This review is from my reread of this series in 2015/16.

As I said in reviews for the earlier books of this series, it's very hard for me to be objective about these books. They were formative works for me and as a result I reread them regularly every decade or so. Fortunately, I don't feel I have to with this one. By this point in the trilogy all the clumsiness associated with the portal fantasy aspect and the extended exposition elements is long gone. Most of the effort here is to resolve the setup from the first two books satisfactorily.

There are fantastic set pieces throughout, from the rescue of the Paraiko, to the drama at the Anor Lisen, to Lancelot's battle, to Calor Diman, but the ultimate battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark contrasting with Darien's road is just transcendent.

Finally, if this is your first exposure to these, I'll give you a hint that I wish someone had given me years ago: go read [b:Ysabel|104078|Ysabel|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1439575244s/104078.jpg|100357].

3.0 out of 5 stars

And thus ends my three-week long journey with The Fionavar Tapestry, a solid if unspectacular series.

Kay’s story itself is undeniably epic and this book features satisfying conclusions to each of the story threads, but throughout the second and third books I found myself scanning paragraphs for plot progression rather than hanging on every word of a page, which is a clue to myself that I’m ultimately disengaged from the proceedings. The Arthurian elements that were introduced in the second book never quite landed for me, but I appreciate Kay’s attempts to overlay several different mythologies onto his story.

Although this trilogy won’t become one of my favorites, I’m very interested to see the television adaptation of this series, as well as continuing to read through Kay’s other works.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

The conclusion to the trilogy, The Darkest Road was a mixed bag. A lot of the plot felt a bit drawn out and plodding, but nevertheless quite satisfying, especially in the last couple of chapters.
The story picks up where the last left off, with the war between the light and the dark coming to a head. The four ride different roads that converge at battle, and their journeys, both personal and tactical, were well planned and articulated. The drawback of such a convoluted plot, though, is the sheer number of supporting characters that keep coming in and out of focus around the four travellers, and the build-up of interest we get into these characters that isn't justified by the lack of closure in the ending. What happened to Sharra, Coll, Loren, and so many more people after the war is just hinted at. And also,

Spoiler

the return of two of the four to their old world and the impact of their time in Fionavar.

I would have liked to know more.
That, ultimately, is the price paid for trying to compress an LOTR's worth of plot and story into a limited number of pages. It works, but it could have been better.
Nevertheless, the book really delivers, especially on the aftermath of the war. Almost all threads are neatly tied up, and there is a genuine sense of loss that the adventure is over.
The whole trilogy is a really good exercise in fantasy, and definitely a series worth investing the time in, even if it does raise some doubts along the way.

Último volume da Tapeçaria de Fionavar, este é o livro onde culmina a viagem de cinco jovens por um mundo paralelo, recheado de magia e seres inimagináveis, onde as lendas ganham vida e os mitos caminham ao nosso lado para a derradeira batalha contra o Mal, num cenário épico que habitou o imaginário de gerações de leitores.
Fantasia em estado bruto, sonhos no seu estado mais puro, é o que podemos encontrar nesta trilogia que após tantos anos ainda conquista fãs pelo mundo afora através de heróis de espadas, deuses e feiticeiros numa aventura à moda antiga mas que não perde qualidade, antes aumenta conforme nos aproximámos do fim. Naquela que poderá ser uma das minhas leituras descoberta do ano, descobri um autor e uma história que marcarão para sempre a minha visão deste género literário. Fã como sou das histórias intricadas, das voltas e reviravoltas, do desconhecido e das surpresas mais marcantes, dos mundos construídos ao pormenor, nunca pensei gostar tanto de uma obra tão simples e linear com esta é mas a verdade é que Guy Gavriel Kay é um mestre em unir elementos improváveis através de uma escrita fluída e magistral onde o timing nos corta a respiração.
Sendo o fim da trilogia, A Senda Sombria marca pelos momentos emotivos que se vivem ao longo das suas páginas, onde tudo pode acontecer e sofremos até a última linha para sabermos os destinos de todas as personagens que nos acompanharam ao longo destas páginas. Para mim, este é o livro mais forte da trilogia e acaba de uma forma tão soberba, sem ser perfeita, que satisfaz qualquer leitor que não se contente só com um “viveram felizes para sempre”. Tal como Martin, Kay não tem medo de seguir as linhas da história e se isso significar a morte, a perda ou o sofrimento, ele não se desvia do caminho. Cada acto é pensado para levar a outro, cada simples palavra ou decisão podem condenar ou levar à glória.
Por trás da simplicidade desta história, existem emoções fortes, momentos de uma beleza tão singular que só este tipo de escrita nos pode dar. Como final, este livro é perfeito. Se nos livros anteriores a qualidade da história vai melhorando, neste atinge o seu expoente máximo, em cenas épicas deslumbrantes que se desenrolam de forma natural e onde as emoções são levadas ao rubro.
Não sendo um escritor muito descritivo, Kay usa as sensações e os sentimentos para ligar o leitor à história através das suas personagens. Se a Tapeçaria de Fionavar é, no seu todo, rudimentar, as suas personagens já não o são. Complexas, vão crescendo de livro para livro, atingindo, a maior parte delas, o seu objectivo nesta recta final. Cada uma delas é diferente, cada uma tem o seu próprio destino. São únicas, insubstituíveis e a falta de qualquer uma delas teria desfeito esta “tapeçaria”. É através delas que sentimos e vivemos cada aventura, pois cada uma tem uma história pessoal, o que faz com que este livro tenha uma imensidão de histórias dentro da história.
No fundo, esta trilogia não podia ter um nome mais adequado, porque o que o autor fez, foi criar uma tapeçaria delicada onde cada nó, cada fio, contam para que a tapeçaria possa ser acabada de forma perfeita. Um dos exemplos de como o estilo de Kay é único, é o facto de ele conseguir unir tantas influências, tantas lendas numa mesma história de uma maneira que faz todo o sentido, não permitindo ao leitor questionar se fica ali bem no meio ou não. O todo faz com que esta história seja fantástica, do princípio ao fim.
Para quem ainda não leu este autor e sente curiosidade com a sua outra obra, Os Leões de Al-Rassan, convidou-vos a iniciarem-se na sua escrita por esta trilogia. Para além de ficar mais em conta, estarão a ganhar a oportunidade de ler algo viciante e que ainda mantém os moldes da verdadeira fantasia.

