Restoration (Book 3 of the 'Rai-Kirah' series) Book

In Restoration, a culmination of Carol Berg's Rai-Kirah trilogy, she pushes the envelope of conventional fantasy fiction in some interesting ways. Her magician hero, Seyonne, is not always admirable in his pursuit of the truth about magic, demons and the gods who made his world, and his deposed princeling friend Aleksander has the makings of a tyrant--no matter how intermittently good his intentions. The pair are, from early in this book, on the run from just about everybody--Seyonne's people regard him as demon-possessed, Aleksander has been accused of father-killing and those people prepared to ally with Seyonne tend to regard Aleksander as a bloodthirsty bully. Seyonne's own instinct, and various prophesies, indicate that their fates are bound up together--that Aleksander is the last best hope for justice and freedom in spite of himself. Seyonne seeks the power they need for victory from sources that taint him almost beyond redemption. Berg has an effective sense of the horrors of civil war and that dangerous edge where magic spills over into madness--this is a more assured book than her earlier volumes because the characters are genuinely at risk, from both their enemies but most importantly from their own drives and quests. --Roz KaveneyRead More