Deka is suffering from her many injuries and can no longer heal without her connection to the Mothers; whom she would rather kill now than accept anything from their hands.  The one Mother, Anok, who is still her supporter and unwilling to debase herself with the other Mothers, has instructed Deka to find her true mortal mother.  Deka is told that is the only way for her to regain her kelai, which will restore her missing divinity.  And the clock is ticking; only her kelai will keep her from her true death and is the only way she’ll have enough power to stand against the Mothers and the Idugu.  The Mothers also search for the kelai; they intend to use the power to end the war with their counterparts, the Idugu, and subjugate all mortals.  The Mothers and the Idugo both need mortals for sustenance.  And without Deka, there is no hope of defeating them and stopping the ultimate enslavement of all mortals on the planet.

Deka and several of her comrades travel to a remote island but before they can find Deka’s mother, they are attacked by one of the Mothers’ first-born.  And just when it seems that Deka will fail, they are rescued.  And the rescuers are so unexpected that they defy everything that Deka and her friends have ever been taught.  They are the Gods of the Unknown Lands; and there are a lot of them.

Unfortunately, for Deka and her comrades, all they’ve ever known of gods is that they are capricious and callous liars; making it rather challenging to accept anything from these new gods whether it be healing, comfort or knowledge.  And these new gods are very persuasive; healing the walking wounded, giving comfort, and informing them of a history that was kept from them by their own gods.  These new gods, the Maiwuri, really do want to help Deka who may be the only one who can defeat the gods who have forgotten who and what they are; who are blindly willing to sacrifice all life for their petty desires.  The Maiwuri fear that their own existence is at risk if the Mothers or the Idugo win their war.

After much running about, soul-searching, and romance, Deka and her friends finally find her kelai, which had been hidden by the Idugu.  But it is not unguarded and this final confrontation may be the one that ends them all.  Even if Deka can survive the encounter, she wonders if she’ll have the heart to endure losing all her friends; the only difference is whether they will die with her or simply leave her heart when she ascends into godhood.  And this is what frightens her the most: will she become a heartless god like the ones who used her or will she be the one who can finally unite every living creature and restore balance to the universe?

For a YA story, these books were hearty fare; much more complex than I expected.  The relationships between the characters were really the only sign that these were written for young adults.  The plot and action were first class and I would love to meet and talk with any young person who enjoyed these as much as I did; I would love their perspective.  I totally recommend this series.  And did I ever mention how awesome the cover art is for all three books?  Kudos to the artists; the covers are just gorgeous. ~~ Catherine Book

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