The conclusion of the Mage Storms trilogy finds Karal and the allies representatives camped out under the center of the Dorisha plains desperately seeking some way to avert the deadly force of the storms. Meanwhile to the east the Empire and the Emperor are failing. With each temporary solution the future seems in more danger, and even should they find a solution it seems unlikely that those under Urtho's Tower will survive.

It's Lackey, so a happy life-changing ending was a fore-gone conclusion. Still, it was entertaining getting there. ( )

Plot: It's the same plot as in the last book, only with a bigger threat of exactly the same nature, which takes a lot of suspense out of the story. Everything is made very predictable, down to small scenes, since failure simply is not an option here and therefore is never a possibility either.

Characters: A few new introductions who tend to fall on the sides of either stereotyped villain or mystic wise person, plus a few more talking animals. None of the newcomers really make an impact; they simply come too late in the story to be of interest. The established characters act in expected ways and don't shift from the way they've been portrayed for the previous five books.

Style: Too much gets crammed into this book. A lot of scenes and small plots could have gone into the previous volume, that would have resolved some of the more glaring pacing issues. Overall the writing feels very dutiful, but not as though the author was still all that interested in the story.

Plus: Some more info on the empire, although it's a very black-and-white portrait.

Minus: It's so predictable and there's nothing new.

Summary: Romantic, very light reading which occasional tries to make a deeper point but then quickly rushes back to romance before it can require the reader to think. ( )

Le royaume d'Hardorn envahi par l'armée de l'Empire de l'Est, les frontières de Valdemar et des autres pays de l'Alliance nouvellement née sont en danger. A Haven, hérauts et ambassadeurs sont réunis autour de la reine Selenay pour adopter un plan de défense commun, et oublier les haines qui depuis des siècles opposent les peuples voisins.
Un péril bien plus grand, venu de l'autre bout du temps, remet la menace humaine à sa modeste place.
Peuples encore ennemis quelques mois plus tôt, chevaux magiques compagnons des hérauts, créatures mythiques surgies du passé, mages venus des contrées les plus lointaines vont devoir s'unir, malgré leurs peurs et leurs rancoeurs pour aller chercher la solution au plus profond d'eux-mêmes. Ils vont devoir révéler des secrets cachés depuis longtemps, utiliser toute leur magie et tous leurs talents, car les tempêtes qui s'annoncent pourraient bien détruire leur monde.

I like Karal and his Firecats. Fun stroy. Gives some information on what those crazy Karsites are really like. ( )