Rating: 
Summary: Good end to great series
Review: Rhapsody, Achmed, and Grunthor have all established themselves in the new world, but until the demon F'dor is destroyed, there can be no peace, no final victory, and no happy ending for Rhapsody's mostly unlucky romance with Ashe. To defeat the demon, they must first find him--and that is a good trick since the demon has taken over the body of a human and can fit perfectly into human society. Rhapsody must hunt down the cursed children born with a drop of demon blood--blood that will restore Achmed's ability to track anyone--the ability that made him the greatest assassin in the history of the lost world. F'dor is only one of Rhapsody's problems. The new continent the three comrads reached is torn by war between the members of the three fleets of refugees. After millions of deaths, hatred and mistrust linger on. Finally, Rhapsody herself learns that Ashe is already married and has lied to her. Although her political power may grow, she is emotionally crushed. Author Elizabeth Haydon delivers a powerfully emotional and compelling story. Rhapsody is just imperfect enough to make her suffering real and meaningful. She continues to grow as a character and as a political figure until she becomes the dominant character of this age of the world. Of the three novels in the RHAPSODY series, DESTINY is the weakest. Haydon's description of the arriving Cymrians at the great council repeated itself way too much and the romantic misunderstandings between Rhapsody and Ashe could have come out of an uninspired romance novel. That said, being the weakest in this powerful series doesn't keep DESTINY from being a fine and rewarding novel. Fans of the series will need to read DESTINY to find out how Haydon resolves both the external plot and the emotional entanglements she surrounded her characters with. Fantasy fans who have not yet discovered the RHAPSODY series are in for a treat. The three novels should be read in order and are not fully free-standing.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts from a minor league cynic.
Review: While I concede that it's been awhile since I read the last two books in the series, and that this has undoubtedly colored my perception of this book, I'm going to go ahead and write this anyway. When I read Rhapsody, I was irresistably drawn into its story and compelled to read it to the end as quickly as I could, even as I thought the characters to be disappointingly cliche and one dimensional. But I was so drawn to the story that I read the entire book and followed it up with Prophecy, which I felt flip-flopped the issues I took with the first book. Indeed, it spent so much time delving into the characters that it seemed to skim through seemingly important events. Finally, with Destiny, these two principles- character development and plot- were balanced out. Now, that said, I STILL can't give this book all five stars. As I mentioned earlier, maybe if I had reread the precursors, I would feel differently, but when I was done I was a little... disappointed. But just a little. This stems largely from the residual impressions the first book left, and that was one of disappointing characters. While they were much more filled out through the second and third novels, I still just didn't LIKE some of the protagonists- mainly Rhapsody and Ashe. Call me cynical, but I just prefer characters that are a little less perfect.
Rating: 
Summary: Haydon's masterpiece series
Review: I cannot calculate how many hours of pleasure these books have given me. I bought the first one, Rhapsody, in the hospital gift shop as I was on my way in for an extended and painful stay. It literally kept me sane, giving me a blessed escape to richly drawn lands through the best writing I've seen in the fantasy genre. When Prophecy came out, it was my present to myself marking the anniversary of my successful recovery. Now with Destiny, Elizabeth Hayden has capped the best fatnasy trilogy since Lord of the Rings. I will always be grateful to this marvelous author for her talent and her ability to lift me from pain into realms of unsurpassed magic. THANK YOU, MS. HAYDEN!!
Rating:
Summary: Action throughout, a fantastic ending to a classic trilogy
Review: It is so rare to find a fantasy series with an understanding that there is an ending to the story, even when you want it to go on forever. I confess to going though withdrawal for several weeks, and am desperately waiting for the next book in the series, Requeim for the sun. The characters Elizabeth Haydon has drawn ocer the course of these three books are like old friends to me now, and The world in which they live is so well depicted that it is almost like I am there when I am reading. In Destiny all the questions are answered, most often with great surprise and aplomb. Prophecies are fulfilled in ways you would never expect, the story is infused with magic without being a rote tale of wizardsa and spells. A previous reviewer commented about the romance. THere is very little of it in this book, and I find those comments perplexing but not surprising. Haydon has ruffled more than a few feathers with her willingness to just tell the story, not following the standard fantasy pablum format. If you are looking for that, you should try another series. This one is full of twists and turns, crafted by a talented and brave author who breaks rules and hearts in pursuit of excellence.
