Crown of Stars

I rarely write reviews but I had to for this outstanding series. The author held my interest in the characters and plot from Volume 1 through Volume 7. She (Elliott) uses language beautifully, develops characters (both human and non-human) in depth, and provides a plot that is suspenseful and has an inner consistency. This is excellent high fantasy.

I had trouble with the last volume, but this finale has cemented Kate Elliott as one of my very favorite authors. I loved that she didn't tie every loose end into a tidy little package, and I absolutely adored how she handled the story of Liath and Sanglant. I cried over the ending like I haven't cried since the end of "Summer of '42". Now I understand why Alain was so terribly abused. I don't know why the parallel wasn't clear to me before, because I totally understand it now. Even Blessing turned out well. Who would have thought? Wonderful job, Ms. Elliott.

Crown of Stars (2006) is the seventh Fantasy novel in the Crown of Stars series, following In The Ruins. In the previous volume, the land of the Ashioi became fertile again. Kansi, the Impatient One, was elected as Feather Cloak and led the Ashioi to war with the humans. Fleeing the forces of Queen Adelheid with Blessing as his prisoner, Hugh of Austra crossed the strand below the band of destruction and surrendered to the Ashioi. The new Feather Cloak didn't trust him, but used his skills as a mathematicus to weave the crowns. Blessing joyfully became shieldbearer to Zuangua, her great-uncle. Queen Adelheid and Holy Mother Antonia were joined by the Arethousan general Lord Alexandros. They agreed to send galla seeking for Sanglant and Liath. Meanwhile, Sanglant and Liath inspected the shoreline of the northern sea; he also observed the clouds that covered the sun, but released not a drop of rain. In this novel, Sanglant takes his King's Progress through immense destruction and overcast skies. Everywhere they go, starving men, women and children beg for food. Farmers are afraid to plant their seed because of the recurring frosts. Vermin swarms eat food stores. Wild beasts attack the herds and even people. Bandits loot and kill at isolated farms and hamlets. Although King Sanglant provides good advice and some assistance, people will mostly have to solve their own problems until the weather clears. Alain and his hounds walk over backwood paths. They come to a windrow where the great storms have thrown down massive trees. He can climb over, but not with the dogs. He walks along the blockage until he comes to a lesser pile among the fallen trees. After lifting over the dogs, he makes his way through the branches, but stops when he hears something large walk by on the other side of the leaves. He and his dogs remain quiet until the thing wanders off. As Alain continues on, he meets a small party hunting for a monster. From their description, Alain recognizes the nature of the beast: a guivre. He warns them to leave the animal alone, for it doesn't attack those who don't bother it; otherwise, they will be turned to stone. The group return to their village, but the man Atto and his woman then travel on with Alain to Autun. When they arrive at Autun, Atto joins Lady Sabella's milites, but is ordered to first lead them to the guivre. Alain is known to Sabella, pretender to the throne, and her husband Lord Conrad and is offered the restoral of his county of Lavas. As he is considering the offer, he rides with the hunters. Lady Bertha leads a road-weary band of clerics and soldiers toward Saony. They are refused refuge in a hastily fortified village and have to camp in the ruins of Augensburg. During the night, Ashioi attack with poison arrows, but Sorgatani walks among them and they die one by one at the sight of her. The following morning, the survivors gather their dead and bury them. Among the casualties is Lady Berth

I couldn't put it down! The ending met most of my expectations and surprised me in some cases. It finally put everything together.

I have to admit, I started this book with some trepidation as it's always hard to successfully wrap up a well-written series. In addition, I thought the prior book, In The Ruins, was the worst of the series. The characters seemed flat, and the plot almost simplistic, especially given the wonderful complexity of the prior books. I shouldn't have worried; in Crown of Stars, all plot lines were successfully tied up in a logical manner, and the characters back to their original three dimensions. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but you must have read the predecessors before tackling this one.