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  • The High Lord

  • The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 3
  • By: Trudi Canavan
  • Narrated by: Richard Aspel
  • Length: 21 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (682 ratings)
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The High Lord cover art

The High Lord

By: Trudi Canavan
Narrated by: Richard Aspel
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Summary

Life should have been easier for Sonea, now that Regin ignored her and the rest of the novices treated her with wary respect, but she cannot forget what she witnessed in Akkarin's underground room, or his warning that Kyralia's ancient enemy is watching the Guild closely. The last few years have been good for Cery. He has a respected position among the Thieves, and connections in high and low places. When an exotic stranger offers to help him with a secret task, Cery knows he should refuse, but life would be boring without the occasional risk...

As Akkarin reveals more, Sonea does not know what to believe or what she fears most - that the truth is as terrifying as he claims or that he is trying to make her his accomplice in black magic.

©2004 Trudi Canavan (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"A wonderfully and meticulously detailed world, and an edge-of-the-seat plot, this book is a must for lovers of good fantasy." (Jennifer Fallon)

What listeners say about The High Lord

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The best book in the trilogy

Having been slightly bored by the first book (nothing particularly new, plot thin and predictable, writing nothing special), I have to admit that I loved this last book in the series, and was left feeling quite bereft, with a real sense of loss at the end (I had to revert to Sookie Stackhouse for some light relief!).

Why did I push on with the trilogy having been disappointed by the first book ? Simple: I had stupidly already purchased and downloaded the entire trilogy - have to say that I'm glad I did.

It certainly doesn't rate amongst my best listens (the narration is ok, but only "ok"), but it gathers momentum in this last book, and whilst clearly aimed at the younger market, surprisingly I enjoyed it, and I don't regret the credits spent.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Top notch!

Excellent book brilliantly read, great end of the trilogy, sad to not be listening any more! Can't wait for the age of the five to be released unabridged, if they are ever going to be.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The High Lord (Unabridged)

This was a brilliant end to the trilogy and again fantastically read by Richard Aspel (another great unabridged achievement by him) Long awaited listeners of this unabridged title will not be disappointed. This novel really completes the story with suspense and finality that was thoroughly enjoyable. Now awaiting the next novels from Trudi Canavan to be made available in unabridged versions to continue my collection from this great author.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic final book in the series

I love this book so much I’ve listened to it many times. Great narration great story and fantastic ending!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tedious narration of an excellent book

I'm a great fan of Trudi Canavan, and have read this trilogy four or five times before I bought the audio version. This is the second time I have listened to this recording, and sadly I don't think I can listen again.

The characterisation by Mr Aspel is very poor, the male characters are either querulous or unctuous, with no differentiation of young or old. For the first two books, Akkarin is voiced as extremely supercilious, unctuous and old (and not as dark and sexily dangerous as depicted in the books - he is only 30 at the beginning of the first book!) - over the course of the third book this characterisation is modified as we learn more of Akkarins history, which almost makes you feel that the narrator had not read the books prior to the recordings.

Sonea is narrated as timorous and apologetic to the extreme, which just becomes more and more tedious.

Then there are the various mouth noises, swallows, and nose breathing which is extremely distracting.

If I could find these books narrated by another I would buy a different version as Ms Canavans story telling and world building is excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

One of the best trilogies ever, a great listen, good storyline .I can't wait to listen to more of this authors work.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

well written and brilliantly read

a simply captivating audiobook, could not stop listening to it. also well read I would recommend this too anyone

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Herein lies all the action of the trilogy

Story – 3/5

If you have gotten this far, and are still waiting for the action, then here it is. The second half of this story is quite an epic fight/battle that is highly entertaining. Alongside this, there are a few romances, which are believable and added to the entertainment nicely, and Trudi develops her good characters to be even more likeable (probably her strongest point)

I still can’t help but think that this whole trilogy was dragged out though. I am guessing Trudi Canavan intended to use this for character development and world building, but there are other authors who have done a more complex world and characters in a more concise way. This Trilogy would have been a lot better if it was squeezed into 2 books instead. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, and I give it 3/5 stars, but I won’t be rushing to get her other books anytime soon (maybe eventually though)

The prose was a bit repetitive at times, and I started noticing to the point of mild irritation during this audiobook. She uses “[she/he] regarded…” far too often. “She regarded him admiringly”, “he regarded her suspiciously”. After I noticed it, it had me cringing every time it was used. Probably just a personal qualm though ;-)


Performance – 3/5

Richard Aspel’s reading is consistent with the first two books in the trilogy. If you didn’t like that, you won’t like this. I don’t think he is quite as bad as other people are making out though, and if you are laid-back about this sort of thing like me, you will no doubt be fine with him. If you are still unsure, you can always return the book and get another

He tends to read the novel like it is only children that will be listening, which is wrong to do. He over emphasises the thoughts and speech of the characters, making the younger people sound very whiney. His voice acting gives each character a distinctly recognisable voice though, and he does well to set the atmosphere of the scenes.


Overall – 3/5

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An Epic Conclusion

Well, here is the much anticipated conclusion to Trudi Canavan's excellent Black Magician Trilogy and what a delight it is to be able to hear it unabridged! This book more than lives up to the promises set by the first two. Questions are answered, though nothing is as it seems. This is the most powerful of the trilogy and my personal favourite. I defy anyone not to be in tears at the end. I was sad to reach the end and I think the only solution is to start all over again! I believe the author is not done with these characters, so I'm eagerly awaiting the next instalment of their adventures.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A struggle

One of my all time favourite trilogies, but very sadly wasn't a big fan of the narrator. if you enjoy the sound of mouth noises and stuffy noses, then you won't mind it. But, at times it was infuriatingly distracting.

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