In the thrilling tradition of Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley, Alison Baird concludes her exciting saga begun in The Stone of the Stars and The Empire of the Stars. Revealing the startling secrets of the Dragon Throne, this is a galaxy-spanning epic of adventure and destiny...
THE FINAL WAR
Sacred texts have long prophesied this day: when cities crumble, when skies tremble, and when the Tryna Lia, the chosen one, must face the full might of the evil god Valdur. Ailia Shipwright, the proclaimed Tryna Lia, commands vast powers: she can shapeshift, control the weather, lead dragon armies, and walk among the stars. Yet her nemesis Mandrake, the avatar of Valdur, can do all that-and more. Now as war rages across worlds, Ailia and Mandrake must meet in Valdur's twilight-enshrouded castle...where the fate of all creation will be decided.
Alison Baird is a resident of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and a graduate of Trinity College, University of Toronto, where she earned her Honours B.A. in English and her M.A. degree.
As an author she had an early start, publishing her first poems when she was 12. Her first book, The Dragon's Egg, was published by Scholastic Canada: it was a national bestseller and a Regional Winner of the Silver Birch Award (a children's choice award). It is now featured on school curricula across the country. The Hidden World and White as the Waves: A Novel of Moby Dick were both CCBC "Our Choice" selections, and White as the Waves was shortlisted for the IODE Violet Downey Book Award. Baird has also written two trilogies, the Willowmere Chronicles and The Dragon Throne. The Stone of the Stars, the first book of The Dragon Throne, received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly.
Baird's short fiction has appeared in On Spec magazine, a Canadian periodical of original science fiction and fantasy for adults. Her story "Dragon Pearl" received an Honourable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror published by St. Martin's Press. Another short story, "Moon Maiden," appeared in the acclaimed young adult anthology What If. . .? Amazing Stories Selected by Monica Hughes (Tundra Books), which was an ABA Kids’ Pick of the Lists and was featured on the New York Public Library’s Recommended List.
The Archons of the Stars is concludes The Dragon Throne trilogy, in which the stakes are driven higher. Ailia and Mandrake struggles with their destinies... Both want peace, but Mandrake's allies keep pushing him to accept his fate as Valdur's avatar. Ailia learns more about her heritage even as Mandrake learns more about what his "allies" actually want.
It took me a while to finish this book. It was hard for me to get into. Don't get me wrong -- I'm a fan of description, mythology, and well-developed worlds... but I don't need to be told every single detail. My brain was swamped. I would rather have had more conflict and character development. That being said, Mandrake was a great character, and I loved him to bits. His motivations for every action was strong, and although he was a villain for most of the series, I sympathized with him. However, I did not connect as well to Ailia, the protagonist. This book gets 3.5 stars from me.