King of Sword and Sky

King of Sword and Sky is the third book in C. L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series. As before, it picks up where the last book, Lady of Light and Shadow left off. Now certain that the Elden Mages have reawakened and are planning to attack, the Fey King, Rain, his Truemate, Ellysetta, and their entourage are making their way toward the relative safety of the Fading Lands. But first, they must pass through the Faering Mists that protect their land, and no one is sure how the Mists will react to Ellie who is Mage Marked or to her lu’tan, Gaelen, who was once a soulless dahl’reisen until Ellie healed him. Once they’re back in the Fading Lands, Rain must begin planning strategy for the war with Eld that he knows is imminent while still show more helping Ellie realize the full strength of her powers. Ellie continues her training, both with a chatok, someone who normally mentors soldiers, and with a shei’dalin, who helps her focus her healing abilities. Rain and Ellie also pay a visit to the Tairen lair where they join the pride in grieving a great loss and Ellie begins her search for a way to save the kitlings who are dying in the egg. Rain must also deal with political forces amongst the Fey who challenge his ability to lead and distrust his Truemate because of her Marks. Together, Rain and Ellie lift each other up and share their love and strength with one another through all the difficult times as they prepare for the worst they know is yet to come. But their greatest tests will be in their efforts to save the Tairen and to fend off the first attacks from Eld.

As always, I adore Rain, the King of the Fading Lands, Defender of the Fey, and the one and only Tairen Soul. He’s such a strong leader to his people even if some of them don’t see it or fully support him. He shows, not only strength, but wisdom and the power of the Tairen in all his dealings. He loves Ellysetta to distraction but is patient in waiting for the time when their Truemate bond will be complete and fully tie their souls together. In the meantime, he does everything he can to ensure that Ellie has what she needs to fulfill the prophecy foretold by the Eye of Truth that she would save both the Tairen and the Fey, and to prepare her for the war to come. He also makes sure she’s accepted by the Tairen pride as one of their own. We get to see him in so many different capacities in this chapter of the story, both as King and as Tairen Soul. His wisdom is on display in his willingness to buck tradition in order to give his people the greatest chance of survival, as well as in the way he supports Ellie’s efforts to save the Tairen. I love how he insists that all the big decisions they make will be done together and that they’ll share the burden of any fallout from them. The power he wields as the Tairen Soul is also on full display, both in his interactions with the Tairen and on the battlefield. Whether in the relative peace of the Fading Lands or in the chaos of war, Rain is unquestionably the leader the Fey need in order to make it through the coming crisis.

I still love Ellysetta, too. A part of her is the same sweet girl we met in the first book, but she’s been steadily growing into her new role as Rain’s Truemate. Her powers continue to develop as well, but she still must learn how to control them, so that she can use them more effectively. Ellie’s father chooses to honor her late mother’s request to raise her sisters in Celeria, so they remain on the human side of the border with the Fading Lands, which makes Ellie a little sad to leave them behind. But she still always has Rain with her through their bond, and she has her Fey guards, Bel and Gaelen, and gains many more loyal lu’tans when she exercises her healing powers to help them in the same way she did Bel. When Ellie and Rain face opposition to her presence in the Fading Lands, it’s difficult for her, but she handles it with grace and dignity. Ellie’s first meeting with the Tairen is a success and her connection with them proves strong. She senses the kitlings still in their eggs are dying, but no one knows why, so she tirelessly sets out to find a way to save them. It takes some thinking outside the box and doing things that could make the Fey Council even more upset, but she willingly takes that chance. She also doesn’t hesitate to risk her life and being Mage Marked again in order to ensure they’ll live. Ellie experiences a lot of growth in this part of the story, which only makes her an even more perfect mate for Rain.

King of Sword and Sky is a little slower paced than the first two books, what I’d call the calm before the storm. It mostly follows Rain and Ellie as they return to the Fading Lands and Ellie becomes acclimated to being the Fey Queen and Rain’s Truemate, as well as learning how to better control her powers. It also follows their quest to save both the Tairen and the Fey, with Rain preparing for the inevitable war with Eld and Ellie doing everything in her power to save the Tairen kitlings. However, despite the slower pace and there perhaps being a few less profound revelations in this part of the story, I was never bored at all. I just love inhabiting this world that is so imaginative. As always the world-building is superb, better than virtually any other paranormal or fantasy romance series I can recall reading. The plotting is excellent as well. Things may unfold more slowly but everything ties together into a beautiful cohesive whole that was a pleasure to read. It just takes a lot of build-up to get to the final chapters where most of the more exciting things occur. There are some tense, edge-of-your-seat moments as Ellie puts her plan to save the kitlings into action and Elden mages and their minions make their first incursions into Celeria. There’s also a confrontation between Rain and the Massan (Fey Council) that will undoubtedly have repercussions in future books. Since the beginning, I’ve loved how this series melds together the various races of this world, the creatures, magic, politics, and religion into a fascinating package that’s so much fun to read. It was exciting finally getting to see the Fading Lands alongside Rain and Ellie and to finally meet the powerful Tairen and learn more about their culture. This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with the war having just begun, so it’s left me extremely eager to pick up the next one, Queen of Song and Souls. I loved every minute I spent reading this book and was sad to see it end. I can’t begin to express how wonderful this series is or praise it highly enough. show less

