"The Faces of Obsidian" is a fantasy novel for women by Russian writer Natalya Kolesova. The author has published more than thirty books, most of them are connected with magical worlds, various magical creatures and their possible interaction with people. This is also described in The Faces of Obsidian. The novel was released in 2013 and entered the series "Witching Worlds" published by Eksmo Publishing House.
What does the name mean
What is hidden behind the name? This is not about volcanic glass; Obsidian in the novel is a magical river that divides the world of people and supernatural creatures, "Beasts." The river itself also conceals a certain magical power.
The world and history of the novel
As the novel progresses, the author reveals the details of the life of creatures on both banks, metaphorically illuminating the various facets of the existence of ordinary people and supernatural creatures. The old world, the world of Beasts, like themselves, pose a threat to mere mortals, and Obsidian acts as a natural barrier separating the two races. Worlds do not touch due to the special magical protection provided by the guides, werewolves, living on the shore of people. Sometime in the time of the division of the region along the river, called the Exodus, they crossed Obsidian and settled among people. Such a neighborhood is mutually beneficial: werewolves as the only carriers of magic can protect people from the invasion of Beasts from the other side. Human women, in turn, by marrying werewolves, help them continue their race. Natalia Kolesova writes about the difficult relationships of different types and, of course, love.
The structure and brief description of the "Faces of Obsidian"
The novel is divided into 3 books (called faces by the author), each of which is conditionally interconnected with the previous one. The first tells the story of a difficult relationship between the human girl Inta and the Lord-Werewolf Fairlin. The second book is dedicated to Fairlin's brother, Barin, who had to deal with the mysterious girl Lissa illegally crossing Obsidian in order to survive and save her brother. The third story tells that not all people put up with housing in the vicinity of the wolves: in it, the sister of the Lord-Werewolf Nyna appears to be captured by a hunter who wants death to all its appearance. All books have a small time interval between events, the narration is conducted in the first person. However, the author easily jumps from storyteller to storyteller: sometimes the reader begins to perceive what is happening through the eyes of another hero right in the middle of the chapter.
Characters Series
The main characters of each book (facet) are changing, but all the stories revolve around one family. Inta is a human girl who came to the castle of the Lord Werewolf following her sister. She is quite a brave, stubborn heroine who follows her desires. Fairlin is the main male character of the first facet, a stern wolf-protector, on whose shoulders lies the concern for the well-being of both werewolves and people. Barin is the younger brother of Fairlin, whose easy temper hides a strong personality, true to its principles. Nyna is the sister of the werewolves, the cold queen of these lands, who always achieves what she wants. Lissa is the main female character of the second face, a dodgy and stubborn girl who loves her brother very much and will do everything for his safety. The book pays enough attention to secondary characters. So, many liked the cook Berta, who brings an element of homeliness and life to the novel. Bert is a kind enough and caring woman, ready to feed and shelter anyone who deserves it: at least a man, even a Beast.
Reader Reviews
In general, reviews about the "Faces of Obsidian" are quite good. The average rating of the book on LitMir is 9 points (based on the opinion of 865 people). The novel attracted the attention of a female audience; most of the positive reviews concerned the first and second stories. Not everyone read the book “The Faces of Obsidian” in full: 55 readers of the same site never reached the end.
Users of the LiveLib library liked the novel less: the average rating for “The Faces of Obsidian” is 3.7 out of a maximum of 5 points. Many readers noted in their reviews the lack of intrigue, the predictability of the plot and the banality of love lines. Of the positive aspects, the surroundings of classic winter fantasy and an interesting magical world were highlighted. Unpleasant comments were caused by the presence of quite frequent references to sexual scenes with an age limit of 12+. Readers also noted that the third story seems unfinished and strained against the background of the previous ones.
Readers' reviews of LitRes and MyBook
Users of the LitRes portal liked the novel more, rating it at 4.5 stars out of 5 possible. Many have called The Faces of Obsidian a “book for a good evening,” indicating the ease of the story, which is read quite quickly. Some readers liked the lively language of Natalia Kolesova. The novel was also rated on MyBook in approximately the same way, but the reviews of “The Faces of Obsidian” were not so flattering: users complained about cardboard characters, the author’s plot self-repetition and poor disclosure of the magical world itself. Readers who praised the book fell in love with it for love lines and the surroundings of werewolves.
What other novels can be read
The list of books similar to The Faces of Obsidian is quite large. From the novels of the same Natalia Kolesova we can distinguish a series of "Tales of the Wolf Peninsula." One of the tales is devoted to the difficult relationship of a street artist and a tramp, who leads a very difficult life.
Entourage of magic and the Middle Ages is used in his works by another writer from Russia, Elena Kovalevskaya. In her fantasy worlds, the history of the most popular “hitters” from the modern world to other universes and eras is revealed recently. So, her book “Notes of a Medieval Housewife” gained popularity.
MyBook readers enjoyed the novel Daria Snezhnaya “At the Dark-Dark Forest”, dedicated to all the same magic, love and teaching witchcraft abilities. The topic of werewolf touches in his novel Tatyana Abyssin. In her book Dragon Mint, the ancestors of the protagonists once upon a time could turn into dragons. Several worlds clashed in the book of the Department of Wanderers by Vadim Panov: in the novel, representatives of different races fight for the magic throne of Poseidon. Although this novel will appeal more to lovers of martial magic, it is worth adding it to your reading list for all lovers of fantasy.
Instead of an afterword
In general, "The Faces of Obsidian" can be attributed to the classic fantasy, which is published in print in a fairly large volume. The book found both its fans and those whom history has left indifferent. The novel will appeal to lovers of fairy tales, love stories and the world of "sword and magic." Based on the reviews that received The Edge of Obsidian, the book did not bring anything new to the fantasy genre, but was well received by its fans. However, most readers regarded the book as a good story for one evening. The novel's peculiarity lies in the fact that it consists of three stories that can be read in any order, but not all can be read, as some readers did, focusing only on their favorite stories and characters. Natalia Kolesova also produces an adjacent series related to magic and werewolf. Many fans of "Faces" drew attention to her when they felt that they wanted to extend their acquaintance with the work of the author.