Shadow’s Master
Jon Sprunk
PYR, Mar 27 2012, $17.95
ISBN: 9781616146054

Caim knows the answers he seeks lies inside the dangerous Northlands. After burying his father’s word, feeling compelled Caim leaves behind the place where his dad was assassinated and his mother abducted as he begins his quest into the wastelands to learn who he really is.

In Othir, Empress Josephine, escorted by soldiers, pursues Caim to inform him she is pregnant. Josey finds the journey difficult and how tough a life her people live outside the capital. However, Josey vows to be a good empress to all Eregoth subjects.

Like Josey, Caim finds the journey hard but for different reasons. Each step northward makes him feel sicker and he has lost contact with the shadows. Finally he loses control and kills like has not done in a long time. However Caim thinks he regained control.

Kit knows she and Caim love each other, but cannot ever be together as they cannot touch. Her heart broken, Kit resolves to find a way for them to be together even as she worries about her beloved heading into the Northlands to encounter his destiny, Lord of the Shadows.

The final Shadow Saga (see Shadow’s Son and Shadow’s Lure) is an excellent action-packed sword sorcery fantasy. Readers follow the escapades of the lead triangle whose adventures occur in three fabulous subplots before merging into a powerful finish. Wondering who Caim will choose if he survives his ordeal, fans will enjoy trekking with him and the two females in his life as all roads lead north.

Harriet Klausner