Inda has returned home and married his intended but has
little time to rest and recover before taking up his new
duties as the military protector side-by-side with the King,
his childhood friend.
Those with whom he fought so many battles on land and on sea
each find their own way to life after the adventure of
following Inda.
Not long after Inda settles into his new responsibilities,
troubled rumors arrive that the Venn do not plan to stay
quietly at home after their withdrawal. Those in danger of
the Venn longships beg Inda to return and lead them to
victory once again.
His king allows him to rejoin the battle, but with secret
orders to bring the shipping lanes under the peaceful
control only he can provide.
This fourth and final volume in the Inda series is
necessarily sprawling and complex as Smith attempts to tie
up the lives and storylines of all the characters who were
prominent in the first three books with satisfactory
conclusions. It covers a wider span of time than the others,
providing greedy fans with a glimpse many years in the
future, to see how the lives of the characters they have
become attached to play out. The author manages to sidestep
the dangers of diffusing the narrative by providing short
intense glimpses of those lives while keeping the
momentum of Inda's story arc marching forward. I was
particularly impressed with the sympathetic views provided
of the enemy Venn, and the machinations needed on both sides
of the battle lines to bring down the true enemy.
Only Inda's fame is strong enough to inspire all the
squabbling kingdoms to unite and raise a mighty force to
protect the strait and repel the Venn. King Evred has also
ordered Inda to take over the strait once the battle is won,
but Inda, a former pirate, knows that this is a very bad
idea. Now Inda must choose between obeying his liege or
committing treason.
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