by Sara Douglass
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Product Description
Axis is the StarMan of prophecy and legend, destined to lead the three races of his world to unite as one people. The people of his world all know the Prophecy of the Destroyer, despite the failed attempts of the Seneschal to suppress it in the name of the god Artor the Ploughman, and it predicts and dictates Axis's path through war and destruction to the creation of Tencendor.
The Prophecy foretold that Axis would defeat his half-brother and lay claim to the land that Tencendor will be created upon. The Prophecy told of the traitor in Axis's camp-Faraday's champion, Timozel.
And the Prophecy foretold many a choice that Axis must make in order to fulfill his destiny . . . but neglected to mention the choice between the beautiful and courageous Faraday, his late half-brother's wife, and the feisty and hauntingly enchanting Azhure.
To Faraday, he had pledged his love and a place by his side as ruler of Tencendor; to Azhure, he had given his children, his time, and his devotion.
His love for both women is what the last twist of the Prophecy relies on. While Azhure explores her newfound powers as an Icarii Enchantress, and Faraday replants the ancient forests of the Mother, the evil Gorgrael is plotting Axis's downfall, invading the sky with ice and terror and the flesh-hungry Gryphons. His most daring move is to follow prophecy, to taunt Axis with the pain of his beloved.
But which beloved woman will Gorgrael choose . . . and will she be the one whose death will distract Axis from saving the world?
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 good continuation but lacked MEAT, 2008-08-21
I have just finished this last trilogy of Axis book...and I was disappointed. It is THICK, and with no TV, I was glad it would keep me occupied for a while! But so many scenes are contrived, and the editing is poor. In one scene Axis is dying, then Azhure makes love to him among the stars (Gee how did she suddenly learn all this?) and he is HEALED? He comes out of the tent brand new? And his men are ok with this? Belial, trusted Commander and friend, simply gets up 'and hugs the naked man'! Then Axis jumps on his horse, salutes his troops and gallops away among them? (Hey, he was naked a sec ago...kinda cold out there!?) These inconsistencies really grated on me as I read. Things that COULD have been character development and really good get sugary and contrived---Azhure kills ALL 7,000.00 Gryphon monsters with one single arrow to each Icarii and a (will not give it away, but DUMB)? HUH? Faraday is suffering and NEVER slaps Azhure for taking away Axis? HUH? No Warrior possessed powers blazing knock down fight? Between two totally powerful women?? HUH? Could have been good...could have been.....but hey, I still read it ALL. So it's not ALL bad, just diaappointing..like she was fly typing and forgot to tie it all together with panache and vigor....oh well. Enough.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
More of the same (spoilers), 2008-08-04
I have given every book in this series 3 stars. This final book in the Axis trilogy is no different. It has some things going for it and some things working against it.
What I liked: while the story is full of stock fantasy elements, there is a reason those things work. They appeal to readers of fantasy. So while the entire series lacked some overall originality (the prophecy, the great evil that must be defeated, the hero who wins the day, etc.), there are enough unique creative elements to this series that really work and I found very interesting. The story held my interest. That alone is why I give it 3 stars.
Again, as I've said before, this story had an incredible amount of potential, but Douglass fails to give the readers what they are begging for in this kind of series: vividly drawn and interesting characters.
What I didn't like:
Where to begin? First of all, I borrowed the hardcopy edition from the public library and there are a large number of typos in the book. That got on my nerves. Again, Douglass could brush up on some sentence structuring skills. Her sentences are awkward. Do not read these books if you need well crafted prose to be satisfied.
My continual complaint is that the characters again fail to gain any depth and continually act without motivation. I didn't feel strongly for any character in this series, and that is a problem. The actions of Axis and others in this book will drive the reader crazy. They make stupid choices without well drawn reasons. They seem flat, boring, and predictable. I did like Azhure and Caelum, but for that reason I found myself truly loathing Faraday. I can't begin to explain how much it bothered me that Douglass chose to have Faraday have Axis' baby and then make that some wonderful event. I saw it as an ugly stain on this series. Faraday ruined these books for me. Ironically, I think Douglass intended her to be the favorite. But she was weakly drawn, flat, and simply got in the way of everything and everyone. Other than planting some trees, she didn't do anything useful (except maybe getting murdered). Her death didn't move me. And WHY did Douglass "hide" Faraday's baby? What a ridiculous plot choice. I think she did it so the reader didn't throw the book down in disgust. Everyone knew she was pregnant, including the reader, but it was this big 'hush hush secret' and that was so silly. Real people don't act that way, not even in fantasy novels.
Magic in this book is a liability. Sometimes magic will work, sometimes it won't. But there is no rhyme or reason as to why sometimes there is an enchantment that will save the day and why there isn't. There is no order to the system of magic in this book, and that is bothersome.
The final battles were lackluster. Even Douglass acknowledges that via Axis.
Why was Gorgrael disfigured? No explanation ever. Although he was a child of Avar and Ichari, he looks like a monster. Why? Just because he was "evil?" I wish she had resisted making him into a monster-creature and giving him some depth. He just seemed like a big and mean 2 year old.
