What a beautiful conclusion to what has been a riveting, emotional and, at times, distressing read. I have never highlighted so many beautiful sentences in a single book in my life. Staveley has some truly gorgeous prose, and his word selection is obviously pointed and precise. Though this final book didn't give as many internal snapshots of the story's characters, the foundation upon which it was built was solid enough to keep me invested and entertained. There is depth here, in moments, places, speeches, that captures something few books do: humanity, inhumanity, monstrosity, wisdom. I rarely feel content with endings of books I love, but this ending felt like it came at the perfect place: enough information to make me feel satisfied and enough vagueness to keep my wonder alive at the possibility of more stories within this realm.

Still processing. But I would highly recommend this as a read to lovers of language across all genres! ( )

A very depressing but well-written ending ( )

No pain no gain. ( )

Flottur endir á góðri fantasíuþrenningu. Plottið er sem fyrr margsnúið en margt er þó ljósara en í fyrri bókunum tveim þar sem Staveley er nú að hnýta saman þræði. Spennan og hryllingurinn vakir enn yfir og á köflum er atburðarrásin hröð. Stundum var að mér fannst þó full snubbóttar splæsingar á þráðunum og maður sá þá fyrir af þeim sökum en í heildina séð nokkuð gott. ( )

Quality epic fantasy: 4.5 stars. Staveley picks up the ongoing travails of the Malkeenian heirs: sister Adare as emperor, brother Kaden the zealot, and brother Valyn the warrior. Each has her or his own demons to battle as Urghul armies march against the capital; ancient Csestriim seek to end the human race, including killing the remaining gods, who need human worshippers; and, the few remaining Kettral (Gwenna, Annick, Talal, the Flea, etc.) try to maintain the precarious balance. While others did not care for the complex characters, who grew and changed throughout their journey in the conclusion, I liked the uncertainty of what would happen next and who would cooperate or fight. ( )