Lost Truth

December 15, 2004
To wrap up the series including " First Truth" (2002), " Hidden Truth" (2002), and " Forgotten Truth" [BKL D 1 03], Cook gathers threads concerned with why the races of heroine Alissa's world are so severely segregated, what happened to the Masters who disappeared from the Hold long ago, which of her two suitors Alissa will choose (an itch readers have wanted scratched since " Hidden Truth"), and the riddle of the Masters' feral aspects and the critical role it will play in the future of Alissa's world. Alissa's dreams lead her to journey across an ocean and into the arms of Keribdis, who sees her as a threat to unchallenged leadership of the long-missing Masters. Enormously competitive and proud, Keribdis has an ironclad desire to control Alissa that may cost the young woman's life. Like its predecessors, this is delightful reading. Its cast of characters is small (a refreshing relief from the multitudes in other epics) and well limned, its world richly detailed, and its magic wonderfully believable. A terrific late-night companion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)