I really enjoyed the series. It's bleak and brutal. It is action-packed and fast-paced. The ending was a little flat. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

An absolutely stunning and fantasy last entry to the series, Until the Last hits you hard, destroys you and then tries to piece you back together in the end. We get to meet the man himself in the beginning, finally Raaku has centre stage.

This couldn't have been more epic if it tried, Tinnstra and the crew are pitted against the worst that can be thrown against them: near unlimited armies, monsters, magic, though the Jians are not a people to give up, were never a people to give up.

Safe to say, I loved every page of this. The final pages were the most brutal, and my only complaint would be that it seems there were a few times where the machine moved and helped the characters get out of something they otherwise wouldn't have.

Sekanowari, the Last War, is coming... Zorique, the exiled Jian Queen, and Tinnstra, her adopted mother, helped to free Meigoria from their enemy. Now they seek to free Jia from the evil grip of the Egril and end the Last War. Sekanowari is coming...

This is the final book of the Last War trilogy and proves an explosive conclusion. A warning from the off, this is Grimdark but it is also Grimdark at it's best. The second book, A Fool's Hope, completely threw me for a loop (wasn't expecting that plotline at all!) and this follows directly on from the events there. Grim, bloody and with some nasty twists, there is always still a tiny ray of hope to the proceedings and that makes it the best of Grimdark for me. For when you have hope, things can always get worse. And you can bet your bottom dollar, things are going to get worse!

In terms of the all three books, this has been an excellent trilogy and has climbed its way into my favourite series, Yes, it is grim. Yes, there is an awful lot of killing and slaughter. But it never seems to descend into the torture porn that some grimdark novels do. It seems to nicely balance the need of showing the utterly grotesque face of war while also showing indiviual character development and how they learn from their mistakes, I also particularly like the idea that not all heroes have superpowers (if you've read it, you know who I mean). I did feel for one character who (trying not to get into spoilers here) I felt has been done the dirty and who's death was kind of brushed aside but I'm not going to name names here :)

This is a stunning conclusion to the Last War. I think fans of Abercombie would particularly enjoy this series but don't start here if you haven't read the rest!

The epic conclusion to The Last War series, as before, Mike Shackle has created a masterpiece of dark fantasy fiction. These books are fast-paced, action-filled and emotionally taxing. Absolutely, chef's kiss, brilliant.

ARC was provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

The Last War is over. Another favorite ongoing series of mine concluded.

The Last War trilogy by Mike Shackle has been one of my favorite ongoing series since I read both We Are the Dead and A Fool’s Hope in 2020. Now that it’s finished, I can safely say this has become one of my favorite fantasy trilogies. And it is undoubtedly one of the most underrated fantasy series out there. Despite talking and shouting about this series so many times for the past two years, it seems like I still need to shout about it more because it seriously deserves so much more recognition. It is shocking how relatively few fantasy readers talk about this trilogy. I don't think you can go wrong with reading The Last War trilogy if you love reading a war story or military fantasy series. Especially if you love reading a fantasy series that revolves around ordinary people rising up to do everything they can to survive and fight back. At all costs.

‘Come on, my love. This is why… we trained. We fight… until the last.’


Until the Last is the third and final book in The Last War trilogy by Mike Shackle. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year. And considering the high excitement I had prior to reading it, I must say that Shackle successfully delivered a highly satisfying conclusion to the series. I will, however, first note that it has been two years since I first read the previous book: A Fool’s Hope. The story in Until the Last begins a few days after the end of A Fool’s Hope. It centers around the campaign leading to The Last War, or Sekanowari. I did not reread the previous books; I wish I did. And I wish there was a detailed summary of the previous books or character list and what happened to them to ease my reading experience. It has been two years and almost 200 books since I read A Fool’s Hope. Despite how much I enjoyed Until the Last, I cannot help but feel I would enjoy it much more if the book had a detailed summary/character list. Or if I did a reread of the previous books first, really. Other than Tinnstra, Zorique, Aasgod, Jax, Darus Monsuta, Dren, Matteo, Yas, and Raaku, I spent hundreds of pages trying to remember who was who. Initially, I did not even remember that Ralasis (one of the POV characters in this book) had appeared in the previous books! But anyway, you get my point. I think the existence of detailed summaries has to be a norm in fantasy sequels. Fortunately, despite this minor obstruction, I remain captivated by Until the Last. And I have no doubt I would love it more if I had reread the previous books first.

