The fourth book in Robert Vane’s series makes it clear that even though there’s just one book left, there are enough plot twists to be seen.

Balyoo returns from the trip to the archives, hoping to take a rest and link up with both his sister and Rinxia (and avoid Gia’s teeth or flame, for that matter). But his welcome is nowhere near easy – he finds the town of Trishan fallen to an enemy attack and needs to fight off gryphons while, once again, having no idea what went on.

The fate of Ni-Yota is even more uncertain as the Rust spreads and unrest still grasps the land – the after-effects of the schism between Elasu and Aragor still make things perilous. At the same time, Gia is still hell-bent on becoming the official Protector, with no one wanting to be his counter-candidate.

Bayloo also grows suspicious about other people leading the armies – the wizard Legao grows in power (learning along with Kiata, Bayloo’s sister) but her motivations are unclear, and so it is with the spymaster. It seems there are ulterior motives driving some character, their goals unknown, even as things are about to fall apart.

The dilemma about the post of the Protector gets an interesting twist at the end of the book – and shows that things won’t be easy, especially given what Balyoo learned about the past of humans and dragons like, and the origins of magic. And now, Bayloo is to return to Rolm (in the fifth, final book) and hope that he can free the dragons there and help stop the looming end of Ni-Yota.

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Read date: 29.4.-8.5.2023
Published: 9.8.2021
Goodreads/Amazon rating: 4,58/4,6
My rating: 90% (same as book three)
Length: 235 pages (Kindle edition)
My highlights

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The series is quite consistent with pacing and flow, so I’m keeping the same rating, as it reads pretty much the same as the previous books. Next, I’m off to read book five and wrap things up…