Jennifer Fallon, The Palace of Impossible Dreams

The Palace of Impossible Dreams

Jennifer Fallon

Tor, Jun 22 2010, $27.99

ISBN: 9780765316844

Intrepid but obstinate Arkady remains married to Stellan, the heir to the Kingdom of Glaeba, but their relationship for practical purposes is in name only. She focuses on one issue; destroying the immortal nasty Tide Lords, who have one objective: rule the world.

Arkady's strongest ally in her attempt to end the Tide Lords constant intrigue is spymaster Declan Hawkes; though his prime motive for supporting her is not altruistic but instead he admires and desires Arkady. Ergo he tries one failed attempt after another to bring down the Tide Lords. At the same time, Declan stubbornly makes his tries to win Arkady by defeating her enemy; ironically his rival for his lady is not her husband but Tide Lord Cayal who courts Arkady while also considering suicide if an immortal can kill himself; as he sees her as his only anchor to live. Inside the Time Lord haven, their human-beast slaves the Crasii plot revolt from their masters as they want freedom.

The third Tide Lords fantasy (see The Immortal Prince) is an engaging entry although as with The Gods of Amyrantha the overarching theme does not move forward very much. The story line is loaded with subplots in which the best ones involve the big power control schemes of the three prime groups competing for dominance. Some fluff events especially in the harem feel more of a detractor, but the fascination remains with comparing the mortals, the human-beasts and the immortals as they share so much in common yet continue as enemies because each wants to own the world. Fans of the saga will enjoy the return to the Fallon mythos.

Harriet Klausner