One of my favorite installments to date! This one gets pretty meta and abstract, but in a way that lets the reader experience a whole new kind of character and POV. I love the idea of giving something sentience that normally wouldn't have it. (Probably why I loved Beauty and the Beast as a child), but this one is done with incredible care and finesse and enough tension to keep me turning pages late into the night.

Definitely read it! ( )

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2010-12.html#sagara ( )

Michelle Sagara's The Chronicles of Elantra series is one of my favorites and this title did not disappoint, A few of the books in this series have not been as strong in my opinion and this is one of those unfortunately but I still like it. The story was engaging and helped to move the plot along. I felt like I learned more about many of the characters including the protagonist in this volume. I recommend this book. ( )

This story sees Kaylin, Severn and Tiamaris traveling into the fiefs. We learn, in a series of flashbacks, about the six months Kaylin spent in the fief of Barren after leaving Nightshade but before she crossed the river into the City. We learn that she came to the City to assassinate the Hawklord at the orders of Barren. But the Hawklord made her an offer closer to her heart working for justice instead of revenge.

They are sent into the fiefs because the ferals and other monsters are becoming more common and there is fear that the towers that are supposed to protect against them are failing. They find monsters and they find a tower almost abandoned. They also learn that Barren isn't actually the fief lord because he hasn't been accepted by the tower.

A magical storm forces Kaylin, Severn and Tiamaris into the tower where they need to face tests before they can leave. They find themselves moved back in time before the fiefs were so overrun with ferals. There they meet a much younger Nightshade who has not yet taken over his fief. It is during Kaylin's tests that we learn the most about her time in Barren. But Tiamaris also faces a number of tests when he decides to claim the fief and has to defeat the current fieflord who is a Barrani who has given up his name.

This story had a lot of interesting things about the fiefs and how they are controlled. It has some things about Kaylin's magic as she gradually learns more about the marks on her body and even about the Ancient Ones who are now the only ones who can read those mysterious marks.

I enjoyed this new visit to the world of Elantra. It is always intriguing to see what problems Kaylin will have next. Watching her grow and become more self aware is always a pleasure. ( )

Like potato chips, you have to keep going…