Dark is the Moon (View from the Mirror) (Paperback)

For me the attraction of these stories, apart from the richness of the world(s) Irvine creates, is the realism of the characters. There is no black and white here. The heroes and heroines are not all good, the malevolents not all bad - and it's often hard to work out which is which!

Set against an evocative backdrop, this volume reveals more about the characters already introduced; their story, their history, their hopes and their fears.

Has Llian sold out to Rulke? Will Karan betray Llian? What is Shand's secret past? Will Maigraith emerge from Faelamor's domination? Can Mendark regain his authority? Find out the answers to some of these questions in Dark is the Moon.

I can't wait for the (concluding?) instalment.

Dark Is the Moon starts in the tower of Katazza, where Tensor has just opened a gate to the Nightland. In the process, Rulke the Charon has managed to escape from his imprisonment of a thousand years, while Karan and Llian have been sucked throught the gate. Mendark, Malien, Tallia and Yggur have to overcome their differences and ally against their common enemy and try to use the power of the Rift to seal the Nightland. Karan and Llian's lives are at stake.

And so in the Nightland, Karan and Llian have no choice but to team with Rulke, or they'll be trapped forever. But in the battle, the new alliance draws to much power from the Rift and Katazza collapses over them. Thanks to that diversion, Karan manages to escape throught the gate and lands in the rubble of the destroyed citadel. However, Llian is still stuck with Rulke, who compels him to tell the Histories but finally lets him go five days later. When with Karan they catch up with Yggur, Mendark, Shand and the others, everyone suspects he's become Rulke's spy.

After crossing the Dry Sea again, the group realizes that their only chance to beat Rulke is to make a replica of the golden Flute, a legendary artifact that is said to have the power to open the Way between the Worlds. But for this they need Aachan red gold, which is extremely rare, and information on how to use the instrument.

In this thrid volume, all roads diverge, to converge again at the end for another confrontation: Mendark sets off to Havissard in search of the gold, Yggur goes back to Thurkad where his army is at war, Tallia and Shand go look for young Lilis's father, and Karan wants to go back to her estate in Gothryme to see how her people are faring. Llian accompanies her, and on the way they stop in Chanthed, where lies the College of the Histories, and where he thinks he might gather new information for his Great Tale.

In the meantime Faellamor, with the help of her always faithful Maigraith, is searching for a way to break the Forbidding and tries to link with fher far away kin, the Faellem, and ask them for help. They manage to open a gate to Havissard.

Dark is the Moon is of the same quality as the previous books in the series, that is, full of entertaining adventures and well written, but nothing outstanding, although the characters have started to grow in depth, and me to consider reading Ian Irvine's next series, The Well of Echoes. But on to the fourth and final volume first.