This is the fourth and final volume of The Sharing Knife series.

Lakewalkers use ancient magic to protect the populace from danger. Dag, joined in marriage with a farmer and defying their kin, has begun to bridge the split between the two groups. As Dag’s maker abilities have grown, his frustration with the Lakewalker disdain for the farmers has also grown. As the world is changing, the traditional practices cannot hold every malice at bay. Dag and Fawn must journey home to answer the question, as the old practices fail, can their new untried ways stand against the malices? Can their world survive if they don't?

There are always changes, perhaps not as earthshaking as those in the world of The Sharing Knife - and few are resolved so well. Bujold’s fully formed characters, flaws and all, become friends of the reader. You care about what happens. You can't help but love her work regardless of genre because of what both she and the reader invest. She is, indeed, a Master. Read, collect, enjoy, to reread again. ~~ Pam Allan