From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up–Calwyn finds endless winter and a fatal illness spreading among her fellow priestesses as she returns home in the final installment (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2006) of Kate Constable's The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy. Though she has lost her magical chanting powers, the 18-year-old is soon on a quest to find the other half of an iron wheel, the key to The Tenth Power. Constable traces Calwyn's journey as she finds her beloved but ill Darrow, but they are soon parted when she is kidnapped by her old enemy, Samis. She knows the despotic sorcerer has the other half of the wheel, but she is surprised that the powerful enchanter hopes that she will unite with him to rule the world. Calwyn spoils that plot when her restored chanting powers allow her to dispatch a less-sinister Samis to roam the cosmos in a ruined city turned starship. A magic horn, sacred pools of water, and a battle with a race of ancient tree people all add to this female-focused fantasy. A ritual dance finally brings Darrow and the others back to health, as well as ending the freezing weather. Lina Patel narrates with a soft strength that emphasizes the personality of the main character. While this final episode brings Calwyn to her place as The Singer of All Songs (Arthur A. Levine, 2004), the conclusion has the young couple leaving on a new journey and Samis lurking in space, so there are potential story lines for the series to continue. A good choice for middle and high school libraries looking for novels featuring strong, but not invulnerable, female heroes.–Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
