Prince of Fire and Ashes: Book 3 of the Tielmaran Chronicles

This book kept me up into the wee hours before I had to admit defeat and turn out the light. The characters were engaging, and the world is vividly drawn. This is old-style fantasy in the sense that the author has created a world that I'd like to visit, and people that I'd like to know.It's also old-style fantasy in the fact that Reimann's world is completely suffused with magic--every doorpost seems to have its own charm or fetish or burnt offering to the gods. But the gods and their influence on human affairs are not overdrawn. Their motives and the extent of their actual influence remain mysterious--in a good way.An enjoyable read. I'm still thinking about the characters a couple of weeks after I put the book down--always a good sign.

The Arleon Forest witch Gaultry Bas captures Tullier of the Bissanty Empire before he can assassinate Prince Benet of Tielmark. Gaultry returns to Tielmark accompanied by Tullier while praying to the Twin Goddesses that her country will finally thrive in peace and domestic tranquillity. However, she also believes that for this to happen, Prince Benet must become crowned king. The Common Brood witch coven disagrees as they conclude that the time is right to begin the final phase of a deadly and ancient plot. Though she prefers otherwise, Gaultry knows she must fight for freedom for her people as the Bissanty Empire once again threatens the sovereignty of Tielmark. To succeed she must ally with an apparent enemy, The Common Brood.PRINCE OF FIRE AND ASHES, the final chapter in Katya Reimann's epic fantasy Tielmaran Chronicles, is a tremendous tale. The novel closes the subplots left behind from the previous two tales (WIND FROM A FOREIGN SKY and A TREMOR IN THE BITTER EARTH) yet manages to keep the prime story line of this book interesting and moving, enabling this novel to be a stand alone tale too. That well executed exciting combo is what fans will marvel about as much as the maturing of Ms. Reimann into a monster force within the genre.Harriet Klausner

Have you read, and loved, Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion, anything by Steven Brust, or some early Robin Hobb? Then read this book. Or, if you've read Reimann's first two Tielmaran novels, you won't need any convincing. This is easily the best of the three -- the only problem was how long it took to write it! Return readers will get some things they expect -- fast action, powerful magic, and a beautiful sense for wild, rugged terrain -- and some things they may not -- new, ah, developments between Gaultry and Martin, and some great new characters (the Climens family, Agrat and Elizabeth, were my favorites). And of course, this book ties up the other two to end the series (for the moment anyway). Good that Reimann resisted the temptation to milk these great settings and characters dry for a hundred books, but I still hope she'll come back to them. There's plenty of magic and adventure left in this vivid world.Maybe some more stories about Agrat and her children? We can only hope... anyway, great book!