The fifht, final book in Robert Vane’s series brings a decent conclusion, though the way the plot was tied off surprised me in some aspects.

At the end of book four, Balyoo departed Ni-Yota in search of Aurathorn, a plant that is the key to everything. This is the main focus of the book. His first step is the island where he met his mother – and saw her die – as she set him on his quest. The search there, unfortunately, doesn’t provide any noticeable results, though it provides some faint clues.

Bayloo then flies to the lands he frequented in his past as a slave dragon. He finds the lands in turmoil – Dayne, the spoiler prince of Rolm, is now its king waging destructive war. Rebels have risen on other islands, one of them led by Bethy Rann, her dragon severely injured and patched up in a crude way. This stop turns out a bit longer – Rann believes to know more about aurathorn, but requests help with her rebellion first.

Then, Bayloo travels (with some support) to Oster, the main opponent of Rolm. The Pale Wrights seem to be connected with what’s going on, but there are revelations that uncover a dark alliance between these dark-dwelling humans, the ruling dynasty of Oster, and the past that led to the current trouble. As Bayloo searches for Aurathorn, Oster falls under attack from Rolm (and the handful of remaining slave dragons) – and, to make things more complicated, the Farlighters also appear, led by Harlan’s wife.

It turns out, after all, that the Pale Wrights know a lot about the past, including how the Farlighters are connected to it, and they’re on a crash course. bargains are made, and Bayloo manages to free the slave dragons, but saving the world is a task still ahead. By that time, the book is almost 70% done, and I was fearing a rushed ending.

However, it turns out that the final confrontantion with the Pale Wrights sets things up for a swift ending once Bayloo connects all the missing pieces – though defeating the all-consuming rust isn’t without losses.

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Read date: 21.-27.5.2023
Published: 6.9.2021
Goodreads/Amazon rating: 4,61/4,7
My rating: 90% (same as the previous two books)
Length: 346 pages (Kindle edition)
My highlights

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The end ties up several parts of the backstory, but also leaves a couple of loose threads when it comes to the fate of some supporting characters that seemed to have their own agenda, as well as the tigris and their goals. Whether that’s a set-up for future books, time will tell. The story definitely reaches a solid end with this book.