From Publishers Weekly
In this fifth and final novel in the author's popular Spellsong Cycle, an immediate sequel to The Shadow Sorceress (2001), Modesitt has penned a competent but pedestrian political-military fantasy thriller. There are few surprises in a world with wonders and limitations so well defined in previous volumes, but new readers may become confused unless they pay careful attention. Occasional hints suggest that the magic inherent in such artifacts as the scrying glass may have a basis in ancient technology, though it's doubtful that after the collapse of a technological civilization people would forget so basic an invention as the stirrup. Newlywed Secca and her sorcerer husband, Alcaren, in an attempt to end the military threat to DeFalk of the Sturinnese, carry war to their opponents' own island turf. As much as anything the book describes a war of the sexes, with the female spellsongs vs. the male sorcerers' magical drumming. Secca seemingly learns the true extent of her powers when she manages to vanquish the Sturinnese. Doubts about her stamina and abilities continue to plague her, however, when she next finds herself pitted against the world's most powerful wizard, who commands both conventional and magical armies. Secca faces her greatest challenge yet in a hard-hitting climax sure to delight established fans of the series. (Feb. 28)Ghost of the White Nights (Forecasts, Sept. 17).Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Newly married to Alcaren, a political ally and fellow sorcerer, Secca, Sorceress Protector of the East, faces her greatest challenge as she attempts to thwart the invasion of the Sturrinese fleet under the command of the Sea Priests. The fifth and final novel in Modesitt's popular "Spellsong Cycle" features a resilient and courageous heroine whose songs contain powerful magic and whose heart refuses to flinch from difficult decisions. The author once again demonstrates a unique ability to blend large-scale storytelling with the intimate minutiae of everyday life. Recommended, along with other series titles, for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
*Starred Review* In the fifth volume of the Spellsong Cycle, Secca has finished off an invasion fleet and is now the heir to Anna, the Soprano Sorceress. She and the sorcerer who saved her life during the battle with the invaders are now consorts, but they face a fearful amount of unfinished business, including civil war and the army that got safely ashore before the invading fleet sank. Secca must travel to the invaders' homeland and cause a volcano to erupt and destroy it, then return to eliminate, at great personal risk, the invading army by means of spells Anna left in the Armageddon file for just such dire situations. In a coda to these strategic movements, Secca must dispose of an increasingly inept and dangerous young ruler, thereby taking power in law as well as in fact. Supposedly, this book ends the Spellsong Cycle, though it doesn't end Secca's problems. The book shows no falling off from its predecessors in any way, but particularly in its intelligent system of magic and in addressing the questions of the responsibilities of power, which Modesitt handles as magisterially well as Lois McMaster Bujold. Like its predecessors, it merits the highest recommendation, which will surprise Spellsong devotees not at all. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“It merits the highest recommendation, which will surprise Spellsong devotees not at all.” –Booklist (starred review)

“Modesitt’s characters and settings are so well developed they become enshrined in our imaginations. It will be hard to say farewell to this magical land where music and song are the medium of spells.”—Romantic Times



Review
“It merits the highest recommendation, which will surprise Spellsong devotees not at all.” –Booklist (starred review)

“Modesitt’s characters and settings are so well developed they become enshrined in our imaginations. It will be hard to say farewell to this magical land where music and song are the medium of spells.”—Romantic Times



Book Description
The Climax of The Spellsong Cycle

Secca, foster daughter of the Soprano Sorceress, and now her successor as Sorceress Protector of Defalk, must deal carefully with her willful master and wield her power to save his kingdom from the armies, fleets and master sorcerers of the Maitre of Sturinn. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, she is forced to test her own powers over and over again, while teaching her new husband and her inexperienced apprentice the skills they will need to aid her in creating spells powerful enough to shake the foundations of the world.



About the Author
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. lives in Cedar City, Utah.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
If L. E. Modesitt Jr.'s Shadowsinger were a fast-food meal, it would be supersized. If it were a T-shirt, it would be size XXL. If it were a box of detergent, it would have "NOW WITH 50% MORE!" splashed across its cover. This novel, which is the fifth and final installment of Modesitt's Spellsong Cycle (The Soprano Sorceress, The Spellsong War, Darksong Rising, and The Shadow Sorceress), is epic in every sense of the word. With 146 chapters, enough pages to cut off circulation to your lower extremities (if you're reading in bed), and more sorcery battles in one novel than I can ever remember, Modesitt has pulled out all the stops for this one.

Secca, the young, red-haired sorceress introduced in The Shadow Sorceress, is doing everything she can to stop the Sturinnese invasion led by The Maitre, a ruthless sorcerer who is master of the powerful Sea-Priests. The Sea-Priests and their dark drum magic are massing forces everywhere, and even after Secca sinks a Sea-Priest invasion fleet with her magic, they keep coming. Soon, entire villages are being destroyed by their terrible drum magic.

