Warlord (Gollancz S.F.) [Paperback]

Warlord concludes the trilogy that began with Warprize. Lara and Keir finally reach the Heart of the Plains and Lara goes before the Elders to see if they will confirm her as a Warprize. I am already a big fan of the first two books so admit to some bias here. For those readers who were unhappy with some of the occurrences in Warsworn, I feel that this story is very much a return to the form of Warprize, so they should be very pleased with the concluding book.

Warlord has been marketed as a paranormal romance and I don't think this is the correct genre for this book. There are no werewolves or vampires, and readers expecting them because of the paranormal labelling may be disappointed.

After everything seemed to fall apart for Lara and Keir in Warsworn (the second book of the trilogy) things finally come together here. Lara realises in Warlord what a task it will be to try and unite the Xyian and Plains (Firelander) way of life; and that there will be no easy answers or solutions. Keir remains intractable as far as the Warrior Priests are concerned, though it becomes clear that they are not all bad - it's nice to have this stubborn (and loyal) side of his character highlighted. There are references back to things that happened in Warprize and Warsworn, so if you haven't read those books for a while you may want to refresh your memory before starting the third book. Although the Warprize story is concluded here, there are many questions left unanswered and my fingers are crossed that Elizabeth Vaughn will return to these in a future book. I'd rate the trilogy as a whole at 5 stars.

This is the third book in Elizabeth Vaughan's trilogy featuring Xylara, Queen of Xy, and Keir, Warlord of the Plains. The first book, "Warprize", was a brilliant work of fantasy with a slow-burn and engaging romance. The second book, "Warsworn", didn't quite reach the same heights for me as our heroine Xylara seemed to be the cause of an awful lot of suffering, although whether she was to blame was debatable. Still, that book ended with hero and heroine having learned that trust in each other is something that has to be earned.

"Warlord" begins as the army of the People of the Plains is travelling to the Heart of the Plains (sort of like their capital city only made of tents) to have Xylara validated as Warprize. It seems throughout this story that people tend to keep Lara in the dark - they don't seem to spend a lot of time explaining cultural matters to her, and as they travel towards the Heart of the Plains she doesn't really know what her validation involves. Keir's time as they journey is spent in trying to keep his army together after the devastation of the plague and to counteract the machinations of Iften, Keir's second in command.

We meet some new characters such as Keekai, one of the Elders who will be making judgement on Lara's status as Warprize and we learn a lot more about the Warrior-Priests who have had a very bad reputation since book one and which Keir has vowed to destroy. When Lara arrives at the Heart of the Plains the descriptions of life there are excellent - the reality of a harsh nomadic life is tempered by joy of their dances and community spirit. However, by the time Lara arrives, news has arrived from other locations which paint her as an evil city dweller who has spread plague, who lies and who cannot be trusted and she has to fight her corner in a culture so different that it is hard for her to know what's right. She is separated from Keir who hasn't really told her what to expect, so Lara has to make her own decisions and choices to try and help things to turn out right.

There were some really excellent parts to this book - particularly the ehat hunt - and as in the other two stories the world building and the cultural differences between Lara's and Keir's people are very well written. We understand the confusion of each of them when dealing with strange aspects of the other's world and yet their bond of love is stronger than these differences. The lifestyles of the Plains people, including homosexuality, are very strange to Lara but she is able to accommodate within her limits (such as still bathing privately) in a way which is a good model of cultural merging.

Whilst reading this trilogy I wondered about Iften, the apparent baddie. Would he change? Would we understand and appreciate his opposition to Keir? Would he prove to be a worthy and stalwart supporter at the end? He has some chances to change in this book and we hear just a few hints about his life but I think a little more could have been done with his character.

What I particularly liked about this book was that it didn't take the easy option of everything working out fine in the end. It was a satisfying ending and one that felt possible but our characters are by no means now headed for a life of plain sailing and there were still a handful of loose ends for the reader to think about after finishing the book.

All in all this is an excellent series and very well written and enjoyable.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book www.curledup.com © 2007 Helen Hancox

I have read other books by this author and this series of three did nothing to disapoint a cracking pace fantastic characters and well worth the read