Rating: 
Summary: A Joy to Read...
Review: "Requiem for the Sun" is Elizabeth Haydon's sequel to the best selling "Rhapsody" Trilogy. From the very beginning of the book she takes a tangled skein of plot threads, from the ancient past and the present, and weaves them into a richly colored and very satisfying novel.We begin three years after the almost cataclysmic conclusion of "Destiny: Child of the Sky." King Achmed and Sergeant-Major Grunthor are overseeing the Bolg restoration of Ylorc. A severe drought is crippling Yarim and their normal water supply has dried up. Only the monstrous Firbolg have the skill and the muscle to restore the water supply. But the nobles of Yarim aren't exactly happy to have the savages in their lands. The Lord and Lady Cymrian, Ashe and Rhapsody, decide it is time to have a child. To the south, the death of the Dowager Empress, and her heir, leaves Sorbold in chaos while they select a new leader. Meanwhile an ancient evil, bent on torture and destruction, looms just over the horizon. We learn even more about the characters we've come to know and love over the course of the "Rhapsody" trilogy and are introduced to other equally enjoyable characters never seen in the series until now. There are plenty Haydonesque plot twists and dialog quips. Readers will be delighted. It was a joy to read. "Requiem for the Sun" is another outstanding movement in Elizabeth Haydon's The Symphony of Ages.
Rating:
Summary: Glad to see it and.....
Review: "Destiny" ended the Trilogy very nicely, but now it is not a trilogy any more. On the one hand, I am glad to see another book from Elizabeth Haydon on the same saga- this book is still very good with interesting story and new developments. On the other hand, I am apprenhensive and I hope this series will not turn into another "Wheel of Time" or "Sword of Truth" never-ending filler series.
Rating:
Summary: strong sequel to the Rhapsody trilogy
Review: After all the battles, adventures and trials Rhapsody the singer, Achmed the Firbolg king, and Grunthor his Sergeant-Major have gone through, they are now at peace with themselves and the world around them. Achmed and Grunthor are rebuilding the once mighty civilization in the ruins of Ylorc. Rhapsody and her husband Ashe, who is part human and part dragon, are the titular rulers of the loosely federated Cymrian Alliance. None of them see trouble coming but it is out there waiting to ambush them. In a time long ago in a place that no longer exists, Rhapsody pledged her love to the seneschal Michael to prevent him from harming innocents. Now he has come back for her and has taken her against her will, leaving it up to her husband and her two friends to rescue her, if they can. This sequel to the Rhapsody trilogy is epic fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien and Terry Brooks. It also sets the stage for future works set in this fantasy world dealing with the Cymrian Alliance and the disintegration of the Sorbold Empire. REQUIEM FOR THE SUN is filled with romance, sword and sorcery battles, and political upheaval in a world that briefly knew peace. Elizabeth Haydon is a master storyteller who has cross-genre appeal. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome addition for fans of the original series
Review: Although Rhapsody, Ashe, and Achmed have brought peace to their world and defeated the terrible F'dor demon that threatened their entire planet, all is not well. Another demon, this one sharing the body and soul of Rhapsody's ancient enemy, Michael, remains free on the face of the planet--and his sick desire for Rhapsody remains strong even after the hundreds of years since he last saw her. With the help of his demon and of his sword of winds, Michael plans to make Rhapsody his once more--regardless of what her husband or friends or she herself have to say about it. And even Achmed's powers against the demon and Rhapsody's power over the wind may not be enough to stop him. Several subplots--involving the Sorbold Empire and Achmed's attempt to build a magical device complicate the story but do not appear especially well integrated--possibly author Elizabeth Haydon is setting up sequels. Even if so, these seemed to distract rather than add to the novel. Fans of the Rhapsody series will be overjoyed to see Rhapsody back, and to see that Haydon is wrapping up several prophesies that were not fully dealt with in the earlier trilogy. Although REQUIEM is not a formal part of the original trilogy, readers are unlikely to get full enjoyment from it without first reading the earlier novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Underdeveloped and unsatisfying
Review: Despite the quality of the Rhapsody trilogy, I feel that Haydon tried unsuccessfully to cram two novels worth of story into one. The ending was hurried and left me unsatisfied as cleverly intertwining plots and dangerous characters are not allowed to develop to their fullest. I also find the insatiably cruel rapist character offensive and far too common in the fantasy genre and the beautiful-kind-but too often a victim-Rhapsody slightly nauseating and boring despite her previous strengths. At the end of the book one feels that the characters remained static and that potential climaxes such as birth, revelation, and new friendships were not allowed to occur to the extent that they may. If there is another book to follow I expect it could tie up some loose ends but as a stand alone sequel found Requiem for the Sun most unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Gold!
