much better than the first book in this series. This is karen miller back to her best again. A very enjoyable story that kept you wanting to read more. ( )

Spring-Summer 2010

Spring-Summer 2010

Another gripping conclusion to this series of duologies.

With Rafe and Arin disappeared, and Asher comatose, Deenie and Charis decide their only hope is to find Rafe, who will be able to save them and Lur from the violence that troubles their land. And so they go on a long voyage of discovery, through foreign lands and hardships - as any true fantasy novel must contain - until they reach some unexpected allies, and confront the ultimate evil. It all sounds trite, but it is excellently achieved. The world building is realistic, with thought given to the peasants lives, and the situations the girls find themselves in. The allies are equally belivable - even if the role of the king becomes blinding obvious within the first few chapters.

As ever the characters shine, Deenie and Charis are superb, perfect bantering touches, but also lots of struggling to cope, despair and elation. In contrast to Karen Miller's Godspeaker series she's also managed to preserve some feminine dignity, and have Deenie remain as a strong character throughout, instead of wilting at the first sight of a strong male arm. This is essential for the storyline, and makes the plot far better than the ending of the Godspeaker series. I wasn't quite convinced the Morg/Barl storyline was explored as flly as it could have been, but then I wasn't doing the writing!

I'm sure some readers will find the jounrye portions fo the story too dragged out, but I thought the balance was about right. Likewise I still get annoyed by the switching between characters, but the balance and introduction to Ewen, Arlin and Deenie did work quite well. The descriptions occasionally needed some work, it's never really clear what the various beasts look like, but the prose was very readable without being dragged into long trails of adjectives. The action scenese were equally curt in places, but again this hardly detracted fromt he tension or the rest of the plot.

Overal another sterling work from Karen Miller who's characters continue to shine. ( )

Een heel goed einde voor deze cyclus van 4 boeken. Maar slecht vertaald en een paar dingen die wat inconsequent waren. Ik heb er echter enorm van genoten, dus ik zie die maar even door de vingers. ( )