*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: Demons hunger for our world.
Geneve and Meriwether are tossed across the seas by a relic of the ancients. Separated from their friends and each other, they seek an end to the demons. Geneve finds herself in a city governed by a devil king. Meriwether tumbles into a cursed temple fashioned in the last, great war.
They must find each other, for only together can they end the demon invasion. They must close the gate between worlds or fight an army from another plane. If they fail, the world is forfeit. Even if they succeed, they know they will not survive the final fight.
The gods gave up long ago. Geneve will not. This is Requiem’s justice. Finish the Splintered Land trilogy today!
This is the finale to the gripping Splintered Land fantasy series, so if you haven’t read Blade of Glass and The Storm Within first, definitely do that! If you skip straight to this one you will miss some fantastic world- and character-building, and most of the backstory to the plot.
And fittingly, this book is an epic end to an epic fantasy trilogy!
The storyline picks up right where Book 2 left off, with our intrepid band of misfits separated and confused. But it isn’t long before Feybrind, Vhemin, sorcerers, Tresward knights, pirates, a dragon, a wine merchant and a small blue bird all converge. And then all natural (and manufactured) emnities must be set aside to face a common foe – true evil – and shame the gods (literally) with their courage, love, and sacrifice.
After all of the dust settles from the final great battle, the ending is somewhat ambiguous and left me with plenty of questions racing through my mind: are some of the world’s races now extinct? Will our heroes – those of them that survived – ever be reunited? Why couldn’t the damn gods simply ‘deus’ up a neat ‘ex machina’ solution to all the problems? (I know, I know the answer to this one: free will has a lot to answer for! Plus, it’s too cheap and easy, yada yada…)
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, that the worldbuilding here is so immersive and the characters so engaging that I lived the story along with them and found it hard to return to so-called real life after turning the last page. So I’m really hoping that the wispy threads of hope left trailing are smoke signals that another trilogy is on the horizon: The Welded Land series, maybe, or The Forged Land?
And on a personal note, I was really pleased to note that a certain noble beast was remembered right to the very end… even the lowliest of characters play their part and leave their mark!
For fans of strong, well-written fantasy, this series is a must-read and Richard Parry is undoubtedly an author to watch. Plus, as a bonus, he writes action-packed sci-fi too… something to read while you wait impatiently for news of cats, monsters, sinners and dragons.
Geneve raised her eyebrow. “I hail from the Kingdom.”
– Richard Parry, Requiem’s Justice
“You’re a long way from home.” The merchant’s words were accented but easily understandable, like he’d learned the language as a child. He spread his hands. “I’m afraid you’ve traveled to Tebrani at a bad time. The end of the world has come.”
Check out Richard Parry’s website, or follow him on Facebook and Goodreads.
The Splintered Land trilogy is available on Amazon right now, and you can check out my reviews of other stories by the author here, here, here and here. Or pop here to find Richard’s thoughts on writing continuity and here for an interview with the man himself!
Bookshine And Readbows 