The last in Bradley's 'Light' series; although it was published the year before Bradley died (1999), I don't think that Bradley wrote this book at all. Rosemary Edghill may have collaborated on some of the other books in this series, but I think that this one is completely her work. The feel of the writing is completely different from the others in the series. This is also a completely unnecessary book. It contributes nearly nothing new to the series; rather, it goes through all of the events already told in the previous books in the series, linking them through the character of Colin MacLaren, White Adept, and also trying to give them a sense of 'history' by going on endlessly and pedantically about historical events that happened in each time. It also frames all of these events in the context of Colin's fight against the resurgence of evil Nazi-linked occultism.
While the earlier books in this series had an authentic 'feel' of time & place, (mostly the 70's), this book does not feel authentic. All the historical details contribute to a sense of 'trying too hard'. The Nazi theme is cheesy. It's also a very long, slow-moving book; not a good thing in 'light' fiction such as this. As well, there are continuity problems; things in this book that contradict the 'facts' of earlier books in the series. Overall, I'd recommend the 'Light' series for any fans of occult/paranormal fiction, but give this book a miss. ( )

This was a pretty good close to the "Light" books. It covers all of the events from The Inheritor throught Witchlight in self-contained sections which could easily be short stories, then follows with a final section in which the main character, Colin McLaren, confronts an old enemy while looking for his student and heir. It's interesting to read the events of the previous books from a different perspective, and Bradley does a good job with continuity. It would be possible if rather spoiler-rich for a reader to pick this book up first and then decide to read the rest of the books. ( )

Heartlight is a peculiar book. It's almost a meta-book - a collection of backstory for the other three *light books. It doesn't really have a plot of its own, and it meanders from decade to decade more like a high-school history paper than a novel. There are some decent sub-plots here and there, but on the whole it's pretty flat and charmless.

(It is worth noting that this book, and the rest of the series, were published years after MZB's death, and are in fact copyrighted to Rosemary Edghill, who is a consistent if second-rate purveyor of what I fondly call "mall-elf fiction." I strongly suspect that Bradley herself had minimal involvement with this series. I'm not entirely thrilled by the deception.) ( )

One of my favorite works of contemporary fiction. Definitely the best of the "Light" series.

A great intellectual thriller, for readers interested in the fight between Good and Evil. Beginning in the aftermath of Hitlers Reich and rumours of the surviving "Armanenschaft", it moves through the Sixties to the Eighties, and moves the heart too! ( )