Destiny: Child of the Sky

Symphony of Ages #3

by Elizabeth Haydon

To stand against the F'dor--an ancient, vile being intent on destroying the world--a fellowship has been Rhapsody, a Singer of great talent and beauty; Achmed, an assassin with unearthly talents; and Grunthor, a giant of jolly disposition and lethal skill with weapons. Driven by prophetic visions, the three know that time is running short, know that they must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all. But after their final, brutal confrontation with the F'dor, their world crosses the threshold of disaster and faces utter oblivion. The action reaches a fevered pitch, achieving a crescendo of tragedy, love, and triumph of human spirit over world-shattering cataclysm. With death at hand and the world crumbling at their feet, these three will finally discover their true Destiny.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic

747 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Elizabeth Haydon (* 1965 in Michigan) is a fantasy author, whose 1999 debut, Rhapsody: Child of Blood, garnered comparisons with Goodkind, Jordan, and even Tolkien. She has written two fantasy series set within the same universe, The fantasy/romance/whodunit fusion called The Symphony of Ages and the young adult series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.

An herbalist, harpist, and madrigal singer, Elizabeth Haydon also enjoys anthropology and folklore. She lives on the East Coast of the United States.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabet...

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could deal with the endless flow of men throwing themselves down at Raps feet because, who wouldn't she so incredibly beautiful! I mean you'd have to be half blind to not notice, considering Haydon throws it in the readers face every other page or so. Raps the whore who somehow gets her virginity back. Now if that isn't the biggest load I've ever read I don't know what is.

It wasn't even that.

Achmed managed to get me through Rapsody and I actually liked Joe, because as much of a whiney bitch that she was, it just showed how stupid Rapsody was.

Sometimes it was mind-numbing.

I've never done this before in my life, but I read this book halfway through and put it down. I hate putting books down and yet... I just couldn't read another line of Haydon's writing about Rapsody. So I wikipedia'd the end. And you know... I'm glad. The level of "Mary Sue" that Rapsody is propelled to probably would have made me burn the book.

I wish I could give this book a negative star because I didn't just not like it, I couldn't suffer through it anymore. I doubt I will read the next ones, or anything Haydon writes again. It is rather sad since the first book didn't start off so bad. The love between Emily and Sam I actually liked until they got together again. And seriously? I couldn't deal with Rapsody's whining anymore. I mean how stupid do you have to be to just go through all that trouble, find the guy who is your soulmate and then say "oh well crap, your going to be a Lord so... bye. And no don't try to love me because I'm lowly and worthless because I'm not a royal like you." Like ARG!

And that probably came off like a bit of a rant, but I had to do it somewhere.

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I loved this trilogy and these characters, I think I am going to stop right here and not continue reading the series. I think Rhapsody and Ashe's story is complete and I would like to keep it that way.

I've read some of the reviews of the next books, and I think it's safe to keep this trilogy as a special place in my heart instead of it maybe soiling it the more I read.

It finished off perfectly ----- except for Achmed (I really wanted a HEA for him) especially since him and Gunther were two of my favorites.

So, I'm closing off this series at the end of the trilogy and keeping it close to my heart.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read all three of these? WHY??

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and particularly moving ending to this very interesting trilogy. As in the previous two parts, the author once again shows her excellent writing skills, creating the emotional intensity is needed, which culminates in the most critical moments. I could say, of course, that there are some exaggerations - and too many tears - but I think they do not lose the end result. Anyway, a little sentimentalism in our lives is needed, especially if there is something good.

The paradox is that this is done throughout the trilogy without the story we read having something really great and epic or even being just compact and structured. On the contrary, plot has problems, with many inconsistencies, many gaps, and in many places the writer starts something only to abandon it. The central idea is of course interesting and original but I feel that the author could not use it as a basis for creating a history that will have the necessary coherence. So many times the developments seem to come from nowhere, without being so well connected with one another, with some of the most decisive being done at a very high speed, without the necessary preparation from behind to justify them.

