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Sadie Hartmann's Reviews > The Light of a Black Star
The Light of a Black Star (The Light Sublime Trilogy #3)
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THE LIGHT OF A BLACK STAR (Book 3 in The Light Sublime Trilogy) by C. S. Humble
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: All These Subtle Deceits, All the Prospect Around Us, The Massacre at Yellow Hill, A Red Winter in the West
Release Date: November 2023
General Genre: Horror, Adventure Western
Sub-Genre/Themes: Secret cult, cosmic horror, vampires, friendship, loyalty, epic battle against oppressive evil, romance
Writing Style: Multiple POV, short chapters, fast pace, character-driven, lush/accessible prose written with purpose and intention, intricately plotted
What You Need to Know: The Light of A Black Star is the epic climax and conclusion in a trilogy. It’s important to read the other two books before this one, The Massacre at Yellow Hill and A Red Winter in the West. The Light Sublime Trilogy begins with the outbreak of evil in a small town and meets a cast of characters for the first time but ultimately follows for the rest of the story spanning over three books. Also, you need to know that you are going to lose your heart and find it again in these pages.
My Reading Experience: One of the things that makes this trilogy so good is the full sweep of the plot. I feel like I have gone somewhere. A real journey. I’ve compared it to my time with The Dark Tower series by Stephen King and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien. Following characters that feel very real to you on a high-stakes quest through multiple books is a unique and memorable experience that doesn’t happen all the time.
It's a treasure.
I started in book one, met all of these characters, invested in their stories - their mission - their survival, and then I went on the road with them. We traveled together on horses with names. We developed a purpose and headed off toward our destination. I listened to important conversations. I heard worries and hopes whispered in secret. The characters I fell in love with experienced loss, heartache, fear, and pain. Some of them don’t make it to the next book and it’s devastating. Their journey ends but we keep moving on.
I’ve read pages where the words kept getting blurry and I would have to stop and wait for the tears to dry up. Sometimes I would just put a bookmark in and let the weight of sadness steep. I held my breath as evil lurked and hunted. And not just any evil–oppressive darkness from all sides capable of horrible acts of depravity. It’s terrifying and torturing. I held on to my hopes that my favorite characters would be okay (even when I knew they wouldn’t be) Sometimes the characters endured but they were changed.
I had to learn to trust the author’s ability to tell the story the way it needed to be told. I developed some serious literary crushes.
One of our main protagonists, Carson Ptolemy took his rightful place in my reader’s heart very early on, and he’s still there now–but I will confess that another character, Ashley Sutliff, shows up on the page and claims his own retail space as well. Major crush. He shines bright in this last book with his wit, charm, and confidence. Plus he’s a hero–this trilogy is full of them.
Gilbert, Annie, Sarah, Sven.
Annie.
I need to make sure I mention my favorite character arc. Annie Miller is just a child in book one, like Carson, but by the end, through trial and tribulation, the quest has fashioned her into a woman; strong and beautiful–capable of anything. I love her. And I love, love. And that’s what this whole trilogy is about. Love.
"And do you know what helped me work through the loss of my brightest
light?
"No."
Reverend Callum leaned close to the boy.
"All the other lights around me. All the people who loved me. Even though my wife was gone, those other lights shined bright enough that eventually the darkness of my sorrow became the shadow of my happiness. And from there, following love's
illimitable light, I found joy again.” -The Massacre at Yellow Hill
Final Recommendation: My only real wish is that more readers would experience this trilogy for themselves. It’s not a Western in the way people think about it–it’s a Western in setting, and people ride horses and shoot guns, but a more accurate description would be to say it’s a Horror Adventure. An epic, emotional journey. And characters are waiting inside these books that deserve to be added to your reader’s heart.
Comps: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King–Epic Adventure/Weird Western/Loveable Characters, This trilogy is like a Western ‘Salem’s Lot + The Lord of the Rings (but with Vampires & Werewolves instead of Orcs and An evil, cosmic deity worshipping cult instead of a Necromancer & his followers) there are even some elements of The Chronicles of Narnia, with evil ushering in an eternal winter and the destruction of mankind so that ghouls and monsters can rule.
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: All These Subtle Deceits, All the Prospect Around Us, The Massacre at Yellow Hill, A Red Winter in the West
Release Date: November 2023
General Genre: Horror, Adventure Western
Sub-Genre/Themes: Secret cult, cosmic horror, vampires, friendship, loyalty, epic battle against oppressive evil, romance
Writing Style: Multiple POV, short chapters, fast pace, character-driven, lush/accessible prose written with purpose and intention, intricately plotted
What You Need to Know: The Light of A Black Star is the epic climax and conclusion in a trilogy. It’s important to read the other two books before this one, The Massacre at Yellow Hill and A Red Winter in the West. The Light Sublime Trilogy begins with the outbreak of evil in a small town and meets a cast of characters for the first time but ultimately follows for the rest of the story spanning over three books. Also, you need to know that you are going to lose your heart and find it again in these pages.
My Reading Experience: One of the things that makes this trilogy so good is the full sweep of the plot. I feel like I have gone somewhere. A real journey. I’ve compared it to my time with The Dark Tower series by Stephen King and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien. Following characters that feel very real to you on a high-stakes quest through multiple books is a unique and memorable experience that doesn’t happen all the time.
It's a treasure.
I started in book one, met all of these characters, invested in their stories - their mission - their survival, and then I went on the road with them. We traveled together on horses with names. We developed a purpose and headed off toward our destination. I listened to important conversations. I heard worries and hopes whispered in secret. The characters I fell in love with experienced loss, heartache, fear, and pain. Some of them don’t make it to the next book and it’s devastating. Their journey ends but we keep moving on.
