Soulstar

The final book in the Kingston Cycle (beginning with Witchmark, 2018) is a signature blend of Polk's masterful world building, compelling characterization, and riveting plot. The storms of Aeland have been averted and the new king has made witchcraft legal, which means Deathsinger Robin Thorpe can freely join her comrades Miles and Grace Hensley as the country begins a new era. Robin's first order of business is to liberate her spouse, Zelind, imprisoned for twenty years in an asylum with other witches. What one might expect to be a loving and delightful reunion gets cut short: Robin is pulled into political intrigue and mysterious murders, while Zelind takes on conniving relatives and the challenge of rebooting Aeland's energy grid without witch torture. With a realistic portrayal of a relationship after trauma, Polk again tightly braids the strands of the personal and the political in a fantasy world few will want to leave. As Robin and Zelind discover, real revolution is when the people stick together--and, occasionally, turning bureaucracy against itself as an effective response to tyranny. A satisfying conclusion to a splendid series.

In Aeland, those blessed with magic once practiced it in secret lest they be sent to an insane asylum. But now they are being freed, and Robin Thorpe can emerge from the shadows in search of a better life while recalling a beloved long lost behind asylum walls. Wrapping up the "Kingston Cycle," begun with the World Fantasy Award-winning Witchmark; with a 50,000-copy first printing.