King of Sword and Sky picks up immediately after the events at the end of Lady of Light and Shadow. Rain, king of the Fading Lands and Tairen Soul, is en route to the Fading Lands with his truemate, Ellysetta Baristani and her family. Rain was sent to find Ellysetta as she was revealed through a vision to be the salvation of the dying tairen kitlings. And the kitlings are running out of time. There is an evil which is stalking them while still in the egg and the tairen pride cannot do anything to save them. Fueling this sense of urgency is the fact that the Eld (wielders of the forbidden magic Azhran) are getting ready to attack Celieria and the Fading Lands.

King of Sword and Sky is an excellent read and I finished it too quickly. show more There's everything a reader can ask from a fantasy novel - romance, action, magic and adventure.

First there's Ellysetta. She is Rain's truemate and coming into her power, which her Fey parents covered up for 24 years. She's the only hope the tairen have for survival and Ellysetta has a lot of pressure on her shoulders. If she can't complete the bond with Rain, he'll go mad and die. She has one Mage Mark and this frightens her. She just has to be so strong! As the Fey say, all gifts come with a great price. I really enjoy the fact that Ellysetta is a strong heroine, but she's also not perfect. She does have her moments when the fear rears its ugly head but reason prevails. And her vulnerability keeps her real. Not knowing she was Fey, Ellysetta always felt like she was different from the Celierians and dreamed of belonging, truly belonging somewhere. Once she was revealed to be Fey and a Tairen Soul, she thought the Fading Lands would be the place for her. Unfortunately, the Mage Mark sets her apart and she's not immediately trusted by the Fey. It just breaks my heart.

Then there's Rain. *sigh* I love this character. He hates the Eld with almost every fiber of his being and there's his truemate, marked by them. At first this nearly destroyed their incomplete bond, but now Rain is behind Ellysetta 100%. He has his own vulnerabilties too. Is he a good king? Can he be the man Ellysetta thinks he is? All that and more, let me tell you!

These two lovebirds are complemented by a cast of great supporting characters. There's Gaelen and Bel, two of Ellysetta's quintet. Elly's little sisters, who have a surprise of their own, and last but not least, the tairen pride. I especially enjoy Steli. She's got a great sense of humour.

CL Wilson has created an amazing universe with this Tairen Soul series. The highest praise I can give it is that this series reminds me of the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop.

The only thing I don't like about King of Sword and Sky is waiting until next summer for the next book!! show less

The rythm of the book keeps building up.
In the first book it was just day to day trivialities, and people preparing a marriage with lots of hints about some big secrets, and a cold war feeling. In the second book the story takes a fast pace and some secrets are revealed. But in this third book, is prepare war, solve mysteries, face consequences and ends with two masterly written battle scenes, and their cliff hangers.

Now the spoilers.
First of all. Loved the Tairen. They are great characters. My favourite is obviously Steli. And I loved the way Ellie was always so eager to defend the pride.
Second loved the way most of the little mysteries about Ellie and the destiny of Fey and Tairen were solved, but there is still enough mysteries to show more create good cliff hangers for the nest book. Liked the way Ellie saved the kitlings, but still leaves the bond to fulfil. I also want to know what happens to Ellie's parents, but loved the vision that revealed who she is: a Fey with a Tairen's soul bond to her by the High Mage.
On the other hand hated Kieran's fate. I hope he is still alive. When they started revealing that the Fey were mate bonding again I got the feeling the twins wound mate with Kieran an Kiel, and were just waiting to get old enough...

I'm itching to know how the Fey will stop the Mage. Specially that Well of Souls opening with the Feraz stones. And I wound bet they will end the war with a travel in the Well of Souls back to the Mage fortress.

