Cast In Fury

Cast In Fury by Michelle Sagara
The Chronicles of Elantra
ISBN# 978-0-373-80269-2
Available now
Published by Luna/Harlequin Books S.A.
Format: trade pbk., 490 pages
Genre: fiction, fantasy

Cast in Fury is the fourth book in The Chronicles of Elantra series. Since there are on-going plots and quite a few re-occurring characters I highly recommend reading this series in order. Besides humans there are quite a few races living in Elantra. The two immortal races are the dragons and the Barrani (think elves with black hair). The other three are the Aerians (people with wings), the Tha'alani (telepaths with stalks or antennae on their foreheads), and the Leontines (cat people, their appearance leans more towards the cat side). Each race is unique and Sagara does a good job with the different races' cultures, although the Aerians still haven't been in the books much.

Because of the fallout from events that took place in Cast in Secret Private Kaylin Neya and her shadow, Corporal Severn Handred, are assigned as cultural resources to the Imperial Playwright. His task is to put together a play that will hopefully dispel some of the fear that humans are currently feeling towards the Tha'alani before the humans take matters into their own hands. Just as Kaylin is making progress with the playwright's own prejudices she learns that her friend and boss, Sergeant Marcus Kassan, is being held in the Leontine Quarter for murder. As she tries to prove his innocence she is forced to open her eyes to the strict, ugly side of Leontine culture that Marcus has always kept from her. When Kaylin's top suspect disappears into the fiefs she must again call on Lord Nightshade for help and decide if helping one is worth the cost of all.

Every book in this series is right around 500 pages and packed full of names to remember, caste systems of different races, and at least three different things going on at any one time so if you're looking for a light read this probably isn't for you. The only problem I've ever really had with this series is that Kaylin doesn't seem to be growing as a character. She has all this potential power, but she's getting nowhere in learning how to use it nor does she seem to want to learn. All this power has her in the company of dragons and Barrani and yet she still hasn't learned how to act at court. She's remained awful at all her studies including law and magic no matter that she is the equivalent of a police officer and should know these things. It was mentioned in this book that Kaylin was to learn court manners very soon so hopefully we'll see a little more growth in the next book.

Zhye