It's always delightful to find an author who manages the middle-series books with as much enthusiasm and attention to detail as Sagara does in this one. Instead of giving us a formulaic story from a slightly different perspective, we get a completely original story that serves as a shuttle of sorts from one part of Elantra, to another. I am learning new things about this world in every page, and the way the characters react to that world are as refreshing and exciting as they were in book one.

Definitely give it a read! ( )

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2008-01.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 but this is not one of those. 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 highly recommend this book. ( )

Sagara doesn't give you (or Kaylin, for that matter) a moment to rest. I love how this book explored more of Elantra and the races we all love. I like how we get more insights into not only Kaylin's power, but also more of her past and her interactions with others.

It's a bit of a dissapointment that Sagara doesn't give her any time to LEARN about all the things she needs to know, but given how each book happens right after another, there is really no time to fit Kaylin's learning in. But despite this, I think one of Kaylin's major character flaws is her inability to learn by herself. She constantly calls the subjects of her failed classes useless, but time and time again we can see that if she had known everything from her classes, a lot of hurt wouldn't have happened. Ignorance is no excuse, as many characters have said.

The only other thing that bothered me in this book was Sagara's repeated use of the phrase "Kaylin/She had the grace to flush." the exact same phrase was repeated multiple times and I just thought it could have been rephrase to avoid exact repetition over and over again.

But otherwise, I loved the story. ( )

Private Kaylin Neya has a thing for children. When she sees the reflection of a young girl in a pool in Evanton's secret garden, she has to try to rescue her while trying to locate a missing reliquary that was the reason Evanton called for the Hawks in the first place. Then a young child from the Tha'alani also goes missing and Kaylin is certain that the two cases are connected.

In order to rescue the missing Tha'alani child, Kaylin has to learn much more about magic than she would like. She has spent years trying to ignore the strange magic that appears as writing on her body. But Kaylin has to deal with the Elements - especially Water - and a missing Arcanist who spent years experimenting on the Tha'alani with the Emperor's approval and who really wants to continue his work despite the fact that his experiments were terminated and he is being hunted by the wolves.

This is a richly complex fantasy set in a wonderfully detailed world. I really enjoyed learning more about the Tha'alani and their history. I also enjoyed watching Kaylin learn more about her strange powers and the world she lives in.

The narration by Khristine Hvan was excellent. She has a great sense of pacing and a way of making each character's voice distinct. ( )