Description:

For those who thrill to the adventure and wonder of The Anteros, here is the book where all the secrets from KINGDOMS OF THE NIGHT are finally, dazzlingly, revealed.  For new initiates, this tale stands alone, entry to a world of intrigue, high drama, derring-do . . . and, most of all, magic!

All of Orissa believed that Rali Emilie Antero, legendary warrior and sorceress extraordinaire, was dead, lost at sea during some grand adventure gone wrong. In fact, Rali was not dead, but left entombed in ice to dream for eternity--until a goddess needed her for one last quest . . .

Novari, a beautiful succubus intent on achieving ultimate power, had swept the world by storm.  All the Anteros had been assassinated--save one : a golden, magical child named Emilie.  Novari had succeeded in taking Orissa.  Now she had only to sieze little Emilie, as well.

She never counted on the return of Rali Antero . . .

From Publishers Weekly

Solo writing proves no problem for Cole, who, in this wrap-up to the fantasy Anteros series (Kingdoms of the Night, etc.), loses longtime coauthor Chris Bunch but turns in a rousing yarn nonetheless. Narrator Rali Emilie Antero, the warrior of the title, sorceress and reluctant tool of the goddess Maranonia, falls into the hands of Novari, the Lyre Bird, a changeling whose "primary form" is a beautiful woman and who was created through the sacrifice of thousands of virgins to be a prince's sexual slave. Escaped and become a powerful sorceress, Novari has set out to avenge herself against the world. When Rali rejects Novari's offer to become her consort, the warrior is imprisoned in the mines of Koronos, minus an eye and hand and most of her memory. With the aid of a fellow prisoner, Zalia, Rali regains her powers and apparently destroys Novari and her source of power. But during the struggle, Zalia, who is revealed as the queen Salimar and who becomes Rali's lover, is gravely injured. Maranonia offers Rali and Salimar surcease in an endless sleep of beautiful dreams. Fifty years later, however, Maranonia awakens Rali to fight the Lyre Bird resurgent, who now poses a threat even greater than before. Cole's vivid, densely crafted world, peopled with well-drawn inhabitants of all classes, rings true. Fans of this series may be sad to see it end, but they'll be happy that it does so in mighty high style. (Apr.) Notes
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Without the help of Chris Bunch, Cole concludes the pair's Anteros saga. Long since returned to Orissa, Rali, sorceress-soldier protagonist of The Warrior's Tale (1994), finds life boring and, in the end, cannot stay out of fights, one of which leaves her entombed in ice for quite a while. When she thaws out, she discovers that the last of the Anteros clan is beset by dangers both human and magical. She must gird on swords and spells to save her kin. This book does not stand on its own as well as its predecessors, but it has the same virtues--a compelling protagonist, brisk pacing, superb action scenes, and well above average world-building. Cole seems as comfortable writing intelligent action fiction on his own as when collaborating with Bunch. Roland Green