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.

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.

No one has left Sacred Valley in a hundred generations, and it is here than Lindon is born within the Wei clan, one of three clans to call the valley home. All natural things in Sacred Valley exude vital aura, and Lindon's people are sacred artists capable of cycling that aura into madra within their bodies. There are many aspects of madra and a sacred artist will typically use only one or two of them, depending on the Path that they follow. Twice a year the elders of Sacred Valley test their children, starting as early as age six, using a bowl of pure madra, the material from which souls are made. If the madra clings to a child, that child has the soul of an enforcer and will become a warrior, if the madra retreats away from a child, that child will be a striker, if the madra rises then that child will be a ruler, and finally if it freezes, that child will be a forger. Lindon begs for the madra to freeze as he puts he his hand in the bowl, as wishes to follow the path of his mother and create wondrous items of pure madra. He places his hand in the bowl and nothing happens.....Lindon is unsouled.

The Catenan Republic is built upon the Hierarchy, a social structure where those at the top sap the Will of those below them to gain strength and live longer. In this pyramid structure which is eight levels deep, the Octavi are the lowest of the low, and of course, the most numerous. They receive Will from no one, yet cede half of their own Will to the Septimus above them, thus they are weaker and shorter lived. Each Septimus receives Will from eight Octavi and cedes half their own Will to the Sextus above them, who receives Will from seven Septimi, and so on up the Hierarchy. There are three primary pyramids in this society: Religion, Military, and Governance and they are all vying for power. This society has become so strong that they have conquered everyone around them. But like most empires, when there is no external threat to focus on, in fighting becomes the norm. Then there is Vis, born to ruling family of Suus, the last society to fall to the might of the Hierarchy. Vis has kept his identity hidden and vowed to never cede his Will to those who killed his family, but soon he will be the age where he must. Can the vengeance of one young man topple an empire?

Mira's parents wish she'd get a real job, but she's living the dream with her cat Kline in a small house that she has surrounded with poisonous plants after getting her degree in botany. Then the System arrives and everyone is whisked away to a world that has more magic than technology. A System entity known as the Oracle explains the basics and asks about the kind of life Mira wants. Does she want to be a badass adventurer, perhaps a combat mage pursuing godhood, or would she prefer a safer life as a normal civilian? All Mira wants to do is work with plants,so she could be a farmer, but that sounds boring. Irritated with the whole situation she declares that what she wants to be is a botanist. That's not a standard class so she is automatically classed with those struggling for power and not afraid of violence, and furthermore, since she doesn't like people, she wants to be dropped into a forest far away from everyone else. The Oracle does try to talk her out of it because the available area matching that description is a deadly forest full of poisonous plants and higher level animals that can only be accessed once a year. Luckily for Mira, the System sends all pets with their owners as they start their new life!

A few years ago, gigantic circular portals opened up across the Earth and for the first few months they did nothing. Then suddenly they released hordes of monsters and millions died. Since that time we've learned that the portals lead to world fragments with a core that can be destroyed before the monsters reach critical mass and invade Earth. We've also learned that these fragments are rich in valuable minerals and plants, which is a huge help in fighting the monsters, but our best weapons are actually the few humans who have developed Talents. Talents are superpowers that can grow more powerful with use or even gain additional skills. Some can summon an invulnerable shield once a day, manipulate lightning, or move with amazing speed and make up strike teams to destroy the cores. Other Talents aren't combat related, but might be even more valuable, like Adaline's ability to evaluate the importance of what she sees, which allows teams to extract rare minerals and plants. For ten years she has risked her life in the Breaches, but today is her unlucky day. Alone and wounded, she still tries to help a dying humanoid who passes on an unusual inheritance.

Up until now, each book of the Street Rats of Aramoor series has focused on different tribe of kids, and the time has come focus on Ayrion's own tribe, Avalanche. Yes, technically Ayrion started in a different tribe that has already had a book, but let's not quibble right off the bat. This is the finale of the series and Michael Wisehart uses it to bring back some key characters from prior books into one final adventure before Ayrion moves on to become the Guardian Protector of the King. Like a meal full of comfort food in front of a warm fire, this book seems to have everything a fan of the series would want in a finale, but how is the story itself?