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Honors and Awards

By Barbara McIntyre / Akron Beacon Journal / Ohio.com correspondent
Posted Feb 27, 2019 at 9:44 PM
  
“Deathcaster,” final book in the high fantasy “Shattered Realms” tetralogy by Chagrin Falls author Cinda Williams Chima, finds the Seven Realms in tumult, with each faction battling for the Gray Wolf Throne, the southern Kingdom of Arden, the empire of the Northern Islands and the Fells. The war between Arden and the Fells has been dragging on since the second book, “Shadowcaster,” and many of the characters have continued through the series.

Negotiations and politics no longer work. Princess Alyssa “Lyss” ana’Raisa, heir to the Gray Wolf Throne, now is putting the empire on the line, while Adrian sul’Han and Jenna, who started the series as a preteen coal miner with a magical mark on the back of her neck, return from the Islands with their dragon forces.

Taking the battle to the sea is aspiring pirate Evan Strangward, who learned of his own magical mark in Book Three, “Stormcaster,” and found that he has the ability to control the weather. Every kind of warfare comes into play in this epic, from poisoning to master spycraft, infighting among families, magic amulets and swordplay. The complicated, colorful story will require a careful eye to discriminate between the contingents; fortunately, Chima’s website contains keys to characters, places and her inventive patois.