Darkfall

September 1, 2011

In this final installment of The Healing Wars series, warrior Nya desperately searches for her missing sister while fighting to preserve her heritage even as the Duke of Baseer prepares to invade Geveg.

Fifteen-year-old Nya, her sweetheart Danello and compatriots in the underground resistance hide on a farm after Nya destroys the Duke's palace in Baseer by flashing pain. Notorious for her unique ability to shift and push pain, Nya secretly returns to Geveg hoping to find her sister, Tali. When a corps of Undying, the Duke's mindless soldiers trained to endure and inflict pain, attack Nya, Tali is among them. Devastated to discover her alien, brainwashed sister, Nya fears Tali will never be the same. With the Duke's forces approaching, Nya's reputation as a fighter rallies Geveg's embattled citizens, who embrace her as the leader they desperately need. Tempted to take Tali and flee, Nya can't deny her heritage and, with help from her friends and allies, reluctantly prepares to defend her city. A conflicted, complex heroine to the end, Nya anguishes over the potential pain and death she will trigger to preserve what she loves.

Though lacking some of the punch and rapid-fire excitement of the first two volumes, the finale offers suspense, resolution of prior wrongs, the sweetness of first love and a battle-tested heroine who fights with her head and heart. (Fantasy. 10-16)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012
With all of Geveg rising up against the usurping Duke of Baseer in this third book in the series (The Shifter, rev. 11/09; Blue Fire, rev. 9/10), Nya is torn between her duty to the underground resistance and her sworn vow to rescue her sister Tali, last seen in the Duke's clutches. Because of her unusual talent for healing and then using the pain she removes as a weapon against the Duke's soldiers, Nya is uniquely positioned to unite the rebels. But then Tali surfaces, brainwashed into one of the Duke's Undying, and Nya must decide whether to escape to a place where Tali can get help or stay to work for the resistance. How can she protect Tali and her own love, Danello, in the midst of a war? Hardy's creative fantasy premise, which turns pain into a commodity to be removed, stored, and weaponized, continues to shine in this extension of the original idea, particularly strong in its expression because Hardy uses it to explore moral questions -- when is it acceptable to cause suffering in others? How does one balance the suffering of a few against the suffering of many? Nya is a humble and appealing protagonist, doubting herself even as she becomes the center of a cult of personality. Readers who have followed the series since its beginning have another treasure to enjoy in this concluding volume. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2012
In this concluding volume, Nya is torn between her duty to the underground resistance and her vow to rescue her sister. Hardy's creative fantasy premise, which turns pain into a commodity to be removed, stored, and weaponized, continues to shine as she explores moral questions. Nya is a humble and appealing protagonist even as she becomes the center of a cult of personality.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)