The Sturinnese make the perfect enemy for Secca and the female-dominated Matriarch: not only are they deceiving, overconfident and heartless, they're total chauvinists. On the Isles of Sturinn, women are treated like willful animals that must be trained. One of my favorite lines in the book came when a Sturrinese trader takes a sip of wine and says, "This is good, but it might be too delicate to travel far. Like a beautiful woman, it must be restrained and kept close to home."

But even faced with such blatantly vile attackers -- who would undoubtedly change the culture of Defalk into a male-dominated one -- some residents see Secca as the greater of two evils. Her power is just too strong, too untested. One sorceress worries, "Small as she is, well-mannered as she is, that sorceress will destroy all that is Liedwahr before the year is out. The Spell-Fire Wars will seem like nothing compared to what she will unleash in the name of protecting Defalk -- and us -- from the Sea-Priests. The oceans will turn to steam; the land will flow like water; and the handful of folk who survive will die barren."

Just like the music instructor-turned-sorceress Anna Marshal (protagonist in the first three books) before her, Secca must use her song magic to kill. And once the battle between Secca and the Sea-Priests is begun, the carnage escalates quickly. Secca even has to resort to the unthinkably destructive spells that Anna had saved in a special Armageddon envelope. Lots of people die in this book -- a surprising number of major characters -- and the magical battles are spectacular.

But this novel is so much more than epic battles. While a war is going on, Secca becomes a consort of Alcaren in body, spirit, and Harmony. Alcaren is a handsome sorcerer from a land that feared sorcery, and "a strong man in a land ruled by women." As their world is being destroyed around them, Secca and Alcaren draw strength from one another and their small band of friends. Secca's apprentice sorceress Richina saves the day on more than one occasion.

And the ending, of course, is a supersized one with some great surprises leading up to it. But that's all I'm going to say￯﾿ﾽ. (Paul Goat Allen)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The sorceress Secca, principal foster daughter of Anna, the legendary Soprano Sorceress, has taken on responsibilities and authority far beyond what she felt prepared for upon the unexpected death of her beloved mentor. She has fought battles, led armies, subdued a rebellion, and made alliances. She has also, unexpectedly, found love and support in the person of her new husband, Alcaren, a soldier of the people of Ranuak and himself a secret sorcerer in a society where magic is not trusted and sorcerers are often assassinated." As the new Sorceress Protector of Defalk, she must deal carefully with her willful master and wield her power to save his kingdom and the rest of the free world from the Maitre of Sturinn, his invading armies, his dominating fleets, and his legions of master sorcerers. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, she is forced to test her own powers over and over again, invent or rediscover ever more destructive magical spells, and guard herself against treachery, magical attacks, and silent opposition from supposed allies. All this while teaching her husband and her young and inexperienced apprentice the skills they need to aid her in creating spells powerful enough to shake the foundations of the world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this fifth and final novel in the author's popular Spellsong Cycle, an immediate sequel to The Shadow Sorceress (2001), Modesitt has penned a competent but pedestrian political-military fantasy thriller. There are few surprises in a world with wonders and limitations so well defined in previous volumes, but new readers may become confused unless they pay careful attention. Occasional hints suggest that the magic inherent in such artifacts as the scrying glass may have a basis in ancient technology, though it's doubtful that after the collapse of a technological civilization people would forget so basic an invention as the stirrup. Newlywed Secca and her sorcerer husband, Alcaren, in an attempt to end the military threat to DeFalk of the Sturinnese, carry war to their opponents' own island turf. As much as anything the book describes a war of the sexes, with the female spellsongs vs. the male sorcerers' magical drumming. Secca seemingly learns the true extent of her powers when she manages to vanquish the Sturinnese. Doubts about her stamina and abilities continue to plague her, however, when she next finds herself pitted against the world's most powerful wizard, who commands both conventional and magical armies. Secca faces her greatest challenge yet in a hard-hitting climax sure to delight established fans of the series. (Feb. 28) FYI: Modesitt's most recent novel is the alternative history Ghost of the White Nights (Forecasts, Sept. 17). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Newly married to Alcaren, a political ally and fellow sorcerer, Secca, Sorceress Protector of the East, faces her greatest challenge as she attempts to thwart the invasion of the Sturrinese fleet under the command of the Sea Priests. The fifth and final novel in Modesitt's popular "Spellsong Cycle" features a resilient and courageous heroine whose songs contain powerful magic and whose heart refuses to flinch from difficult decisions. The author once again demonstrates a unique ability to blend large-scale storytelling with the intimate minutiae of everyday life. Recommended, along with other series titles, for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews