The compelling final chapter of Foolish Cur's story takes place in a world pulled into shadow, by the very people trying to save it. Continuing the theological and philosophical discussion, alongside the threat and subtly intricate worldbuilding, we explore what it means to make a world anew, when so many people cling to the past.

There are many parts to this series. Different magic types and plotlines intertwined up until this point, and I think I found one to be too close to another series by a popular author for my own comfort level, but the rest is quite unique.
I would not recommend reading this book without having read the first two, and I would not recommend not reading this if you have read either of the first two. There is a completion requirement that makes the time invested in this series worth the effort. This particular book wraps everything up in a satisfactory manner, without it being a happily ever after.
The world broke in the previous book. There was a lot of teetering on the edge in the first; the second was an all-out battle, and now everyone is facing the aftermath of their actions. We focused on quite a few separate people in the previous adventures. Now, they are all almost in the same place but continue to have their own battles to fight.
Our central protagonist has finally come to terms with his own ways of thinking, decided to accept the way he thirsted for power and do something with that realisation. The solution is not perfect, but it does make sense given the grand scheme of things and that in itself makes such a series worthwhile.
It is not often that the troubles of a fantasy world can escalate to a complete collapse and knit itself back to an acceptable semblance, but this series managed to do just that. It is a completed series, which is something I know fantasy readers sometimes wait for, and I am glad I got a chance to see it all wrapped up.
I would recommend this to fans of the fantasy genre, especially those who enjoy watching events unfold from several varying source points.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

the Pact and Pattern series is one of my favorite fantasy series I read in the last years. There's power plays, there different magical system and a strong character like the Foolish Cur.
This is not the best book in this series but it's also the one that bring to the conclusione and there's not mush left without an answer.
As usual I found hard to say goodbye to characters. It's a good series that I will surely re-read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I don't want to say too much as this is the finale of a trilogy. But it is a great ending to a great fantasy series that I would recommend. A lot of gravity but also very modern.

Following the pact-shattering ending of The Garden of Empire, the gods are now able to pursue their war, unwoven monsters stalk the land, time has been distorted, and reality could be coming undone at the seams. Foolish Cur/ Wen Alder has had a habit of making the wrong decisions throughout Pact and Pattern, with his efforts to use unregulated magic to kill the Emperor being his biggest mistake so far, falling into a trap set by the gods.

In The Pattern of the World, we join the same point of view characters featured in the previous book, as they try to salvage the current situation and put the pieces back together. Again, we are witness to Foolish Cur's first-person point-of-view perspective as he relays events. Other viewpoints include Cur's former tutor and the final stonespeaker Kora Ha, the Skyfather's spear and witch of the old sort Ral Ans Urrera, and Emperor's Hand Pinion, an able magic-wielder who wants revenge over Alder for causing the death of his brother. When reading I noted that Cur's presentation was first-person, Ha's and Pinion's being third-person past tense and that Ral's was delivered as third-person present tense. I did not find these shifts disorientating or problematic at all and by the time we reach The Pattern of the World's conclusion, we are given the reasoning behind why and, to be honest, it is neat and makes perfect sense in hindsight.

"I felt the spark of an old fire in me, the light of curiosity that had first kindled in childhood and had been fed steadily throughout my life, until mistake after world-shattering mistake had thrown soil and water on the flame, dousing it."

Part 1 of the novel "City" starts at a steady pace, showcasing the altered world that the characters find themselves in, whilst also setting the players' journies or agendas to the reader, hinting at what is likely to follow. Although these segments are important stages of the overall narrative, I was not excited to pick up the book during these parts, and unfortunately, it was a bit of a slog. If I had not already put in 800+ pages of reading Pact and Pattern, I would have DNF'd The Pattern of the World then. I persisted after a couple of days of putting my reading on hold and what followed, from the amazing conclusion of Part 1 "City" to the rest of the novel's events, was a competent and enjoyable 4-star read, that featured a handful of moments that were pure brilliance.

The Pattern of the World is a character-focused, magic-potential-showcasing, cinematic and tragic well-written fantasy drama. It features bad decisions and mistakes and the consequences that come with them. Wen Alder has had rotten luck in this tale putting him close to Fitz (Realm of the Elderlings) for seemingly good intentions and the misery that is bestowed on them anyway by the author. That being said, Pinion has a few moments here that rival Alder for heartache. Furthermore, as commented on in previous reviews for this series, the magic system is well-realised, with clear rules without being overly extravagant.

An aspect Greathouse needs credit for, too, is that he presents the perfect amount of page time for all of the characters, main and minor. By the novel's neat, fitting, and rewarding conclusion, I truly felt like I had been through the wringer alongside them. This series could have ended with a gargantuan battle but the author kept it exciting, tight, and the tone felt right in the final stages, doing justice to what had been built up until that point.

"It is vital that any record of war captures the horror that twists the hearts of all who fight, and the naivete, arrogance, and foolishness that breeds those horrors. I can only hope I have honoured the truth in crafting my own account, with all its foolishness and fumbling."