But what counts most of all in this genre is the characters we spend so many hours together, if they are interesting, if they are original, and if through the books we have the opportunity to get to know them in depth and to watch them develop in a good way. This the author accomplishes it by creating some special main characters, and from then on using her very good writing brings them to life and makes us interested in them. The protagonist of the story, the beautiful Rhapsody, in particular, is one of those characters of fantasy literature that can make a work stand out and in my case to a great extent because of her I will remember this trilogy as something special.

Ένα όμορφο και ιδιαίτερα συγκινητικό τέλος σε αυτήν την πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα τριλογία. Όπως και στα δύο προηγούμενα μέρη, η συγγραφέας δείχνει ξανά τις εξαιρετικές συγγραφικές της ικανότητες δημιουργώντας τη συναισθηματική ένταση που χρειάζεται, η οποία κορυφώνεται στις πιο κρίσιμες στιγμές. Θα μπορούσα να πω, βέβαια, ότι υπάρχουν κάποιες υπερβολές - και πάρα πολλά δάκρυα - αλλά νομίζω ότι δεν χαλάνε το τελικό αποτέλεσμα. Ούτως ή άλλως λίγος συναισθηματισμός στη ζωή μας χρειάζεται, ειδικά αν υπάρχει σε κάτι καλό.

Το παράδοξο είναι ότι αυτό γίνεται σε όλη την τριλογία χωρίς η ιστορία που διαβάζουμε να έχει κάτι το πραγματικά σπουδαίο και επικό ή ακόμα και να είναι απλά συμπαγής και συγκροτημένη. Αντιθέτως η πλοκή έχει προβλήματα, με πολλές ανακολουθίες, πολλά κενά ενώ σε πολλά σημεία η συγγραφέας ξεκινάει κάτι για να το εγκαταλείψει στη συνέχεια. Η κεντρική ιδέα είναι φυσικά ενδιαφέρουσα και πρωτότυπη αλλά έχω την αίσθηση ότι η συγγραφέας δεν μπορούσε να τη χρησιμοποιήσει ως βάση για να δημιουργήσει μία ιστορία που θα έχει την απαραίτητη συνοχή. Έτσι πολλές φορές οι εξελίξεις μοιάζουν να έρχονται από το πουθενά, χωρίς να συνδέονται τόσο καλά μεταξύ τους, με κάποιες από τις πιο καθοριστικές να γίνονται με πολύ μεγάλη ταχύτητα, χωρίς να υπάρχει η απαραίτητη προεργασία από πίσω για να τις δικαιολογήσει.

Αυτό, όμως, που μετράει ίσως περισσότερο από όλα σε αυτό το είδος είναι οι χαρακτήρες με τους οποίους περνάμε τόσες ώρες μαζί, αν είναι ενδιαφέροντες, αν είναι πρωτότυποι και αν μέσα από τα βιβλία έχουμε τη δυνατότητα να τους γνωρίσουμε σε βάθος και να παρακολουθήσουμε την εξέλιξη τους με τον κατάλληλο τρόπο. Αυτό η συγγραφέας το καταφέρνει με το παραπάνω, δημιουργώντας μερικούς εξαιρετικούς κύριους χαρακτήρες και από κει και πέρα χρησιμοποιώντας την ιδιαίτερα καλή γραφή της τους ζωντανεύει και μας κάνει να ενδιαφερόμαστε για αυτούς. Η πρωταγωνίστρια της ιστορίας, η πανέμορφη Rhapsody, ιδιαίτερα, είναι από αυτούς τους χαρακτήρες της φανταστικής λογοτεχνίας που μπορούν να κάνουν από μόνοι τους ένα έργο να ξεχωρίζει και στην περίπτωση μου σε μεγάλο βαθμό εξαιτίας της θα θυμάμαι αυτήν την τριλογία ως κάτι το ιδιαίτερο.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book! I was amazed by Elizabeth Haydon's debut, Rhapsody when I read it last year. I knew that she had something about her that kept me reading. Her ability to tell Fantasy stories, political stories, and romance stories all in one was truly fantastic. I was so enthralled with her writing that I read "Prophecy" soon thereafter. Unfortunately, my thoughts on Prophecy were severely mixed, and due to the incredible size of the third book of the trilogy, I decided to put off "Destiny" for a while. Finally, I decided to pick it up and see how the trilogy wrapped up.

