To stand against the F'dor--an ancient, vile being intent on destroying the world--a fellowship has been forged: Rhapsody, a Singer of great talent and beauty; Achmed, an assassin with unearthly talents; and Grunthor, a giant of jolly disposition and lethal skill with weapons.
Driven by prophetic visions, the three know that time is running short, know that they must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all. But after their final, brutal confrontation with the F'dor, their world crosses the threshold of disaster and faces utter oblivion. The action reaches a fevered pitch, achieving a crescendo of tragedy, love, and triumph of human spirit over world-shattering cataclysm.
With death at hand and the world crumbling at their feet, these three will finally discover their true Destiny.
**
Amazon.com Review
In a book world awash in sword-slinging fantasy novels, each trying to out-Jordan the other, the arrival of yet another big new series on the scene is... no big deal. But much to the delight of readers bored to tears by doorstopper clones, Elizabeth Haydon's three-part tale is unique, thrilling, and utterly romantic from start to finish. The story of a magical singer of extraordinary power and her battle with a blood-soaked demon began in Rhapsody: Child of Blood and continued in Prophecy: Child of Earth. The trilogy's final volume, Destiny: Child of the Sky offers fantasy fans something they crave, but don't often see--a great ending.
When last we saw our lovely heroine Rhapsody and her two best friends Achmed and Grunthor, they had just rescued the Sleeping Child from the evil tendrils of the F'dor. But as they found out through the tragic loss of their young friend Jo, the three must follow the demon's trail of violence and blood, finding the children it has spawned across the land in order to track it down and destroy it once and for all. As in the previous two books, Rhapsody's love of her friends and desire to save children in danger drive her most reckless actions.
Elizabeth Haydon delivers us from the fantasy traps of never-ending plots, wooden characters, and yawn-inducing battles. She takes much of her style from romance and suspense novels, rather than historical fiction, giving her books real depth of emotion and humanity. It's true that there are spots of sentimentality that may leave some hardened adventure fans groaning, but that very thing may help explain why Haydon's books have succeeded with crossover romance readers so admirably. We can only hope she'll set her sights on another swoony adventure as soon as possible. --Therese Littleton
From Publishers Weekly
Following Rhapsody: Child of Blood (2001) 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) Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in perpetuity.
Description:
To stand against the F'dor--an ancient, vile being intent on destroying the world--a fellowship has been forged: Rhapsody, a Singer of great talent and beauty; Achmed, an assassin with unearthly talents; and Grunthor, a giant of jolly disposition and lethal skill with weapons.
Driven by prophetic visions, the three know that time is running short, know that they must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all. But after their final, brutal confrontation with the F'dor, their world crosses the threshold of disaster and faces utter oblivion. The action reaches a fevered pitch, achieving a crescendo of tragedy, love, and triumph of human spirit over world-shattering cataclysm.
With death at hand and the world crumbling at their feet, these three will finally discover their true Destiny.
**
Amazon.com Review
In a book world awash in sword-slinging fantasy novels, each trying to out-Jordan the other, the arrival of yet another big new series on the scene is... no big deal. But much to the delight of readers bored to tears by doorstopper clones, Elizabeth Haydon's three-part tale is unique, thrilling, and utterly romantic from start to finish. The story of a magical singer of extraordinary power and her battle with a blood-soaked demon began in Rhapsody: Child of Blood and continued in Prophecy: Child of Earth. The trilogy's final volume, Destiny: Child of the Sky offers fantasy fans something they crave, but don't often see--a great ending.
When last we saw our lovely heroine Rhapsody and her two best friends Achmed and Grunthor, they had just rescued the Sleeping Child from the evil tendrils of the F'dor. But as they found out through the tragic loss of their young friend Jo, the three must follow the demon's trail of violence and blood, finding the children it has spawned across the land in order to track it down and destroy it once and for all. As in the previous two books, Rhapsody's love of her friends and desire to save children in danger drive her most reckless actions.
Elizabeth Haydon delivers us from the fantasy traps of never-ending plots, wooden characters, and yawn-inducing battles. She takes much of her style from romance and suspense novels, rather than historical fiction, giving her books real depth of emotion and humanity. It's true that there are spots of sentimentality that may leave some hardened adventure fans groaning, but that very thing may help explain why Haydon's books have succeeded with crossover romance readers so admirably. We can only hope she'll set her sights on another swoony adventure as soon as possible. --Therese Littleton
From Publishers Weekly
Following Rhapsody: Child of Blood (2001) 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) Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in perpetuity.
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