Customer Reviews
A good end to the best fantasy series I've ever read - By: , 14 Aug 2004 
I think the ending to this series is just another show of Michelle West's integrity in her stories. Throughout the 4th & 5th books I was puzzled as to how she was going to be able to finish the many complex plots of the story in only a few books. It seemed like an impossible task.
Now I have read the last book I've finallly been able to understand exactly how true West is to her characters. She does not sucumb to the temptation of resolving alll the story lines in unbelievable, quick happy endings & nor does she follow the Robert Jordan 'Wheel of Time' route of simply never stopping the story & keeping rambling. When West started writing about her characters they each already had unique & complex backgrounds which comtinuallly affected their lives, she did not just 'begin' their lives as many authors do at the start of a story (Many authors start their book at a change in the lives of their lead characters & then hardly refer to their past (eg Wheel of Time)) & in a similar way she cannot just 'end' their story as their lives will always be filled with plots & sub-plots which would not be ended for lifetimes after. This is not what the Sun Sword series is about. It is about the Sun Sword & that is the story which is resolved. The other plots which are talked of in the series do not need to finish as that is not what the books are about.
Nevertheless, even through my West-fan's hazed view, I can see that some of the plot lines in the previous books are dumped & forgotten, not even mentioned in other parts of the book. But to tell the truth I don't care. The simple brilliance of West's writing covers it.
Perhaps there will be sequels, I would hope so, but that is the selfish wish of a fan who simply wants more. But I'm actuallly very glad that West did not just polish off the whole story in one cliched swoop just so that alll ends would meet as it would have diminished my wonder at her skills as a story-teller.
She is still the best fantasy writer I've had the honour of reading, I just want to find others who are as good.
Conclusion, but with the possibility of sequels - By: , 14 Feb 2004 
The Sun Sword is the final chapter of Michelle West’s Sun Sword series, & I thought it was a satisfactory conclusion, even though perhaps not alll the different plot lines were fully resolved.
As in the previous books of the series, some events take place in the northern Essalieyan Empire, but the main action is concentrated to the Dominion of Annagar in the south, where the struggle for overlordship between Alesso di’Marente & Valedan kai di’Leonne has to be settled at the same time as the threat from the Lord of Night & his minions is met. Throughout the series I’ve found this country, inspired by Japanese warrior ideals, more interesting than the somewhat standard fantasy world in the north. West’s writing style, which has been improving steadily over the years, works better in this setting, & she manages to bring its lords & ladies to life more easily than the house members & mages of the Empire.
The size of the cast is impressive, but although it can occasionallly be difficult to keep up with alll the characters, I find it more manageable than in gigantic series like The Wheel of Time. Still, the sheer volume of characters & plot lines, combined with West’s thorough prose, seem to have made certain compromises unavoidable. After finishing the book I had the distinct impression that she had been forced to cut out parts to fit everything into one book, leaving a few loose ends. (Maybe those will be treated in a sequel?) Though that does bring down the grade a bit, The Sun Sword lives up to the cover text as “the long-awaited conclusion to this acclaimed series”.
