Well, that was . . . that was, certainly something. Hey all, it’s Robin. You might want to take a moment to compose yourself. Don’t forget to breathe. If you need a Kleenex, go get one, and if you feel you’ll need to step away and come back tomorrow, I’ll understand.

Not since the conclusion of Heir of Novron have I felt so strongly about the rightness of a book’s ending. Having run the beta program, I know there are people who don’t share my opinion, but there really is no way to give those people what they wanted—which is to have Farilane live. But before I delve too deeply into that subject, let me cover some of the less controversial aspects of this book.

I thought the opening chapter was amazing. I found Farilane to be smart, witty, and adventurous. I knew right away I’d like her. But the best part, especially when looking back, is just how much is packed into that one chapter. Almost every mention is a clue to the book as a whole: Farilane not believing in the existence of gods; the ravaging of a city called Tur; a new cult changing Nyphron to Novron and claiming he isn’t an elf; the “incident” in Haston, the search for the Book of Brin (yes, it doesn’t explicitly say that’s what she’s after but we all knew it was); Virgil’s subtle remark that told us he knew his time was short; the drop in about the number of generations that have passed since Nyphron died (though I doubt anyone stopped to do the math); the genuine friendship between Virgil and Farilane; the respect that the Teshlor’s have for their princess, and of course the mention of pie, which we circle back to right at the end.

There have been books written by Michael where I wasn’t expecting a visit from Malcolm/Kile/Uberlin, and, in fact, I even missed his appearance once when he did show up. But for this book, I was expecting to see him “somewhere,” and I was thrilled that he arrived so soon—and right in plain sight! I waited with bated breath for Farilane to discover who he was, and I wasn’t disappointed with how that played out. For those who haven’t read Revelations, you’ll miss the full impact of the blizzard, but that will just give you a reason to jump into those books.

For Nolyn readers, how great was it to see Sephryn again? And for those who suspected—but weren’t entirely sure about Mawyndulë posing as Sheldon—the poker eliminated all doubt. I loved that we knew exactly who everyone was, while the usually perceptive Farilane was clueless as to what was coming. For those of you who are confused as to why Sephryn gave up the horn, I’ll provide a little help. Kile’s timeline required the return of magic to the world of men, and the best way to bring that about was to have Mawyndulë face off with First Minister Dray and his disciples. So many moons ago, he told her to hand over the horn when he and Farilane showed up, and that doing so wouldn’t result in any disaster. I also love the irony that Mawyndulë had the horn but ultimately left without it. What a doofus!

As the afterword allows me to pull back the veil of the writing process a little, I should mention a few things about this book. Usually, my alpha read results in quite a few changes, but Michael told me before I started that this book was solid, and boy, was he right! There were no substantive changes either because of my feedback or that of the betas, although a few things were tweaked because Michael was being a bit too subtle from time to time. It’s a tricky business, balancing what you explicitly state and the things you hint at while hoping the reader will put two and two together. Personally, I tend to like the latter, and I “got” what Michael was doing—but there were things missed by the beta readers that left them trying to correct something that, in our opinions, wasn’t broken. As I said, Michael did make some adjustments based on their feedback, but he did so with a light hand. If you find yourself thinking, “Well, why didn’t Michael just do x, or y, or z?” it’s possible that you missed something, or you were just so intent on wanting a happily-ever-after ending that you didn’t accept his explanations. It’s quite possible that a reread will put things in a different light now that you know where the book ultimately goes.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Which leads me back to the ending. Let me start by saying that I HATE sad endings, so the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did speaks volumes. I have chided Michael that this may be the book that will end his career, which is ironic because I think it is his best work ever. Without question, it was a heart-wrenching end to what is—for the most part—a fun romp. In many ways, it’s not in the same “spirit” as the rest of the tale, and that is probably why some people have had a negative reaction to the book’s conclusion. I’ve heard an earful from the beta testers. Long- time readers who proclaimed they would never read Michael again. Or people who swore that they would have “thrown the book across the room” except that they were reading on a kindle. And those who described the ending as a “sucker punch.” To some extent, I wonder if the deeds of other authors are partially to blame. There is no doubt there have been writers who will do horrible things to their characters for “shock and awe,” but I can tell you with one hundred percent conviction that it was ABSOLUTELY not the case here. Farilane’s death wasn’t arbitrary or capricious. It HAD to happen. Period. Full stop.

This book is showing a pivotal point in Kile’s development arc. His path to redemption has left many casualties in its wake, and if eggs needed to be broken in the past to make the omelet, so be it. He’s not happy about prior sacrifices, but the stakes have been too high to let sentimentality get in his way. Like Farilane (who is cautioned by her family not to get too attached to humans because they live for such a short time), he had kept his distance from those who have had to die to keep the train on the tracks. But this time it was personal, and it will forever impact him. If Kile had spared Farilane on a technicality, he would have once more returned to his old “Uberlin” ways, and there would be no return from that dark place.

For those who are mourning Farilane’s death to the point of despair, I’ll offer one parting bit of hope: trust in Michael. I think he has proven that, like Kile, there is always a reason for everything. We just have to have faith.

In any case, whether you loved the ending of Farilane or hated it, I hope that you found the bulk of the book to be entertaining. To me, this book is pound for pound Michael’s best work. And I hope you’ll feel that your time with Farilane was well spent.

Robin Sullivan February 25th, 2022