Spy Glass – Maria V Snyder

Release date: 1 September 2010
Rating: ★★★★★★★★ – 8/10
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Spy Glass (Glass series #3; Chronicles of Ixia #6) blurb:

Opal Cowan had been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her friends and rid the world of blood magic.  Though she survives, she is forever changed…

Opal has lost her powers.  More than that, she is now immune to magic.  She is an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that made a difference to the world and were her whole world.

Until spying through the glass becomes Opal’s new power.  Suddenly, the beautiful sculptures she makes begin to flash in the presence of magic.  And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood and that finding it might let her regain her powers.  Or learn if she’s lost them forever…

The conclusion to Opal’s adventures is pretty exciting, and there is a real finality to her story at the end.  Not in a ‘everyone dies’ way, but in a ‘and they all lived reasonably happy after’ way.  Which is good – don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the other way too as evidenced in Eleanor and Park, but this is fitting after a trilogy.

Spy Glass starts with Opal devastated by losing her magic at the end of Sea Glass.  And quite rightly so.  Opal identified herself by her magic throughout these books, including in Fire Study – Opal Cowan, Glass Magician.  To be without this title, and identity, anymore must be terrifying.

However, Opal has learned not to wallow in her self-pity and soon finds herself in her next death defying adventure: looking for the rest of her blood, as siphoned by Tricky in the previous story.

Here enters Valek – a reliable, handy-to-know, and keen-to-teach spy.  Just what the doctor ordered.  Opal spends much time planning her upcoming heist with Valek and then, of course, things don’t go quite as planned.

Valek, Devlen, Janco, Nic, Eve and Kade all have starring roles to play once more, as do Tama and Faith Moon (the Councillor and her First Advisor) with much of the story played out in Fulgor.  Then into the Cloud Mist clan’s lands, a trip across the Daviian Plateau and ending up back with the mysterious Bloodrose clan from Storm Glass.

Once and for all, we see the end of the love triangle that was a diamond, and Opal decides her new fate (and I, for one, am so happy with her choice).  We see families expand and grow, and not just with Leif and Mara’s wedding.

As I mentioned above, there is a finality to the Glass series, but this is more in line to the events directly associated with Opal.  There is the slightest opening available for extended parts in the larger Chronicles of Ixia / Study series books, but at this point we will have to wait and see if anything will occur with this.

A great story, and I am looking forward to seeing if Opal has a cross over in the next trilogy.