THE PALACE OF IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS

The latest installment in Australian fantasy author Fallon’s sprawling Tide Lords quartet (The Gods of Amyrantha, 2009, etc.).

In this, the third of a four-book series, the author continues her fantasy saga concerning powerful immortal beings, and the mortals who aim to stop them. One of these mortals, Arkady Desean, begins this book as a slave after the events of the previous book; she believes that her husband, Stellan, the heir to the Glaeban throne half a world away, is dead, hanged by the evil immortal Jaxyn. In fact, he is alive, and, with Declan Hawkes, the Glaeban spymaster recently made immortal, he forms a plan to save Arkady and to foment royal-court intrigue. Later, Declan and Arkady meet up with Cayal, the Immortal Prince, and a host of other immortals. Fallon delivers a highly complicated tale full of intertwining plots and loads of characters, but brings it all across with a refreshingly straightforward prose style. Though newcomers should definitely read the first two installments of the series first, the author does her best to provide relevant back story along the way, and she ends the book with revelations that will make readers look forward to the next, and final, book in the series.

A worthy chapter in Fallon’s satisfying fantasy tale.