Format: Paperback, 512 pages
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Mira Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Epic
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?
Private
Kaylin Neya thought her home couldn’t possibly get more crowded. But
when one of her housemates, Annarion, decides to undertake the Barrani
Test of Name, his friends refuse to let him face his task alone—and
Kaylin’s sentient home, Helen, is the only structure capable of
shielding the rest of Elantra from the magnitude of their power.
Annarion
and Mandoran almost caused the destruction of the High Halls once
already. Add nine of their closest friends, and the danger is
astronomically higher—especially since these guests are at the heart of a
political firestorm. Imprisoned almost a millennium ago, their recent
freedom threatens the rulership of several prominent Barrani families,
and the machinations of those Lords make it almost impossible to tell
friend from foe.
As political tensions ramp up, the shadows
beneath the High Halls are seeking a freedom that has never been
possible before. Kaylin must find a way to keep those shadows from
escaping, or that freedom will destroy her city, the empire and
everything she holds dear.
Cast in Deception is the Thirteenth installment in author Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series. Elantra is populated not just by humans, but also by Leontines, Aerians, Thallani and Barrani and ruled by Dragons. Kaylin Neya is a private in the Hall of Justice’s Hawks. Call her a beat cop if you like. She's been called Chosen because of the marks on her body which glow when she's around magic. Kaylin's uncanny ability to find disaster has become legendary. Kaylin also has a dragon like familiar she calls Hope.
Of course, she still hasn't found a way to speak with Hope, unless hope grows bigger. Kaylin currently lives with the only female Dragon in existence (Lord Bellusdeo) as well as two Barrani Annarion and Mandoran. Annarion has created a major issue by demanding that he be allowed to take the Name test which Kaylin somehow managed to survive. Annarion's choice pushes his Cohort into traveling to Elantra so they can face the test together.
The story mainly focuses on the cohort of young people who were sent, millennia ago, to take part in a ceremony that would give them great power or kill them. They were supposed to be weapons against the Dragons who they were at war with. They didn't die but they didn't return either. Until Kaylin brought them home which caused some tremors among the Barrani High Court which is still reverberating. Kaylin's friend and fellow Hawk, Teela, was the only one who made it home.
Teela's fellow cohort members Annarion and Mandoran have taken refuge in Kaylin's home (Helen) because their time away changed them greatly. Trouble rises it's ugly head when Annarion decides to undertake the Barrani Test of Name against his brother Nightshade's advice. His fellow cohort members refuse to let him face his task alone—and Kaylin’s sentient home, Helen, is the only structure capable of shielding the rest of Elantra from the magnitude of their power.
If this happens, it will greatly disrupt the political landscape of the Barrani since at least three of them are the rightful heirs to their family holding, including Annarion. But before they cohort could even arrive, something diverts them and they are lost along. This is only the tip of things to come. Teela and her partner Tain are attacked by other Barrani, an unknown Barrani seems to be stirring up anger against Teela, and just when things were calming down, the Water elemental sends Kaylin and Bellusdeo into the heart of the Barrani.
Things are exceptionally dangerous because Bellusdeo is a dragon in the heart of the people who went to war with Dragons of this world. As usual, Kaylin has a way of doing things that might grate on your nerves, but I sincerely hope she doesn't change, except for learning to speak with Hope. Kaylin has a tendency of naming objects, and in this case, she calls a shadowy recording device Spike. She also receives a mysterious box which hasn't been explained.
Yet. Kaylin frequently knows things that she shouldn't know while being ignorant of things that appear to be common knowledge. Kaylin has become more than a reckless healer, blunt detective and mascot. She's found a place she can call home. She has a family of mismatched individuals who are all capable of squashing her into paste but even though she sometimes gets on their nerves, they tend to don't because they're her family. She's even made piece with Severn who left her behind to become a Wolf of Elantra.
Many
of the immediate events and crises that take place in “Deception” are
resolved, but other issues that arise in this book are left to be
resolved in future ones, and some of them are major. I will, hopefully, get caught up on reading this series in the next month.
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