“Better to have a sword and not need it than need a sword and not have one.”


Because this is the third and final book in the series, please understand that I am insanely limited in what I can say in my review. But I can definitely say this. One of the main themes I loved most in Until the Last (and The Last War trilogy) is how individuals rise to the extraordinary in the direst of circumstances. This doesn't mean they always do the right thing; far from it. These characters have suffered a lot. They did many questionable actions throughout the trilogy. As I said, survival at all cost. This is something that has been established since We Are the Dead, and it is continuously expanded until the end of Until the Last. I, more often than not, tend to enjoy reading a fantasy series that is not afraid to kill off its characters. And I am not saying it cannot be done right when a series refrain from doing this. But it truly bothers me sometimes when a fantasy series that revolves heavily around war, oppression, and invasion is scared to kill off any of its characters. Unpredictability in which character will survive is, thankfully, one of the key strengths of each book in The Last War trilogy. Including Until the Last. And this is one of the many reasons why each volume in this trilogy was so compelling and unputdownable.

“Best to trust no one. Assume everyone was an enemy. Might be a shit way to live but forgetting those simple rules was a shit reason to die.”


Another super positive aspect of The Last War trilogy is its characters and characterizations. One of my favorite things about reading a series is (especially in sequels or the last book of a series) when I sit, think, look back, and remember. Remembering how far each character has developed since their first appearance is a great experience, and this is something that Shackle executed well. Constantly. Many key characters in the series have been developed magnificently in A Fool's Hope. And I was left impressed by the culmination of their development and journey in Until the Last. Again, this is a series where no character is safe. From here on out, I will not mention any character's name to avoid spoilers. I will, however, assure you of one thing. Despite the darkness, blood-soaked actions, and morally grey characters that filled the trilogy, the despair in The Last War never felt relentless. Even if The Last War can be categorized as a grimdark fantasy trilogy, this is a dark military fantasy series about war, survival, and the nature of humanity. And one of humanity's nature that is impossible to extinguish means hope and love at its core. I loved it so much. And it feels bittersweet to finally say goodbye to these characters I'm invested in.

‘Do you know what the soldiers call you?’ ‘Do I want to?’ Zorique doubted it was anything good. ‘Hope. They call you Hope.’ ‘That’s something, I suppose.’ ‘That’s everything.’


If you still haven’t read any books by Mike Shackle yet, I’m here to remind and assure you once again that Shackle is brilliant at writing action scenes. This has always been the case since We Are the Dead, and the trend never stops until the last page of this novel. Until the Last is, from my analysis, the most action-packed volume of the trilogy. Almost the entire book is battle after battle after battle. There was a close-to-zero room for a break for the characters and readers. This indeed caused a slight feeling of repetition in the first half of the novel, but the dramatic improvement in the stakes and pacing improved in the second half more than made up for it. I was utterly hooked and immersed by all the pulse-pounding actions.

‘It’s not you I’m angry at– it’s the world. Life shouldn’t be like this– our lives shouldn’t be like this.


Now that we're at the end of the series, do I consider Until the Last my favorite volume in the trilogy? Well, I will have to say no. To be fair, A Fool's Hope was REALLY hard to top. As a sequel, it was everything The Last War trilogy needed in the middle installment. But on top of that, I think the final villain, Raaku, proved forgettable and disappointing. Every previous villain in the trilogy, especially the one from the first book, was much more memorable and terrifying than Raaku. Not only does Raaku feels very one-dimensional as a villain, but the final confrontation against him itself was also way too short; only 2% of the novel. Shackle is superb at writing protagonists and antagonists, and I found Raaku to be far from being Shackle's best antagonist. I think sacrificing some of the campaigns in the first half and new POV characters in exchange for developing Raaku or the intricacies of world-building would've benefitted Until the Last further.

“But sometimes the world choses the heroes it needs when it needs them and all we can do is try and answer the call as best we can. And thank the Gods, you have risen to the challenge better than anyone could’ve hoped.’


