This brings back memories of being 13 or 14, in Year 9, summer, sitting under a tree reading and trying to ignore everyone around me at break time. These books saved me during my secondary school years and I remember them fondly. Returning to Tortall and re-reading them now, more than twenty years later, I have found the same safety in reading Alanna's adventures that I did then.

In this final book in the quartet, Alanna grows into herself and the strands of lessons learnt in the first three books come together as Alanna realises she can be a woman and a warrior, can travel and still find a permanent place in Corus, and of course, lots of people end up married, dead or both. And that bitch Delia finally gets what she deserves. I loved the final battle between Alanna and Roger, I'd forgotten how it almost right up until a few sentences away.

There are things that could be improved, more details of Thom and his resurrection of Duke Roger, for instance, but that would probably require a book all of it's own.

I will be recommending these books to my niece and step-nieces when they're old enough.