Donal is Alix and Duncan's son. Because Carillon and Electra had no son, Carillon has named Donal to be his heir - heir to the throne of Homana. This book is about how Donal becomes the Mujar and how becoming the Mujar rebuilds Donal. At the beginning of the book, he's young and willful - a warrior with a young family and a strong support system. At the end of the book, he finds himself mostly alone and struggling with the decisions he must make in the interests of Homana and the Cheysuli prophecy.

I really liked this book. I found it to be far superior to either of the first two. I was saddened that we lost so many of the major players of the first two books - all of them, really, except for Rowan. Duncan, who we thought was dead, reappears and then quickly dies. Alix dies trying to save Duncan. Carillon kills Electra and Tynstar before being killed by Osric of Atvia. And Finn... Finn who I thought was going to end up being the one constant in the series ends up getting killed by Strahan, Electra and Tynstar's son. So I was saddened to see the loss of so many strong characters - but still very pleased with the plot and how things are progressing with Donal and the second generation.

I'm very much looking forward to the next installment. I just wonder who the focus will be on this time... ( )