The Sapphire Rose

The book definitely brings the series to a satisfying conclusion, but the denouement runs a little long (though, to be fair, getting the denouement the right length is something that lots of writers have problems with). Probably the bigger problem with the book's end is that, approaching the conclusion, it screams, “The writer got the publisher to agree to another trilogy, so he's going to lay some plot hooks for the next one!”

This is aggravated by the fact that I'm reading the book's first printing, and right after th end of the story we get this little bombshell.

Here ends The Sapphire Rose, thus concluding the tale of The Elenium – but not the adventures of Sparhawk and his companions. Watch for further danger and magic in The Tamuli, a new series from David Eddings, forthcoming from Del Rey Books.