Also loved the way Fey language is getting more elaborate, but in a consistent way. I could recognize the words, I could see some common roots and identify some of the rules, even without the explanation at the end of the book. show less

This is such a wonderful series. Each book is better than the one before. The world is immersive, the characters intriguing, and the story is engrossing.
Rain and Ellie are headed to the Fading Lands finally, but all is not well. They are leaving behind a lot of conflict between the humans and the Fey while facing suspicion among the ruling elite of the Fey. They need to save the Tairen kits and then face the Eld Mages in battle. The stakes keep getting higher and higher.
Ellie is gaining new powers, some not exactly what she wants, and Rain and Ellie still need to complete their mate bond. The pacing is excellent as actions shift between characters. A lot of the minor characters have high-stakes plotlines, so I felt a lot of tension show more while reading. I'm totally invested in this story. I'm still not happy with the covers, mostly because I'm afraid people are missing out on Ms. Wilson's great books, but one of the best fantasy writers I've read. show less

KING OF SWORD AND SKY, third in C.L. Wilson's Tairan Soul series, following LORD OF THE FADING LANDS and LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS, continues the chronicles of Ellysetta Baristani and her soul mate and husband Rainer vel'En Daris' quest to save his Kingdom and help his true mate save her soul.

In KING OF SWORD AND SKY, Ellysetta travels with Rainer through to the Fading Lands, but is met with anywhere from lukewarm hospitality to downright hostility by the people. She is unfortunately marked by a great evil, Vadim, and many would already have her selling them out to him for her own personal gain.

Ellysetta and Rainer have a steep hole to climb out of; despite his claim that she is his soul mate, many counter that she is using dark arts to show more bespell him into thinking that. For the Fey she is guilty, and the idea she could be innocent is beyond consideration—she is tainted with Dark Magicks, ergo she is just as bad as Vadim.

You can't go into KING OF SWORD AND SKY without having fully read the first two books in the series. Plenty is explained, but much of the character development of secondary characters were explored in the earlier books, and tensions are carried over from each book as well. The plot is also just as complex, layered with threads that make sense later in the story and mysteries that are flirted with, but left unanswered.

I highly recommend this book, but do yourself a favor and read her other books as well first. With the fourth book (QUEEN OF SONG AND SOULS) not being released until next year in June (2009), you have plenty of time to catch up, investigate and be thrilled. show less

In this book we get a bunch more plot and build up for the end and less of the romance and naughty bits. I am not saying that is a bad thing, this book has a wonderful plot so i am intrigued to see where it goes, this one was also a re-read in preparation for the next two (and final) books. This book was vastly more life and death than the first two, I was happy with that fact. Also the drama in this book is exponential, I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire book. There are twists and turns you might never see coming and you even get a huge shock towards the end of the book.

Elly and Rain are two characters that will inspire your devotion and love. I found myself rooting for Elly and Rain and I really wish Elly would just show more accept the bond and that would mean she would be safe, it's such a solid and easy decision but way to easy. I am waiting and waiting...in the mean time I will continue to cheer for the characters I have grown to love and enjoy.

I haven't read the next book but I have already dived in and I am eager to get to the final book, I need to make sure my favorite characters come through. show less

I've been putting off this read for long enough that I’d really not expected much from it... In particular I wasn't attached to any of the characters, and so I didn't really care what happened to them either way. That, and the villain was very typically evil, so I wasn't much impressed. After having nothing to do and pretty much wondering what the hey, I was actually pleasantly surprised.

The bond between rain and Ellysetta is definitely stronger. I don't get annoyed at Ellysetta as much, because she's not quite the wimp she was when the first book started, or even throughout most of the second book. That she was willing to sacrifice herself in order to save the tairen eggs appealed to me for her character in a way it never has before, show more and that she's willing to take charge with rain makes it seem a bit more realistic too. Throughout the second book I kept noting that they were supposed to be "equals" and yet she never really steps out of her place. This book addresses that issue nicely.

Several characters perish in this book, I think. I'm not sure whether I should be glad or not, since I didn't care what happened to them either way, but it seems like a precursor for other characters to die. I think in order for them to win this war Ellysetta is going to have to turn dahlreisen back into their former elf forms. Tenn seems dead struck on opposing her, as are most of the council members. Three marks... What does that mean? She's that much closer to losing, and it comes a little too close for comfort. I think the battle at the end resembles helm's deep in LOTR a lot, and I wonder if that's where she took her inspiration. How are Ellysetta and allies supposed to find out the secret behind how he's opening these portals? If they're supposed to leave no trace of magic, I mean. And how are they going to rescue her fey parents and the tairen souls that are now under the mage's control?

I'm actually looking forward to the next book now. show less