Rating: 
Summary: It was mindnumblingly horrible
Review: I cannot understand how this book is getting such rave reviews. Just because an author can form coherent sentences and write passable descriptions does not mean that the plot of the book makes sense or bears any resemblance (even in a fantasy world) to any type of reality. By this reality, i mean the absolute perfectionism of the main character. I understand that in most fantasy stories, the hero/heroine often seems omnipotent, but Rhapsody just stretches it a little too far. I can deal with Achmed's ability to kill and assassinate at will, and I love his sarcastic and quick comments, but to have someone who is beyond beauty, has men falling sideways and upsidedown for her, and is also the most powerful sorcerer/singer/whatever without any effort is beyond my patience. Not to mention Ashe is just as pathetic. The language of the sex scenes were also overdone, not to mention extremely reminiscent of Harlequin novels. The author also fails to develop the singing aspect of Rhapsody's talents, or at least Ms Haydon fails to explain how Rhapsody seems to suddenly have gained all these new powers. And the whole Meridion/time thing is absolutely horrible. I have no clue what happened, and I definitely didn't want to read the whole book again. But after going through 800 pages, and three books, you would think it would be only fair to make it somewhat understandable. In other words, spare yourself, please...and Amazon needs to have a 0 star option.
Rating:
Summary: A Milestone
Review: DESTINY: Child of the Sky is a milestone in fantasy, because it gives an ending tp a storyline in a series that is obviously so much more than the trilogy. For all that this may not seem on the surface the achievement that it is, try and think of some other examples of fantasy epics that in fact are able to conclurde a storyline. I can't, with the exception of Robin Hobb's FARSEER books, and while those are great, they can't touch the scope of these books. In Destiny the collision that has been building through all three books comes to a head. The Three do discover the identity of the Fdor, but what happens when they do is one of the most amazing plot twists I've ever read. There are so many layers here, with Haydon's vision proving to be clear through all of them, studies on the power of deception and self deception, of power, appearance, and a hard strong look at magic as is usually written. Haydon doesn't start from the premise that magic is just there; she explains where it comes from, and it makes plausible sense. I don't frankly understand people who have a need to sneer at books that, like them or not, one can't dispute the caliber of. You can say that you don't like the story, but anyone who says the characterization is not stellar or the prose is not some of the best in the genre is making it up. They don't know what they are talking about, and it is especially disingenous to dun a book, then feel forced to read the rest of the trilogy. When I read an horrible first book I don't bother with any more. So go figure; take those comments with a grain of salt. I loved it, I can't wait for the next book, and I hope that Elizabeth Haydon spends a lifetime telling the story of this marvelous and enchanted universe she has created, and the people who populate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing wrap-up to the trilogy.
Review: I must say that I read all three books, and this was the one I was most disappointed in. Not because of the writing, but because it fell so far short of what it could have been! I have to say that I went from being extremely negative on the first book, to really really liking the second book. I was so excited about the third book I actually went and bought it hardcover! So I was rather disappointed when I poured through the newest volume and found it nearly as lacking as the first book. Where was the beauty of the second? It felt like Haydon was so busy trying to wrap up all the dangling plot-lines that she had left out that the characters were rushed here and there, as they frantically run trying to keep the entire story from unravelling. When it wasn't confusing, there were a few good moments, but overall I felt the majority of it was just confusing. The ending was wonderfully huge and dramatic, as it should be in fantasy, of course! But it was so muddled and confusing that I had to re-read it several times to make sense of it and I'm still not 100% sure as to what happened. I still can't make heads or tails of the epilogue. With all the plot-lines Haydon had going in the Rhapsody trilogy, I felt she could have easily made another book out of it, and I was surprised when she wrapped everything up (almost too quickly) in Destiny. Everything was just too rushed.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I savored every word of this book, but I have finally finished Destiny, and it was wonderful. The ending was what I had hoped for, and yet I didn't want the story to end at all. I'm feeling a bit better now that I know Elizabeth Hayden is writing a sequel called Reqieum for the Sun. I am looking forward to seeing where Elizabeth takes us next. I can't recommend this book high enough. If only all fantasy were like this, amazing characters, high adventure, romance, and the writing is superb. Wow indeed!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: In "Destiny", Elizabeth Haydon wraps up her fantasy trilogy, consisting of "Rhapsody" and "Prophecy." One of the other writers has castigated it as being too romantic. I agree that the confusion between Ashe and Rhapsody is perhaps a bit contrived, and, frankly, I think Ashe is something of an idiot, at least in those scenes. However, the battle and confrontation scenes are excellent, however, as is the interaction between Achmed and Rhapsody in particular, and the plot twists are very interesting. I also like watching some of the bloom rub off of Rhapsody's ideals - she really comes into her own in this book. Very good book - I hope that Haydon writes some more in this universe!
