Fiona McIntosh, Bridge of Souls

Bridge of Souls

Fiona McIntosh

Eos, Mar 2006, $14.95, 528 pp.

ISBN 0060747609

Though he wishes he could go back to before when he was a general in the Morgravian army, Wyl Thirsk courageously continues to live with his "gift" of life granted to him by the now late Myrren the witch. Myrren's "gift" is a spell that propels his spirit to occupy the body of anyone who murders him.

Currently Wyl resides in the body of his sister Ylena, while he continues his quest to kill King Celimus of Morgravia, with a secondary objective to thwart the monarch's intention to marry Queen Valentyna of neighboring Briavel. Meanwhile Myrren's late father Elysius, before turning to dust, "assigned" young Fynch "mentored" by Knave the dog to annihilate the malevolent magician Rashlyn. These two quests will soon link up, leaving a depressed Wyl and unconfident Fynch in mortal danger from two evil abominations, but failure leaves their countrymen at risk.

BRIDGE OF SOULS, the final body-snatching tale in the Quickening trilogy (see MYRREN'S GIFT and BLOOD AND MEMORY) is a fabulous epic fantasy that grips fans of Fiona McIntosh from the moment the boy magician Fynch and Knave communicate. The storyline never slows until the final confrontation between good and evil. Though it is better to have read the previous tales to understand how things progressed to the bridge of no return, epic fantasy readers will appreciate the action-packed climax, as Wyl tries to save the people of his nation and those of the neighboring country, as well as the woman he loves, in a desperate final gamut.