Book Log 2013 #24: The Given Sacrifice by S. M. Stirling

The latest book in the Emberverse series sees the High Kingdom of Montival putting the Church Universal and Triumphant on the run, making the deliberate slog to their capital city in Montana. This would usually involve detailed descriptions of troop movements, battles, etc, but in this case things wrap up pretty quickly with the apparent destruction of the CUT. There's not much focus beyond the core second-generation characters, and even then some of them show up briefly.

The last third of the book covers the journey to adulthood of Orlaith Mackenzie, the crown princess of Montival. We see snippets of her life in a peaceful kingdom, and its expansion into the Bay Area, where peace is shattered when sea-borne raiders (an apparent mix of Haida and Japanese, with one surprise guest) appear on the scene. The titular sacrifice end the book, and while it's expected I wasn't thrilled with the randomness of it. Even if that was a more likely way for it to happen.

There's nothing inherently problematic with the book, but it did feel like it was written specifically to make a break between all of the previous books and the coming series where Orlaith is in charge. Keep your expectations in check.