I am so gald that I did...because this book is FANTASTIC!!!!!

This book captures the Wheel of Time esque components of fantasy and worldbuilding that the first book had. It also nailed the romantic subplots perfectly, never fully overtaking the story. This book, perhaps more than previous books, feels epic and feels like a sweeping multi-arc storyline. Haydon packs quite a lot into 800 pages.

The main plotline of this book is the hunting of the F'dor and the children of the F'dor. That plotline was exciting and I was intrigued to see who would be revealed as the F'dor. I was also intrigued to find out how Haydon would resolve that arc of the story.

The other major plotline of this book is the line of succession in the major kingdoms of the Cymrians. The Council of the Cymrians takes up a substantial portion of the book, much longer than I would have anticipated based on traditional storytelling conventions. However, I loved all of it. It was complex enough to be well worth the attention to detail, but not too much that I couldn't follow it all.

The F'dor plotline is actually wrapped up much earlier in the book than you'd expect. Instead, the political plotline takes up the rest of the book. By doing this, Haydon was able to produce a unique element to the three act structure in the trilogy. Some people might not appreciate this, but it worked for me.

I really felt like there was a way that Haydon needed to resolve the romantic subplot between Ashe(Gwydion) and Rhapsody. I did NOT like how it ended in Prophecy, but here it goes to a natural conclusion. Haydon had just enough of a "will-they-won't-they" tension to keep the audience on edge. I will say that I expect many in the fandom to not appreciate what Ashe does to Rhapsody early on, nor will they like how every man in the book practically fawns over Rhapsody.

Llauron, a character who I really enjoy reading and also really like pronouncing his name, had some excellent character development in this book. I really enjoyed him in book 1, and he didn't get quite as much attention in book 2. But here he really shines and is the master manipulator/plotter that you can expect from your old, wizardesque characters in Fantasy (Gandalf, Dumbledore, Allanon, etc). His machinations were fascinating.

There is a surprise villain at the end that was very nicely handled...and I'll leave it at that.

Overall, I loved this book! It did everything it needed to do to tie up the story from books 1 and 2, and actually makes me appreciate book 2 a whole lot more. I still think book 1 is my personal favorite in the trilogy, but this one is certainly a very close second. 9.8 out of 10!

[Jyoti Dahiya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Her dresses are worth more than her strength

As someone mentioned online, no wonder people prefer writing fantasy to hard science fiction. A few horses, some random magic, a demon to vanquish, and dresses like a millionaire's wedding confection. That's all you need to generate terrific sales. No wondering if the planet you posit would develop with the atmosphere you need for the critters you invented for the story to move. Ha.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the contorted pose of the heroine on the cover. Bent head, bust stuck out, butt stuck out, and no feet. She is also holding—delicately--a long and heavy sword, at one end, cantilevered out ridiculously. Try standing like that in real life, and you may find the ground is closer than you thought, as well as a lot harder and sooner than you expected, and the sword, while dropping, would take off a knuckle or two. The only people who can hold huge swords in two fingers are the video game characters in Final Fantasy. Oh, wait, this is a fantasy, too.

This book is part of a series, the last in the row. Rhapsody, a Namer, has tied up with Achmed, an assassin who is now a king, and the Sergeant (who gets only a few bit parts in this book). She is also in love with Ashe, or is his name Gwydion? The evil F'dor is finally bested by our heroes in this book. Assorted magic weilders suddenly and for no good reason decide they want Rhapsody as their Queen, so she gets a lot of gowns that take several pages to describe. Characters with exotic and relentless power succumb to her charm, or her Naming, or something else. Anyway, the reader who identifies with Rhapsody will be much reassured to be told, several times in the book, that she is way powerful, and the most beautiful woman in the world. Powerful men love her to bits.