I’ve read pages where the words kept getting blurry and I would have to stop and wait for the tears to dry up. Sometimes I would just put a bookmark in and let the weight of sadness steep. I held my breath as evil lurked and hunted. And not just any evil–oppressive darkness from all sides capable of horrible acts of depravity. It’s terrifying and torturing. I held on to my hopes that my favorite characters would be okay (even when I knew they wouldn’t be) Sometimes the characters endured but they were changed.
I had to learn to trust the author’s ability to tell the story the way it needed to be told. I developed some serious literary crushes.
One of our main protagonists, Carson Ptolemy took his rightful place in my reader’s heart very early on, and he’s still there now–but I will confess that another character, Ashley Sutliff, shows up on the page and claims his own retail space as well. Major crush. He shines bright in this last book with his wit, charm, and confidence. Plus he’s a hero–this trilogy is full of them.
Gilbert, Annie, Sarah, Sven.
Annie.
I need to make sure I mention my favorite character arc. Annie Miller is just a child in book one, like Carson, but by the end, through trial and tribulation, the quest has fashioned her into a woman; strong and beautiful–capable of anything. I love her. And I love, love. And that’s what this whole trilogy is about. Love.
"And do you know what helped me work through the loss of my brightest
light?
"No."
Reverend Callum leaned close to the boy.
"All the other lights around me. All the people who loved me. Even though my wife was gone, those other lights shined bright enough that eventually the darkness of my sorrow became the shadow of my happiness. And from there, following love's
illimitable light, I found joy again.” -The Massacre at Yellow Hill
Final Recommendation: My only real wish is that more readers would experience this trilogy for themselves. It’s not a Western in the way people think about it–it’s a Western in setting, and people ride horses and shoot guns, but a more accurate description would be to say it’s a Horror Adventure. An epic, emotional journey. And characters are waiting inside these books that deserve to be added to your reader’s heart.
Comps: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King–Epic Adventure/Weird Western/Loveable Characters, This trilogy is like a Western ‘Salem’s Lot + The Lord of the Rings (but with Vampires & Werewolves instead of Orcs and An evil, cosmic deity worshipping cult instead of a Necromancer & his followers) there are even some elements of The Chronicles of Narnia, with evil ushering in an eternal winter and the destruction of mankind so that ghouls and monsters can rule.
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Reading Progress
October 9, 2023
– Shelved
October 9, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 23, 2023
–
Started Reading
October 23, 2023
– Shelved as:
cemetery-dance
October 23, 2023
–
0%
""The townsfolk of Black Wells, like the rest of Colorado, were afraid that Susie would wake up again, as others had. Wake up and...do the things they did."
Yes. The Light Sublime Trilogy is connected to the Black Wells series. I love the subtlety here. "do the things they did.""
page
16
Yes. The Light Sublime Trilogy is connected to the Black Wells series. I love the subtlety here. "do the things they did.""
October 23, 2023
–
0%
""Annie Miller could have asked him for a handful of starlight and he'd have found a way to reach up and take it for her. There was nothing she could not ask for, nothing she could not take.""
page
27
October 24, 2023
–
0%
"Ashley patted her on the rump,"Grab those chips off the table and meet me upstairs in ten, would you, sweetheart. " "My pleasure," she said. Ashley leaned an elbow on the bar."It certainly will be.”"
page
38
October 25, 2023
–
0%
"“And that's exactly what he did. He sat next to her, and she relaxed into him, resting her weight against his chest. And together, their fingers laced, they watched the snow blow through the darkness. And though that moment stretched out for much of the long evening and into the early morning, it passed much too quickly for him.”"
October 27, 2023
–
0%
"Still Carson sat, looking at the man. There was something about Ashley he had never liked. It wasn't his gambler's shine or the oily charm. It was something else. Something about the man's face that made Carson want to rearrange it for him."
October 27, 2023
–
0%
"“Her heart fell from a perch inside her, fell so far. Fell forever.”
Just like his"
Just like his"
October 27, 2023
–
0%
""This is what it means to be a Peregrine," said Ashley, giving her that hard gambler's stare of his. "In many ways, this is what it means to be a human, alive and free on the Earth. We bind all our love and rage and fear and joy around our hearts, and we face what's coming."
October 27, 2023
–
0%
October 29, 2023
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0%
"The conversations between Ashley & Carson are my favorite. My favorite characters."
October 29, 2023
–
0%
"“When the lightning comes for us all, you’re gonna be the voice that’ll see us through the storm.”
This part is so cinematic. Humble understands how to structure a climax"
This part is so cinematic. Humble understands how to structure a climax"
October 29, 2023
–
0%
"“Sigurd flapped his wings once, twice, and shot skyward. Once again, he flew high. And higher still. He twisted, rolling into a dive. The eclipse light caught the whipping spurs upon his wing, and they shone like two falling stars tumbling through the canopy of space.”
This is how you write vampires."
This is how you write vampires."
October 29, 2023
–
Finished Reading
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by
Nadine
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rated it 5 stars
Nov 26, 2023 12:32PM
I was already eagerly awaiting this release but I now have goosebumps from your review!! This may be my new favorite series of all time. The love and heart in these books juxtaposed against the brutal plot is absolutely incredible. Thank you for this review.
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Any idea where I can purchase All These Subtle Deceits since it’s not available on kindle? It’s either sold out or almost $50 everywhere I look lol
