All four remaining Dreadgods have been awakened and are now rampaging across Cradle, threatening all inhabitants of the planet. As usual, it is up to the Monarchs to step up and offer protection to their citizens until the Dreadgods are once again slumbering. Unfortunately for everyone, Lindon now knows the Monarch's dirty little secret and he has concluded that the only long term solution to the Dreadgod problem is for the Monarchs to be gone from Cradle. With Eithan gone, Lindon is without his strongest ally, so how can he possibly hope to stand against both the Dreadgods and the Monarchs? Certainly not alone. But his remaining allies are not strong enough to fight Dreadgods or Monarchs, so they will need to grow in power as quickly as possible. If they do, then together they can stand as a team and do the impossible and forge a new future for Cradle. 

Lindon has finally grown in power enough for the Monarchs to take notice, and they are willing to let him live if he keeps their secret and helps them fight the Dreadgods; however, Lindon has no intention to do so. He has sworn a soul-bound oath to keep the Monarch's secret, so breaking that promise is not going to be easy. He'll need to find a way to convince his friends that his crazy plan is possible without violating his oath, and do it while being hunted by both the Monarchs and the Dreadgods. It's a crazy scenario that keeps things entertaining, although I must admit that I miss Eithan being involved in these insane plans, and it wasn't quite the same without him. At least Eithan does still play a part in the story, but he is among the Abidan now and that dynamic just wasn't the same for me. Still, this is another solid entry in the series and it sets the stage for the finale.

Travis Baldree delivered another great performance for the audiobook version.