Black Sun Rising
Over a millennium ago, Erna, a seismically active yet beautiful world, was settled by colonists from far-distant Earth. But the seemingly habitable planet was fraught with perils no one could have foretold, and the colonists were soon caught in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a terrifying natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, drawing forth a person’s worst nightmare images or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life.
Twelve centuries after fate first stranded the colonists on Erna, mankind has achieved an uneasy stalemate, and human sorcerers manipulate the fae for their own profit, little realizing that demonic forces which feed upon such efforts are rapidly gaining in strength. Now, as the hordes of the dark fae multiply, four people are about to be drawn inexorably together for a mission which will force them to confront an evil beyond their imagining, in a conflict which will put not only their own lives but the very fate of humankind in jeopardy.
The Priest: Damien Vryce – a rebel, a warrior, one of the few men of his calling who believes that sorcery can, indeed, serve as a potent weapon in the war against evil, a man ready to sacrifice anything and everything in the name of human progress…
The Adept: Ciani of Faraday – one of the few humans born with the ability to see the fae and to alter it, she has devoted her life to the acquisition of knowledge. But a deadly evil from her mysterious past has marked her for vengeance, and its devastating assault leaves her no choice but to track down and destroy the demons who have robbed her of her lifelong powers and most of her memories…
The Apprentice: Senzei Reesse – Ciani’s friend and assistant, he has lived in the shadow of her power for many years, hungering to possess the adept’s talents which he knows can never be his…
The Sorcerer: Gerald Tarrant – an enigmatic figure of seductive elegance and chilling amorality, he draws his strength from a land immersed in perpetual darkness, and serves an evil will so powerful that it can alter the very balance between life and death…
Now a menace which even Tarrant has come to dread has invaded the human lands, and Ciani is only the first of its victims. Only the combined efforts of this uneasily allied foursome offers the least hope of finding and combating this ruthless, soul-devouring darkness. And so, with no other choice open to them, their journey begins…
C. S. Friedman
Celia S. Friedman (born 1957) is a science fiction and fantasy author. She has been a voracious reader from her earliest days and began writing at the age of thirteen. She studied then taught costume design at university but now writes full-time and teaches a creative writing course at a local high school.
The Coldfire Trilogy
The Coldfire Trilogy tells a story of discovery and battle against evil on a planet where a force of nature exists that is capable of reshaping the world in response to psychic stimulus. This terrifying force, much like magic, has the power to prey upon the human mind, drawing forth a person’s worst nightmare images or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life.
This is the story of two men: one, a warrior priest ready to sacrifice anything and everything for the cause of humanity’s progress; the other, a sorcerer who has survived for countless centuries by a total submission to evil. They are absolute enemies who must unite to conquer an evil greater than anything their world has ever known.
The Coldfire Trilogy consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
