Women reign supreme in British feminist scholar Miles's richly textured rendering of the tale of Tristan and Isolde. In this vibrant trilogy finale, Ireland's fiery-haired Queen Isolde longs to end her loveless marriage to Mark, King of Cornwall, whom she wed only to save her beloved homeland from war. Isolde's true soul mate is Mark's noble nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse. (For readers rusty on Arthurian legend, the pair's romantic fate was sealed with a potion.) When Isolde learns that the Western Isle will soon be under siege by the savage Picts-so named for their colorful face and body tattoos-she sails home to confront their charismatic leader, King Darath, who plans to take the comely queen as his bride. Meanwhile, Tristan is torn between his love for Isolde and duty to cowardly King Mark, who, without offspring of his own, must name a successor to the Cornwall throne. Miles (I, Elizabeth; the Guenevere trilogy) writes flowery prose that borders on the florid ("Swollen clouds raced screaming through the air and peal after peal of thunder came rolling in from the edge of doom"), mingling Arthurian lords and ladies, red-robed papal envoys, sword-wielding madmen and crooning truth-tellers. Despite the author's occasional verbal excesses, fans of historical romance are sure to embrace this paean to the power of the female sex. Agent, Philippa Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the third and final Tristan and Isolde novel, Miles concludes the tale of the legendary lovers celebrated in story and song. Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle (2002) opened the trilogy with Isolde falling in love with Tristan despite her being pledged to marry King Mark. In The Maid of the White Hands (2003), Isolde and her knight are separated when King Mark banishes Tristan to France, where he succumbs to battle wounds. In the original legend, this is where the story ends. However, Miles here continues by reuniting the lovers and freeing them at last from their ties to the weak and despotic Mark. Interwoven in this novel of love discovered, lost, and rediscovered are themes of warfare between Ireland and the savage blue-tattooed Picts, the rising power of a male-dominated Christian faith, and the final days in which queens ruled the land and the Goddess ruled the queens. Although the prose is excessively flowery at times, this is a satisfying conclusion to a series that will appeal to those who enjoy the romance of Arthurian legend. Recommended for public libraries. Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Miles concludes her spellbinding Tristan and Isolde trilogy with a bang-up send-off for the perpetually star-crossed lovers. Unhappily married to shortsighted King Mark of Cornwall and hopelessly in love with Mark's chivalrous nephew, Tristan, Queen Isolde returns to her native Ireland to thwart a barbarian invasion. Threatened externally by the dreaded Picts--a brutal tribe of painted warriors hailing from the Scottish Highlands--and internally by priests intent on spreading Christianity and challenging the ancient worship of the Mother goddess, Ireland stands at a pivotal crossroads. In keeping with the fine feminist tradition Miles employs in all her fiction, it takes a woman to resolve the conflict and provide a clear vision for the future. Interwoven with plenty of passion and intrigue, this mystical reworking of a time-honored fable provides an enthralling new spin on an irresistibly romantic old legend. --Margaret Flanagan Copyright 2004 Booklist