In 2443, Earth has undergone three global catastrophes, leaving its skies polluted, its cities destroyed and mankind nearly extinct. The largest group of survivors live on the largest continent in the southern hemisphere. This is where Torrin Kerridon, the last of the Sol warriors, has come to find the prophesied wielder of The Sun Sword - The One Who Burns. Torrin must find this man, train him and then retrieve the Sun Sword before The False Fire can get to it first and destroy mankind for all-time. Only The One Who Burns, Sun Sword in hand, can draw upon the power of the suns to destroy the surviving dregs of mankind and begin life anew.

Torrin never suspected that the The One Who Burns would turn out to be a woman. And a little bit of a thing at that. Kala Rei might be small, but she's a ball of pent up fury and rage. Until Torrin enters her life, promising not to violate her as other men have, she's never had much use for the animals who call themselves men. Kala isn't sure she believes all the outlandish tripe Torrin spouts about destiny, swords and saving mankind, but once she's on his ship and speeding away from Earth toward the unknown, she quickly learns to believe in his word and then in his absolute dedication to training her and keeping her safe. It isn't long before her heart gets in the way of her blade.

Even as he fights his desire for Kala, Torrin has his own doubts about her, a woman who can't remember anything about herself before puberty. Was this spitfire, with her lightning quick moves, really The One Who Burns? Or has he made a grievous error and trained the False Fire instead?

Although I expected to see more sci-fi elements in The Sun Sword, I found the premise surrounding the prophesy very intriguing. The plot's twists and turns really held my attention, and the main characters, particularly Torrin, tugged at my heart. Torrin is stalwart, proud and honorable. Kala is vulnerable, but stubborn and obviously used to doing things her way. And as for Ms. Couper's truly nasty villain, I wanted to kill the remorseless blackguard myself!

In the beginning, it doesn't appear that Torrin will ever loosen up enough to act on his feelings for Kala, even when she does everything but throw herself into his arms. The way he guards his feelings and holds strong to his pledge to her, you can understand her angst as the story progresses. Sometimes I just wanted to smack him upside his thick head! Frankly, it's a miracle these two star-crossed lovers ever get together at all. Do they get their happy-ever-after? Of course, but the surprise at the very end is so unexpected I failed to see it coming before it smacked me squarely in the puss. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean.

Reviewed by: Merrylee