When the Beast Ravens
E. Rose Sabin
Tor, Jan 2005, $23.95, 287 pp.
ISBN: 0765308584

After being taken by the dire women into their dimension, he was tortured and changed into a beast. Gray Becq is no longer enamored with the Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted though he returns there following his summer vacation. He quickly gets into a fight with two of the people who summoned the creatures from the Dire Realms.

Not long after, somebody steals artifacts from the students and a demon enters this world. The Headmistress believes that Gray's return from the Dire Realm allowed the demon to enter this dimension. The concern is that they have no spell to send the demon home to the Dire Realm. The students are guarded with seemingly unbreakable spells, but someone manages to do the impossible. Everyone concludes that a killer is bringing in demons from the Dire Realm and using them to break the safety spells. Gray discovers that he has the power to travel through different timelines and dimensions. His former enemies join forces with him to battle their common foes and send the demons back to the hell where they belong.

This is the final book of a delightful trilogy that ties up the loose ends from A SCHOOL FOR SORCERY and A PERILOUS POWER, which obviously means reading the previous novels first. The climax is awesome as the students put aside their jealousies to forge a team knowing this is the only chance, remote as that is, to defeat the overwhelming adversaries. Fans of Harry Potter will enjoy this fine series, especially this terrific conclusion.

Harriet Klausner