Amazon.com: The Battle of Evernight (The Bitterbynde, Book 3): Cecilia Dart-Thornton: Books

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Australian author Cecilia Dart-Thornton's American debut, The Ill-Made Mute, earned praise from fans, critics, and colleagues; the lyrical novel's admirers include no less an authority than the Grande Dame of Fantasy, Andre Norton. The sequel, The Lady of the Sorrows, garnered further acclaim. Now, Dart-Thornton concludes her high-fantasy trilogy, The Bitterbynde, with The Battle of Evernight.

Once a scarred and nameless mute, Tahquil has regained her voice, her looks, and some memory. But she and her companions, Viviana and Caitri, are stranded far from the man she loves, and are being pursued by the tireless and dangerous Lord Morragan, Crown Prince of Faerie. Tahquil may not regain the rest of her memory in time to save her companions or herself. And even if she does, a shocking discovery may doom any possibility of love.

The Battle of Evernight is not for newcomers to Dart-Thornton's fantasy universe. Her trilogy has a complex plot and her world of Erith is developed with uncommon depth. Additionally, The Battle of Evernight has some structural problems. Too many of its early events don't really forward the plot. The climax occurs too far from the conclusion. And the ending's coy note may annoy fans as well as newcomers. Also, while not a structural flaw, the three main female characters are disappointingly passive, and seem to exist mostly to be acted upon by the males; for example, Tahquil observes the critical titular battle from a distance. If you're new to the Bitterbynde, start with The Ill-Made Mute. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
In the strong conclusion to her Bitterbynde trilogy (The Ill-Made Mute; The Lady of the Sorrows), set in the Irish-tinged land of Erith, Dart-Thornton beguiles with poetic, songlike prose that at times lapses into verbosity and odd neologisms. "It was the second of Duileagmis, the Leafmonth, viminal last month of Spring." Viminal? Rohain, now named Tahquil-Ashalind, and her companions, Caitri and Viviana, set out for the Gate of Oblivion's Kiss, where they hope to discover a way to set aright what has been wrong for a thousand years. In their travels, the three young maids encounter a variety of wights, both seelie (good) and unseelie (bad, very bad and truly nasty), each falling prey to some harrowing wight-inflicted ailment. Rohain/Tahquil also seeks to free her true love, Thorn, aka King Angavar of the Faˆran, who's trapped in Erith. Heart heavy and duty torn, she feels that her quest to reach the Gate outweighs her need to find Thorn. Those who esteem the Irish and Scottish myths of faerie folk will be delighted by the magic folklore and tales within tales that fill the book. Those looking for straightforward fantasy adventure, however, may be disappointed.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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The Battle of Evernight (The Bitterbynde, Book 3) (Hardcover)

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