Damn. That's all I remember. There were some nice fantasy scenes in between, but this is what sticks. Why do I read these books? Because they don't mind if I switch off my brain before I start? Not good enough reason, my dear...

[Reviewed in 2013; uploaded here now]

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sooo happy when I heard that this wasn't the last book in the series! The romance and struggles that the characters felt I felt along with them too! These characters are so strong and this book brings everything to life because it seems so realistic, just in another world. AMAZING

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this is it. The end of Haydon's fabulous trilogy! I know, when asking Goodreads it isn't shown as a trilogy but rather as six volumes. But nevertheless, the first three novels build a union. Book four and five seem to be closed stories who aren't even half as good as the trilogy and the last book, well that one just seems to be strangely without a real plot. I don't know when or whether I will read anymore books in this series because I'm so very very satisfied with the first three. I'll sort of review the trilogy as a whole, trying not to spoil anything.

The Symphony of Ages is a fantastic, high fantasy series. The great art of fantasy, which is not mastered by many authors, is to build a unique world that doesn't feel like any other book that you've read before. Haydon is a genius when it comes to world-building. Her trilogy tells the story of the Cymrians, an ancient people that had to leave their sinking majestic island world Serendair. On their ships, they crossed a timeline and having arrived in the new world, they discover that they don't age anymore. But hundreds of years and wars have decimated the Cymrian population and also shaped the world. Rhapsody, a young woman from Serendair, and her two friend Grunthor and Achmed also cross the timeline, yet underground and not on a ship. When they emerge, 1400 years have passed and they find themselves to be part of some ancient prophecies which make it their destiny to kill a demon, the F'dor.

Throughout her three books, Haydon spins a tale of love, friendship, deception and honor. The politics of the different country are well-drawn. I love her unagitated way of presenting us different races, as if they are something natural... which of course it is. Rhapsody is a woman of many talents, she is a Singer from the people of the Liringlas, and also a Namer with great power. Her beauty is unheard of and she enchants many people with it. Her extraordinary beauty, that she needs to hide most of the time, was a bit stretched out too much in the past two novels. I was delighted to find that people seemed to have gotten used to it now. Rhapsody is honest, loving and forgiving. Following her on her quest was a delight to read. Where she was simply too good to be true, her two companions could balance this impression with their rudeness, brutality and their inappropriate manners or humor.

It's absolutely impossible to mention all the important aspects that made me love this novel. But I have to mention one more thing. The trilogy features an epic love story which takes an important role in the plot without completely controling it. I always like it when there's everything in a fantasy world, the whole spectrum of emotions which shouldn't ever forget love, or even some (!!) intimate scenes.

In this last novel of the trilogy, I had to change my mind about quite a few characters. Haydon's numerous side characters are described in vivid detail and most of them are quite complex with surprisingly dark (or good) sides to them that came unexpected to me.

Being one of the books that sucks you in immediately and won't spit you out until you've read it all, I think all fantasy fans should have read these wonderful novels, men and women alike.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh. My. God. I was soooooo ready for this book to be over! I really only read it because I read the previous two and was like "eh I wonder what happens to the characters? Guess I'll invest the time to find out." Bad decision.

Rhapsody is such an irritating, shallow, two-dimensional character who the author tries to make appear deep by telling you how wonderful and unselfish and wonderfully naive she is. And wonderful. And amazing. What a total Mary Sue! Achmed and Gunthor were great and kept me reading but Ashe was a good match to Rhapsody because of the amount of irritation he inspired. And the fact that Rhapsody was ~forever unknowing of her beauty~ which caused everyone to stop in awe of her, which she assumes must be because she's disfigured. -__- Really? What a load of s**t.

Please note that this is more of a rant than a review. Apologies.

