Gezeitenstern-Saga 04: Der Kristall des Chaos (19 Std.) (edition 2010)

Worst ending I've ever read in fantasy.

Kat's review says it all. ( )

TIDE LORDS

Awesome ending to the Tide Lord's quartet. Loved the end part of this. Really wasn't expecting it (although I know I probably should have). This was probably my favourite of the four. I only wish there was another one, because I want to know what happens!! But then again, a good story should always end with unanswered questions. Loved it. ( )

One of the most complex and dynamic books I have ever read. This book will blow your mind. If you have any interest in fantasy, parallel universes, destiny, and/or ever wished you were a god, you will lose yourself in this book. ( )

The Tide Lords have gathered in Jelidia and find they must find the Chaos Crystal that brought them to this world. With every immortal searching for it, the stakes are high.

Here's what happens (beware – spoiler alert):
Jaxyn doesn't kill Arkady, but decides to use her against Stellan, who is working with Syrolee and her family of Immortals in Caelum to protect the throne of Glaeba. Jaxyn freezes the great lake to march an army across – then, for a whole bunch of reasons, he later decides to thaw it out to defeat the armies of Caelum. Unfortunately, everyone on the ice at the time is killed in the freezing lake water – including Arkady’s father, Bary (except the Immortals of course). Meanwhile, in the ice Palace in Jelidia, Declan finds out that Arkady survived and heads off with Cayal and Kentravyon to get her back. Kentravyon tells them that Lukys is really trying to transmit the mind of his rat (really his lover and Maralyce’s sister) into a human. Cayal promises to marry Elyssa if she agrees to help and they take off to find the Chaos Cyrstal with Kentravyon. Declan has decided to work against them in the hopes of saving Amyrantha. Arkady finds the crystal just before she accidentally kills Warlock. When the Immortal trio arrive, Cayal heals Warlock and convinces Arkady to give him the crystal so the Immortals can create a rift and depart Amyrantha. Lukys has told Cayal that if he holds the crystal while the rift opens, he’ll be killed – which is what he has been after since the beginning of the first book. Cayal also convinces Elyssa not to kill Arkady so she can use her body to be transposed into and he will then love her – which is what she has wanted for thousands of years. They also need Arkady to carry the crystal because an Immortal can’t. Declan and Stellan get the other Immortals work together to help stop Lukys when they learn that opening the rift will destroy Amyrantha. The crystal arrives and Lukys tells Cayal that he really won't turn Arkady into Elyssa, but he puts her on ice to make it look good. Well, Lukys lies. Declan tries to save Arkady. The portal opens - Lukys, the rat in human form, Arryl, Maralyce, Kentravyon, Cayal, and Declan get sucked through.

I’m going to stop there – because what happens next is totally out of the blue. I had no idea how Fallon was going to resolve the myriad of loose ends – and, as I closed the book, I wasn’t sure that I was totally happy with the approach she took. Now, a day later, I think it was a stroke of genius.

The books in this series certainly do not deliver predictable conclusions or twee happy endings. I was left with the tension of wanting to know more after each of the first three volumes. The fourth volume twists the story onto a new tangent and leaves open all sorts of possibilities. There could well be more to this story yet ….. ( )