http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.pt/2012/07/opiniao-senda-sombria.html

I enjoyed this 3rd book. The battle scenes were well written, not boring at all, exciting, and everything seemed interwoven in the end. Brightly so. :)

Nonetheless, I still think everything could have been written without the add-on of the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot trio, that so clumsily disappears in the end. But that is just my nuisance with those characters.

Apart from that, the story has a good ending, kept me entertained till the end, so all in all it was a good trilogy.

This just became one of my favorite trilogies of all time.

To a story so much inspired by Tolkien, the way Kay handles language in the world he created is pitiful. His own narrative language is very literary and sometimes beautiful, even though he exaggerates in his use of archaic forms. But even this can be explained because of the structure of the work and the world, set to be a primal form of all worlds (and stories), legendary, intentionally glamorous and over-the-top.

But how all the characters can speak the same language is a mystery to me, a mystery never mentioned and that prevented me from ever truly embracing suspension of disbelief in this story. The same applied to the geography of Fionavar, which makes no sense. The explanation as to why the five were summoned in the first place is also ridiculous, and marred my experience when reading the first book, though I believe it is the best one in the series. The constant breaking of the rules that the author himself set to the world and the complete absence of consequences to their breaking is left unexplained and is highly unsatisfying, especially on the second book (and, more specifically, in the two ‘deus ex machina’ moments

what were the punishments for Ceinwen and Liranan for their interference? There seemed to be none whatsoever by the end

). Another problematic feature of the whole series is the development of the plots of some female characters, that I found badly handled

Sharra, whose story-line was superfluous from the start, seemed to exist solely for the sake of Diarmuid's character development, and once he dies, she disappears. Jaelle, independent and dedicated to her duties from the start, throws everything that she valued away to be with a man. Though parts of their stories are credible, I just did not like the messages they entailed.

.

And there is my greatest pet peeve, that many others have mentioned in their reviews here: the Camelot trio. I think they just did not fit in this story. The original motivation for their behavior - for the impediment of their love in trio in the original story - just did not exist in Fionavar. So why the same drama? It did not make any sense. I constantly thought of how they were there simply because the author wanted them to be there - and this is a terrible flaw, in my opinion, a story that makes you become so aware of the author's hand in the plot.

Also, it completely disfigured Jennifer as a character, to make her be(come) Guinevere.

I should say these problems piled up throughout the series for me and resulted in my difficulty in enjoying this third book. I felt it dragged for too long and it was harder to enjoy than the others. Some important characters had no ending, despite having been constant POV before; while other characters, never before mentioned, were given resolutions.

Sharra was utterly forgotten by the end, whereas newly introduced Leyse was given a satisfying resolution. Less central, but still meriting at least mention, was the destiny of Faebur and the entire stretch of land that was Eridu.

. Other resolutions, I think, were too akin to what I'd expected

especially the confrontation between Galadan and Paul

and some were outright disappointing

the scene between Darien and Rakoth felt silly. I couldn't care less for Darien's whining, but the Evil-Overlord-explains-the-plot moment was bad.

So, to conclude, I have had mixed feelings about these books from the start and though I don't think I have completely wasted my time, my final impression has not been good. I believe Kay is a good writer and from other reviews here, I will probably give his other works a try.