Tor, 2010: ISBN 9781405039284

Since her first book, Awakening, came out in 2007, Lara Morgan has been very busy. As this trilogy draws to its conclusion, she has started a new project – a series for young adults, The Rosie Black Chronicles.

Betrayal is in many ways more assured than its predecessor, demonstrating that Morgan is settling into her craft. The trilogy, titled the Twins of Saranthium, tells the tale of how twins Shaan and Tallis are called upon to save their world from a god gone mad. At the end of book one, Shaan has been forced by the crazed Azoth to liberate the powerful Birthstone, which he needs if he is to dominate their world. We find that the Birthstone has left Shaan with very special healing skills. The twins know Azoth is not to be trusted, but can they put their faith in the four other gods who oppose him? It seems that on their world, the gods are indeed crazy.

To defeat Azoth, Shaan must take a devious route, one that appears to set her against the very people she is trying to help. Tallis, meantime, grows in strength as a warrior and a leader, and by the end of this book we see him as a potential saviour. His growth into power contrasts cleverly with Shaan’s apparent descent into confusion.

Once again we have wonderfully imagined scenery and beautiful renditions of the link between serpent and rider. The battle scenes are as good as any I’ve read, and I was left with a sense of anticipation, convinced that there is an almighty cataclysm coming in book three.

However, once again, also, there is a feeling of being lost in the middle of the book. There is quite a bit of journeying around to little effect, resulting in loss of tension. Even so, the final scenes lead the book to go out with a bang and I am really looking forward to book three.

You can read our review of Awakening here and there is a lovely trailer for Betrayal here. 

The Twins of Saranthium Book 3, Redemption, is in the pipeline, but in the meantime, the first book in The Rosie Black Chronicles, Genesis, will be published by Walker Books in September in Australia and New Zealand.

The  author now has a web site at http://www.lara-morgan.com/  or you can visit Lara Morgan on MSpace: www.myspace.com/laramorgan or view her blog at www.livejournal.com. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter