From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—In this conclusion to the trilogy, Seeker, a Noble Warrior, is using his extraordinary powers to track down and kill the last two remaining savanters, evil creatures that drain the lir (life) out of their victims in order to prolong their own. Seeker has tracked them from the ends of the Earth, and to kill them is his final mission. What starts as a hunt turns into a philosophical debate. Each of the three Noble Warriors is presented with both an external battle of swords and flesh and an internal battle of faith and understanding. The setting for this story is a pastoral world much like our own 150 years ago. There are deserts and mountains, green valleys and deep seas that Seeker spends most of the book running through, which keeps the tempo of the story up. The other main characters seem to sit and contemplate their existence, occasionally moving for a fight or a short trip. Their focus is on the nature of the world, their place in it, and whether their god—the All and Only—exists at all. Unfortunately, the theme is sometimes too obviously superimposed on the plot. Relationship patterns and scenes among the characters are recycled over and over again. Wildman and Caressa, for example, have the same argument numerous times, and it's hardly worthy of two military leaders such as themselves. Still, the book is worth purchasing for fans of the series.—
Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Dispersed along with other warrior-monks after the destruction of the Nomana monastery (Jango, 2007), Seeker struggles with the burden of saving his faith, while his former companions find solace among the joyful followers of a new spiritual leader. In the finale to Nicholson’s sweeping Noble Warriors trilogy, the characters’ inner journeys can slow the book’s momentum, especially as mystical visions and abstract dialogues lead Seeker closer to an understanding of himself and his god. Returning readers in the midst of their own, spiritual questioning will likely be most receptive to this unusually contemplative series closer. Grades 7-10. --Jennifer Mattson
