''Wren's War'' is the final book in

Sherwood Smith Sherwood Smith (born 1951) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adult literature, young adults and adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant. Smith's works include t ...

's initially published trilogy of Wren books. It is currently the final printed volume in the Wren Series, with the sequel, ''

Wren Journeymage ''Wren Journeymage'' is the sequel to ''Wren's War'', and so far the last book written about the character Wren. Publishing status The book was originally slated for publication by Jane Yolen Book, but the line was canceled. Sherwood Smith finis ...

'', available exclusively in electronic form. As with the prior two volumes, it is set in the east-of-the-Great-Desert region of that world.

Plot summary

Andreus In Greek mythology, Andreus (; grc, Ἀνδρεύς) may refer to two distinct individuals: * Andreus, son of the river-god Peneus in Thessaly, from whom the district about Orchomenos in Boeotia was called ''Andreis''. With Evippe, daughter of L ...

finally begins the military maneuvers against Meldrith which had been feared in '' Wren to the Rescue''. Lirwani agents launch a covert strike to abduct Tess and assassinate the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. These events take place while Wren is on vacation in Alat Los. As part of the plot, Tess is drugged via a drink presented to her by one of the agents posing as a stable worker, but the effect does not take full hold until she is in a hidden staircase in the palace, and is rescued by her most loyal servant after reviving in time to witness her parents' murder. After being evacuated to a building in the hills, Tess raises the alarm to Wren, Tyron, and Conor using the summons rings which they began using after the events of ''Wren's Quest''. Capitalizing on the disarray inflicted by the toppling of royal order, Andreus moves the full force of his army into Meldrith, over 1 million troops in all. Tess organizes all support she can in order to mount raids against the Lirwani occupation forces, which were not yet evenly spread throughout Meldrith's lands. Wren and Tyron, having been successfully recalled earlier, are sent to seek the aid of Hawk Rhiscarlan, who is known to have now set himself up in some form of power at the ruins of his ancestral home, directly south of Senna Lirwan.

Publication

It becomes noticeable that events cause Wren to transform into a different animal in each of the three books. (A dog in '' Wren to the Rescue'', a

merfolk Merfolk or merpeople are legendary water-dwelling human-like beings. They are attested in folklore and mythology throughout the ages in various parts of the world. Female merfolk may be referred to as mermaids, although in a strict sense mermaid ...

in ''

Wren's Quest Wren's Quest is the sequel to '' Wren to the Rescue'', and provides further background and character-development leading into '' Wren's War''. Plot summary Hawk Rhiscarlan attempts to gain favor with Andreus of Senna Lirwan by succeeding where ...

'', and a bird in ''Wren's War''.) The only cover art which has not represented this is that of all editions of ''Wren to the Rescue''.

2004 Firebirds

If, as it appears, the art for all three books' Firebird edition was done by the same person, then the cover art for ''Wren's War'' is by Victor Lee. The dimensions of the Firebird paperback are 6.9 × 4.2 × 0.7 inches.Amazon.com: Wren's War (Wren Books): Books: Sherwood Smith
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References

{{Sherwood Smith 1995 American novels 1995 fantasy novels American fantasy novels Novels by Sherwood Smith