Coming full circle.

This is the fifth and final book of The Guardian Cycle (after The Dark Moon, The Jasper Forest, The Crystal Desert, and The Red Glacier).

More years have passed since the events of The Red Glacier, and after failing to heal the insane Elemental on Myvatan, it's now time for Terrel to cross the Movaghassi Ocean once more and make his way home, to Vadanis.

Terrel is now travelling in the land of Kenda with a ragtag group of men: Faulk, an imposing but taciturn former mercenary, Lawren, who believes he's a seer, Nomar the healer and his son Taryn, who can see in other people's dreams, and Roskin, a falconer. On the way, they also meet two runaways, a young lady called Yllen and Pieri the storyteller.

Stopping for the night at the Haven Inn, it isn't long before they pick up rumours among the local gossip that the city of Vergos is in turmoil. That same night, Terrel learns that there are Sleepers in Vergos, and that the next lunar conjunction, prophesied as the end of the World, is scheduled for less than three months later. He has to go there before it's too late. Alas, it is soon apparent that the elements are against him, as huge balls of fire start to fall from the sky and spurts of molten lava start to gush form the surrounding volcanos.

The book goes on to describe Terrel and his companion's struggle to avert disaster and find a way to finally get back to the Floating Islands before the next conjuction to fulfill the promise he and Alyssa made eachother so many years ago.

Again, I enjoyed this book a lot, but more because of the interaction between its characters than for the way the overall plot is solved. Indeed, Mark & Julia Smith (Julia Gray) once more introduced interesting and loveable protagonists, whom I liked spending time with, whereas the conclusion left me somewhat unmoved. But don't they say that the journey is more important that the destination?

8/10