“He wriggled his arm to see the bracelet, true and clear on his wrist. Somewhere stored in his heart, were all the bright days he had ever known, all the love ever shown to him, all the joy he had ever felt. It was all there, still inside him. And he knew that somewhere in and beyond the beating of his own heart was the Heart that broke with love for Mistmantle, and was beating still, and always would.”

This achingly beautiful book is our favorite of all five. It is a war story. It is an adventure. It is one act of love after another. It is a hero’s tale. But, wonderfully, there are many heroes. This book is like the Battle for Helm’s Deep. If you know and love these books, and if you know and love The Lord of the Rings, that is really all that you need to know. It is Helm’s Deep. Fantastically.