I have been fortunate to be able to read and review both of the previous Triumvirate titles. The series is original and dynamic, with a collection of appealing and compelling characters. I have enjoyed the attention that McGuiness pays to his characters but unfortunately in this book it feels as though this comes at the expense of the rest of the story. The finale is somewhat sudden, and though it has some unexpected elements it doesn’t quite live up to the tension set up by the previous books. The promised origins of the insectoid Skrin’tak and their undersea counterparts the crab-like Fera’gog are revealed, as are those of the Triumvirate itself. This is also done in a hasty, almost offhand way. McGuiness tries to explore the inhuman and elemental nature of the Triumvirate in this book, though once again not as deeply as I would have liked. This is still an enjoyable book and does tick all the boxes for the last part of a trilogy, but overall it lacks the depth of the first two. That said, I’m still sold on his characters and would pick up a new McGuiness title without hesitation.

Stefen Brazulaitis is a customer service manager with Borders Perth

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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