This was the last book of the Inda series. I didn't write up any comments for the previous books so I'm going to dump it all here. I really liked books 1 and 2 but 3 and 4 were much slower and felt more bloated. This last book didn't have much action until the end and even that was not a lot. It felt a lot longer than it needed to be. The world building in all the books is very well done. I like how there are two types of magic in this world. The mundane spells that everyone knows to disappear dead bodies, use the bathroom, and other common tasks. And the more rare flashy spells like transports only done by mages. The nation that the series focuses on is a war-mongering nation with no mages though because none of the other nations trust it. All the children of the main nation were trained to war-like activities from a very young age.There was a lot of politics in this series and especially in book 4. I found it somewhat boring except near the end where one of the primary characters has to decide whether to disobey an order or not. That part was very interesting, thought-provoking, and I liked how the author ended it all. It was also different to learn what happens to many of the characters in the years after the main events of this book. It felt more realistic not having characters ride off into the sunset or whatever. Here we learn about the next few generations and how many of the primary characters eventually died.One thing that I think sets this series apart from most other epic fantasy series I have read is how open-minded everyone is about sexuality and relationships. There is actually not a lot of monogamy here. Lots of open relationships, poly relationships, bisexual characters, and gay characters. In general, nobody is persecuted for being bisexual or gay. Nobody gets pregnant unless they want to, there does not seem to be any STDs, prostitution is commonplace, and there is even a magical way to get a baby. If you are close-minded about any of these things then you may not like this series.I really enjoyed the parts of this book set on the sea. There was a lot of ship battles and pirate fighting which was a welcome change from the land-based battles of most epic fantasies. Overall I like this series but wish books 3 and 4 grabbed my attention as much as first two books. An appropriate wrap-up to the series. The big sea battle that had been looming for the last three books fizzled a bit in my mind (though the build-up was exciting); I was looking for a good twenty pages of ship-to-ship battle and hand-to-hand combat, sprinkled with strategic and tactical insights. And, after that, I thought the book would be done; however, the real climax was the taut political discussion after the battle that formed a medieval NATO to defend an important trade route. Very fitting for a book that drew me in based on its political action.
What do You think about Treason's Shore (2009)?
Great so far - I'm in the middle of a sea battle, the Fox Banner Fleet and allies versus the Venn.
—Tururumandinga
Nice finish to the series. Enjoyed it as much at the first 3. Great characters, and storylines.
—liizaaaaa
