The Eternal Flame PDF
Preview The Eternal Flame
Avalon, the great tree world connecting the earth and the heavens, is about to be destroyed. The warlord Rhita Gawr is bent on conquest—and using an army of deathless warriors, a corrupted crystal, and a plague of arrogance and greed to succeed.
Three unlikely heroes are Avalon's only hope. Tamwyn, the wilderness guide, must travel the secret pathway to the stars. Elli, the brave young priestess, must defeat a terrible sorcerer in a realm of utter darkness. And Scree, the eagleman, must lead his winged people to do what seems impossible . . .
This spectacular final volume of T. A. Barron's bestselling trilogy combines gripping adventure with profound ideas about the powerful connections between humanity and the world.
From School Library JournalGrade 7 Up–Barron reaches for some Tolkienesque grandeur in this final installment in this series. He has several plotlines going at once as he picks up the story of Tamwyn, Elli, and Scree. The story moves back and forth among the quests of these three heroes and among the realms of the great tree that is the world of Avalon. Rhita Gawr, the evil sorcerer, is trying to destroy Avalon by finding doors through which his warriors can enter. Tamwyn seeks a path to the very heights of the great tree to understand magic and his own destiny. Elli has to go in the opposite direction, down into the darkness of Shadowroot. Scree must learn how to be a leader in battle. These three plotlines lead to a conclusion that features three cataclysmic battles raging simultaneously. The finale features a brief cameo from Merlin. The writing is sometimes poetic, but sometimes too dense, and the story doesn't stand on its own. It will be best appreciated by those who have been following the trilogy from the beginning, and will have even more meaning for fans of Barron's Merlin saga (Philomel). A substantial appendix includes an Avalon time line and descriptions of all of the characters.–Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ
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Taking up where Shadows on the Stars (2004) left off, this novel is a fitting finale to the trilogy that began with The Great Tree of Avalon (2004). Tamwyn continues his journey up the Great Tree to relight the stars darkened by the malevolent Rhita Gawr, who seeks to conquer Avalon before attacking Earth. In the meantime, Eli and the caustic sprite Nuic make their way to the Lost of City of Light to destroy the powerful crystal guarded by Rhita Gawr's minion, the evil sorcerer Kulwych, while Scree, now leader of the Bram Kaie eaglefolk, prepares his followers to join in the looming battle on the Plains of Isenway. It is this battle, fought in the sky and on the ground, that pits the alliance of elves, humans, eaglefolk, tree spirits, and more against Rhita Gawr and his ogres, trolls, and immortal dragons. The battle scenes, written in the grand tradition of epic sagas of the battle between good and evil, are gory, brutal, and fierce, and at the end, Barron leaves himself an opening to revisit his Arthurian realm yet another time. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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