In this fifth and final installment of a fantasy series, ongoing war pits kingdoms against one another while powerful, deadly sorcery threatens all.
King Keane of Greenshade considers his next move as war within the Thirteen Kingdoms rages. He wants to gather allies and invade the enemy nation of Tyrrane. Sarah will lead the charge; she’s Keane’s best friend and a fellow ex-mercenary who’s not only a remarkable sorcerer, but also highly skilled with a sword. This will put her face to face with Tyrrane’s queen, Jasmayre, whose sorcery is at least partly linked to Angrim—the child of a god and a demon from a hellish otherworld. Unfortunately, neither Sarah nor Jasmayre anticipate what will happen when they’re on the battlefield: Their combined magic is so potent that many people inadvertently wind up dead. The two make a vow to stop all spellcasting—after they cast a spell to keep them both honest. They’ll simply use other combat methods to attempt to win the war. However, Angrim is pursuing his own “dark destiny”: the Sunlit Path, a wretched future that may be unavoidable. Confronting such a formidable foe puts Sarah in danger; Keane wants to help, but he’s fighting a war and dodging assassins trying to take him out. As if that weren’t enough, Greenshade faces a greater threat, as a spiteful dragon promises to attack the kingdom. Sarah and Keane can only hope that the Sunlit Path won’t lead everyone that they know and love to a preordained doom.
Pettway’s fifth series entry continues the series’ trademark humor. Keane’s 21st-century-style dialogue, for example, is amusingly out-of-place in such a faraway land, from calling someone a “bucket of assholes” to expressing a concern that warrior Sarah isn’t “as killy as she used to be.” He’s just one member of an entertaining cast that also includes his kids, Prince Volker and Princess Shayla; they repeatedly run off without telling their royal family so they can hunt Tyrranean spies or launch a quest to help “Aunt Sarah.” Nevertheless, the comedy doesn’t overshadow the fantasy trappings; Ivon, a minstrel, perfectly suits the genre even if his tunes so bluntly express the characters’ circumstances that Keane demands he not sing within earshot of anyone. At the same time, the author presents an engaging narrative that advances numerous characters’ stories. Sarah, for instance, has fought Jasmayre in the past, and both Tyrrane and Angrim are longtime menaces. It’s hardly a surprise that this book teems with action and tense confrontations, which offset Keane’s funny, foulmouthed comments. These scenes also allow Pettway to showcase effectively concise prose: “The knife punched through and sliced a long rent, but Sarah caught the tattooed wrist behind it and fell on the woman, punching like stones flung from heaven.” Although an explosive head-to-head is inevitable, the final act has a couple of surprising turns. This final book wraps up much of the story, but it leaves prospects for further volumes wide open.
An engaging, magic-filled adventure that’s quirky at all the right moments.