Note: This review is primarily for the last book in a series of four. They have to be read sequentially, and having just read all the books, I highly recommend it if you enjoy intricate plots, deep well-thought out worldbuilding and strong, sharp protagonists. If you are just starting out, please check out the first book. The rest of this post may contain spoilers for the previous ones.

I’m hopeful for a future in which the city doesn’t mourn your death.

Reading the last book was a bit of a bittersweet experience. On one hand, it was great to see all the puzzle pieces come together. The author nicely wraps up all the primary plot tangents cohesively, and that is a trait I have always admired in fantasy books. Open-ended stories are just not for me. On the other hand, I would have really wanted Kamira, Veelk and Koshmarnyk’s journey to go on and on.

The world we have here has tons of unexplored potential. For one, I would have wanted to experience the perspective of someone in the Tivarashan kingdom more closely connected to the Four. Also, unexpectedly, as much as I disliked Ryell in the previous books, I now find myself curious about his future.

Obviously, I can’t magically wipe away the “The End” scribbled at the end of the book, so let’s focus on what we have rather than what we don’t.

This book starts off a bit slower compared to the previous ones, but the second half really picks up the pace. I was eagerly looking forward to Veranesh and Arujhan’s confrontation, but that didn’t end up being as exciting as I had imagined.

However, in the second part we get some great one-on-one demon battles that were a lot more thrilling. Loved the action sequences, elements of political conniving, and brave risks taken by the characters. Both Kamira and Veelk fill in their new roles fabulously, and it was also great to see Atissa find herself a new path.

Ervan’s arc was perhaps my least favorite, as in some ways, it becomes obvious very early on that the plot is setting him up to fail. Archmage Irtan surprised me with his cunning. He was the second character whom I hadn’t expected to end up liking, but a very interesting plot twist pushes him to the list of most interesting side characters.

All in all, a fun, thrilling ride made more enjoyable by the good diversity of skills and motivations across the cast. If you have made it this far and loved the last few books, you will certainly not be disappointed. I wouldn’t say this was my favorite book in the series, but the series on the whole certainly stands out as a very memorable experience.

So, while we have to say goodbye to “the archmage” for now, we have many other books that the author has written, and I’d be looking forward to exploring them in the future.

There was a promise in his words, but one that didn’t demand obligations.