Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Mairi

Phoria is now the queen of Skala, and for the past year her half-sister Klia has been in a state of virtual exile in Aurenen. It is assumed that Phoria is keeping Klia from her side because she sees her popular sister as a threat to her station. Hence, it is a surprise to everyone when she asks Alec and Seregil to bring her sister back to take command of the cavalry, and Seregil, for one, expects foul play.

I owned this book for quite some time without ever getting around to reading it. After enjoying Stalking Darkness and Traitor's Moon, though, I decided to read this book, which marks a sharp deviation from the other books in the series- it is not as intelligent, and the story is decidedly darker in tone. The writing remains vivid, though- I finished the book over a week ago, and I am still haunted by some of the more painful parts.

This is a good book on its own merits, but I wouldn't blame anyone who had read the first three books in the series for not continuing on after that point.