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The Ascendancy Veil (Book 3 of The Braided Path) by Chris Wooding
01/08/2005 . Source: Donna Jones 
pub: Gollancz. 374 page enlarged paperback. Price: £10.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-575-07446-9. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
The war against the Weavers is taking its toll on both sides. For every Weaver and aberrant-creature foot-soldier that falls in battle, a sister of the Red Order and men of the royal armies or the Libera Dramach find their final resting place, too. The Weavers have gotten their worst weapon yet in the feya-kori, but they have to regenerate their strength every time they fight and, for the moment, there are thankfully only two of them.
Lucia, the Aberrant Heir Empress and people appointed saviour, has to find means by which to take an advantage. One that seems to mean a sacrifice of her own. Mishani and Kaiku both believe that Lucia has given far too much to the aid of the people, that she needs to become more selfish in the light of finally finding her blood father, but ultimately the choice is down to Lucia.
Finding herself securely in the fold of the Red Order, Kaiku starts to question her part in all this. The fact that she made a promise to her family on their combined deaths and all the lives that have been lost because of the atrocity of war. Will she find out the truth about the Red Order too late or will she sacrifice the love of a man for the sake of Saramyr?
Finally, Asara has landed herself on the right arm of a Barak. Married to a man who worships the ground that Asara walks, she still has her hunger to succumb and a mysterious debt owed by the leader of the Sisterhood, Cailin.
All the paths are Braided, but only one outcome will be acceptable.
This is the last book in 'The Braided Path' Trilogy, eagerly awaited and highly acclaimed. I myself waited for this book with baited breath and I have to admit it never once fell short of my expectations.
The main characters that we have followed from that very first time we went to Saramyr have developed into deep, emotive individuals that you would virtually know if you met them in the street. Their personal objectives have shifted with each passing book, as naturally as if they were a family member writing a journal. Wooding's perfect rendition of these lives is really what his high quality writing is all about.
He took individuals that became enveloped into a fight for their freedom and their land, to people who are affected by what they have done and seen. They have found that just being a part of their future is not enough, they have to make decisions based on what they need from their own personal futures as much as anything else. That's when turbulent and often hard to make decisions often occur in life.
The battle scenes cannot be faulted. The descriptive style of building up what seems an inevitable scrum, adds new levels to what can seem like an element of fantasy that is long in the tooth. Thanks to sweeping panoramic landscapes that seem effortlessly described, these battles add to the overall quality of the story rather than detract.
The ending had to be found, but in those last few pages I had the feeling that Chris Wooding has no intention of leaving it there. I believe we've not seen the last of the Weave-whales or Asara. Not by a long shot.
Saramyr will live far longer in my imagination than any other fantasy that I have read for a long time and I'll again be reading all three, probably very soon. I have to say that I have never found his books dull or a chore to read and in a time when fantasy epics seem to be churned out with astounding regularity, that is indeed the highest praise I can give!
An epic orientally-spiced fantasy threesome that deserves far more attention! Wooding is under-exposed as a fantasy author. He should be up there with the greats.
Donna Jones
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