Dark Haven, Book 3 of The Chronicles of the Necromancer is a book for which I have literally been waiting for a year. When I picked up The Summoner, first book in the series, I immediately fell in love with the story of Martris Drake and his struggle against his evil brother Jared.
This review has spoilers for the first book in the series. You have been warned.
One of the things that struck me when I started reading Summoner was that Gail Martin has the rare ability to make you love her characters in a short amount of time. I was immediately drawn to Kate, Tris’ younger sister. She was a vibrant piece of reality that grabbed me right at the beginning of the story. The tragedy of her murder, along with the deaths of the remainder of the royal family, dragged me kicking and screaming into the story. From that point on, I was committed. I just had to know what would happen next.
Which is probably why I devoured Dark Haven in only a couple of days, without taking the time to go back and re-read the previous two books in the series. The problem with that is some of the details of the previous plot points were fuzzy, and that’s always frustrating. I look forward to my next re-read.
Dark Haven itself is a masterful piece of the puzzle. It has as many threads as a spider’s web, and will tangle you up in it just as quickly. My only regret is that now I have at least another year before I can discover what happens next. The majority of the focus of Haven is split between Jonmarc Vahanian in his new role as lord of Dark Haven, home of the vayash moru, and the troubles of Kiara, new Queen of Margolan, as she traverses the deadly politics of her new home at Shekerishet.
We also spend a little time with Tris as he rides to war and besieges the rebellious Lord Curane’s castle; as well as some time with King Donelon of Isenholt and the problems there. To top it all off, the Flow – source of Tris’ and his mages’ power – is starting to come apart at the seams, and a violent backlash would destroy friend and foe alike.
Sadly, Dark Haven forwards the story without resolving much of anything, A couple of pairings are made official, and the game pieces seem to be aligning for a rousing face off, but readers are left wanting more. Which isn’t a bad place at all for an author to be. I can’t wait to re-read this series so I can pick up on the subtle nuances in the text, and I’ll definitely be waiting with baited breath for the next installment. I highly recommend this series.
[xrr rating=3.75/5]
