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Elegy for a Lost Star by Elizabeth Haydon

  Here we are with book five in the Symphony of Ages series.  A lot of this is predicated on having read the previous four so some spoilers may be ahead.

Rhapsody is preparing to give birth under the watchful eye of the dragon Elynsynos while Achmed journeys home to discover that his mountain has exploded with a force strong enough to wake the dragon Annwyn.  Across the desert, the emperor presumptive begins enacting his plan to conquer the known world, finding allies in the misbegotten Faron and also the Ravens Guild of Yarim, still seething from the loss of their guildmistress.  War is coming, an apocalypse foreseen by the Child of Time.

I feel a little bad reviewing these because they really don't make sense until you've read the previous ones.  Obviously, I'm a fan of this series but I'm finding it slower going because I've read them before so there's a little less surprise and tension, and because I've read the first four in such quick succession.  Normally, I'm caught up on a series so I'm waiting a year or more for the next installment but I've had to start with quite the backlog in this case before I get to any of the ones that are new to me.  I could have skipped ahead, sure, but it feels weird to review books 1-4 and then jump straight to 7-9.

At this point, you know if this series is for you.  If it is, I'm happy to report that book five is probably not going to change your opinion of it.  If it isn't, you're probably not reading this.
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