The Coming of the Light: Guardian of the Seventh Realm III

The Coming of the Light: Book 3 of the Guardian of the Seventh Realm Series, written by J.W. Baccaro, continues where the second book (Siege of Darkness ) left off, easing us right into Darshun and company's quest. This has been my favorite book in the series, thus far, because we learn more about certain characters, such as the devilishly wicked Talvenya. She has been one of my favorites to read about because she was always so decidedly evil, but this book gives a little of her back-story, and thus confirmed my feeling that there was more to her than meets the eye. I'm anxious to see what fate awaits her as the story progresses in the following books.

I was pleased to find a bigger role for several characters I've grown to care for, such as Kelarin, a kind-hearted healing Elf whom Darshun (the Guardian, a Nasharin) tends to drool over. That's one thing I love about this series: As much violence, death, and misery there is in this series (it is a war, after all), there is also a lot of Light be it in the form of hope, bravery, or even romance and love. The passages with Darshun and Kelarin were touching, and they, among other scenes, have shown how much Darshun has matured since accepting his fate as the Guardian of the prophecy.

There are a few really great battle scenes in the book, total edge-of-your-seat type of scenes, and I enjoyed them because they were filled with blood, death, and destructive magical powers while at the same time not being too predictable. Just when I think one thing is going to happen...Bam!....the author surprises me. While reading the series as a whole thus far, I've learned to question the fate of the characters individually, and as I finish this book, I am left wanting to read the next installments, to see how "my favorites" fare in the end. Will they survive and become victorious? Or will they give up the ghost as the Dark reigns supreme? I cannot wait to find out.

In all, I've enjoyed this book. There are a lot of cool creatures such as a witch, dragon, centaur, and more and more dark elves with other ghastly beasts within the pages, but I still think the Nasharin, with their amazing powers, are still the coolest and most unique characters in the entire series thus far.  They really are something else!

4 & 1/2 Stars

You can buy this book, and the previous two of the series, at Amazon.com.
You can read my reviews on the previous two books Here (Prophecy of the Guardian) and Here (Siege of Darkness).