"Powerful, enthralling and exciting fantasy epic"

When his country needed him, Alucius joined the army with the rank of overcaptain and almost single handily won the battle facing overwhelming arms. As soon as he was no long needed, he left the army and returned to Iron Stem where he and his wife Wendra herded sheep and had a baby.

The Ifriti, beings from another world who drains the life force of a planet and eventually destroys it, are back. They have stirred up enough unrest so that Lanchrona is besieged on all sides.

The Lord Protector asks Alucius to lead Northern and Southern Guards to put down the revolt in Hyalt. He finds the prophet who is leading the revolt is Ifriti-possessed; Alucius cuts off its life force. H next goes to Stronghold to prevent the troops of the Regent from overpowering loyal troops and taking more Lanachrona land. Alucius and his troops are to destroy the deadly spear throwers while the regular army deals with the enemy force. Alucius is victorious and is rewarded by becoming the colonel of the Northern Guard but he learns that the Ifriti are setting up portals to drain and destroy his world's lifeforce. Alucius and his wife have the talent to stop them if they can find and destroy the scepters that enables travel between the two worlds.

This is the third and final book of the Corean Chronicles and it is a powerful, enthralling and exciting fantasy epic. All the questions of the previous two books (LEGACIES and DARKNESS) are finally answered and all the loose ends are tied up. The protagonist is a hero for going into battle against an enemy that is more powerful than he is. His love for his wife adds a romantic dimension that humanizes the larger than life champion. Scepters is an outstanding fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 12, 2004

Summary

The popular creator of Recluce and of the Spellsong world of Liedwahr has built a whole new fantasy world on Corus. With each new volume of the Corean Chronicles we learn more about the magical underpinnings of this fascinating realm as we follow the continuing adventures of his reluctant hero, Alucius. In Legacies he became the first Iron Valley militiaman to escape sorcerous enslavement in Madrien. In Darknesses, he found a way to defeat a would-be conqueror who revived the fearsome creatures and potent weaponry of the legendary past. Now he returns to face the greatest challenges yet to both his courage and his magical Talent. Alucius is happy back on his nightsheep stead with his beloved wife Wendra, who is expecting their first child. But the country is beset by enemies on all sides. Although the Lord Protector of Lanachrona keeps his promise not to order Alucius back to active duty, Alucius finds his request for help no easier to ignore. Newly promoted to higher rank, and given command of a combined force of the Northern and Southern Guards, Alucius must first quell a strange religiously-inspired rebellion and then find a way to destroy the powerful weapons of ancient design again being used by the forces of Madrien. Unlike the Lord Protector, Alucius can see that a third, covert, threat must be behind the other two. He will have to confront an alien evil that seeks to enslave the whole world of Corus in the guise of bringing back a lost golden age. Only the timely assistance of the mysterious ancient Soarers and the addition of Wendra's Talent to his own give him any hope of success. Scepters is a stirring climax to the first Corean trilogy.