For my overall reading experience of The Pattern of the World, I am awarding a 7/10. Even though many of the main characters are young adults, this series is undeniably adult dark fantasy. Greathouse has a great amount of talent, I will follow his career and likely read what he releases next. That being said, Pact and Pattern peaked early with the impressive The Hand of the Sun King.

Read an exclusive J.T. Greathouse article entitled Lenses on Complicity: Character Arcs in Pact & Pattern by clicking here.

A thrilling conclusion that leaves the reader satisfied. I really enjoyed this book and it's continued exploration of the magic systems, world and characters. The characters are rich and in many cases conflicted. I would have appreciated a 'story so far' section at the start as it has been so long since I read books 1 and 2 that I had forgotten lots. This did affect my enjoyment initially as I was really struggling to recall the story.

The Pattern of the World is the last book of the Pact and Pattern series by J.T.Greathouse.

In The Pattern of the World, J. T Greathouse closes the story of Wen Alder/Foolish Cur and this time the fate of the world and creation is at risk.

At the end of the last book, Foolish Cur opened pandora’s box and now the gods are free to continue their war, and the effects of this war are having catastrophic effects on the whole world.

In an effort to put the genie back in the bottle and fix the mistakes that he has made, Foolish Cur has to attempt to save the world and also stop the machinations of Tenet, the emperor of Sien.

Now I must say that I have loved this series and how progressively the stakes have increased exponentially throughout the story. Similar to book two, the story is a multi point of view story and we follow the arcs of Koro Ha, Foolish Cur and Ral Ans Urera as they each attempt to lead their own respective people to whatever fate is in store. In addition to this, Pinion, the vengeful brother of Oriole is still attempting to claim his revenge on Foolish Cur for what he perceives is the cause of his brother’s death and the fall of the empire.

It’s always difficult to review the last book in a series as not only does it bring together the whole of the trilogy, it has to stand together as a book in its own right, and I must say that the book succeeds on both counts. Similarly to the second book, Greathouse uses a mixture perspectives and tenses that add an impetus to how the story is portrayed. With Foolish Cur, he writes in a first perspective, whilst in Ral ans Urera perspectives he moves to a present tense, whilst the rest are a third person perspective. This changin in perspectives and tenses works well, even though I generally find the present tense sometimes a little difficult to adapt to, but it gives it an almost hallucinatory/mythical tint when she comes on the scene.

As usual, Greathouse’s prose works well in the story, carefully maintaining a balance between character and plot as we see some of the characters arcs progress towards the inevitable conclusion.

And then we have the ending. Whilst I have seen that some other people may not have felt wholly satisfied with how the story ends, personally I thought it was the only way that the story could have ended and felt that this was a satisfying conclusion to what has been a great series.

If you haven’t read the Pact and Pattern series I think that you would find this to be a great series, especially if you are a fan of Robin Hobb.

really wanted to read this book - I've enjoyed the previous entries THE HAND OF THE SUN KING and THE GARDEN OF EMPIRE - but I could not sink into this one.

It's only been a year since I read the preceding book but I couldn't remember a thing, and this book does not help fill in those gaps early. There is an introduction, but it's not a two page summary of events (which is what I was hoping). Instead it's honestly two pages of waffle along the lines of "you've read part of my tale, here's the ending" that doesn't set the scene.

This then left me with no real idea of what had happened to the characters to put them in their position (and thus no idea of the stakes.) I didn't even know who most of the four narrators were! This meant I simply didn't care and just felt lost, like stumbling in the dark.

I also found the person and tense switches between narrators (third present, third past, and first past) very jarring, compounding my feeling of not knowing what was going on.

The "Pact and Pattern" trilogy, for me, has gone from strength to strength with each book - "The Pattern of the World" is superb in every way. Plot, writing, and (most of all) the characters have made this a series to keep on your bookshelf and smile at now and then, while promising to re-read at the first opportunity.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I think this may be my least favourite of the series. It seems almost lazy sometimes and it felt more like a predictable story than anything else.

My gratitude to NetGalley and the publishers for a free eARC of "The Pattern of the World" by J. T. Greathouse.
The conclusion to the trillogy "The Pact and Pattern" brought all the effects of the choices made by the protagonists.
We got to see more of Ral Ans Urrera, a magic wilder that was briefly introduced in "The Garden of the Empire". Her character development felt relevant and was a pleasure to witness.
Similarly to the second instalment, beside Foolish Cur and Ral's perspectives, the points of view from Koro Ha and Pinion were not as exciting, but I still appreciated their role.
The prices of wilding magic, of interference with the patterns of the gods, the meaning of survival and justice, all are discused in J. T. Greathouse's beautiful prose.
A satisfying conclusion that makes me want to reread the entire trilogy from start to finish.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This is the third and final book in the Pact and Pattern trilogy. I thought this was a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy. It was great to be back with these characters and I loved their development in this instalment. The plot was compelling throughout and the writing is great. I highly recommend checking this trilogy out.