Destiny

August 27, 2001
Following Rhapsody: Child of Blood
(1999) and Prophecy: Child of Earth
(2000), Haydon concludes her high fantasy trilogy featuring the beautiful skysinger Rhapsody, who generates magic from music, with a dark, cataclysmic book filled with almost constant action. With the evil Rakshas destroyed in volume two, Rhapsody and her two shady half-breed sidekicks, clairvoyant assassin Achmed and the jolly green giant Grunthor, undertake a quest for the blood of the Rakshas' children, which they hope will help them solve the mystery of the hidden demon F'dor, the creator of the murderous Rakshas. Wielding her fire sword, Rhapsody summons starfire and metaphysical music for her final confrontation with the demonic force intent on world destruction. Though obviously inspired by music theory, Norse and Celtic folklore, and seemingly by such authors as Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Patricia A. McKillip, Anne McCaffrey and Palmer Brown (Cheerful), the author uses a fluid writing style to build a world uniquely and compellingly her own. In this shimmering symphony of exhaustive (though not exhausting) detail, epic myths, music and magic intertwine in a resounding fugal crescendo. Haydon fans sorry to see the end of the trilogy can take heart in knowing that the Rhapsody saga's vast historical timeline contains plenty of unexplored epochs and eras ripe for future book treatment. (Sept. 1)FYI:Haydon donated all her royalties from
Prophecy to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in perpetuity.

September 15, 2001
Called across time to fulfill her destiny, the harpist Rhapsody joins with the Firbolg king Achmed and his giant companion Grunthor to attempt to fight the powerful and elusive F'dor, a demon-born danger that threatens the fabric of existence. As the three champions' path grows more perilous, they learn to use the special gifts alluded to in ancient prophecies. Haydon's conclusion to her "Rhapsody" trilogy (Rhapsody, Prophecy) blends Celtic lore with Asian myth to produce a world both strange and hauntingly familiar. A good choice for fantasy collections.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2001
To conclude the sweeping high-fantasy trilogy begun and continued in " Rhapsody: Child of Blood" (1999) and " Prophecy: Child of Earth" (2000), Rhapsody, Achmed, and Gunther, the three of the Prophecy, carry out their roles as saviors of the land by gathering up the demon-spawned children, ridding them of demon blood, and using that blood to track the demon. At the same time, Rhapsody persuades the factions of the Lirin to reunite and becomes their monarch. After a horrific battle in which Rhapsody, Achmed, and Gunther obliterate the demon, Rhapsody is reunited with her soulmate, Ashe, and sounds the long-lost Cymrian horn, summoning all the Cymrian line for a climactic battle with an ancient dragon, the reunification of the land, and Rhapsody's self-healing. Meridion, the time editor who has been changing events throughout the trilogy, also realizes his destiny as the child whose soul was conceived eons ago in the land where he brought Rhapsody and Ashe together and set them on their inevitable course. " Destiny" so meshes with the preceding volumes that rereading them seems almost mandatory for fully enjoying the nuances and effects of Meridion's time editing. Haydon has gathered and woven the threads of her story into a carefully patterned whole. Complex but extremely satisfying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)