Fortunately, this is a minor issue in the grander brilliant of Until the Last. From devastating magic, bloody betrayals, and incredibly intense war after war against every creature in Sekanowari, Until the Last is an action-packed and thrilling concluding volume. Although not as good as We Are the Dead and A Fool's Hope on my first read, it does not change my opinion that The Last War trilogy is one of the best fantasy trilogies I've read. And if you are a reader who loves reading an action-packed and satisfying final volume of a series, Until the Last is for you. Bravo, Mike Shackle. I look forward to your next series!

One last thing before I forget, I appeared in this book! Check it out:

“‘Who’s going to talk to them?’ said Petrik. He was a Shulka, from Clan Rizon, like Moiri. Older than both Jax and Moiri, he’d never risen in the ranks, he was just happy to follow, happy to fight. The battles had taken a toll on him, though, as there was hardly a part of him that wasn’t battered or scarred. ‘Not you,’ said Moiri. ‘Not unless we want to frighten them to death.’ Petrik rubbed at his cauliflower ear. ‘My mother always said I was the best-looking of her children.’
‘Not saying much,’ said Dev. ‘I’ve seen the rest of your family.’”


Series Review:

We Are the Dead: 4.5/5 stars
A Fool’s Hope: 5/5 stars
Until the Last: 4.5/5 stars

The Last War: 14/15 stars

You can order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

Mike Shckle's final book is an action packed, blood soaked ride to the end, concluding the story of the Last War.

Emperor Raaku stands poised to take the world. The heroes, led by the former coward Tinnstra, are readying themselves to stop him. Zorique with the help of the mage Aasgod has come into her own power. The stage is set for a final confrontation.

And what a confrontation it is. The novel is brutal. Violent. Almost one giant campaign to the end. Our characters have been hardened, significantly, and fight back against Raaku's forces. war is not romanticized here. People die. Brutally and quickly, in a way that is sometimes to the book's strength and sometimes to its detriment when characters we have known fora long time perish with little fanfare and are forgotten almost immediately.

The biggest flaw in the book is Jax. Spoilers ahead, but Jax's final fate is just cruel after we have followed him for three books. With the reappearance of darus Monsuta, Jax's own end is sudden and to the book's detriment. He is not remembered in any way and it feels unfinished and half-baked.

Overall, the book is very solid, with a satisfying conclusion.

4/5

Thank you to Jenna at Orion and Gollancz for allowing me to participate in this blog tour!

As someone that has reviewed this series from the beginning, this is a great ending to the horrible Ergil and their horrific religion which one can describe as nuts. To see the Jians collaborating with their former rivals in order to take down the hated Egril and the Skulls is one thing. But to see the vast amount of characters taking sides, battling each other’s rivalries and intense character moments shows just how skilled this book has been written. There are moments of great prose, great action, and scenes that come alive and fill you with shock and awe, horror, and emotional arcs.

The Son of Kage as always, proved himself to be an unusual nutcase and I call him that because the Egril is mad. The Emperor and his minions are some of the worst villains that I’ve ever read and you know what horrifies me about them? That their belief that what they do is good. When evil is considered good, and good is considered evil, there comes a point where you think how has our world become so grey? There are a lot of historical scenes and influences that have been picked up and incorporated from this novel. And I really liked Ange’s and Garo arc. I think it has great chemistry. Mostly, the heroes of this novel are Tinnistra, Zorique, and Hasan. Including Jax. There’s a lot to say here…but this is a whopping 700 pages….it’s a lot!

Overall, a great conclusion to the Last War series, and it saddens me a bit. I really want MORE of this world. There’s so much lore and so much stuff it feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface of this world. This is a great series, and Mike has done a fantastic job! Thoroughly recommend it!

