4 stars.(The trilogy, offhand, seems to have some similarties to the Harry Potter series. The Black Magician Trilogy was written in 1996, however, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published in 1997.)

Canavan has since also written a prequel, The Magician's Apprentice, due out in Feb 2009. The Traitor Spy Trilogy which is the sequel to the Black Magician Trilogy is yet to be finished and published. They are books to look forward to, and they also promise to be bestsellers following the success of The Black Magician Trilogy.

p.s. I like to read trilogies/book series because the scope and breadth of the main story is much more extensive. Characters that are introduced in the first book also grow on you and you are able to get to know and appreciate them better as the story progresses. As a reader, I also hate spoilers that is why I do not expound much on plots and endings. :-)