![The Hencha Queen Book Cover](https://paranormalromanceguild.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jscott.jpg)
Tharassas Cycle Book #3
Colonization, Science Ficton, LGBTQ Science Fiction
Water Dragon Publishing
March 14, 2024
Kindle
368
Amazon
Review By Ulysses Dietz
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
The third book in the Tharassas Cycle brings us right to the edge. Raven is the Dragoneater, his longtime friend Aik is the Gauntlet Runner, and in book 3, Aik’s ex and Raven’s reluctant mentor, Silya, steps into the fullness of her role as the Hencha Queen of Tharassas. All three of these characters, young people whose plans have been overtaken by events, have grown and matured and have come to see (or at least suspect) their greater roles in their planet’s destiny.
Then there’s Spin, the little shiny bit of past-futuristic technology, the ship brain from the last flight out of earth. His origin is revealed, adding a powerful new dimension to the part he might play in the unfolding drama. He and his three friends—because all of them get to know him, finally—find themselves on individual quests, the exact purposes of which are not clear to them.
Raven now has his new friends, both the verents and their riders, but he yearns to find Aik, who he now understands is his soulmate. Aik is pulled forward by the insidious presence of the gauntlet with which he bonded. He believes it is taking him to find Raven. Silya, trying to find Aik and her mother, Triya, realizes that her guard, Kerrick, is going to be more to her than just a protector. She knows that the future of Tharassas depends on her, but she is unsure what she must do.
And, while it’s not a cliffhanger, the final scene in the book makes you think “oh, no
Scott Coatsworth has created a richly painted world that is both beautiful and sinister, evoking landscapes that are as much science fiction as Tolkienian fantasy. There is as much emotion as action in the narrative as we watch the essential players for the final book gather. We, as readers, see more of the picture than anyone else, because we have met the Death-Bringer.
I have the fourth book ready to read. See you on the other side.