RATING = 3.5/5

SPOILERS BELOW

Sekanowari is upon us, with a breakneck pace that is a full sprint all the way to the end. The book reads quickly, as the viewpoints are numerous, shift often, & keep the plot moving consistently. There is always so much to cover by the time you make it to the end of a trilogy, so I'll organize my thoughts as likes & dislikes below:

LIKES:
1) Mike Shackle writes combat scenes well. For anyone who's fought competitively or been in tactical combat will tell you, things move exceptionally fast but somehow time dilates in equal measures. The action scenes encapsulate this well, & it reads like it should--as chaos that is breathless and wild. I initially thought the pace was oversaturating & inuring me to the suspense a bit, but once I backed off & really reflected on it, I knew that was incorrect. That is how war feels, & that is how the book makes you feel--you just keep getting gutted, & ultimately ask aloud, "CAN WE GET A GD BREAK HERE?!" Accurate.

2) Badass women. Tinnstra, Zorique, Wenna, the ladies kick came to kick ass & eat cake--& there is not cake in this series. I love that women are not only the brains, but also the muscle to back it up here, unapologetically. This is a huge win.

3) There is a full-fledged D-Day scene in this book, & it's a wild ride that had my eyebrows up.

4) Some twists, turns, & reappearances that freshened things up at the right times to prevent monotony.

5) Mike Shackle established in the first book that there are no lines that won't be crossed in war. I feel that literature all too often uses war & violence as plot devices without actually taking accountability for what they do to people & how they FEEL. As cool as your favorite character stabbing people in battle is, the psychological unmooring of human beings is complex & disturbing in many ways. I think this series captured that reality & horror better than 90% of the genre ever has. For this reason alone, I will read Mike Shackle's work moving forward.

6) Tinnstra. Tinnstra is the personification of, "be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one." Her commitment to doing anything possible to win is really relatable in this book, & I loved her character arc over all 3 books. One of my favorite characters ever.

DISLIKES:
1) Too many viewpoints with limited value. This is obviously very preferential, but I liked Dren & Mateon (especially Dren) as "character cameras" but found some of the other additions as bland & filler-y. Again, preference, they are still well written.

2) Too little lore & world-building. In "We Are the Dead," we were introduced to a robust, dark world filled with new characters, new countries, limitless potential. We saw a bit more of that in "A Fool's Hope," but this book didn't explore all the exposition we have been reading about all this time. Raaku feels like a bit of an afterthought, we don't get any more history, no more real backstory--I felt like a passenger looking out the window with great sites that I couldn't get out & see, touch, or experience. I understand this is a culmination book & the war to end wars, but some more world-building & lore would have had me that much more invested.

3) Ultimately overly simplistic. Raaku turns out to be a pretty vanilla bad guy at the end, despite so much promise and potential scope that could have been explored. In a series so complex, with characters as awesome, relatable, & memorable as Tinnstra, Raaku could have been a legendary villain with compelling backstory & relatability a la Thanos. Instead he was just another beefed up bad guy.

4) Deus Ex Machina. Again, this seems highly preferential, but the last 1/4 & end of the book felt a bit Deus Ex Machina to me. It is well written, & Zorique going full Matrix was unexpected, but the whole thing felt...hasty. We spent 550+ pages being beaten down by odds, betrayals, etc., only to have 600+ Chosen, countless Skulls & tactical disadvantages overcome in a free for all in Aisair that winds up with Jia on top? It's war, so nothing is impossible, but I felt disappointed by it, especially given Mike Shackle's previous abilities in crafting scenes & diverting from fantasy tropes.

Summarily, this is a solid ending to a great series. It wasn't all it could or should have been in my mind (& based on my own colossal expectations after the classic first book), but it's well written, dense with action, & eschews a lot of the "tried and true" elements that saturates the genre. I personally think this series would make an outstanding graphic novel series with the right illustrators, as this last book read like it.

This was a promising and gripping series since the first pages and it never stopped keeping me hooked and entertained.
This is fast paced, action packed, and highly satisfying end of this saga.
Characters, world building, and storytelling are excellent as usual.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A fantastic sequel. I loved this series so much and I already miss these characters so much. It was superb.

Until the Last is the final book of The Last War series. After I read the second book I immediately started the final book because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Mike shackle wrote an amazing ending to an amazing story. This story is brutal and Mike shackle wrote a really action-packed story which makes me want to read the whole story in one sitting. The world-building was amazing and the storytelling was everything I wanted. Because this is the final book it is really hard to write a review without spoiling it. But if you love action-packed grimdark fantasy this series is definitely a must-read.