The fact that freaking Rhapsody or ~Emily~ as Ashe immediately starts calling her when they realize they are long lost soul mates -- even though he knew her as Emily and she knew him as Sam, something she also immediately called him, for like one night! But they knew each other as Rhapsody and Ashe for months! Whatever. They deserved each other. Although, I wish Ashe had died or something or Achmed had gotten Rhapsody because the only times she was slightly less irritating was when she was being "the other side of Achmed's coin" and Achmed was willing to like argue against her pigheaded ~but wonderful~ attitudes. And the fact that she was all forgiving of everyone! Really??? Really? So annoying. And so glad to be done with crap.

Edit: I am SO glad that other people also ranted about this book! Holy crap! You just really need to after bothering to get through any of this and having to read about characters as insipid and irritating as Ashe and Rhapsody.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the books in this series, this would have to be my least favourite. I liked the bit where they gathered the children together and got the blood out of them to track the F'dor. If fact I would say it was really good up to the point of the killing of the F'dor. For me that was the crux of the story so I was really surprised when that all got wrapped up a bit over 1/2 way in. The rest of the book, was so drawn out it kind of lost me at the end, namely:
-the crowning of Rhapsody as the Queen of the Lirin,
- the calling together of the clans with the magic horn,
- her being chosen as ruler with Ashe,
- the zombie army(?!?); and
-the wedding.

Maybe some of that stuff needed to happen for it to be resolved but it kind of didn't really do much for me in terms of completing the central story about overcoming F'dor. It is really is a shame as I liked the series generally.

[Jenn Cotton · Rating 1 out of 5]

All the bad stuff from the second, plus some.

I originally picked up this series because I thought it was fantasy, with a little bit of a love story thrown in. Turns out, it's a romance novel with a fantasy setting. I despise the 'perfection' of the main character, as well as Ashe's (and everyone else's) obsession for her. I find Rhapsody's perfection only to be evident in that the author tells us it is so, rather than Rhapsody's actions. She is quick tempered and judgmental, and feels she is always justified in her opinions and actions.

It's a shame that the series ended up like this. I enjoyed the first book enough to buy the next two books at the same time. I didn't expect the plot to be overshadowed by Rhapsody's rather obnoxious relationship.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, and the way that Haydon wrapped things up. The search for the Rakshas' children was a nice additon, and the end of the F'dor was highly satisfying. Even though I was dismayed at first to see 200 pages left, she did a good job of tying up all the loose ends. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

[wishforagiraffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a solid conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable series and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys some romance in their fantasy, anyone who likes a solid good vs evil plotline, anyone who enjoys suspense and mystery, and anyone looking for some well done alternatives to traditional fantasy races.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series is shite. Don't insult yourself with it.

[Kelci | Steeped in Stories · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh -- this conclusion to the Symphony of Ages trilogy was nothing short of magnificent. I am glad I took a break from this world about 100 pages in, so I could come back refreshed and be ready to devour the other 500+ pages in a mere matter of days.

"You have no understanding of what 'nothing' is, no idea how long 'forever' can be. You were never nothing. You were a farmgirl, a harlot, a harper; at your lowest, the most demeaned moment of your life, you were worth something, some cattle, some coin, some moment of attention. It may have felt damnably little, but it was a place, a hole in the world to land in. You think you have been nothing, but you haven't, Rhapsody."

"When you find the one thing in your life you believe in above anything else, you owe it to yourself to stand by it--it will never come again, child. And if you believe in it unwaveringly, the world has no other choice but to see it as you do, eventually. For who knows it better than you? Don't be afraid to take a difficult stand, darling. Find this one thing that matters--everything will resolve itself."

In a way, I am at a loss of words on what to write about Destiny . In no way was I expecting the third book to not only be as exciting as it was, but also as moving as it was (my emotions were not prepared for this roller coaster). I sat and read 200+ pages because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but if you are wondering if you should read the final installment of this trilogy, or even if you want a good introduction to high fantasy, I highly recommend this trilogy. This third book was mind-blowing!!

[Beth Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was WAY long, which was why it gets 4 stars (prolly closer to 3.5). I love the main characters, but I really felt like the book dragged on and on and on. So many things happening. And I'm not entirely certain the ending was worth it (the very last chapter). I liked the overall wrap up and will definitely be continuing the series.

