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*Elegy for a Lost Star* sets the stage for a major turning point in the Symphony of Ages series. The dragon Anwyn--who has lain for three years in deathlike sleep in a grave of rock and black coal is freed by the cataclysm that concluded REQUIEM FOR THE SUN. sisoriented and confused, she remembers only two things-the person who trapped her in dragon form and locked her in the grave-Rhapsody-and an all-encompassing desire to wreak vengeance. Meanwhile, Achmed, the Firbolg king, resumes rebuilding the his shattered home, while a guild of merciless assassins set about taking revenge on him for the killing of their leader. A horribly deformed but magical being finds its way through a carnival of freaks to the palace of an evil despot, who sees in it the potential to be the instrument by which his plans of conquest and brutal domination of a continent will be realized. With the rise of new leaders, good and evil, the long-awaited birth of the Child of Time, the dark plans of assassins and rulers, a confrontation that shakes the relationship of the Three, and a battle to the death between two dragons of unimaginable elemental power, the seeds of chaos are planted for a war that will, by its end, consume half of the world. ### From Publishers Weekly Unlike most middle books of fantasy trilogies, Haydon's dazzling second volume of the second trio of her bestselling Symphony of the Ages series (*Rhapsody: Child of Blood*, etc.) inspires and thrills all on its own. The story focuses on the beautiful Rhapsody and her half-dragon husband, Ashe, in what seems to be the calm following the storm of *Requiem for the Sun *(2003). Their ward Gwydion comes of age with merry ceremony, their friends Achmed and Grunthor continue to rebuild the kingdom of Ylorc, and Rhapsody's pregnancy progresses as well as can be expected given her child's odd heritage. But others are also coming into power, including Anwyn, a malevolent seer, and Talquist, the depraved emperor of Sorbold. The ominous rumble of their scheming intensifies in a crescendo of fear and tragedy that leaves the reader breathless and not a little teary-eyed. Those who eagerly anticipated this volume will be even more desperate for the next, and if the author's stunning rate of improvement is anything to go by, it will be well worth the wait. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From Booklist A compelling fifth book continues the richly detailed, complex Symphony of Ages saga, begun in *Rhapsody: Child of Blood* (1999), by taking up where *Requiem for the Sun* (2002) left off to relate events presaging a devastating war. The dragon Anwyn, thought dead for three years, arouses, bent on destruction and the death of Rhapsody, who had so sorely wounded her. A rift develops between Achmed and Rhapsody. Sixteen-year-old orphan Gwydion Navarne, ward of Rhapsody and her draconic husband, Ashe, is invested as duke in his father's place. Talquist, a despotic emperor presumptive, brings to life a gigantic earthen statue that has its own reasons for creating mayhem and murder. And Rhapsody, under the care of the dragon Elnsynos, Ashe's grandmother, gives birth to a son. The forces on each side assemble for the portended debacle. Haydon masterfully maintains characters, the world they inhabit, and the flux of epic adventure and turmoil to make this book worthy of the series and leave readers yearning for the rest of the story. *Sally Estes* *Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*