Arrow of Lightning (Killer of Enemies #3)

July 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-One year after Lozen escaped The Haven, her life has changed dramatically. No longer under the tyrannical rule of The Ones, she has created a community in Valley Where First Light Paints the Cliffs with her band of family and friends. But Lozen is still Killer of Enemies, and while the "gemod" creatures in the surrounding desert are easily dispatched, powerful adversaries from her past refuse to leave her in peace. It will take the full extent of Lozen's abilities, including those she is only beginning to understand, to bring down The Haven and liberate those held captive within. As in the previous volumes, Lozen's strong relationships and deep-rooted Apache heritage form the emotional heart of the story. The action-packed plot moves swiftly from one battle to the next while still allowing plenty of space for readers to ponder complex questions of life, death, and duty along with Lozen. Indeed, it is the heroine's thoughtful consideration of her place in the world and the consequences of her decisions that sets her apart from so many other literary teenage assassins. The ending is surprisingly quiet, powerful, and hopeful, even as Bruchac makes it clear that the future for Lozen and her community is far from certain or easy. VERDICT A thrilling final chapter for a memorable teen heroine and a satisfying conclusion to a refreshingly original dystopian trilogy.-Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2017
In the series' third volume, Lozen--now healed of her deadly sickness--vows not to take another human life even as dangerous enemies stalk the residents and refugees of Valley Where First Light Paints the Cliffs, who depend on her to keep them safe. As she turns from killing, Lozen discovers she can gather great power in her hands and direct it as needed when, through her growing ability to communicate mind to mind, she perceives deadly enemies bent on her community's destruction. One of Haven's four overlords is dead and the Dreamer has become an ally, but the Jester and Lady Time retain formidable powers and an implacable hatred for their former servants, Lozen especially. And Luther Little Wound--a cruel, solitary killer--survives, a fearsome enemy. Lozen draws strength from her life partner, Hussein; from the bibliophilic Dreamer; from the strange creature Hally; and from the land itself, home of her Chiricahua ancestors, including the first Lozen. Their stories, her birthright, ground and sustain her, imparting valuable life lessons. Lozen's one of literature's rare female superheroes: a down-to-earth leader whose crushing burden of responsibility is leavened by humility, humor, and a willingness to ask for help and accept advice. Her multidimensional journey has evolved with the series. If the bleak world Lozen's people and their allies have inherited is deeply scarred, this gripping saga suggests that where change is possible, hope for the future remains. (Science fiction. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2017
In this final volume of the trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic American Southwest, Lozen (Killer of Enemies, rev. 1/14) fights to protect the little free settlement she's established for her family and the refugees from the prison stronghold of Haven, among whom is Hussein, the musician who holds her heart. But the powers Lozen inherited from her Chiricahua ancestors allow her to know that the hired assassin who nearly killed her in the second book, Trail of the Dead (rev. 11/15), survived their last battle and is back on her trail; and that furthermore, the remaining sadistic and megalomaniacal rulers of Haven are in a competition over who will succeed in destroying Lozen's settlement. As in previous volumes, Lozen's decisions are informed by stories from her Native heritage, and Coyote himself and a few other supernatural actors take a hand in the events. His trickster energy (and Lozen's own self-deprecating inner monologue) keep the narrative playful and the boundary between sci-fi and folklore porous. Watching Lozen grow from a solitary hunter who killed genetically modified monsters into a hero to rival her Chiricahua ancestral namesake--but also a person who now has so much more to lose--will keep readers enthralled to the very end. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2017
In the post-apocalyptic trilogy's enthralling final volume, the powers Lozen inherited from her Chiricahua ancestors show her that an assassin is on her trail and that the remaining rulers of Haven plan to destroy her settlement. As before, Lozen's decisions are informed by stories from her Native heritage; appearances by Coyote himself and other supernatural actors keep the boundary between sci-fi and folklore porous.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)