[Aurélien Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a year to complete this trilogy. And I do not regret it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness I'm so glad I rediscovered this series. The characters have a tendency to monologue, and Rhapsody is a little too perfect sometimes, but the fantasy is epic and exciting, and these characters are ones that have stuck in my mind since I was a teenager. Haydon has created a rich world that I truly enjoy coming back to.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armed with the locations of the demon-spawn's children, Rhapsody and Achmed leave the mountain in Grunthor's capable hands. If they can extract the demon's blood from the children, it will be their first solid lead on the F'dor's host. But the F'dor is hardly sitting idle, and it continues to orchestrate the plan that will bring the whole world into ruin. It may simply be a matter of which of them gets there first.

All the threads built in Rhapsody and Prophecy tie up here, in the capstone of the trilogy. Ashe is reaping the consequences of his deception with the pearl; Rhapsody, bereft of those memories, begins pursuit of another potential husband in addition to her quest to reunite the Cymrian people. And Ashe can't explain anything to her without explaining everything again.

Politically things start to heat up as Tristan starts spreading his obsession with conquering Ylorc. The Patriarch's imminent demise has sparked fierce competition for his succession. And war seems all but certain as the atrocities sparked by the F'dor continue to new heights.

The characters remain the best part of the book. Every line of dialogue, every memory, every emotion rings true. The unique humor between Achmed, Grunthor, and Rhapsody continues to be one of my favorite parts. Because of the larger focus on world events, there wasn't as much time to spend with Achmed and Grunthor, and Rhapsody was away for a good part of the time, but the moments they do have together is worth the wait.

Overall, it's a solid conclusion to the trilogy. There's less recap in the beginning, so new readers would do better to start with Rhapsody. I thought the battles at the end could have used a bit more detail, but all in all it's a satisfying end to the original story arc, while leaving the world open for further exploration. I rate this book Recommended.

[Gaijinmama · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Symphony of Ages series. You most likely do not want to read this one unless you read Rhapsody and Prophecy first.
This was my third re-read of this book. I liked it even better than before. The sarcastic banter among the three main characters is hilarious. And the dragons are wicked awesome, as we used to say in Massachusetts. One sounds like Alan Rickman in my head. One is dead sexy and gets to fool around with our heroine. And one...whom I personally enjoyed the most...gets royally pissed off and throws a truly breathtaking tantrum.
Loads of fun.
One comment I got earlier when I reviewed the first book in this series was that Rhapsody, the main protagonist, is too perfect to be believable. I disagree. She Has Issues. And in this book, she really lets those issues show. I still love her but I wanted to shake her till her teeth rattled. She is stubborn as all-get-out and she just does not listen sometimes!
But we'll forgive her. What with losing the love of her life, finding him, losing him again, and finding him again, fighting demons, saving the world and all, she has a lot on her mind.

[VanHalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three words:
Not as strong.

Many years ago I was browsing the fantasy section in Narns & Nobles in Iowa City, when the clerk started chatting with me about books & recommended Rhapsody, the first of this series.

That book, I really liked, so I picked up the next two in the series.
The second book was a little looser, but still pretty good.

This book, less so. It works through the resolution of the conflicts from the first two books. ALL OF THEM...

There were enough resolutions to have been resolved over another book or two, but suddenly there was this frantic pace of introducing random scenes in order to make later actions make sense in order to resolve issues which hadn't been introduced previously. If that sentence was confusing, think how the book was....

Also, the pacing of the scenes is wacky. Rush rush rush, then take time driving the difficult decisions and agonizing over them & the ramifications of them for several chapters, then rush rush rush again.

This book reads like the deal for the next three wasn't finalized yet & the author was trying to solve everything before the end of the world, rather her writing world.

[Josianne Haag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy. It was a lot of fun with cool worldbuilding and some really unique characters. However, this series was held back from being great by a female main character that just had to be the most beautiful creature in existence without knowing it, and so kind as so self sacrifice for so many strangers yet not give people who genuinely loved her a chance to speak to make the plot convenient.

