Crusade

This is the concluding novel in a fantasy trilogy; the first and second novels were Heresy and Inquisition. As the titles suggest, the plot revolves around the oppressive intersections of politics and religion. In Crusade, 'heretic' mages who can control the elements through mental powers resist the narrow religious dogma of the Domain, which is attempting to achieve world domination with its version of theology. By controlling the political realm as well, through a puppet emperor, the Domain is close to achieving its ends. This epic battle is set on a world, Aquasilva, which is not Earth, but whose social organization and religious clashes appear to have been modelled on a composite of Grecian empire and mediaeval Spain. Add to this mixture hints that society has actually degenerated from a much more technologized and 'civilized' golden age, and the novel is a curious hybrid of alternate history, spacefaring lost civilization tales and epic fantasy. The tale's narrator Cathan, is a mage and fugitive from his imperial destiny who struggles to halt the Domain's progress towards crushing out dissent and rewriting history. In Crusade Cathan learns that he is as deeply implicated in the wrongs of his world as he is in attempting to right them. Only by embracing those aspect of his heritage that he has attempted to flee can he act effectively in his attempt to set history on a better course. Although the story is action-packed, it suffers somewhat from a common problem with fantasy trilogies in that many of its narrative threads are tied up extremely rapidly in an epilogue. It also works rather unevenly as a stand-alone tale; the background of the earlier episodes is insufficiently sketched in for readers who come upon Crusade without having read the preceding novels to get the twists and turns of plot clear in their mind. (Kirkus UK)