I’ve loved this series from the start and Until The Last was the perfect way to end it all. It feels like I’ve gone in a journey with all of these characters, and at times it was an emotional one. An absolutely excellent series the whole way through. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Reviewing a third – and last – book in a series is never easy. While I’ll try my best to make this as spoiler free as possible, it probably will contain some, especially for the previous two books, so please proceed with caution if you are new to Mike Shackle‘s The Last War series.

Until the Last is definitely one of my most anticipated Fantasy releases in 2022. Not least because there is a character in this book named after me – and yes, I’m *that* vain, #sorrynotsorry – and also because I was really curious how these characters’ story will end. Knowing Shackle’s previous books, I had no illusions about everyone having a happy ending, the question was who – if anyone – will make it to the end. My lips are sealed though, so you will have to read the book to find those answers for yourself.

As with A Fool’s Hope, Until the Last also starts right where the story got dropped off – Meigore is freed and Jia waits for its fate to be decided in Sekinowari, the Last War. Everyone’s eyes fall on Aisair where the outcome will be decided. But, Tinnstra, Zorique, Ralasis, and the others have a long way ahead of them until that one last battle and it’s not free of hardships, heartache, surprises, and hard decisions. Then again, we are talking about a Mike Shackle book here, and all of that – and much more – is to be expected. It’s my pleasure to let you know that Shackle indeed delivers in that regard. Sekinowari is fought, all the main players get their closure one way or another and all the plotlines get tucked in neatly. I believe anyone who followed the series so far will be satisfied by this last installment which shall not be missed.

I’m having trouble writing a review for this book because the characters I want to talk about the most I can’t without major spoilers, which puts me at a disadvantage because their POV chapters were also my favorite parts of the book and IT’S TOTALLY UNFAIR, OKAY?! I can’t wait for people to read Until the Last finally, so I could scream with them. Alas, I’m forced to talk about other characters instead. Most of whom are returning ones from the previous books in the trilogy. Where my favorites used to be Dren – yes, I know, I hated the little shit for a good while in We are the Dead – and Jax, in this book Ralasis stepped up to be among them. I just wish we had more of him, with his easy ways and generally goofy attitude lightening up the mood – which was sorely needed.

Then we have Tinnstra and Yas, two very different women, with their own battles and demons, two major characters in the events, and still, I never really warmed up to them. Although I admit, Tinnstra got the better character arc overall and got through some drastic changes. And while I appreciate her as a character and everything she did, and all the suffering she went through for her goals – including a not-too-healthy addiction – she never got much emotional reaction from me – except for being irritated and/or annoyed by her and her attitude -, which is a shame, but in a series with a cast as big as this, one can’t love all the characters. And others tend to get lost in the crowd.

However, I found most that were introduced to us in Until the Last quite to my liking. Wenna, for instance, was a good addition, who gave us a peek into what’s going on in the background while we mostly follow Tinnstra and co’s progress. It was also a welcome change that we got to see a bit more of the Egril side, although I’d have liked more of that and less of Tinnstra and co.

And now a bit of criticism, most of which comes down to personal tastes, so take them as you will. I found the pacing a bit uneven overall. There were times I was sitting on the edge of my seat – especially when my favorite POV chapters came up – and there were times when I felt the story was dragging. Again, this is me, as I’m not a fan of books where there is a long period of time where the characters are journeying from point A to point B. I can’t help but get bored as it tends to become a bit repetitive where they either walk, fight or sleep. While I understand why these parts were important – as they added a lot of details that later came in handy – I couldn’t help feeling time spent on these bits would have been better used elsewhere. Say, learning more about the Egril and Raaku. Who remained to be a bit too one-dimensional and other characters from that side totally outshone him in every aspect. That said, I really missed Matheon’s POV.

Maybe because of the change in my reading habits and preferences in the past couple of years (much less grimdark) – I started my journey with We Are the Dead back in early 2020 – or maybe because of my general dislike regarding some tropes or some of the current world events hitting a bit too close in similarity, Until the Last didn’t end up being my favorite book in the trilogy. However, it certainly brought a satisfactory ending to the series and will be definitely loved by those who stuck with these characters over the years.

