Hard to put down ! I was fascinated by the world explored and all the questions about death and power. Plus the relationship between Haplo and Alfred is evolving and it´s so interesting to see old enemies getting to know and understand each other. Can't wai to read the next book!

This book started pretty strong, but overall it was tough to finish. This is a strange series. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes bad. I will finish the rest sometime, but for now I’ll take a break.

Probably my least favorite. Haplo and Alfred crash down on the stolen elven airship on the interior of an impenetrable stone planet. Under the unforgiving core is an even more unforgiving Sartan population. There was once elves, humans and dwarves, but all have perished in the near unlivable conditions. These Sartans, who are responsible for life, have turned to forbidden magic and instead rely on their dead to do menial tasks. Weis and Hickman's greatest fault with this one was killing off the only likeable character relative early into the book. They make up for it by providing us with Jonathan, a young necromancer, but the book is nearly over by this point. The fact that everyone else in this book is an asshole doesn't help. If this was the first book of the series I picked up, I wouldn't complete it. This series is meant to be read as a whole, and this novel is the weakest link in an otherwise great series.

Number 3 down, four more to go. But this third book has been the best sofar. It differs a lot from the second book, which could have been classed as 'light' reading.

Fire Sea takes us down inside a world with necromancers, lazers, living dead. It is far darker than the first two titles in the series, but I just kept on reading. It was really hard to put down. The struggle between Haplo, a patryn, and Alfred, a sartan, makes for some tense moments.

Really liked this book and am curious were book 4 will be taking me.

My re-read of The Death Gate Cycle continues with its 3rd entry, Fire Sea. I remember the major plot elements of this story much more than book 2, but memory has a funny way of twisting an experience to suit how you’ve chosen to view the past. Did Weis and Hickman’s story stick with me because the story was truly significant, or was it due to my lack of experience in fantasy realms when I first read it?

As Haplo prepares to enter the third of the four primary worlds created by the Sartan’s Sundering, he’s unexpectedly joined by the bumbling Sartan, Alfred. Together, they explore the world of Abarrach, the realm of stone. Shrouded in darkness and death, the two unlikely companions uncover the most horrific secrets of a dying world.

The first thing that stands out to me about this novel is the incredibly haunting tone it wields throughout its narrative. From the very beginning, a sense of doom permeates the prose, giving it a dark fantasy flavor.

Tying the story back to The Deathgate Cycle’s first novel, Fire Sea reintroduces Alfred. Through Alfred’s POV and the additional context from Alfred and Haplo’s discoveries in Abbarrach, the story uncovers more background information about the Sartan, their motivations behind the Sundering, and the extent of their failures. Alfred’s horror at the consequences of the Sundering for Abbarrach and his resulting growth of character is a strong driving force of the novel. Haplo also grows as a character, and we learn how far he’s willing to go for revenge and where he draws the line.

Each book has displayed different tones and POVs, but it still manages to hang together and feel cohesive as a series. I enjoyed how Weis and Hickman allowed themselves to play with the narrative this way, and I appreciate it more while re-reading than I could when I originally read the story in my youth.

Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks to the story.

At the novel’s start, the pacing is slower than I’d like due to the travel log narrative technique used to set up the story. The new characters introduced in Abarrach are more forgettable than some characters in the previous two worlds. And the story’s third act feels a bit too drawn out.

Despite these few weaknesses, Fire Sea is a strong entry to the series, possibly the strongest yet, exploring dark and terrible themes that stray into the territory of horror. If you finished Elven Star and wondered if the story was worth continuing because it didn’t quite hit the way you thought it might, this one is worth the read before you decide whether to put the series down.

It took me a long time to get around to starting this book and even longer to read it. About a third of the way through I was hooked. Reoccurring protagonists Haplo and Alfred are here through most of the story. We still have a few background characters. They aren’t as interesting, but they are integral to the story and mostly feel more fleshed-out than supporting roles in the first two books in this series.

First we have Prince Edmund, noble ruler of a small farming kingdom. “Noble” is the key word here; as there is no other nuance to his personality…until something really bad happens to him. Two others, Jera and Jonathan, are also important. But they are mostly annoying…until something really bad happens to them.

The central theme here is the relationship between Haplo and Alfred. They have many of the same fights throughout as Weis and Hickman probably don’t want their conflict/bond to pay out until the book seven.

This story reminds me of a horror book where the human survivors lose while the zombies win. It’s tragic, just not as grisly as a typical horror book.

The third Death Gate book with Haplo and Alfred. They travel to a world of stone, the title always threw me off because I think of fire and this realm is stone. I love how the world was sundered into four realms air, stone, fire, water. All separated by the death gate. I like the connection of all the books though I suppose you could read each book separate of the series but I recommend starting with my favorite Dragon Wing.

One of my numerous re-reads of the series. It's probably my favorite volume.

It was a pleasure to come back again to Abarrach, the deathly world of stone. This volume was far more well paced than the previous one, as the discovery of the world was challenging for all the characters. The book gave some satisfying answers about what happened to the Sartans and a new form of magic was introduced, rising interesting questions and leading to difficult decisions. A good volume for Haplo who continues to grow in a very interesting way (plus, the dog). Still a pleasure to re-read it and I didn't need to skip boring parts because Abarrach let few places for them.

Igual de malo que el anterior.

La trama me ha parecido aburrida. Los personajes me han parecido muy poco desarrollados.

Me desconcertó un poco el uso innecesario de la primera persona al principio del libro. Abusa excesivamente de los perdidas de consciencia de algún personaje.

This book reminded me why i picked up this series. It held me creeped out and spellbound until the last page.

I have no words. I need to take a break before continuing - the story ponders heavily on my heart, as I begin to understand more and more...it's a beautiful, but sad story altogether, skillfully woven into our imagination.

Hands down, this is the best of the series. And the creepiest. With the most scope. In my review of Elven Star, I said that the interaction between Haplo and Alfred, Patryn and Sartan respectively and age-old arch enemies, are what makes this series sing. Fire Sea is when it all changes.

First, you have both of them together for the whole book. They are caught on the most inhospitable world yet and have to trust each other to survive. Alfred finds what he has been seeking: fellow Sartan who are alive. Then he and Haplo discover to their horror that on Abarrach, world of Stone, alive is sort of a relative term. That the Sartan here have warped their wonderous powers to a horrible end.

The people we meet on this world are not like the other two. They are good people caught in a terrible situation and trying to do what is right. We can't help but feel for them and love them. The plot is life and death...lots and lots of death...and is not afraid to the big questions that go along with it. in the background we have Haplo and Alfred sparking off of each other like two stones yet somehow forging a friendship in spite of themselves. It's breathtaking.