From a New York Times–bestselling author, three novels of a modern-day medievalist beset by murder and magic—“A fabulously talented writer” (Charlaine Harris). As a student of medieval history, Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories. She knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the other horrors of the Middle Ages all too well, but it is another kind of atrocity that has begun to … atrocity that has begun to haunt her dreams. She sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat. In The Time of the Dark, Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil’s world. She is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined. In The Walls of Air and The Armies of Daylight, Gil and Rudy know the world is no longer safe and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark. Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste. The land’s wizards have been slaughtered, its cities destroyed, and its people scattered in terror. Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Gil and Rudy, and both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart. Finally, Gil, Rudy, and the rest of mankind’s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.
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How do you meet a wizard? Gil (she’s a grad student) wakes up in the wee hours from a disturbing dream and the wizard is sitting at her kitchen table. Rudy (who does airbrush painting for a body shop) is hung over from a night of heavy drinking and nearly blinded as the wizard slashes open the veil between spheres and comes thru into our world. They get drawn across the Void (the space in between universes) into a realm at war against an ancient evil and must their find way in this dangerous/chaotic place until the wizard Ingold can return them to our world.
The depictions of a large city’s population in flight, seeking a place of refuge while battling an ancient enemy of legend; politics & infighting between factions; betrayals & treachery; the search for other wizards and how the enemy was defeated in antiquity, are excellent.
Dense, textured and well written. Just what you expect in good fantasy, the ability to suspend reality and follow the author down the rabbit hole.
I read this years ago in paperback format. Loved the series.
Barbara Namely crafts good stories with excellent characters from wizards to soldiers to musician, healers and detectives. This series is an enjoyable read. I am hoping for more in it.
Wonderful series that does not weigh you down with technical information, Just a great story with inspiring characters. I highly recommend these books for those who love an easy read over the weekend or on a trip.
Great fantasy!
Not great fantasy, but a fun read with some good characters.
Totally loved all 3 books, the kind that keeps you up all night reading, I kept saying – just one more page. Great story and great characters.
The Darwath series is well worth reading! Imagine a modern scholar and a biker suddenly find themselves back in the Middle Ages with a crazy Wizard and deadly dangers. The concept is entertaining and the characters are well developed and evolve throughout the series. I couldn’t stop reading and wish there were more!
Enjoyed the first book in the series, but then it degenerates into a “Do you think Ingold is great or the greatest?” story and gets racist out of nowhere.
Loved the book so much I had to read it again! The characters intense, story is one I was able to dive into and get lost in the adventure.
It sounds like an old trope but is entirely original.
These three books are my favorite fantasy series ever. If the devils of the Dark aren’t bad enough, the world of the Wath is undergoing drastic changes. The wizard Ingolde Inglorian easily rates up there with Gandalf in my opinion.
If you like books that are really wordy, you will love this series. Personally I find it hard to read. I love the story but find myself skimming through the excess.
Excellent story-telling, complex characters. Wanted to read all in one sitting!
one of the best series of books i have ever read ,up their with token and brooks
Hambly is a great fantasy author and this is my favorite of her series.
Definitely Hambly’s best, although, her others are definitely worth reading.
First book is good, second even better. The third is not quite as good, but still solid.
great author, series good enough to re-read after year or 2