The Last War series tells a dark tale about war and the ends people go to in order to win it. Until the Last is a more relevant grimdark fantasy novel today than Shackle or anyone could have anticipated, and it adds an extra flavor to it. It certainly makes one think about life, death, and everything in between, about the choices we make and the consequences we have to live with. And hope that in the end, fighting until the last was all worth it.

In Until the Last, Mike Shackle lets loose the dogs of the last war in his climactic conclusion to the series.

The Last War, Sekinowari has begun and as the champions of the gods move into position, let battle commence!

With Until the Last, there is one goal in mind, and that is to get to Sekinowari, the last war. The apocalyptic final battle between Kage' s representative on Earth, and the four champions of the young gods. However, whilst we know which are three of the supposed chosen, the identity of the last one remains a mystery until the last.

As usual, Mike Shackle serves up a brutal war story that does not shy away from the horrors and brutality of war, and yet he maintains an air of hope throughout the book in that the Jians will rise up and overthrow their oppressors. Not only that, but the characters also all show a determination to unite their people and be steadfast in the face of cruelty.

It has to be said that this book is a bit of a chonker, weighing in at nearly eight hundred pages. However, never once did the flow of the book deviate and Mike Shackle maintains a relentless pace throughout the book, throwing scene after scene at you, sparing nothing as the book carves towards its climax. It really is amazing how fast the book moves. At no point did I feel that the story lagged, it just keeps running towards the conclusion. I must say at times, I did have to put the book down and have a little breather (usually accompanied by a quiet utterance of Jeez at various points!), because Until the Last is intense. There are no two ways about it. If you thought the other two were intense, Until the Last ramps it up tenfold.

So, one of the things that stood out for me is the chapter Invasion. The chapter individualises itself in the book due to it being stylistically very different from the rest of the book with its short, stocattoed cut scenes, flitting from character to character. It is extremely cinematic in its execution and perfectly captures the tumult and chaos of the battle as it plays out.

In terms of characters, some are more centre stage than others. Zorique, as you would guess is front and centre. As is Tinnstra, and I think that we stay with Tinnstra and the others involved in the main part of the war for a large percentage of the book, even though we do flit around to see what Yas is up to. In addition to this, we get a couple of new points of view in the form of Vallia (one of the Chosen), Ange (who was introduced back in A Fool's Hope) and the evil overlord himself – Raaku, who is everything that you expect and hope for.

Each point of view plays excellently on Mike Shackle's stage of conflict. Tinnstra can be blinded (and quite scary) in her sheer bloody mindedness to be an avenging angel, whilst Zorique brings the light and the hope. Aasgod is a little in the background of the story, as is Yas, who is in a completely separate part of the country attempting to rebuild society. It is however, Jax's story that has that touch of intrigue. Whilst his part is initially quite small, there are some unforeseen surprises in his storyline that I did not see coming.

As I mentioned before, the book is often a brutal portrayal of war, yet as with all Mike Shackle’s book there are some brilliant pieces of fantasy. All the way through the series, the books are littered with fantasy monsters, and with Until the Last, Mike Shackle throws virtually everything at us. If you thought there was an arsenal of monsters in A Fool’s Hope, this third book just pits a whole Ergil Empire worth of monsters at you. Well, it would rude not to! It is Sekinowari for goodness sake.

When you read the reviews of these books (and I will include my reviews in this as well!), the content tends to focus on the main element of the story, the war! However, there is so much depth to Mike Shackle’s books. His sense of world building and his portrayal of a world at war is astounding. The Asian culture that it is set in is vivid and as we move from background to background, I knew exactly where I was as it is portrayed in so much detail and whilst it is a country ravaged by the brutality of the events that are played out, you can also get a sense of the world prior to these climactic events. Everything around is so rich in its description. Not only that, but you can also see elements of historical significance in the pages and how it is being used to highlight the horrors of the situation. When I originally read We Are The Dead, I proclaimed it as one of my top ten fantasy series of all time and with the release of Until The Last, it has definitely gone into my top five of all-time favourites, it is just utterly brilliant. And in terms of the book itself, it is already my favourite book of the year and don’t be surprised that it will take the number one slot.

