What do you think?
Rate this book
Caithan Crusade #4
The Wizard King
A GREATER MADNESS. Magic had at last returned to Caithe--though hardly in the form that the princess Athaya Trelane had imagined. The Sage, the wizard leader of the ice-bound island of Sare, was poised on Caithe's shores. No longer would wizards be persecuted by Church and State. No longer would the Tribunal dare root out and exterminate them. And those Caithans who were struck with the madness of untrained magic would no longer need to flock to Athaya's secret schools to learn control. The promises he made to Caithe's wizards were grand.... But there was a darker side to the Sage's plan. The Sage was determined to claim the kingdom for his own. His wizards would rule all lesser, common men. The Trelane king would be ousted from power. And as for Athaya herself... She was an adept, like the Sage; and an ancient prophecy spoke of a powerful woman who would aid a great wizard king.... His was a madness of a different sort--and to stop his schemes would be the greatest challenge of Athaya's life.
- GenresFantasy
337 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 29, 1993
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 18, 2025
Positives:
➕️ As the king of Caithe oppresses the innocent Lorngeld (wizards), the peacefulness of Athaya's group versus the cultic violence of the Sage of Sare adds nice complexity to the story.
➕️ From the beginning of the series to its end, I was really pleased that Smith didn't write Athaya and her oppressed allies as militant atheists against the Church, but rather as peaceful reformers, just like Martin Luther in his day.
➕️ A great lore reveal about halfway through.
➕️ Just when I was beginning to think that the prophecy concerning Athaya's immense power was a plot hole, I was proven wrong.
➕️ Great moments of reconciliation between prominent characters who were formerly and notoriously hostile toward one another.
➕️ The ending does not have a lazy deus ex machina. It's a perfect ending.
Negatives:
➖️ Plot hole: without giving the scene away, someone sets up an illusion as they're hiding, and when his companion puts a sealing spell on him (sealing his magic away until the wizard unseals it), the illusion is still there. If the sealing spell disallows someone from using magic, shouldn't the illusion have gone away?
➖️ Having finished the series, I still can't get over the fact that Athaya fell in love with someone she previously had no feelings for only a few months after her original lover's death. Granted, he was involved in her rescue in book 1, but it just seems more like trauma bonding than actual romance.
➖️ I also would've liked a lot more of the Caithan Church's theological reasoning behind their anathematizing of magic. It's not real "magic" the actual Bible prohibits, i.e., the occult (e.g., divination, psychics, necromancy [talking to the dead], etc.). It would've added more depth and nuance to both sides as they quoted Bible verses at each other. Is there a pope? Is the Caithan Bible the same as ours? No one ever quotes scripture verses of any kind. There's not even a single mention of Christ. Instead, we just have to accept the Church's blanket declaration of the Lorngeld as "the Devil's Children."
➕️ As the king of Caithe oppresses the innocent Lorngeld (wizards), the peacefulness of Athaya's group versus the cultic violence of the Sage of Sare adds nice complexity to the story.
➕️ From the beginning of the series to its end, I was really pleased that Smith didn't write Athaya and her oppressed allies as militant atheists against the Church, but rather as peaceful reformers, just like Martin Luther in his day.
➕️ A great lore reveal about halfway through.
➕️ Just when I was beginning to think that the prophecy concerning Athaya's immense power was a plot hole, I was proven wrong.
➕️ Great moments of reconciliation between prominent characters who were formerly and notoriously hostile toward one another.
➕️ The ending does not have a lazy deus ex machina. It's a perfect ending.
Negatives:
➖️ Plot hole: without giving the scene away, someone sets up an illusion as they're hiding, and when his companion puts a sealing spell on him (sealing his magic away until the wizard unseals it), the illusion is still there. If the sealing spell disallows someone from using magic, shouldn't the illusion have gone away?
➖️ Having finished the series, I still can't get over the fact that Athaya fell in love with someone she previously had no feelings for only a few months after her original lover's death. Granted, he was involved in her rescue in book 1, but it just seems more like trauma bonding than actual romance.
➖️ I also would've liked a lot more of the Caithan Church's theological reasoning behind their anathematizing of magic. It's not real "magic" the actual Bible prohibits, i.e., the occult (e.g., divination, psychics, necromancy [talking to the dead], etc.). It would've added more depth and nuance to both sides as they quoted Bible verses at each other. Is there a pope? Is the Caithan Bible the same as ours? No one ever quotes scripture verses of any kind. There's not even a single mention of Christ. Instead, we just have to accept the Church's blanket declaration of the Lorngeld as "the Devil's Children."
May 21, 2020
3.5 stars
The fourth (and presumably final) book about Athaya’s struggle to rescue her wizards from their bondage—peacefully. Meanwhile, her younger brother becomes the prisoner of the Sage and the Sage drives her and her brother to become allies and reconcile. A satisfactory conclusion.
[2020]. According to Goodreads Ms. Smith published this last book in the quartet in 1993, and then did not publish anything else. I wonder why. I found this fantasy quartet quite good.
The fourth (and presumably final) book about Athaya’s struggle to rescue her wizards from their bondage—peacefully. Meanwhile, her younger brother becomes the prisoner of the Sage and the Sage drives her and her brother to become allies and reconcile. A satisfactory conclusion.
[2020]. According to Goodreads Ms. Smith published this last book in the quartet in 1993, and then did not publish anything else. I wonder why. I found this fantasy quartet quite good.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews