The Tenth Power - Kate Constable

The Tenth Power is the third and final book in the Chanters of Tremaris series (The Singer of All Songs - reviewed here - and The Waterless Sea - reviewed here - were the first two books). In this final installment of the series, a sickness is spreading across the land, affecting only those with the magical power of chantment. Calwyn, who in The Waterless Sea lost her powers and the potential to become the Singer of All Songs, travels with Mica (a girl with the gift of wind chantment) and Trout (a young man with a technologically-focused mind) to her homeland of Antaris in the hopes that she will recover emotionally from the loss of her powers. However when they arrive, they are shocked to find many of the priestesses encased in the ice of the Wall that surrounds Antaris. The worst shock of all is that Marna, the High Priestess is dying of the same sickness that is affecting so many other Chanters. Marna manages to pass on to Calwyn some important information about a mysterious Wheel only half of which remains in Antaris, and about a previously unheard of Tenth Power, before her death.

Meanwhile, Darrow is also traveling, searching for his long-time enemy, Samis, who it turns out isn't as dead as they'd hoped. He, Tonno and Halasaa visit Gellan, where Samis' former lover Keela arranges for Darrow to be arrested and locked in the Lazar House where he soon contracts the deadly illness that is feared by all chanters. Soon, the six companions regroup at Antaris and they agree that they must find the other half of the Wheel and repair it before Tremaris becomes a desolate wasteland, devoid of magic and light. Their journey takes them into betrayal, joy, love, and even a potential war.

I have to say that this book was a bit of a disappointment to me. Calwyn regains her powers rather too easily, but not before she's alienated Mica; she also deals with Samis via a rather-too-conveniently available "object", and the potential war is a rushed, tacked-on affair that failed to convince me it was a serious threat.

The Tenth Power is also available from Amazon.com. It was received for review from Nikki Gamble at Write Away.