Not since the conclusion of Heir of Novron have I felt so strongly about the rightness of a book’s ending. Having run the beta program, I know there are people who don’t share my opinion, but there really is no way to give those people what they wanted—which is to have Farilane live. But before I delve too deeply into that subject, let me cover some of the less controversial aspects of this book.

I thought the opening chapter was amazing. I found Farilane to be smart, witty, and adventurous. I knew right away I’d like her. But the best part, especially when looking back, is just how much is packed into that one chapter. Almost every mention is a clue to the book as a whole: Farilane not believing in the existence of gods; the ravaging of a city called Tur; a new cult changing Nyphron to Novron and claiming he isn’t an elf; the “incident” in Haston, the search for the Book of Brin (yes, it doesn’t explicitly say that’s what she’s after but we all knew it was); Virgil’s subtle remark that told us he knew his time was short; the drop in about the number of generations that have passed since Nyphron died (though I doubt anyone stopped to do the math); the genuine friendship between Virgil and Farilane; the respect that the Teshlor’s have for their princess, and of course the mention of pie, which we circle back to right at the end.

There have been books written by Michael where I wasn’t expecting a visit from Malcolm/Kile/Uberlin, and, in fact, I even missed his appearance once when he did show up. But for this book, I was expecting to see him “somewhere,” and I was thrilled that he arrived so soon—and right in plain sight! I waited with bated breath for Farilane to discover who he was, and I wasn’t disappointed with how that played out. For those who haven’t read Revelations, you’ll miss the full impact of the blizzard, but that will just give you a reason to jump into those books.