The Diamond Isle
Stan Nicholls
Eos, Jan 2007, $14.95
ISBN: 0060738936

The resistance knew they could not survive a direct confrontation with the dictatorial stronger Empire so they fled to Diamond Isle to forge their own society. However, betrayal has left them on the brink of annihilation.

The visions haunt him long after the last episode occurs; the blood curdling berserker gets out from within him too often. Reeth Caldason wants out of the madness of immortality so he has sought a magical Source that will enable him to die. However, by throwing his lot in with the rebels, he is trapped with them on Diamond Isle at a time when fellow maniac Prince Melyobar sets in motion a plot to kill anyone he deems opposes him. War is imminent, but unbeknownst to either side in the upcoming hostilities are the rivers of magic Quicksilver liquid are being altered, but who, if anyone, has the power to achieve this and what will it mean?

The third Dreamtime fantasy is a terrific conclusion to an exciting saga. The storyline initially sets in motion the final events towards the ultimate confrontation. Yet with plenty of action for the hero and others to contend with from pirates, Melyobar, Reeth's personal foe Devlor Bastorran and Zerreiss the barbarian leader, Caldason seems more human than the in the previous books (see THE RIGHTEOUS BLADE and THE COVENANT RISING). This is partly caused by his attraction to rebel warrior Serrah and his mentoring of apprentice mage Kutch. The various forces come together in an epic finale.

Harriet Klausner