Exodus Rising

Exodus Rising
(Tales of Starlight #3)
Bryan Davis

Adrian Masters continues his relentless march toward the bitterly cold Northlands of Starlight. Ravaged by a deadly disease and accompanied by two children, Adrian carries Marcelle in a vegetative state, hoping Alaph, king of the Northlands, will supply
a way to reunite her near-death body with her wandering spirit.

Time is of the essence. Invading soldiers from Major Four are marching toward the Southlands village to do battle against the dragon slave masters, but two great dangers await—the inescapable disease and the unpredictable Benefile, ageless and mysterious white dragons who will kill any infected humans.

All the while, Drexel, the murderer of Marcelle’s mother, has taken on an impervious disguise as a male Starlighter and is using hypnotic powers to gain control of Mesolantrum with his sights set on the entire kingdom. Adrian and Marcelle must battle to free the slav es on one world and protect their own world from Drexel’s malevolent plan or else the freed slaves will return to Major Four only to find another slave master. Performing both tasks seems impossible.

Hope remains in the guise of the little Starlighter Regina. Guided by Cassabrie, Starlight’s great liberator, Regina hopes to accompany Adrian step by step to thwart the plans of slave masters on both worlds.

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My Review

I loved this book! It was definitely an amazing ending to an amazing series!

There were so many things going on throughout the book. Eradicating the disease, reuniting Marcelle's spirit with her body, Adrian and Marcelle's engagement, a crafty new starlighter determined to take over Mesolantrum and the entire country, and so much more. And these are only things I knew were going to happen since I read the first two books! But I will leave the hows to you to find out.

I loved how everything worked together. This book builds on what happened in the previous books, making it much more exciting, romantic, and dangerous.

The spiritual elements were very good. Marcelle and Adrian both learn much more about trusting the Creator and leaning on Him, not themselves, for their strength, even when it didn't make sense. Also, the villains faced the consequences for their actions, unlike in many books and movies in which liars and thieves succeed and are helped on by their friends, even as the heroes. And yet, mercy triumphed as well for those who were willing to receive it. God gives mercy and justice, a theme that is woven throughout the series.

The only thing I didn't like had to do with Jason, Adrian's brother. Jason is the hero in a teen series of books called Dragons of Starlight set in the same story world. His story fills in all the holes and jagged edges in this series. Anyway, I didn't like that Jason, the mature-ish hero in his own story, is nearly killed as soon as he goes back to his own world! You would think he'd be smarter than that or something, considering all he's just lived through on Starlight! Grr, it was frustrating. Other than that, I have no complaints.

Things you should know:   Spoiler alert!

There is much violence, but it is not gruesome. There are disembodied spirits, kind of like ghosts. One villain has a pocket full of fingers that he cut from the body of the woman he murdered. The characters kiss, and sex is implied, but not done by the characters.