Restoration

by Carol Berg

Reviewed by Ruby

Once again in exile, (is anyone else seeing a pattern?) Seyonne is trying to put his life in some sort of order. There is a demon still living inside him, his once wife has put a death sentence on his head should he ever return to Ezzaria ,and he is cursed with the knowledge that only he can release the Nameless prisoner from his tower. He has rejoined with Blaise and is trying to live a peaceful life and watch his son grow. Unfortunately the world doesn't leave him be. He is attacked by an assassin and determines that one of the most powerful Hedges in the Derzhi Empire wants Prince Aleksander dead.

Racing to the Prince's side, Seyonne discovers that the Emperor was murdered and Aleksander named the murderer. Trying to clear his name proves useless as Aleksander discovers he has no allies in the main Twenty Hedges. Apparently, him trying to reorder the Empire didn't go over to well with them. Things go from bad to worse when none of the minor hedges will support him.  Desperate, Aleksander has no choice to join with Blaise. The outlaw had started his raiding as soon as the Twenty began to openly show their corruption.

In the desert Aleksander finds a secret army and along with them and Blaise's bandits, he will use it bring back the rightful rulers of the lands, before the Derzhi Empire came and conquered them.

Seyonne, on the other hand is losing control over himself. As the fighting continues he is becoming more and more bloodthirsty. If it is due to the demon that lives inside of him, or the Nameless prisoner who comes to him in his dreams, Seyonne is unsure. Finally, unable to wait any longer, he crosses into the world of his ancestors and faces the Nameless prisoner face to face. The man inside the tower wishes to use Seyonne's power to bring about the end of the human world. Seyonne tries to resist him, unfortunately the call of power is too strong and he starts seeing the logic in the prisoner's words. Uh-oh.

This is the third and (what I think will be) the last in Carol Berg's Rai-Kirah series.  I just have to say that I was so happy the Aleksander was back. I missed him so much in the second book. The chemistry between Seyonne and Aleksander is what makes the first and this book so enjoyable. I could care less about the plot, which is very confusing I might add. It's a giant plot that really encompasses the entirety of last two books, if not all three. There were so many twists,  (most were in Revelations but there were still some to be had in this book) that I lost track of what exactly what was going on. I still have no idea what the trigger was that made the ancient Ezzarian cause the split in themselves and started the demon war. Did I miss it? Was there even a trigger? Maybe there was and it got lost in all the rhetoric. Man there was a lot of that.

I focused mainly on the characters, and I really liked them. They are what made this book a good read.

Grade: B