I have to say that with Until the Last, Mike Shackle defies expectations with this final book in the Last War, and all the adjectives that are going to be used such pulse pounding, heart thumping finale are all well deserved. This is fantasy at its best!

Until the Last // by Mike Shackle

A Fool's Hope was so awesome that I immediately had to figure out how to get an ARC for Until the Last as well! I dove in as soon as I got it because there was no way I could wait another minute. While there were definitely both positives as well as negatives to this book, overall I found it to be a pretty satisfying end to the series and I really enjoyed reading it.

One of my favorite things about this book were the additional POVs that we got. Shackle did a great job selecting characters to follow this time around (well he also did that in the other books hah) that gave us an excellent view of current events as well as showing us past events that lead to the present. They also allowed us to understand some of the relationships between different characters better. One of my biggest complaints in the first book was that the villains felt really one-dimensional. This was greatly improved upon in book 2 as well as this book. Honestly, one of the villain POVs was actually my favorite one to follow. While there were still a couple of instances where I felt some characters were too focused on one thing, some of those could be explained a bit by events in the story, which made them feel a little less stiff at least.

One of the best things about this series are the strong women. There is a pretty good variety of female characters that have their own strengths and weaknesses with unique origin stories that made them into who they are. They weren't perfect right from the start, which was so satisfying and made them so much more believable. It was great to see how differently tragedy affected them all and how they decided to handle the challenges thrown their way. While I did have a little bit of trouble with the believability of the ending, it still was a great build up to it and overall finished the storyline well.

Thank you for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Until the last - Mike Shackle

It has been a long tough, bloody journey but we’re here…The Last War.

As soon as I finishing the phenomenal A Fool’s Hope, I just knew I couldn’t wait to jump straight into the final book in The Last War Trilogy, Until the Last.

Luckily for my I was approved a review copy from NetGalley. Therefore I must first start this review by thanking NetGalley and the publisher for approving my request. You do not know how happy this made me.

When you first start a new series it’s always interesting to surmise where the story will go, but from the off we have known this story will climax with The Last War….. Sekanowari!!

Until the last starts a little after the dramatic conclusion to A Fool’s Hope, with our hero’s preparing for the last war.

What I loved so much about this book is the multiple new POV’s, This was great as it meant 1) the chapters were short and shape, 2) we got to see the war from so many perspectives.

The biggest plus point for me was finally getting introduced to the big bad Raaku. Through Raaku we got to see more of Egril and start to understand his motives and magical abilities.

The pacing of this book felt full throttle for the whole book. Mike put his foot on the gas from the prologue and didn’t release it until the last page. I just loved this, it made the book so easy to pick up and so hard to put down.

As you now come to expect from Mike the action is were his books really excel. This book is no exception, the action in this book is intense, nail biting and very very bloody.

Mikes storytelling is up there with the best in the business, his ability to subtly thread in twist and turns that you just don’t see coming but have you jumping from your seat was utterly brilliant!

The final 30% of this book was just such a sensational thrill ride, I had such a hard time putting this book down.

Mike have managed to build such a bloody, grim but marvellous story in this series, which I think will appeal to a wide range of audience.

Mike has definitely become an auto buy author for me.

Rating 10/10 ⭐️

4.5 rounded up to 5.

So we’re finally here… Sekanowari, The Last War, is upon us but how did our heroes fare? This review will be spoiler free.

Firstly I have to say thank you to Mike for writing what is now a wrapped up fantasy trilogy. It can’t have been easy to do, especially this last book during Covid so a pat on the back for you my friend. I’d also like to shout out Will at Gollancz for sending me an arc of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review. Will is always super cool to interact with and a nice guy to boot.

The cover art for this book was released just yesterday and so far I’ve seen some feedback that it is giving some people the chills due to how creepy it looks. I get that completely. I think that if you haven’t read the first book in this series you will potentially look at that and think it might be a horror story. Having said that, if you have read the others you will understand that it’s awesome because it really captures the person it is meant to portray. Imagine a grimdark version of Voldemort and that is what you have here. The big bad, the darkness himself, Raaku.

