Many years have passed since Ashurek and Silvren returned from their encounter with the sorceress Arlenmia. But today is no ordinary day – today their daughter Mellorn graduates from the School of Sorcery. Despite her personal success Mellorn still feels as though something significant is missing from her life.

Her father, Ashurek, was one of the princes of Gorethria and this makes her the true heir to the throne but due to her father's involvement with the Demon Meheg-Ba neither he nor his daughter can ever return. Still Mellorn feels driven to journey to Gorethria to experience the land for herself.

On arriving in Gorethria Mellorn quickly realises that unless she does something to change her appearance the combination of the golden hair she has inherited from her mother and the dark skin from her father will make her instantly recognisable.

Having disguised herself she manages to insinuate herself into the life of the Emperor Xaedrek and starts to feel an attraction to this usurper to the throne. However the closer she becomes to Xaedrek the more he wants her to be involved in his evil experiments. Should he ever detect the true strength of her magical abilities then surely she will become another subject for his tests.

A Blackbird in Amber is the third book in the blackbird series and picks up the story when Ashurek and Silvren have made a life together and have a grown-up daughter, Mellorn. This book follows Mellorn as she returns to the land of her father's birth to try and experience her Gorethrian heritage.

Allowing a number of years to have passed between consecutive books in a series is a good way for an author to change the main characters in a series but to still keep a feeling of continuity. Warrington handles this particularly well as the story flows seamlessly between the books and the main character has been written with character traits of both of her parents.

Mellorn discovers that the current Emperor is carrying out experiments on other races to try and distil the essence of magic in order to produce a powder to give temporary magical abilities to anyone who ingests it. As I read the descriptions of the experimentation and the disregard for the life of the victims I was reminded of some of the experiments carried out in the concentration camps of WWII. The callous way that Xaedrek uses living beings as a fuel source is quite sickening but does not feel excessive. Rather it adds layers to the character of Xaedrek and makes it clear just how corrupt an effect the demons, the Shana, have on the people of the world.

The whole Blackbird series has had me enchanted from the very first page and this latest instalment is no exception. I know that I could easily re-read the earlier editions of these books but that would stop the additional pleasure I am gaining from reading the revised editions. So, I am going to have to restrain myself until the next book in the series is also re-released.

Too often the books we read and enjoyed in our youth, the books that maybe even shaped our choice of literature in adulthood, are a disappointment when read years later. I am delighted to say that in the case of this series the current reading experience is every bit as enchanting as the very first time I picked up A Blackbird in Silver.

Synopsis
The terrible Serpent M'gulfn has been destroyed, but Earth's future is in peril. Its death has unleashed a chaotic power that may prove more dangerous than the Serpent itself. Journeying to Gorethria comes Melkavesh, daughter of Ashurek and Silvren, determined to harness the new power of sorcery for good. But can she resist the temptation to claim her birthright - the dark throne renounced by Ashurek? A ruthless usurper, Xaedrek, has already seized Gorethria's throne and is working his own warped form of sorcery to restore the evil empire. To save the Earth, Melkavesh must defeat him. but she has reckoned without Xaedrek's seductive charm.