And finally, the most disgusting element of this book was to make Azhure's twins into evil little creeps. There was no reason, no motivation, and no explanation. If there isn't a compelling reason for it, why do it? Instead, she further diminished Axis and Azhure in the minds of the reader by giving them children to ignore and dislike (even hate). What a dumb plotting device. It would have been far preferrable to have them turn evil later on.
I don't know what else to say.
I guess these books are a worthwhile read, but don't expect fireworks and expect to be very annoyed.
I will not read the next 3 books. I am frankly glad to be done with the story as is and will not bother with the rest.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 The Final Conflict, 2008-07-21
Starman (1996) is the third fantasy novel in the Wayfarer Redemption series, following Enchanter. In the previous volume, Axis mindsearched Azhure and discovered the details of her mother's death. Reliving the incident caused the scars on her back to reopen and she almost bled to death. Faraday healed her so well that her scars disappeared, leaving her back smooth for the first time in years.
Axis played a vision of the incident to the other leaders of Tencendor. Ysgryff -- the Lord of Nor -- recognized her mother as his older sister and told Azhure her mother's name. Yet Ysgryff knew nothing of her real father. But Azhure now realized that she had met her father the night before and already knew his name.
In this novel, Faraday leaves Carlon to plant the seedlings from the Enchanted Woods. She travels east toward the Silent Woman Woods. From there, she will plant trees in a great arc to Forbidden Valley, where they will reconnect to the Avarinheim.
Faraday initially travels with Embeth of Tare. After leaving Tare, Faraday continues onward. On the third day thereafter, three Icarii Enchanters drop down for a visit. On the fifth day, Faraday approaches the Silent Woman Woods. Within the woods, she hears the Song of the trees and traverses the last small distance to the Keep with a glad heart.
Elsewhere, Goodwife Renkin goes to the market with a flock of ewes. After selling the sheep, the goodwife encounters two Enchanters and is told of Faraday's trek. She decides that her husband and children can wait a little longer for her return and walks off to join Faraday.
Artor the Plowman -- god of the Seneschal -- is very worried by the loss of his followers to other gods and walks the earth to counter this trend. He confronts Brother-Leader Jayme in his cell and leaves behind a plowed corpse. Then he finds Gilbert and Moryson -- senior advisors to the Brother-Leader -- and directs them to find and destroy Faraday.
In this story, Gorgrael is raising Gryphons. He and the Dear Man create the first Gryphon from the body of a slain SkraeBold and then he makes another by himself. Each Gryphon is born already pregnant. Soon the Destroyer has hundreds and then thousands of Gryphons. The Icarii Strike Force now has something to fear in the sky.
Timozel is released from his service as Faraday's champion and then flees northward to the shores of Murkle Bay. There he is met by the Dark Man and taken to the Ice Fortress by boat. He meets Gorgrael and is appointed commander of the forces of the Destroyer. His vision has come true!
Azhure, Lord Nor and StarDrifter sail to the Island of Mist and Memory, formerly known as Pirates' Nest. There Azhure meets the current First Priestess and is shown the facilities. Then she is given a letter addressed to her from her mother.
Azhure is puzzled by the bareness of the Temple of the Stars, but soon learns of its mysteries. Then she delivers the twins after her link with Axis is broken. Later, she encounters the Star Gods in the Sepulchre of the Moon and is told that Axis still lives.
This tale concludes the Axis trilogy. Yet the storyline continues in the next trilogy. Enjoy!
Recommended for Douglass fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of epic fantasy, divine conflict, and high romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Wayfarer Redemption (VOL. 1 - 3), 2008-05-22
This series has impressed me so much. Sarah has joined the list I feel are some of the best fantasy writers. If anyone is a committed reader of D&D, dragonlance, Terry Brooks, Robert (R.I.P) Wheel of Time Series!,
Forgoten Relms, ect.
I will always support sarah in the future.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Faraday joins the ranks of tragic heroes, 2008-01-06
In epic literature, there is usually a hero who is marked from the beginning to die. In the Iliad it was Hector, in Gilgamesh, it was Enkidu. In the Axis Trilogy, it was Faraday. I had tears in my eyes while reading this which I have rarely done for a book. A sad yet satisfying ending to the trilogy.
This book had all the magic and grandeur of the previous novels and keeps you turning the pages.
There are a few things that prevent me from giving this 4 stars. One of those is Azhure, another is Caelum. The third is the other myriad of beautiful, intelligent, flawless people out there. I disliked Azhure from book 1 so one of the characters I identified with was Barsarbe (of all people!) for my unreasoning dislike of her. Barsarbe is not as malicious as she seems, Azhure really is that annoying. Azhure in Enchanter and Starman (agree with other reviewer that these should have been named "Enchantress") has no faults. Caelum, likewise as Azhure's offspring, also has no faults. He is always cuddly and never does any typical baby things like spit up, have tantrums or mess himself at inconvenient times (because of his Icarii heritage, was he born potty-trained as well?)
But it wasn't so bad that I couldn't get past it. Highly recommended.
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