Starman

April 15, 2002
More about femmes fatales then fatal battles, this final imaginative novel in the Axis Trilogy (The Wayfarer Redemption; Enchanter) should satisfy a fantasy readership hungry for strong female characters despite their restricting romantic relationships with magical men. Axis SunSoar must fulfill the ambiguous prophecy of WolfStar, the Icarii patriarch, by fighting WolfStar's evil half-brother, Gorgrael, and by sacrificing Gorgrael's lover. It's unclear whether the lover is Azhure, WolfStar's daughter and Axis's wife, or Faraday, Axis's former fiancée and the replanter of the great forests. Whoever the Prophecy of the Destroyer names is likely to die at Gorgrael's hands. Azhure has the added burden of being pregnant with sorcerous twins, who harbor an intense, deadly dislike for the rest of their family. While the plot features several mystical pregnancies, the most destructive are those of the devouring Gryphons that Gorgrael has created; they're born pregnant with nine pups and multiply fast enough to lay waste to the world. Faraday has her own problems: the need to fight a god, her own exhausted condition and other women who believe Axis wronged her by marrying Azhure. Gods, women, sorcerers and babies all figure in the battles that neatly conclude this trilogy while leaving enough open questions to seed other stories. Douglass may manipulate her characters—such as via the strange rebirth of the sainted Faraday—in ways that have more to do with romance convention than logic, but this won't deter the faithful.

May 15, 2002
FANTASY Assuming his role as the Starman of the Prophecy of the Destroyer, the warrior-wizard Axis makes his way to his final confrontation with his corrupt half-brother, Gorgrael. Meanwhile, Azhure, Axis's wife, discovers her own powers as an Enchantress and learns the twin strengths of love and friendship. Douglass (Enchanter, Battleaxe) brings to the fore her world-building abilities and storytelling expertise in this satisfying conclusion to a fantasy epic set in a world of winged sorcerers and ancient races. A few loose ends pave the way for future novels featuring a new generation of heroes and villains. Recommended for most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2002
The battle- and conspiracy-filled conclusion of the story of Axis (the StarMan ["sic"] of Douglass' trilogy), Azhure, Faraday, and Gorgrael, and the Prophecy of the Destroyer, which says that Axis can defeat his brother Gorgrael if he can defeat a traitor and ignore his lover's pain. Alliances and alignments are growing so complex, however, that treachery may be under every bush and stone. And Axis loves two women, his wife and Gorgrael's widow, to whom he had originally pledged himself. Add to this that all four main characters are powerful magic users, and this duel to the death gets pretty heavy indeed. Much of what underlies the conflict in the trilogy becomes clear only in this book, which depends heavily on its predecessors, "The Wayfarer Redemption" (2000) and "Enchanter" [BKL Ag 01], so have them at hand. A comprehensive glossary of the characters, places, and institutions would have been nice, and still this is a superior adventure fantasy right to the last of its many words. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)