From Publishers Weekly
This sprawling, spellbinding conclusion to the trilogy that began with The Dragonbone Chair weaves together a multitude of intricate strands, building to
a suitably apocalyptic confrontation between good and evil. Prince Josua wins a first victory against the forces of his brother, Elias, who rules as High
King in Osten Ard. Elias has the help of the dark priest Pryrates and of Ineluki the Storm King, onetime ruler of the immortal Sithi (the race that preceded
humans). But others defy him, including Elias's own daughter, Princess Miriamele, the scullion turned knight Simon, and Camaris, once one of the greatest
knights of Osten Ard and wielder of the sword Thorn, one of the three weapons that may effect a victory over Elias's hordes. As Josua's forces-- augmented
by those Elias has wronged and by friendly Sithi--approach the king's stronghold, a secret battle takes place in the underlying caverns. It will affect
not only the conflict's outcome, but also the futures of many races. The main caveat to Williams's engrossing epic is its length. A tetralogy might have
been more easily digested, although that format might have drained some of the extraordinary tension built up in the book's closing pages.