Morenia has fallen, its king has been driven to a distant land, and its people subjected to a religious regime. With the king are his trusted friends and advisors, the men and women who have supported Hal since the day he took the throne, including Rani Glasswright. The small company hides in neighboring Sarmonia, seeking allies in their struggle to return the rightful king to Morenia, but discover the Sarmonian king tied by politics and the mysterious Fellowship of Jair -- the same group that orchestrated Hal's fall from power, the death of a valued advisor's child, Rani's failure to pass her glasswright master test, and now seeks to destroy them all.
Rani continues to try to help her king, despite more losses and a tangle of misunderstanding. But Rani's efforts to help her king end when she is kidnapped by the Fellowship and returned to Morenia to stand trial for her betrayal of the order. Hal manages to get support from Sarmonia after showing their king how the Fellowship has infiltrated Sarmonia's government, and returns to Morenia to regain his throne while fighting his own mental demons. Using a clever engineer and a plan that will leave him with little but his own life should it fail, Hal challenges the well defended capital city with a force too small to have much chance of success. Little does he or anyone else know that Rani is already in the city and that she will be the one to turn the tide.
Impression: I enjoyed this one, probably more than the last two. There was more complexity as more players became involved and the politics became a bit more intricate. Character's were tested, not only in new ways, but with old challenges that had new twists. The ending was unexpected, but you could see how the author got to it not only in the current book, but through the series. The ending was satisfying, with all the loose ends tied up.
I find it interesting that the series was fairly complete without this last novel, while Master still adds to the series and finalizes what few threads were left in the last book. At the same time, this book could easily be read on its own, without the previous books in the series, and be almost as much enjoyed since events are clearly explained without being dumped into the novel. I think the earlier books were good starters for Klasky, but these last 2 in the series have shown her growth as an author. I recommend The Glasswrights' Master to any reader of fantasy, even if they haven't read the earlier books in the series.
