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  • The Sixth Strand

  • A Pattern of Shadow and Light, Book 5
  • Written by: Melissa McPhail
  • Narrated by: Nick Podehl
  • Length: 36 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (112 ratings)

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The Sixth Strand

Written by: Melissa McPhail
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's Summary

"The strands are as interwoven as the visible spectrum, yet upon closer inspection, one may be found to bind the rest." (Isabel van Gelderan, Epiphany's Prophet)

The First Lord's game has reached a critical apex. For the first time in millennia, the teams are equally matched. The field itself holds a kind of equilibrium. It is the task of Björn's Players to unbalance the field in their own favor in their great game to restore Balance to the Realms of Light. But with Malorin'athgul and now Warlocks returned to the realms, the game - and the stakes involved - has elevated to an entirely new order of magnitude, requiring Björn's Players to do the same.

In Illume Belliel…after millennia of exile, the Demon Lord has regained a foothold in the Realms of Light, thanks to his ally, Shailabhanáchtran. Shail is expecting Baelfeir to stay in the cityworld, but the Lord of all Warlocks doesn't need Shail's help to reclaim the realm of Alorin - or his permission.

In T'khendar…the last bastion between Chaos and the Realms of Light is being unmade. The Malorin'athgul Rinokh has been voraciously deconstructing the realm's fabric, and without the drachwyr to counter his efforts, the world is coming undone. Björn and Isabel val Gelderan and their allies are doing all they can, but will their efforts be enough to withstand the onslaught until the Balance can shift?

In Shadow…Ean val Lorian has finally recovered his memories from his life as Arion Tavestra, but what may prove even more lifechanging is his new binding to Darshanvenkhátraman. If Ean can learn to wield deyjiin through Darshan's binding - an ability Arion never even envisioned - might it shift the entire balance of the game?

In M'Nador…Trell val Lorian succeeded in rescuing his father's soldiers from the fortress of Khor Taran, but he also learned at last what the Goddess Naiadithine requires of him in return for her many graces: ending the war between M'Nador and the Akkad. But what chance has he of ending a feud that's been raging for decades when he can't even convince his own commanders to get along?

From the dimension of Shadow to the realm of T'khendar, from the Empire of Agasan to the fire deserts of Avatar, Ean, Tanis, Trell, Sebastian and the rest of Bjorn's Players will be holding their positions against immortal enemies in a game where mortal consequences hang in the balance of every choice.

Melissa McPhail's epic fantasy series A Pattern of Shadow & Light has won a collective nine awards for outstanding fantasy and (even more importantly to the author) the devotion of thousands of listeners and readers.

©2019 Melissa McPhail (P)2019 Podium Publishing
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<3

Loved it so much and i want another book to read forever and ever again.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

OK book hope it leads to a better ending

Kind of a weak book compare to the previous ones. Too many characters split across too many chapter. It can take over 45 minutes until you get back to one specifics character. It get worst after the second part since a lot of the chapters end in a cliffhanger. Some characters are literally useless in this book, they simply add nothing to the story(looking at you queen what's your name) .

Still recommend it, the story and characters are still interesting even with the previous flaw. Nick podelh is once again incredible.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not Over Yet?

I was hoping this would be the last of this series, but sadly it isn't. Although it is the last one for me because I don't think I can struggle through another one.
Filled with long unnecessary character development scenes for characters already developed. Loving descriptions of the beauty of teenage boys (a little creepy) and same sex relationships that only seem to involve men had me wondering if this was fan fiction or a Harlequin romance. In fact there are very few female characters in this book at all and the ones present have no depth at all.
Too much of the book is taken up by material that does not advance the plot in any way. The timeline is so scrambled that I often lost track of it completely. It seemed like the chapters had been written separately and then pieced together randomly.
The story could have been concluded in this volume with a bit of ruthless editing. I remember the previous volumes being better than this, but maybe I should listen to them again. There is an intriguing story in there and an interesting reality, but it isn't well served in this volume. Let me know when Brandon Sanderson comes in to finish it up because I think the author has lost control of her creation.

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