Sorcerer's Moon

This is the last book in the “Boreal Moon” trilogy. It starts 16 years after the end of the second book with Deveron Austrey and Induna newly together again after being separated all that time. At the request of the Source (He who is denied the sky) Induna has tracked Deveron down and convinced him to help again in the New Conflict, a struggle between the Beaconfolk (aka the Coldlight Army, the Pain Eaters) and the benevolent lights that is played out on the earth through human, Salka and other agents.
All the characters from the previous books return including Conrig, Beynor, Ullanoth and Maudrayne and there is an ever increasing web of plots and intrigue as the story builds to its resolution.
I really like the way Julian May show more writes. It isn't always highly paced but there is an underlying gentleness and humour that makes this series standout for me in comparison to many other fantasy works. From the some of the other reviews this trilogy isn't to everyone's taste but I certainly recommend trying it. show less

Anyone looking for a fantasy novel equal to May's SF 'Saga of the Exiles', should look elsewhere. The first two volumes of the Boreal Moon Trilogy were competent enough and nicely written in places, but this concluding volume gives the impression of a book written for the sake of it, by an author who no longer really cares about her characters.

With badly explained plot devices, a total disregard of probability, and a final fifty page section that brings a sweeping, multi threaded narrative to a grinding halt in order to tie up everything neatly in time for tea, Sorcerer's Moon is a disappointment. Which is a shame, given that we know May is capable of much more.

New readers are advised to start with 'The Many Coloured Land', or even the show more co-written Trillium series. Those who've read the first two volumes of the trilogy might as well read this one, but need to temper their expectations. show less

Finally, the last of this trilogy. I think Julian May took what was just a plot device, powerful magic items that come with a catch, but are irresistible to humans, and tried to make a trilogy out of the idea. Unfortunately, its the humans that drive the story, and the humans all seemed secondary to the 'war'. Besides which, the sigils are all so useful, they become central to the story and no one actually wants to give them up, despite the consequences.
I would have enjoyed these a lot more if the sigils didn't drive the plot, despite being inanimate objects that shouldn't drive a story. I also would have enjoyed it more if the characters weren't all so flawed.

(Amy) So, I have been doing my best to reserve judgment on this series throughout the first and second books. After all, I could sense a good story hiding right around the corner, being consistently just missed by the author - but I thought she might manage to pull it together in the end.

Yeah, not so much.

I think I am going to have to conclude that while Julian May's ability to build worlds is pretty impressive, her ability to tell stories is, well, less so. Whether the former is sufficient to coax people into reading books that may leave them cringing at ham-handed storytelling techniques from time to time is, really, up to them.

Anyway. This book has all the flaws of the first two, in that Key Plot Points are mused over at great length show more and repeatedly spelled out by multiple viewpoint characters, just in case the reader was too stupid to pick up on them the first four or five times. Also, it does not end, it just stops, and then a half-assed epilogue attempts to quickly baste down the flopping loose ends.

Actually, I'm really not going to go into the book at length, because it's just depressing. It's a pretty nifty world, with an awesomely convoluted magic system, full of characters who would potentially be interesting if we could just get to know them - and she missed the boat entirely on making me give a crap about any of it. Well done, Ms. May. You have again succeeded in inspiring the sense of "enh" I had upon completion of the Pliocene Exile.

I think she needs to get herself a decent co-author.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2008/01/sorcerers-moon-julian-m... ) show less

This was a pretty good ending to the trilogy. My one complaint would be that it had a bit of a quick ending, and the epilogue did not seem to match up with the prologue of the first book.

Sneeuwmaan, Stormmaan, Winterwende, Windmaan, Groenemaan, Eindelijk lente. Melk en Bloesem volgen later. Dan volgt de Donder, Gods geschater. Als Maïs na Oogst zijn gunsten brengen zal Vervloekt de Jager de Maan van Boreal. De IJsmaan met zijn laatse droevenis Zorgt dat Blenholmes jaar weer over is.
Het eiland Blenholme is nu verenigd onder de heerschappij van koning Conrig. Maar zijn tegenstanders zitten niet stil - de verbannen alchemist Vra-Killian bereidt een burgeroorlog voor. Samen met de ambitieuze magiër Beynor wil hij gebruik maken van het mysterieuze bovennatuurlijke Bakenvolk om de troon te veroveren.