Similar plot, but a page-turner all the

This is the third book in The Guardian Cycle pentalogy (after The Dark Moon and The Jasper Forest, and before The Red Glacier and Alyssa's Ring).

Over three years have passed since Terrel left the madhouse of Havenmoon. After preventing another disaster by bargaining with the elemental in Talazoria, he's crossed another ocean, to find himself in the desert of Misrah. Terrel is now travelling with the Toma, a nomadic tribe, earning his rightful place thanks to his healing skills. Among them are two refugees who will become his friends: Mlicki, a disfigured boy who seems to have some hidden powers, and his little sister Kalkara, who hasn't uttered a single word since the death of their parents in the raid of their village. Feeling somehow very close to the girl, Terrel searches for a way to break this protective barrier and uncover her mysteries.

Terrel feels he has to find another elemental in this land, but he has no idea where, until he hears of a plague spreading all over Nydus, which makes its victims afraid of water until they die of thirst. Knowing of the Ancient's sheer terror of the liquid, his doubts are now confirmed, all the more when he learns that the huge Kullana river has run dry since a tremendous earthquake caused the land to fissure in two. To save the world from yet another catastrophe, it soon becomes clear that Terrel has to take part in the Race of Truth, a long treck through the desert where no drinking is permitted during daylight. And not only has he to join Zahir, the Toma's champion's team, but they'll have to win this race in order to be granted access to the Mountain of Makranash, where the Ancient elemental supposedly resides.

Meanwhile, the Seers, as well as Muzeni and Shahan's ghosts, are still trying to decipher the prophecy in the Tindaya Code, whereas Jax is still behaving as if he were the Guardian and invading Terrel's dreams at each opportunity, torturing him and wreaking havoc with his weather-mage powers. As for Alyssa and Elam, as well as some of the sleepers encountered along the way, their spirits are coming to Terrel's help whenever they can.

Again, I loved reading about Terrel's adventures, learning the ways of the nomads in their search for precious water in the harsh and barren desert of Misrah. The overall plot is again pretty similar to that of the previous volumes, but who cares, when the characters are so endearing and interesting? As long as the pages keep turning, I don't...

8/10