Just released last week, this is the latest in the Cassie Palmer series and I could not wait to read it. As with the rest of her series, this book went at break-neck speed with plenty of frenetic action scenes and a whole slew of characters pop up throughout. One such character, hasn’t been seen for several books and the reunion was sweet.
So, to the good points, of which there were many. Pritkin’s back, properly back, at last and he’s both the same, scowly War-Mage we remember and…. also not. It was also great fun to catch up with a few characters from the Dory series, including quite a long and interesting scene with Caedmon (who’s in his usual, troublesome form). There was also plenty of character-building and strong character moments, a relief after several books where there seemed to be less time for this than there had been at the start of the series. Cassie, herself, really finds her backbone and starts asserting herself more in both her personal and professional life. Many readers might say that this is about time, but if we take into account the fact that only a few months have passed in the series’ timeline, this seems to me to be a steady and realistic progression.
On the other hand, there were one or two areas that were a little disappointing. Mircea, as a character, feels as though he’s lost a fair bit of his power and mystique since the reveal of his 500 year quest to rescue his dead wife. Considering the series started out with him as the main romantic interest for the heroine, I was a bit disappointed at this turn of events – for whatever reason, this is not a storyline that I find I have any investment in and you can see it is beginning to loom large in the forthcoming books. It was good, nevertheless, to see some respect and (perhaps) contrition on his behalf for his treatment of Cassie. The Rhea storyline is also one I find myself a little detached from – perhaps there will be a short story that fills us in on her point of view in the near future?
The frequent review of information from earlier books was a little frustrating, but understandable. This is, after all, book number 9 in just Cassie’s story, let alone the 4 Dory books that also add to the lore. All in all, it was well worth the two-year wait, but I will be very glad indeed if the next book comes out at Christmas. Surprised, but glad.
Book Travels 