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy as Harlequin Romance - 3-1/2 Stars. . .
Review: I found myself torn on how many stars I wanted to give this series. I felt that the plot and characters (with some trepidation, which I will explain later,) deserved at least four. And, with one exception, the writing was solid. That exception was that there were entirely too many words. That fact also brings me to my biggest gripe of how those words were used - to turn what could have been a modern fantasy classic into a Harlequin Romance. That really turned me off. For that, I wanted to go no more than 2 stars. I wish I could have given out 3-1/2 stars to rate the book as above average, but since I'm a nice guy (even though I'm not a fan of romance novels) I compromised at 4 instead of 3. What I'm trying to say is that I really enjoyed these books ("Rhapsody", "Prophecy" and "Destiny") but feel that there were potentially fatal flaws that I hope Elizabeth Haydon can remedy before she writes any more fantasy novels. Or, if that's not her nature, perhaps she can turn to romance novels exclusively - I'm sure she'll do it well. Ostensibly, this series was concerned with three characters - Achmed, Grunthor, and Rhapsody - and, at the beginning, it seemed that each would get equal billing. After all, the first book was alternately titled "Child of Blood" (i. e., Achmed) and the second "Child of Earth" (i., e., Grunthor). Then, while reading the second book, I realized that the "Child of the Sky", i.e., Rhapsody, was getting all the press. This was also when the series turned from pure fantasy to fantasy adulterated with romance and gratuitous sex. By way of explanation, I do not consider myself a prude - my favorite series' these days are George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" and Jack Whyte's "Camulod Chronicles". Anyone who's read those books or the reviews on Amazon knows that fantasy can be brutal, backstabbing, adult-themed, and good. It seemed to me that half of the second book of this series ("Prophecy") was dedicated to play-by-play accounts of Rhapsody and Ashe's trysts at Elysian and elsewhere. Was the writing titillating? Yes. Was it necessary to advance the plot? To a degree, yes. Was it incredibly overdone? YES. In book two, entire pages were spend describing the colors of Rhapsody and Ashe's eyes. In book three, Rhapsody and Achmed went from finding two of the F'dor-spawn to nine in the space of one sentence. Am I the only one that finds this extreme?? It's fairly obvious that Rhapsody and Ashe were Elizabeth Haydon's favorite characters and she lost all semblance of reality and practicality in making them larger than life itself as the story went on. Rhapsody was a truly amazing woman, but she lost all credibility when I realized that every decision she made was to ease more and more of the pain and suffering of the rest of the world and took it on herself. Nobody is that altruistic, plain and simple. Add to the fact that she was expert in everything she did and was skilled in every form of magic known in the world. Same with Ashe, though to a lesser degree. Give me a break. . .
I found myself reminded of Ayla in Jean Auel's "Earth Children" series. You remember Ayla, don't you? She invented fire, the wheel, mathematics, the sling as a hunting weapon, the domestication of animals, and nuclear fission - all before breakfast. This was the way Elizabeth Haydon painted Rhapsody. And, the sad thing is, I don't think it was intentional, but a labor of misguided love. OK, so Elizabeth Haydon is not the only one who uses too many words - I'm almost done. This truly is a good series, all in all. The intrigue involved with Achmed setting himself up as king of the Firbolg and the machinations of a certain holy man who's name I won't reveal for the sake of those who haven't read the last two books yet were very well done. The histories the Ms. Haydon created of the old world and the new were works of creative genius. I'm glad I read these books and will recommend them to anyone (with caveats, of course.) I feel that they could have been even better and the same story told in 1/3 to 1/2 of the pages. I apologize to any romance readers I might have offended and invite them to point me to any other romantic fantasy that they feel I should try. But, unless Elizabeth Haydon focuses more on the fantasy than on the romance, her books will not be filling my shelves.
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