It's such a pity. The magic in these books is really cool, and obviously I've enjoyed the series enough to finish it. But it could have been so much better...
Once more, almost the entire book is filled with misunderstandings and conflicts between Tamrissa and Vallant. Of a very annoying kind, I might add.
Facing the opposing blending is somewhat of a disappointment. The opposing blending refuses to blend, and, being honorable, the 'good' blending can't blend either. Really. How does someone come up with such idiocy? In what way is it dishonorable to blend, when the whole point of contention is which blending is the strongest one? Pff, I suppose it seemed such a good idea at the time, since it allows the group to split up once more. Can't have a book without repetition after all... Yes, that's what happens again, they all pretty much go through the same thing, and it has to be described in detail each of the five times.
Despite all of this, I did enjoy the book enough to finish it. It's got some good ideas, the magic is cool, the blendings are cool. But it could have been so much better... ( )

(Alistair) Well, I have finally finished the Blending pentalogy (although not the Blending Enthroned trilogy, which is its sequel, so I guess together they make up an octalogy; anyway, it's going to be a while before the first of those makes its way onto my to-read shelf, per below, so it's a kind of ending, after all); and we get some closure, inasmuch as the sixth talent of a previously fivefold universe is revealed, the noble villains are sent off to a bad end, the invasion is resolved, and the next trilogy is nicely set up.

Alas, I am left dissatisfied. The Blending pentalogy is a fun read, yes, but overall I concluded that the mere funness of the read isn't enough to make up for the flaws of the series, among which I number:

The villains are all drawn in pure, fuliginous black. Fortunately, we don't actually see them roasting babies for lunch on-screen, but they do pretty much everything else from the Irredeemably Horrible Villain checklist. I like a heroic story as much as the next chap and more than many, but I need some shading, here.
To not quite such an extent, but still a significant one, much the same effect in reverse applies to the protagonists.
There's only so much of the same relationship fail-foo that a chap can stand before wanting to drag the characters off to the nearest therapist.
And on that, I would have liked both more and faster character development, please. (And on a particular note, the way the characters neatly escaped having to deal with their pasts - all previously set up - when it came to the final confrontation with the false enthroned Blending nearly had me pitch the book at the wall. Just give me something, here.)
It's a fun read, it's a read that makes you want to keep reading, but ultimately, I am just filled with enh.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2008/05/prophecy-sharon-green.html ) ( )

Not that great of a series. ( )