The story in Until The Last continues ten days after the events in A Fool’s Hope. This is great for me, I read the books back to back so nothing was lost but I think what is becoming more common place now is a recap area at the start of some SFF books and maybe this could have done with that for those who have read A Fool’s Hope on it’s initial release and might not remember everything.

It’s tricky to know where to start with this story as there is a lot to unpack but I will start with the plot. The collective story arcs together form what is essentially a good vs evil story with the Jians and Megorians against Raaku and his Egril forces. From the first chapter in We Are the Dead you are immediately pulled into this story about an enemy force who are relentless and will stop at nothing to win. They’re scary, unstoppable, merciless, evil and very dangerous. It’s not a normal story whereby the heroes win at everything and squash the enemies easily, this is much the opposite and I think this is where this story comes into its own.

Make no mistake about it. This is not a fairytale. This is a grimdark fantasy story that is as much about the realistic effects of a war as it is about a fantasy setting. This is mature and visceral about how war is brutal, how people die, even heroes, and how the good guys can be pushed to near extinction because of years of complacency. Mike has been upfront with how war actually is in this world and how people are effected. It helps to drive the story and makes for exciting action scenes.

With the war being the canvas, the characters are the paints. His characters are brilliantly written and there are new POVs added to this story, just like with the previous installment. It’s always exciting finding out about new characters, especially when we get a deeper look into the thoughts and world of the Egril which has so far been quite mysterious. The characters themselves are full of life and have their own personalities which make them easily distinguishable in a fast setting like war and allow you to have favourites. My favourite arc is a character who started off very timid and didn’t want any trouble to being someone by the end who has one of the highest kill tallies in the story! I love when it when I get characters in a multi-pov story that when their chapter pops up I can’t stop and have to read their chapter and this honestly happened for most of the book since most chapters end in a cliffhanger of some kind.

I really liked the magic across this series. It feels very… appropriate for the story. It’s devastating when used right and helps to drive the characters along in their stories but it’s also rare enough that when it is used it you are drawn in by what might happen next. Clever uses of the magic and how it is countered got me thinking and I really liked this.

The world got bigger in this story as for the last 1,082 pages we’ve heard stories about the enemy and now we get to actually see their world and how they operate within it. I found this to be really interesting, fun and a bit of an eye opener as they are not how I had expected. A hero is only as good as their enemy so seeing the parts of Egril I didn’t know about helped fill in what was a missing piece of the puzzle.

There are a few things I didn’t like in this book though. One of those things is that one of the characters just disappears. As a reader I know where they were last spotted but I don’t actually find out what happens to them which is really annoying because I wanted to see how they ended their story. I can make an educated guess but it would have been really nice to get an emotional wrap up to their individual journey because it started out as being one thing and quickly changed to something different. I’m not sure why this was done this way, maybe where we last left them was sufficient and added to the bleakness of the story? I don’t know. There are a few little bits involving some magic usage that could have been explained slightly better that I discussed with another and finally there is a cliffhanger at the end but it would have been nice to have that closed off too so the whole thing is a wrap since that cliffhanger was a combination of lots of interactions and events across all three books between two characters that didn’t get on.

Finally, I want to tell you that this book has some comparisons to the Mistborn (era 1) series by Brandon Sanderson. For example, Raaku who is the evil overlord in this trilogy gives off a lot of Lord Ruler vibes from Mistborn. There is also the team of under-equipped characters trying to fight back and then the fact that evil has taken over from the start. I think that if you are a fan of Mistborn then you should really gives this series a try. It’s darker, has a similar level of romance (so really very little), is more grimdark than epic fantasy and has some really cool twists that readers will enjoy.

Mike has written a gritty and exciting story about what normal people do when evil beats them down. His words flow smoothly like a freshly made death bed and his characters leap off the page wielding an axe in both hands. It’s in my opinion that his writing quality is top level and he should be regarded with the likes of Gwynne and Abercrombie for writing compelling characters in a gritty world.

To roundup, I really enjoyed this book and I love this trilogy. Fantastic characters, a gritty plot and lightning fast pace make this a series you really need to absorb. Brilliant fantasy.

What an ending to this amazing fantasy series. I won't tell you what happened. But you really do not want to miss this ending.