Hmmm. Well. Hmmm. It's pretty good, given that it's the only book in the series I ever read. In fact, I found it on my bookshelves over the holidays and the original sales receipt, from 1991, was still in it! So it was high time.

It picks up where the original story left off. And the fact that the story line is cohesive in itself, that previous characters are discussed and developed, showed that this was a work by a good author. The protagonist, Yaleen, is newly reincarnated and discusses her installment as a priestess despite being a three-year-old. Apparently this world recognizes different incarnations and honors the spirit despite the appearance of the new body. Or its age.

Some of the conflicts involve the River and whether men can sail on it more than once, and an entity called the Godmind in the guise of a giant serpent. And the latter part of the book became a little convoluted where Yaleen partakes of a potion (?) that slows time so that a ritual can take place. It was hard for me to determine if Yaleen is crushed to death (again) and visits other souls as a spirit in an attempt to end the Godmind. And if the end of the book is the continuation of the series, and the reincarnation was a part of the ritual or just what exactly happened. Still, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad to have finally read it! ( )