The Way Between The Worlds by Ian Irvine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The blurb: There is a dark full moon on midwinter’s day. The foretelling has come to pass. Rulke the Charon is unstoppable now. Karan is held captive in desolate Carcharon tower. Rulke plans to use her to find the Way between the Worlds. On the mountainside below, the allies await their fate. Karan’s lover, Llian, is in chains, falsely accused of betraying her to the enemy. As the dark moon rises, Rulke begins to open the Way. If he succeeds, the world will be overwhelmed by the dread armies of the void. There is only one solution. Karan must be the sacrifice…
My review: The Way Between the Worlds is the fourth, and final, book in The View from the Mirror series. I listened to the audio version of the quartet and admit that I had issues with the series, such as feeling it was too long. Still, now that I have finished it, I have no regrets investing the past few months to this story.
Being the final book, The Way Between the Worlds answers all the questions and ties up all the loose ends. This is to be expected, of course. I gave this book five stars because I enjoyed it the most. Something was nearly always happening. Wrapping up the storylines took a while, but I can walk away from the characters and the world knowing the outcome, and getting a sense of what their futures held.
The series, overall, was long. I keep saying it, too long. I believe the story could have been told in half the number of words. Then it would have been more contained, the action would have been increased, and the suspense would have been terrific. In my opinion, the perfect ingredients for a page-turner. Yet, while I feel that way, I still can’t say I didn’t like it. There was a lot to the plot, the characters, and the history that showed the author worked hard on planning the details. That’s impressive in itself.
I don’t know what else to say. I have wanted to read this series for many years, and now I have. I’m satisfied with that accomplishment. The View from the Mirror is a series that you will either like or not like. Only the reader can decide. This reader has decided that despite its downfalls, it’s a good series.