Circle of Ashes – Benjamin Medrano

This is the sixth and last book in a series that began with “The Avatar’s Flames”. That was a strong beginning. The protagonist, Ruethwyn, is badly crippled when she becomes collateral damage in an attack on her village. Through sheer determination she becomes an adept student magician. The next four-and-a-half books in the series are an extended middle book, in which she and her friends (increasingly her would-be lovers) travel the world, with obligatory conflict at every stage. Suffering from middle-book syndrome, but still quite entertaining.

I enjoyed reading “Circle of Ashes”, but the end was disappointing. The first half of the book is more travelog. Then we get to Ruethwyn’s final climactic battle - and it is resolved by dei ex machinis. (Imagine two rival swordsmen finally meeting, and having the fight resolved by a third party with a sniper rifle.) Meanwhile, each of the secondary characters faces a battle against near-impossible odds, and must succeed through sheer pluck (or, in one case, the help of another machina).

If you’ve read the first five books in this series (and why else would you read book six?), you’ll want to read this one. It resolves most of the dangling plot threads, and gives the reader more time with characters in which they may have become invested. But it doesn’t live up to its potential.