From Booklist
A stout volume concludes Reichert's second saga about the Renshai, paranormal humans who share a world whose realization is heavily influenced by Norse mythology, with dark and light elves, normal humans, and the Old Norse gods themselves. The curse of sterility that the dark elves have sent to humanity can now only be removed by the recovery of the missing shards of the Pica Stone, which must be sought in an action-filled quest involving all the races in Reichert's fantasy world. The Norse pantheon resumes direct intervention in this world, an intervention handled with literary skill and folkloric scholarship that further raises the level of suspense. This book is not the ideal place to start an acquaintance with the Renshai, but those who know them from
Beyond Ragnarok (1995) and
Prince of Demons (1996) and the earlier Renshai Trilogy (
The Last of the Renshai [1992],
The Western Wizard [1992],
Child of Thunder [1993]) won't want to part company with them until they've read it.
Roland Green
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Concluding volume of the trilogy (Prince of Demons and Beyond Ragnarok, not reviewed) whose backdrop is a dubious concoction of Norse gods, Celtic myth, and family saga, embroidered with standard fantasy designs. Here, the elves must save the world by re-creating the shattered gem known as the Pica Stone. Unfortunately, eight shards are scattered on eight different planes of existence, so a quest must be organized to retrieve them. Among the familiar characters chosen for the quest will be: warrior Kerval and her husband, the knight Ra-khir; Kerval's other significant other, the prince and former thief Tae, along with light elves, warriors, and a street urchin who immediately gets lost. Even if the quest succeeds, there'll be a battle among the gods of Asgard, as Odin squares up to Colbey (don't ask, okay?). Full-body immersion for fans of the trilogy, who clearly prefer their narratives sluggish, talky, and prone to dwell on the insignificant. --
Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
