The fourth book in the Warrior Chronicles series pushed it into the second half, and the momentum starts shifting in the protagonists’ favor, but many challenges still lay ahead. Some too close for comfort.
At the end of the third book, Xandre, the leader of the main antagonist, was forced to a hasty retreat, but he’s not someone to leave things be. That provided Shanti and the people around her a small relief, as it’s clear that the enemy mastermind will take a while to analyze and adjust.
However, the Hunter who pursued them on the mainland in book two is still lurking somewhere. As Shanti, Cayan with his small team, and a group of Shadow people who agreed to accompany Shanti after her passing through the trials return to the mainland, they find things eerily quiet. And Shanti soon realizes that Cayan’s two would make a perfect place for a trap.
Despite the risks, their force splits – Shanti takes Cayan and his people ahead of the others to see what befell his town and see how they could help the situation before the Shadow people could arrive in force. And while they face minimal resistance on the way, by the time they make it to the town, it’s clear that it’s not only been taken over; the town is surrounded by sentries with mind powers, with the only goal: to spot Shanti and Cayan before they can try anything.
This proves a challenge for both Cayan, who cares deeply for his people, and for Shanti, who feels guilty for putting them in harm’s way by associating with them. She eventually decides to try and sneak into the city, knowing that the only way to stay undetected is to not use her mind powers at all, and try to blend in with the women of the town. And the fact she despises wearing a dress will be the least of her trouble.
However, she finds out that the women of the town have been ready to sabotage their captors, in ways not too different from what went on in the Shadow Lands. Unfortunately, Shanti’s troublemaking talent doesn’t give them as much time to observe as they’ve hoped, and things quickly spiral, forcing both Cayan’s small squad and the people of the town to go to battle before the full force of Shadow people can arrive.
Read date: 21.-26.9.2026
Published: 25.10.2015
Goodreads/Amazon rating: 4,41/4,7
My rating: 95%
Length: 366 pages
My highlights
The book keeps the spirit of the series so far, bringing a good mix of action, humor, and going deep into the main characters. It also makes it clear that even with one problem dealt with, things are nowhere near over, and while things are set in motion to fuel resistance against the Inkna and Graygual, defeating these tyrants will take a lot of effort.
