Mistress of the Pearl

I guess this was not the book for me...I have read another book of Eric Van Lustbader and loved it...This one not so much

Mistress of the Pearl (2004) is the third Fantasy novel in The Pearl series, following The Veil of a Thousand Tears. In the previous volume, Kurgan learned that Nith Batoxxx was possessed by the Archdaemon Pyphoros. Then he learned that a Gyrgon had tampered with Terrettt's brain and was certain that it was Nith Batoxxx. When Kurgan, Sornnn and Batoxxx/Pyphoros transitted to Za Hara-at, they found Riane waiting for them. In a battle where the daemon was attacked by everybody and everything, Nith Batoxxx was killed and the daemon was consigned to the Abyss. Then Riane entered Otherwhere with the Veil of a Thousand Tears and freed Giyan's avatar. In this novel, Krystren, a Sarakkon Onnda, sails on the Oomaloo to the Northern continent in a mission for the Orieniad. She carries a message for her brother, Courion, captain of the Omaline. As they approach their destination, a sudden storm drives them away from land and into the Illuminated Sea. There they run into a reef and the Oomaloo rapidly breaks up. Two boats get away from the ship, but are attacked by a Black Chimaera. The first mate, an agent of the Sintire, attacks the captain and kills him, but then Krystren kills him. Krystren, the only survivor, paddles the figurehead of the Great Mother Yahe toward shore. She reaches the strand with a little help from the Black Chimera. After a long nap, Krystren climbs the cliff up to a ledge, which leads to a manmade tunnel. At the end of the short tunnel is a wall, with a door in it. When she cannot open the door, Krystren falls asleep beside it. Later the opening door wakes her and she hides behind it. A black robed and hooded man comes through the door and climbs a stairway that she had previously overlooked. Then he comes down the stairs leading a young man with a glazed look in his eyes. Calling him Dar Sala-at, the cloaked man leads him to the door. Krystren has already snuck into the next room and watches the pair descend a long pole down into a large cavern. She climbs down part way and sees a green dragon in a cage. Giyan has been training Riane, the true Dar Sala-at, in sorcery. Now she teaches her how to cache her magic books in the Other Side, the null space between realms. They use a mirror, which reminds the rappa Thigpen of necromancers and banestones. Despite Giyan's attempts to change the subject, Thigpen continues to provide Riane with basic information on the banestones. Kurgan, the new Regent of the V'oorn, is attending a burial service for Courion on the Omaline. Unfortunately, the Sarakkon crew have no body to bury. While he knows that Curion's body is within Nith Batoxxx's laboratory in the goron-wave chamber, Kurgan doesn't tell the crew that Batoxxx had killed their captain. The crew substitutes Curion's favorite sea dirk for his body. Kurgan returns to his kashiggen to smoke laaga and think about Eleana. He saw her with Riane in Za Hara-at and is still obsessed with her. Nith Nassam interrupts th

yes the book is hard to put down and is definitely better than the second installment. but is still a drag in places. negatives : 1. unnecessary development of new situations/characters unrelated or marginally related to the central plot - especially the endless array of khaggun colonels, marshals, generals, their daughters etc (hard to keep track of who is who!), sarakkon and sauromagicians etc. in contrast the central plot/characters lack adequate development. 2. the nawatir is supposedly the dar salat's protector - but in this book neither of them are even together at any point in time! also when we first heard about the nawatir we thought that he would kick khaggun butts! but for all his prowess, he keeps getting beaten up! 3. why should the good guys always struggle? in each and every difficult situation they confront they never have it easy - they alway get beaten up initially and only later they prevail. it gets tiring after a while. i thought this series was a trilogy and was keen to see the conclusion. but apparently it is going to go on. hopefully not like robert jordan's eye of the world series on which the twilight has set!

Many years ago, I read Van Lustbader's Dai-san trilogy and thought...this guy should stick to thrillers. He has a knack. But then his thrillers became stale and formulaic. He has re-invented himself as a writer with the Pearl series, of which, this is the third installment. Kundala rivals Raymond E. Feist's Midkemia. It is a land of the usual fantasy novel with high-tech thrown in. It's a well-done blend. Characters are well-developed and the dialogue is, at times, highly entertaining....way beyond the usual. These characters have senses of humour, bad days and good ones.Given the ending, it's likely we will see more of this world and I can hardly wait.

Though they have pretty much conquered the planet Kundala after a century plus of resistance, the victorious aliens V'ornn remain in combat with the locals. The natives believe their Messiah, the "Dar Sala-at" will save them. Just the Kundalan belief that their legendary savior will help them overthrow the V'ornn invaders has lifted the spirits of the natives and helped them resist the intruders though how someone can join two spirits from opposite poles of the universe as the fabled champion will do seems hard to fathom especially by the V'ornn.However, the impossible occurs when a Kundala female Riane contains her own soul and that of the dead Annon, ironically a V'ornn; the merger of two essences from opposite sides of the universe. The Kundalans believe that Riane is the Messiah who will vanquish the conquerors, but to do so they must obtain the mystical Pearl that only the true Dar Sala-at can yield its power.Part humor, part military science fiction, and part fantasy, the third Pearl tale is a gem of a novel that uses amusing satirical slapstick moments to ease some of the major tension. The story line is action-packed and filled with adventure as series fans will delight in the rebellion but especially with the paradox of Riane-Annon. New readers will enjoy the tale as it is a stand alone, but even greater understanding especially with the V'ornn will occur by reading the delightful previous two epics (see RING OF THE FIVE DRAGONS and THE VEIL OF A THOUSAND TEARS).Harriet Klausner