F/SF

Not a man for loose ends, Saberhagen once again took up his pen to tell the remainder of the tale of the Swords of Power; while some met their end at the hands of Shieldbreaker in the original trilogy, many remain- and the gods who initiated the Great Game are gone, no longer believed in by the collective subconscious of humanity.

By marriage is Mark now Prince of Tasavalta, and his son and heir is blind and epileptic- frequently unresponsive to what happens around him. He seeks Woundhealer to restore the child. Meanwhile, strange events happen around his other children and their cousin Zoltan.

By the end of the story, Mark has learned his destiny: While he knew he was son of the Emperor, he did not know why he was sired: His purpose is to deal with the crisis represented by the Swords of Power. He has done well so far- but many blades float free to trouble the world.

In the end it is revealed that the young prince's malady is not at all what it seems, and it never pays to make assumptions where magic is concerned.

From a writing perspective, this is one of the most young adult books in the Swords canon. Competently executed and imaginative, but lacking the sense of scope of the preceding series. ( )