Beautifully written, this book captures an alien mystique that is humanity at its best and worst. All of the alien worlds come together with her finest characters from her earlier books. My greatest compliment to this book is that it can be read individually without the need to read the other books in the series. (although I would hate to miss those.) However, I have waited six years for the sequel that is promised in the last chapters of the book in an unresolved relationship. Perhaps, that to, is humanity at its best and worst.

All of Franklins best character are swept together in a tale of mind boggling magnitude. What begins as Quine Hambly's curiosity about aliens escalates into Jase Slied's inquisition against Network. But humanities ambitions could carry a terible price. For, the healer marrach knows that the stars have begun to bleed, and the Ghost shadow may destroy all universes.

I found Franklin's world in The Inquisitor to be very unique and new. Very early on in the book I was able to grasp all the concepts of this world. The morality of the races, the help/hindrance of science, The hierarchical race clasifications, it was all explained very cleary and concisely. I find it a relief to be able read a book and to fully understand the ideas the author is striving for. Definitely worth reading in my book (pun!)

FRANKLIN HAS CREATED A VIVID INSTELLAR SAGA WITH THIS NOVEL. INQUISITOR HAS EVERYTHING THAT YOU WOULD WANT IN A SF EPIC: INTRIQUE, MURDER, REVENGE AND A LITTLE ROMANCE. I ESPECIALLY ENJOY THE CHARACTER TORI WHO HELPS OUR HERO SOLVE THE MYSTERY AND SAVE HER ADOPTED WORLD.

This novel follows the life of the immortal wizard Quine Hambly from the age of two until he becomes an emisary (spy) to the high tech civilization that created his race. I can't begin to tell you how much I like this book. It has everything. From sword and sorcery adventure, to intruige and high tech espianage. Can sorcery overcome science? Or will it simply master science and keep going?

This is an incredible, well written novel by an incredible author.

The main character, a Healer whose name both I and my mom forget, is a grief-stricken former tech runner chosen by the Mirlai to save their planet, Siatha.

The other main character is the machine-manufactured spy, Rabh Marrach, who can and has fit any role for his master, the hollow Network Counceler Caragen.

Sent by Caragen to secure the planet for their allies, the alien Adraki, who seek revenge on the planet's faerielike species, the Mirlai for leaving them so long ago; Marrach soon finds himself seduced by the simple, peaceful Siathan culture and the serene young healer living in it.

but I've stayed up a few nights with it, just the same.

This is one of those books that you're better off with if you can find a musty, well-loved copy. It just lends itself to that old-fashioned smell. It's a beautifully simple story about dark sorcery, good guys fighting bad guys, and improbable romance.

The characters are great, better than I expected to find in a book like this. Rhianna is a willowy girl who holds powerful magic locked within her. But instead of being a helpless damsel who erupts in fire at the last minute, she turns out to be practical, clever enough to fend for herself, and emotionally strong. I don't think she ever even gets taken hostage.

Instead, Kaedric does all the erupting in fire. Tall, dark, intimidating, brooding, Kaedric is a throwback to the days of the Wizard Kings, sorcerers so powerful they shaped the very earth to their whims. Kaedric broods so much that he seems to be more of a shadow cast across the story than an actual character half the time. But at least he doesn't brood in an annoying way. He's got a bit of a dark streak in his personality too, which lends a bit of depth to the storyline.

He's on a quest, she wants freedom from an oppressive family life. They manage to meet somewhere in the middle and (this actually is a shock) fall for each other.

In the meantime, of course, the world is being threatened by an evil wizard, and naturally it takes the both of them to stop it. Simple plot, interesting story. It's not cluttered up by plot twists or moralizing; if you're looking for those then head elsewhere. What you'll find here is good old-fashioned quests and wizardry, some nice explosions, a touch of darkness, a brooding hero and a resilient young heroine. And really, what more do you need?

Well, and maybe there're one or two twists after all.

Cheryl J. Franklin is the BEST author in reality. Her books are complex yet comprehendable. Somehow she manages to edit the possibilities and impossibilities. Reading her books allow you to leave the real world behind. Whoever put this book out of print needs a brain transplant. She takes an old topic- a noble-blooded girl with an ogreish father and a dead mother runs away from an unsatisfactory marraige and has adventures concerning the fate of all she holds dear, and finds a love along the way- and makes it original; uncontaminated. My mother bought an old copy from a library for 25 cents and gave it to me. I, at the time was reading the same Frank Herbert and Tamora Pierce(I'm 12 yrs old, but don't let that bias you) books over and over again, I was so hungry for a good book. I looked at, eventually decided that there should be some sense in the saying, "you can't judge a book by it's cover" and read it. It was amazing: the best book I have ever read (trust me, I have read a LOT of books, and none have come near to rivaling this one, although some of Franklin's other books...).Kaedric, Rhianna's love,is a hero in his own right, not just someone she beds, which is a nice change. This is a book you can read over and over, and it get's better every time.

Fire Get is a work of art, which, even now can hold a person spellbound. Franklin's descriptive use of words creates for a the reader a world so powerful and full of magic, sorcerors and adventure. Kaedric, our hero cum villain is a man who, quite frankly I would LOVE to meet, and Rhianna the heroine is a credit to the female; she has the strength to capture the love of a man so complex as Kaedric.

Like an embroiderer Franklin threads a story so compelling... combining romance, danger, fun and adventure so expertly it takes your breath away to read the result.

All hail Franklin for this masterpiece!!

In "Sable, Shadow and Ice", Cheryl J. Franklin has created another very original and complex world -- and one that is very much a departure from her other "Network-Consortium" series.

It's straight fantasy, with political and magical dealings galore. Franklin loves to pit the characters against each other, and no main character, good or bad, ever remains unscathed by the end of her books and this one is no exeption.

Well written, with a thought-out consistency to the fantasy elements, it is eminently rereadable.

The book also has marvelous cover art by John Howe. ;-)

Somehow the story won't leave me and every once in a while I return it, to re-meet Aroha aka Andrew and Marisa all over again. I haven't ever read a book with the same emotional feel and deep imagery as this one. All of the characters are complex, are struggling, are flawed. Andrew was an interesting hero, being the most complex of the lot. Marisa made a great heroine, she was easy to identify with amd she felt things strongly, without being handicapped. And most amazing was how important she was to the outcome, how unexpected her role was. The ending was sad and kind of sweet. It was a great book. I'm hoping that Cheryl J. Franklin will write another non-tech SciFi-fantasy book, like this one.