Glasswrights Master [Paperback]

When "The Glasswrights' Master" finally came out, I plowed through all five books in the span of a single week. Certainly, you'll want to read the others before this one. I'm hoping that the comments I'm about to make, as I briefly summarize the whole series to put "Master" in context, will not give away too many of the key plot points for those who are new to these books.

If there's one overriding theme of the "Glasswright" series that stands out for me, it has to be the vital importance of making the right choices, for the right reasons. My favorite character easily has to be the main protagonist, Rani Trader. She is a textbook example of how bad choices can destroy lives. In the first book of the series, as a somewhat rebellious 13-year-old girl, she fails to follow the prime tenet of Morenian society: "Mind your caste". This continues to be an issue throughout the entire series.

For, in the Kingdom of Morenia, the social hierarchy is rigidly enforced into five castes, or levels of privilege. At the bottom are the Touched: the grunt laborers, servants and farmers. Next are the merchants, then the guildspeople, followed by the soldiers. At the top are the priests and nobles. One can tell a person's rank by the number of syllables in his or her name. Thus, when Rani Trader's family buys her into the glasswrights' guild at great cost, she becomes Ranita Glasswright. During the time she is in hiding for her life, in that first book, she becomes first Rai of the Touched and then Ranimara of the soldiers. Throughout much of the series she serves as a virtual member of the royal family, a valued friend and confidant of King Halaravilli.

This earns her the opprobrium of her legions of detractors, who scornfully label her a "caste jumper". For only one other person in Morenian history has ever been a member of all five castes, and that was the legendary First Pilgrim Jair, the founder of the ruling dynasty of Morenia. Who is Rani to liken herself to him?

By this fifth book, Rani, now in her mid-twenties, has grown greatly. She started out as being almost amoral, a desperate opportunist who would beg, steal or even kill to further her cause. Her loyalties were confused, as she bounced from one faction to the next, trying to sort out their mutually inimical aims. And yet, her conscience bothered her, forcing her take the side of the future King Hal, even at the cost of her own treasonous brother's life. She had begun to learn to do what was right.

As a loyal subject with excellent people skills, thanks to her trader background, she has managed to drive some very hard bargains throughout the series, each time to benefit King Hal and Morenia as they pass through various crises. And yet, sometimes people end up being hurt badly, Rani having picked the lesser of two evils. Not everyone understands her reasons. Not everyone wants to give her the chance to explain, or to make good, if it's within her power to do so.

By the start of Book Five, Rani has many enemies who would love to kill her. There is the mysterious Fellowship of Jair, who wish to unite the Five Kingdoms under the long-foretold Royal Pilgrim. There are the Glasswrights, who live in exile in the fanatical Kingdom of Brianta, blaming her for the destruction of their guild in Morenia. Of course, she blames herself more. Then there are Rani's former love interests, such as Crestman and Tovin the Player. She has driven them away, due to her single-minded devotion to King Hal and the art of glass making.

By the end of the first chapter of "The Glasswrights' Master", Rani, King Hal and a few of their most loyal friends are fleeing the country, driven out by the Fellowship, who are bringing their plans to fruition. Rani faces her most difficult choices yet: will she have to give up her long-cherished aim to become a master glasswright and reestablish her guild in Morenia? For that will surely come to pass, if she fails to face down the Fellowship at last, and remains in exile. And yet, confronting the Fellowship could very easily prove fatal.

Now, more than ever before, Rani will have to learn to put the interests of others above her own. Even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.

Some important questions are finally answered as well. Who is this Royal Pilgrim, and precisely what role will he or she play in shaping the fate of the Five Kingdoms? What about those mysterious voices in Rani's head, present since Book Four? Will either she or King Hal ever find true happiness, driven as they have been by sometimes heartless political necessity?

The ending, while in some ways predictable, was still eminently satisfying, and I found myself rereading the final chapter and savoring it. However, there are still some loose ends, a few different groups or individuals for whom I can ask "what happens to them next?"

For now, Mindy has wrapped the series up, but I'm hoping she revisits Morenia later. Until then, I'll just have to reread the existing books. All in all, they're imaginative and well written. "The Glasswrights' Master" is no exception.

That said, the whole series is undeniably very good, and the characters unforgettable. I agree with the other reviewers that, for the best reading experience, the books have to be read in order - less because of possible obscurity, and more because it would be a pity not to know them all.

This stirring conclusion to a magnificent series is a powerful read that doesn't let you put it down!

The conclusion to the beautiful Glasswright's Series is a fitting end - all the loose ends are tied up, and the characters go through changes that help them, hurt them, and push them towards the finale.

The only recommendation I can make is that you read the other Glasswright's books before this - don't read it as a "stand alone" novel. Some details may be lost on you - such as exactly why Crestman is so furious with Rani, or the details of Rani and Tovin's past - if you do not read the entire series. Also, the end of the book is all the more bittersweet if you've known the characters for all 5 books.

The characters are beautifully written, and they are believeable to the core. Rani, Ranita, Rai... whatever you choose to call her - she is the remarkable hero in this tale. The king, Hal, goes through mental anguish that he thought he had overcome previously. The return of his rhymes is a chilling reminder of his fragile state, and Crestman's proclamation that Hal simply cannot exist without Rani have a ring of truth that chills the reader.

The imagery in the book of the Thousand Gods "visits" to Rani are vivid, and you can taste/hear/smell/feel/see the visions as clearly as Rani does.

I highly recommend this book to all Glasswright fans - if you haven't read the series yet, pick it up now!