The ending was good enough, yet weirdly rushed and drawn out at the same time. What you assume should be a big conclusion was dealt with in pages and then you're left with a quarter of the book left and wondering what will happen next. I think this author has some VERY obvious strengths that are shown through this series, but the final battle sequences were not up to par with other novels I have read over the years.

I enjoyed my time in this world, but I think I will keep this as a trilogy and not continue on with the following books. I have heard they are a let down and the story is concluded nicely here so I will take the advice of those before me and leave it here.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. It's finally over. I may go into withdrawal from glistening tresses and glittering eyes and bellwether misused three times a chapter, but then again, probably not.

And yet I still really liked this book. The politics were good. The Rowans were interesting. I could have done without Constantin and Anwyn, but, you know. You win some, you lose some.

I especially adore Achmed and wish he had gotten more of a role. I would love a book about Achmed and Grunthor, with Rhapsody and/or Ashe as side characters. And the hints we've gotten of the past that might have been (is it just me, or does it have Achmed/Rhapsody??)...

In other words, I will eventually read (and probably even enjoy) the next books set in this world. And I will definitely whine about the hair. But I won't do it now, because there's only so much of it I can take at one time ^^;

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ouch. How the heck do you go from brilliant and inspired to this confused morass of a story? It slows down, gets confused in it'self, and when the important things happen I find I could care less. There were two books of set up leading to this and it read like there was one big placeholder keeping the finale delayed. And now the last couple hundred of pages are a painful read as I hope that one final bit comes together. I keep thinking 'who cares about this pomp, get ON with it!'

150 pages left, not sure I have the stomach to finish...

I'm not sure I should have fished, guh.

[Férial · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 3/4th better than the too romance-ish last 4th.

I've enjoyed discovering this complex world and the different forces at work. Also, the different races (Lirin, Bolg, F'dor, Serandian, Nain, Dhracian...) were something new (which was kind of refreshing)

I was annoyed (to say the least) with the dazzlingly-dazzling-unselfish-and-strongest-of-all-Rhapsody-whose-hair-we-get-talked-about-every-2-pages-or-so and, by the end of the book, I thought that the story was more a romance with a high fantasy background than the reverse.

3 stars.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid conclusion to the original trilogy, things wrap up pretty well - although some of it dragged a bit, so it may have benefited from a bit more editing. Achmed & Grunthor are wonderful, Rhapsody's kind of blah, and full of stereotypes - yet I still love these books.

[Blodeuedd Finland]

dnf

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes books put me in physical pain. Or is it the virus? Fortunately no, this time the pain comes from reading Mary Sue Rhapsody's Destiny.

So put yourself in my shoes. It's 2020, in COVID-19 related lockdown, facing fat books on your unread pile, and you begin reading a 800+ page slog, forcing yourself to push through, trying to convince yourself that you enjoy fantasy fiction. But it never gets better, not after page 200, where the first battle starts, nor page 500, where we meet the fat demon.

This is fantasy at its most cliche, with a 10,000 year old Reich, I mean fallen Empire, resurrected just in time to face Armageddon under the stunning, beautiful, radiant leadership of Mary Sue Rhapsody.

This is the kind of book that make me want to get my head examined. What do other people see that I don't see? From the female Mary Sue Rhapsody who literally every single walking character has a crush on, to the deterioration of geopolitics into a simplistic world dictatorship, I mean League of Nations, where PTSD ridden veterans who constantly boast about how badass they are nonetheless pledge non-violence to a toothless Mary Sue Rhapsody, to the 99% unearned approval given to Mary Sue Rhapsody by this League of superior people with related, non-tainted bloodlines who nonetheless respect all the 'lesser' peoples, there is so much wrong with this deeply unrealistic tale.


Armageddon comes of course, as it does at the end of all fantasy trilogies, but this time without any of the meaning or tension of stories like Wheel of Time, Mistborn, or even Harry Potter.


