Long ago, the Monarch Northstrider created a world of his own. This pocket world, Ghostwater, is where he kept some of his most valuable items; however, that pocket world is now dying. The stability of that world was damaged in the events of the last book, and the Skysworn are determined to retrieve some of the valuables before they are gone. It is not clear how long that world has left, but Lindon, Yerin, and Mercy are all part of the team sent to retrieve those items. It doesn't take long for them to become separated, leaving Yerin and Mercy stuck outside, with Lindon trapped on his own inside the dying world. So is this a worthy story or is it just a contrived way to split off Lindon and send him on a side quest that allows him to catch up in power to Yerin?

Whether you call them gods or spirits, the Southwestern United States has always had its stories about Coyote, Raven, Dog, and many others who dwell in a plane alongside ours and sometimes crossover. In this fantasy set in the twenty-third century, Selena flees an abusive relationship to a small town in the Historic Zone with only a small suitcase and her dog Copper. Sadly, the aunt she hoped to stay with has died, but everyone assures her that she's very welcome and the small house is hers if she wants it. Can it be that easy? Well, there's scorpions, rattlesnakes, and the strange visitors her aunt took in, but they tell her it will be fine. Turns out those visitors weren't human and while I don't agree with this being classified as "horror" that is one evil Roadrunner and getting him to back off involves a shotgun, a demi-god, and a trip to the Spirit World.

The time has finally come for Lindon's duel with Jai Long, and despite all Lindon's training and advancement in the path of the Blackflame, it is still not even close to being a fair fight. Not even the fact that Lindon healed Jai Long's sister from her crippling affliction turned out to be enough to spare him from his fate, which has been orchestrated from the start by Eithan Aurelius. This is all part of Eithan's plan to elevate the Aurelius family above the Jai family and this duel is merely a single move in a much larger game. None of that matters to Lindon because it is very likely he won't be alive to find out if Eithan's plan actually works. Knowing this, Lindon has has no plans to fight fair, but unfortunately for him, Jai Long also has some tricks of his own prepared.

Michael Truesday, aka Stone Tactical - an Earther super, is continuing his fight against the pedophiles aiming for world domination known as The Society. Now that he's found his father, it's time to take on the corrupt trustees of his two billion dollar inheritance from his mother, but The Society isn't about to let go of that money without a fight. They seem to think a thirteen year old from the Baltimore foster system and a Native American lawyer from Montana can't be a threat, which is just fine with the boy genius and former Delta Force soldier. It would be simpler for Mike to take out the men who abused his mother with his superpowers from a distance, but he prefers to tear them apart financially, socially, and politically so he can watch them suffer for decades.

Alex Archer never really settled into life on Earth after being rescued from Scorpio, her former home that was occupied by the Lankies for the last 8 years. Her restlessness caused her to join the NAC Defense Corps and this book details her training and her first assignment, an emergency combat deployment. That's a rather ominous start to a military career for someone who spent years living in a bunker hiding from the Lankies, because even though she did not fit in on Earth, she has no desire to find herself back on a Lanky occupied world. But an allied warship has gone missing in the Alpha Corvi system and the NAC is deploying to investigate why. It's pretty obvious to Alex "why" - and her very first deployment has her heading right back into her worst nightmare.

Originally intended to be a single book, Huntsong and Ghostsong are the second story arc in the Singer of Terandia series. I thought the first book, Gravesong, was slow to get started but the setting and action of the second half were enough to keep me reading even though Cara herself felt a bit lackluster as the MC. I thought these two books were great, partially because there are essentially three MCs now and Haeight's story is particularly compelling, the fascinating setting in Noelictus just keeps getting deeper, and Pirateaba's writing has really improved since she wrote The Wandering Inn. Ashamed of her role in the near total destruction of Afiele, Cara heads to the capitol of Noelictus and it's famous theater, The Synphasium. In Menorome she is disgusted by the corrupt Hunters Guild that failed to protect Afiele, the seemingly mad royal family, and the Helpful Servants who have somehow taken control of another girl from Earth. Its all tied together in a complex web that leads back to the sociopathic [Witch] Belavierr.

Now that Lindon and Yerin are both part of the Aurelius family, they finally have the support they need to grow their power as Sacred Artists. Of course for Lindon, that growth is likely to come too late as circumstances have resulted in him being committed to a duel to the death in one year's time against Jai Long, a much more powerful sacred artist. With the support of Eithan Aurelius, Lindon might be able to close the gap with Jai Long's current rank, but unfortunately for him, Jai Long is also growing in power and there is no possible way for Lindon to catch up in time. Lindon tries to focus on his training, but political maneuvering between the Jai clan and the Aurelius clan are likely to get in the way.

Far away from Erin and The Wandering Inn, another girl from Earth named Cara wakes up in a cold dark place. Welcome to Noelictus, The Kingdom of Shade, where the sun never shines and the dead never rest, that is, without proper precautions. After wandering for days through a seemingly endless tomb filled with hundreds of thousands of sarcophagi, and while singing to herself, Cara catches the attention of the ghost of Ser Dalius. Dalius shouldn't have woken and there should have been a Tomb Keeper revenant to send him back to rest, but here he is waging an endless battle against the mice that have burrowed through the walls despite the magical seals that secure the Tomb. He explains how the Tomb of Afiele was built to hold the honored dead so that their sealed bodies would generate the magic that keeps the land of Noelictus fertile and how they would rise to do battle when called upon to defend their people. But Cara can think of nothing but escaping before she dies in the dark and thinks nothing of breaking open the entrance with only Dalius to defend it. With Afiele under siege by a horde of undead. how can Cara survive let alone redeem herself with only a few pop music songs from Earth?

Now that Lindon and Yerin are no longer constrained to the Sacred Valley, we learn just how backwards that isolated location was. The Elders of Lindon's clan were Jade rank sacred artists and they had amazing powers, but out in the larger universe, Jade is nothing. The next rank up, Gold, has three levels of its own, Lowgold, Highgold, and Truegold and there are plenty of ranks above Gold. In fact, outside of Sacred Valley almost everyone is at least Lowgold, so Lindon is even more of a fish out of water; however, he does learn that he is not actually unsouled. This means that Lindon actually can progress through the ranks, if only he can find someone to teach him.

With people from the Undercity joining the Raylicon track and field team, Bhajaan has added assistant coach to her work as a private investigator and her unofficial role as the government's liaison with the Undercity. Competing in the Interstellar Games alongside other teams from their own Skolian Imperialate, Earth's planets, and the horrible Euban empire (aka The Traders) highlights new characters and fresh storylines. In the background Bhaj is investigating a corporate takeover for Vaj Majda. At first it seems unimportant but then Bhaj starts uncovering startling secrets that once again emphasize that the Undercity, City of Cries, and the noble houses of Raylicon are all deeply intertwined no matter how much they all deny it.