Under the rule of a usurper king, the realm of Skala has suffered famine, plague, and invasion. But now the time for the rightful heir has come, a return to the tradition of warrior queens. And the Lightbearer's prophecy is to be upheld at last: so long as a daughter of the royal line defends and rules, Skala will never be subjugated.

Now a mystical fire has burned away the male body known as Prince Tobin, revealing Princess Tamír, a girl on the verge of womanhood—and a queen ready to claim her birthright after a life in disguise under the protection of wizards and witches. But will her people, her army—and the friends she was forced to deceive—accept her? Worse, will the crown's rival heir, friend to Tobin, turn foe to Tamír, igniting civil war in a fierce battle for Skala?

The third book in the trilogy has a few slow spots as Tamir tries to discover her true self as a girl and where she fits into the future of Skala. But I thought it odd that Tamir is left to discover her girlhood without any girls around. The few female characters in the book don’t have large parts, are more just stock figures, especially when it came to Tamir working out her feelings for Ki. Does Tamir not want to bond with other females?

Because of that, II felt that there was a bit too much focus on the Tamir/Ki relationship, to the detriment of some of the other characters. When the other characters are allowed some time in the spotlight, things pick up and becomes more exciting. It definitely lifts the book.

So, it was an interesting book, and most of the plot points were nicely tied up. Brother’s fate was rather anticlimactic, but the novel was still highly readable, and brings the trilogy to a respectable close.




Mount TBR 2022 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

( TBR Book Links 1-65 )

66. The Killing Star by Charles Pellegrino, George Zebrowski
67. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour by Andrei Cherny
68. The Oracle's Queen (Tamír Triad #3) by Lynn Flewelling

Sometimes the price of destiny is higher than anyone imagined....

For three centuries a divine prophecy and a line of warrior queens protected Skala. But the people grew complacent and Erius, a usurper king, claimed his young half sister’s throne.

Now plague and drought stalk the land, war with Skala’s ancient rival Plenimar drains the country’s lifeblood, and to be born female into the royal line has become a death sentence as the king fights to ensure the succession of his only heir, a son. For King Erius the greatest threat comes from his own line — and from Illior’s faithful, who spread the Oracle’s words to a doubting populace.

As noblewomen young and old perish mysteriously, the king’s nephew — his sister’s only child — grows toward manhood. But unbeknownst to the king or the boy, strange, haunted Tobin is the princess’s daughter, given male form by a dark magic to protect her until she can claim her rightful destiny.

Only Tobin’s noble father, two wizards of Illior, and an outlawed forest witch know the truth. Only they can protect young Tobin from a king’s wrath, a mother’s madness, and the terrifying rage of her brother’s demon spirit, determined to avenge his brutal murder.

Talk about an intriguing plot! I’d read Flewelling’s Luck In the Shadows books (which is set in the same world,) and was hoping that this book would be just as interesting. I was not disappointed. This is fantasy as it should be written.

There are few writers who can write children well, and Flewelling is one of them. Tobin, and his friend, Ki, are both engaging characters. Yes, they are children, but children from a time when childhood lasted a very short time, so they both already show signs of the adults they will become.

But perhaps the most intriguing character is “Brother,” Tobin’s murdered twin, now in demon spirit form. How much is what he does to help Tobin, or hinder him?

As the book ends, we are left with many questions, the most important being, will Tobin be able to continue to hide his true self? And what will he be willing to do in order to save Skala? And what will be Brother’s fate? I’m very much looking forward to the second book.





( TBR Book Links 1-25 )

26. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
27. In the Region of the Summer Stars (Eirlandia #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead
28. Later by Stephen King
29. The Bone Doll's Twin (Tamír Triad #1) by Lynn Flewelling









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