The Battle of Evernight
The Bitterbynde Book III
By Cecilia Dart-Thornton

      If you have read The Ill-Made Mute and Lady of the Sorrows you will no doubt be wondering, what adventures will befall young Imrhien/Rohain/Tahquil/Ashalind next. She has at last remembered her history, and realizes that a thousand years have passed since her time in the outside world. Trouble is, now she is cursed with the Langothe, the terrible longing that kills all mortals who have visited the Fair Realm, and of course, the Unseelie Host is on her tail. Therefore, with her companions she travels once more, meeting with sights pleasant and unpleasant, towards Evernight where her destiny lies. There she will discover much about her kingly lover Thorn, and play a vital role in the battle between the two Faeran royal brothers.

       There is something enjoyable about the way Celtic folktales have been woven into the narrative. The whole manages to tell the story of a quest without resorting to being particularly Tolkeinesque, although the final battle has a touch of Lord of the Rings about it. There is still much to enjoy in this final chapter of the trilogy but after the rich tapestry of Book II we are left with another long journey rather akin to the one described in the first book, although with less adventures. By the end of it all I was left with the feeling that this trilogy could easily have been told in two slightly longer books and that this volume could roughly be described as “more of the same”. Nevertheless, I will be looking out for this author’s next novel, and in the meantime do look in at her website of Celtic lore at http://www.dartthornton.com