Prophecy: Child of Earth (Symphony of Ages, Book 2)
Three cheers for Elizabeth Haydon! One great book (Rhapsody: Child of Blood) might  be a fluke. But its sequel,Prophecy: Child of Earth, keeps right on  developing great characters in a believable fantasy world without sacrificing  the momentum of a terrific story. Best of all, Haydon promises to bring the  current adventure to a conclusion in the next book, so no need to fear TNS (the  never-ending saga).Prophecycontinues the stories of Rhapsody, the Namer who uses song,  herb-lore, and affinities with fire and starlight to heal and protect, and her  adoptive family: Achmed the Snake, an obnoxious former assassin and King of the  savage Firbolg race, and Grunthor, his huge, cheerfully cannibalistic sidekick.  Rhapsody travels in the company of the mysterious Ashe, who becomes much less  mysterious as the story progresses. She meets a dragon, trains with a Lirin  swordmistress who once carried Rhapsody's fiery sword, Daystar Clarion, and  races to prevent the assassination of the Patriarch of Sepulvarta. Meanwhile,  Achmed and Grunthor discover secrets of their mountain stronghold and learn more  of their own powers. Together they repel renewed attacks by the F'dor, a demon  seeking apocalyptic destruction. But they have not yet identified the demon's  host or disarmed all of its agents, and time is running out.Fans of epic fantasy will find Haydon a worthy successor toTolkien, ranking withRobin HobbandGuy Gavriel Kay.  Just don't start reading too late in the day--once you've begun, you won't want  to stop.--Nona Vero