Armageddon ends in a deeply anticlimactic battle with a fat demon, followed by 300 pages of angst, followed by a brief, tactically asinine battle with millions of zombies fighting the millions of fantasy League of Nation members. By the by, while chatting in the steppe, what do Mary Sue Rhapsody's followers eat? Idk, nobody bothered to explain. I assume some sort of Miracle of the Fishes and Loaves miracle happened here, for Mary Sue Rhapsody is clearly a messianic Jesus figure, only one clothed in hot skin-tight dresses and modern PC matriarchal neo-paganism.


Did I mention Mary Sue Rhapsody wears absolutely exquisite stuff that makes every single male (and many of the women too) ogle her. Nonstop. There's nothing NEW here, nothing that even strikes the reader as particularly clever. This series neither deserves its apparently large and loyal fanbase, nor the finances to continue for 5+ more stories. Mary Sue Rhapsody's Destiny is apparently highly beloved here. To me, this fact will remain ever unexplained, just like our 'keep the airports open' policy in this runaway pandemic. Destiny remains sadly overrated, 800+ page smut.

[Kadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m fairly conflicted about how to review this series. On the one hand I enjoyed the overall storyline of the trilogy, I liked the characters and the world building was amazing. The books kept me engaged wanting to see it to the end so I devoured them quickly.

However there were some thematic issues and writing choices that really took away a lot from the book for me.

To start with, Rhapsody. While I actually don’t mind her Mary Sue nature (which I know bothers other people), what I can’t get past is that in effect the author made her come across as stupid and oblivious. I have no problem with her being humble but seriously... this is beyond humble to the point of sheer stupidity and the character is stronger than that and it makes me frustrated.

Then there is the sheer amount of rape in the books and violent sex. Some of which I can allow because life is life and bad shit happens but a lot of this seems stuck in for no purpose but to shock. Oh then there is the child sex in the first book of the series between a 13 and 14 year old.... like... really? That’s how we’re going to start this series off?

Lastly and probably my biggest gripe is just with the overall pacing and writing in the books. Things that should have been short went on forever, things that the book has been building to for thousands of pages are over in a few seconds. The writing itself, while amazing at times would just take cheap shots often, characters saying or doing things that just seemed like the author didn’t want to take the time to flush out an idea and so they said “yeah sure” and moved on.

As for the ending of the series, I thought the author did an ok job of tying up loose ends... of which there were a lot... but not great. It still felt very rushed and mashed together to me and I personally was left feeling like “that’s it?”.

But EVEN SO, I again enjoyed the series... mostly... I think lol...

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was on vacation in Germany when I was sixteen. I liked it then.
Unfortunately, almost ten years later, I do not like it anymore. It got tossed along with the others into the donate pile; should I ever want to read them again, I can just get them from library.

What I still like:
-The worldbuilding! Still fantastic.
-Achmed! Still snarky and badass.

What I like more now:
-Oelendra and Anborn. Not sure why. I was ambivalent on them when I was younger, now I think they're pretty boss. Anborn especially.
-Constantin. He turns out awesome too.

What was unfortunate:
-Gratuitous Rhapsody hair descriptions: will they never cease? The answer is no.
-The romance between Rhapsody and Ashe. It's so sickeningly sweet that I had to skim in order to get through it. He never wants to see the stars other than reflected in her eyes! I wish I was joking about that line. I really do.
-The awful sue-ness of Rhapsody continues. Everyone falls in love with her! Everyone loves her completely! She's voted Lady Cymrian pretty much without contest! ugh. Someone needs to just dislike her because she's so perfect and such a Sue. I've read...well, there's no such thing as a good Sue, but I've read more tolerable Sues in fanfiction. Rhapsody was pretty much unbearable.
-The killing of the F'dor. They led all the way up to this in all the books, and it takes like...a few pages, and then it's back to Rhapsody/Ashe melodrama. Why, Haydon, why?

It's clear she can write well and build a good world, but instead she gives it all away to Sue writing.

I guess if you're going to read this story, read it *for* the worldbuilding, and for Achmed, and do your best to ignore everything else.

Will not reread further.