From Publishers WeeklyResnick brings her outstanding two-part fantasy saga, which began with White Dragon: In Fire Forged, Part One (2003), to a fully satisfying conclusion. After the defeat of the Valdani conquerors, the land of Sileria faces a threat from its most powerful caste, the Waterlords, who through their control of the water supply can extort obedience from a thirsty populace. Tansen, Sileria's greatest warrior, and Mirabar, a prophetess and fire wizard, lead the rebellion against the water cartels. Mirabar's visions suggest that for Sileria to be truly free, water magic cannot simply be vanquished-it must remain a part of Sileria's future. Tansen, with his deep-seated hatred of Waterlords, may find this notion hard to accept, she realizes. Fast-paced, witty and full of action, the book is a marvel of storytelling, but it's the credible, complex relationships among the characters that elevates this far above the usual fantasy standard. One of the book's greatest accomplishments is the humanization of the mad Waterlord Baran. At its heart, this is a story of family ties-those we choose, and those that choose us. Resnick fans have cause to rejoice.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistResnick completes, for the moment, at least, the stories of Sileria begun in In Legend Born (1998) and continued in The White Dragon (2003). Sileria, whose patron deity is Dar, the volcanic goddess of destruction, has known one conqueror after another. In The White Dragon the rebel Josarian, with the aid of the wielders of fire magic called the Guardians, defeated the most recent overlords, the Valdani. Josarian was killed shortly thereafter, and now his heir, Tansen, must deal with the Waterlords, who control the precious resource for which they are named. The rivalries and feuds continue fast and furious, not to say bloody, and Tansen nearly loses his life. But a mysterious boy from the ranks of the Waterlords saves Tansen to continue his struggle to a
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