Review: Haydon does not disappoint in this excellent sequel to the Rhapsody trilogy. All the great and fascinating characters are there, plus a few surprising ones from the past. This book is brilliantly paced and plotted, and reminds me very much of the Strunk & White writing primer dictum: "Make every word tell." There are some splendid twists to this story, and every one of them is foreshadowed if you read carefully enough. Of course, the wry humor (especially Grunthor's) was enough to make me laugh out loud in more than a few places, which coupled with the satisfying action and further character development, make this a book you simply can't put down. While this novel stands on its own, it is much richer if the reader has read the trilogy first. I was very pleased to note that Haydon left some threads on which to start her next novel in this series, which can't come soon enough for me! BRAVO!!
Rating:
Summary: Another great book
Review: I don't have flowery words for why I like this series. the characters are now like old friends to me and I look forward to seeing them each time a new Haydon book comes out. The action scenes are not dragged out, overdramatic or boring. As a Vietnam veteran I think Haydon has a better grip of fighting than many of the male authors out there writing so-called action. This book tore along, making it hard to put down. Further character development of some of my favorites, Sargeant Major Grunthor, Anborn and young Guydion made me even more eager to read whatever else this talent ed author writes.
Rating:
Summary: A magical series continues
Review: I eagerly awaited each of the later books in Elizabeth Haydon's trilogy after being totally capitivated by Rhapsody. She is one of the finest writers working in the genre today, and by far the best female epic fantisist out there. The loss I felt when the trilogy was over is now comforted by the knowledge that she intends to continue the series. Requiem for the Sun is a different sort of book than the Rhapsody trilogy. It is faster, funnier, more of a page turner and less of a historical opus. Instead, it has the benefit of more of the same great characters [Rhapsody, Achmed, Grunthor, Ashe and Anborn] with a more gripping, intense tale. Ms. Haydon upholds her reputation as an unparalleled wordsmith, proving she's got the right stuff for the long haul. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good - But Not As Good As the First Three
Review: I love, love, love the original series. I thought this book was very good overall - but I did not like the portrayal of Achmed (who is my favorite character). He came across as, well... not weak, exactly, but weaker than I expected him to be. Elizabeth - if you read this - please, keep Achmed the way he was!! No more allowing Ashe to berate him or almost drowning or being completely fooled by a murderer!!!
Rating:
Summary: Sad. There was so much potential.
Review: I really enjoyed the original Trilogy, and was excited to discover Ms Haydon had expanded upon it.
But, I ended up sighing through much of the book. I had grown to love the main characters in the first books -- I felt like I really knew them. In this book, I felt I was reading about strangers -- obnoxious ones, at that.
The first 100 pages felt like tiny glimpses into their lives. We're given no chance to reaquaint ourselves with them. We're not given a chance to understand them, to feel what they're feeling.
And, it introduced too many new characters and side stories too quickly. I found myself dizzy and confused. Do I know this character? Is it a new character? Do I care?
Overall, I felt it was a good story -- told badly.
I found a few of the plot devices to be too contrived. I was especially disturbed at the unlikely way Theopolis managed to get herself hired. She seemed to rely an an awful lot of big IFs. Way too much uncertainty for something so important to her. She could never have expected Achmed to do the things he did that allowed him to discover her. And, why would she risk it all as a petty grave robber? She would never have done that. Good grief.
And, Michael had too much power available to him through Faron. Not only is that potential out of balance (the ability to know whatever you want when ever you want is just too much -- too unbelievable), his use of it seemed rather amatuerish and ineffective.
Finally, while I normally don't care about a few typos, the sheer volume of them in this book was distracting.
I'll read the following ones because I do want to complete the story. I just wish the author told it as well as she did the original trilogy.
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