Mithfanion asked me about one of her books in the October reading thread:
Keep me posted on Lionwulf 3, I am interested in that one. This series I am reading in my native Dutch so I have to wait a bit more, but I still have not seen a single review for this book on the Internet and it has been out for several months now.
And this seems like a better place to give a more detailed response. Beginning with a bit of background on my experience of the series so far.
I adored the first book in the series
Cast a Bright Shadow. It was long and grim and incredibly complex, with subplots springing up in all sorts of unexpected directions -- but it was so beautifully written, and filled with so many magicial and breathtaking images, that I felt it was one of the very best things she's ever written (and that's saying a lot, because when she's "on" she's one of my favorite writers).
The second book
Here in Cold Hell disappointed me. It was even grimmer and even more rambling, and it didn't seem to advance the story, and there was far less beauty and far more sex and violence (and book number one had hardly been short of either). Then, too, she introduced so many new characters and subplots when it seemed to me that there were more than enough already.
With practically any other author, there is very little chance that I would have gone on to the third book, but knowing how Tanith Lee's writing can fluctuate between brilliant and dismal from book to book, I was eager to see which it would be in the final volume.
And so now to answer the question:
For me,
No Flame But Mine recaptured much, though not all, of the magic of the first book. It was definitely worth reading for that alone. And all of the characters and subplots from the previous two books are brought together and begin to form a coherent plot. (Unfortunately, because there were so many of them, and because of the time between books, I was constantly saying, "Who? What? Oh wait ... I think I do remember something about that. Vaguely.") In many ways, it even made reading
Cold Hell worthwhile.
There does seem to be an unnecessary proliferation of new gods and demi-gods, and much remains obscure. But I found the conclusion very satisfying -- not only in terms of that single volume, but as the conclusion of the whole series.
