Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I have no idea where this is going, but I am enjoying the journey. 3.5 - 4 stars, July 26, 2007
This is the third book of Ms. Sagara's "Cast In" series, and I am fascinated. The characters are absolutely unique. The heroine (Kaylin) has a very dark past, an unknown future, and a consistently tenuous present. The heroes (Severn, Nightshade, Tiamaris) can be either villains and/or saviors depending on the circumstance. Secondary players are similarly complex. You are never quite sure what anyone is going to do, and when you reach the end of the book, you're never quite sure how you got there, or why.
Cast in Secret focuses mostly on the Tha-alani race, the people Kaylin fears the most, and the one we know least about. What we do know is that with a touch of their forehead appendages, they can ferret out all secrets, all lies, all memory, and are used by the Emperor as interrogators. If the answers they find are not to the Emperor's liking, the one being interviewed becomes a dragon snack. (A very good reason to avoid these folks at all cost, since the Emperor is a dragon.) Unfortunately, to save a child (and the world), Kaylin must overcome her extreme prejudice of the Tha-alani by working with them, and learning who and what they really are.
There is, surprisingly, very little actual action in Cast in Secret, more world and species building, more character development for Kaylin, the Tha-alani, the Dragons, the Oracles. Previous plotlines are firmly in the background, and are not advanced in any obvious way. Kaylin's Barrani "Lord" status is referenced, but seemingly unimportant. Severn is an occasional sidekick and/or bodyguard, yet rather dimmed in status. Nightshade becomes more an information source, less a main character. The story in this chapter is complete, but feels almost separate from the previous books. The lack of continuity is a little disconcerting, but I trust that Ms. Sagara will, eventually, tie it all together.
If you enjoyed the previous books in this series, and can handle a whole lot of mysterious purpose, I happily recommend this novel.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Grow up!, October 30, 2007
I loved book one and book two in this series. I had high expectations for the third book in this trilogy. Unfortunately, it's not a trilogy, it's a quintet (to quote the author's web site these are "5 linked books - not a pentalogy," although how five books all based around the life and development of one character are not a pentalogy I do not know) and thus this is not the final book in the series, but the middle book. So it suffers the dreaded "middle book syndrome": the characters do not really develop, the plot is not much advanced, and not much happens in any substantive way. (It also the shortest of the books so far.)
Like some of the other reviewers, I really wanted to give the main character a good shake. Behavior that was quirky in the first book, and idiosyncratic in the second, merely came off as bratty in the third. Yes, we know that she failed almost all her courses the first time round, but by now since we all know she is the saviour of the world (in every book) and will eventually go to the Imperial court, her superiors should have taken her off the streets, put her back in the classroom and force fed her some of the knowledge that every one else seems to have except her. The plot device of mysterious markings and power that "no one understands" and yet everyone knows more about than her is wearing thin. People who supposedly don't know much more about the situation than she does, keep giving her tests that presuppose a great deal of knowledge on their part, and then patting her on the head when she passes them. Infuriating!
Don't get me wrong, I actually like Kaylin quite a lot, but I do think that the experiences she had in the last book should have matured her slightly in terms of the way she relates to others.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Chronicles of Elantra, July 31, 2007
I have enjoyed the previous two books in this series and this one is just as good. Each book reveals abit more about Kaylin Neya and her place in this world. I love the world and it's inhabitants and this novel tells us of a different species on this world. The Barrani, the Dragons, Hawks and the rest are joined by the Tha'alani mysterious beings with great mental abilities.
Kaylin is an orphan raised on the streets by Severn Handred and later joins the Hawks. She is also connected to Nightshade, a exiled Barrani Sorceror. She hates magic but somehow always seems to fall into it. Her abilites make her a blessing to the mid-wives and she is called on many time to help with births. She wears a magic braclet from the Dragon Emperor which inhibits her magic use. Her body is covered with glyphs and she has various and unknown magic abilities.
Severn Handred saved Kaylin from the streets and the ferals when she was young. He has always looked out for her even when she did not know he was there. Now he is her partner in the Hawks and always there to help her face the unknown.
This time Kaylin and Severn are facing a great unknown that threatens to demolish their world or at least the city and country they occupy. The world of magic is based on the elementals of fire, water, earth and air. Now Kaylin must match powers with an evil sorceror from the Arcanium. A sorceror who can control the elements and maybe the elementals. Kaylin never one to look before she leaps finds herself in very deep water.
I loved this book and can't wait for the next one. Michelle Sagara has a wonderful immagination and only she knows where we will end up next. Do not miss this one.
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