CYCLE C  |  Book 4 

Shame of Stars

PREVIEW | Shame of Stars

Shame of Stars is the final novel in Charles Marriott's extraordinary series, Avernus Gate.  It features three strong characters: Araceli Donovan, Malory Ballantyne, and Kari LaMarca.  They're pursuing agendas that put them on a collision course.

Araceli is still dealing with a large gambling debt, but she now sees a way out of it.  If she succeeds, she'll be forced to betray Kari.  Malory is convinced that Araceli is presenting herself in a way that hides who she really is, and he is determined to learn the truth about her.  Kari is dealing with the tragic illness of her beloved teacher, Giorgio, while also trying to decide whether it is time to finally go after Deimos, the wraith-like figure who has been haunting her life for the past six years.

Before Kari can make any decisions, she learns something about Malory that shatters their relationship.  Araceli, meanwhile, learns something that will force her to break with Kari.  As the novel hurtles to its conclusion, three human beings suddenly find themselves in situations where they have to make choices about what is truly most important to them.

Superficially, Shame of Stars is a historical mystery paired with an account of how Kari came to be the unique person she is -- a young woman who might as well have been born centuries ago, in Roman North Africa.  More fundamentally, however, it is a love story, a story about a bond of friendship, and a story about honour.  It is a stellar conclusion to a series that will never be rivalled.