From the Bookshelf of SpecFic Buddy Reads…

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy, #1)

C.S. Friedman

Start date: September 1, 2025

Finish date: September 30, 2025

Why we're reading this: Featured Buddy Read - September 2025
[close] Featured Buddy Read - September 2025

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What Members Thought

Apr 07, 2011 Chris Haught rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook

There were some good elements of story here, and some good world concepts. However, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The prose is choppy, full of adverbs and redundancies. If I had to hear "he smiled grimly" one more time, I was prepared to gouge out my eardrums (I listened to the audio, obviously). The plot drags on and on. And on. And on some more. Events take forever to set up, and then when something does happen, I'm like "what the hell? Where did that come from? Should I rewind? Oh ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2021 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

Loved the setting and the world building- I thought for the first third of the book It was heading for at least 4 stars, but alas, the plot didn’t wow me and I found large parts of it boring!

11 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2025 Justine rated it liked it

Shelves: 2025-read

My feelings are mixed.

I’ve read a few of Friedman’s books now and generally I like them. She’s a creative writer with lots of cool ideas. That is definitely on display here. The “magic” system, the different sentient species that have rapidly evolved alongside the human colonists that arrived thousands of years previously, the long lived Hunter and his dark Forest home. All of this I loved. The quest story is ok too, and the ending is very exciting.

The main thing I didn’t like was Ciani, whose l ...more

9 likes · Like · see review