Always Forever (Age of Misrule, Book 3)

I loved this series. I was so excited to find something where Celtic mythology was one of the main drivers of the plot. If you've gotten this far in the series, you won't be disappointed. Well, maybe a little. Be forewarned: This is a trilogy of trilogies. The next set is due to be released in the US in the summer. I can't wait!

While I grew increasingly irritated with Church's incessant whining about Marianne all the way up to the darn last pages ... and the characters were a bit under-developed (or should we say the epitome of what they represented) ... I really liked the series! Unplanned I finished reading it on Halloween (there are no coincidences) ... in any event the the author pulled everything together at the end. The author bogs us down with what I imagine to be playlists from his mp3 player ... yawn ... and Tom and Shavi tend to delve into these historical documentary asides a bit longer than they need to ... yawn ... but the guerrilla warfare, the trials and the powerful, underlying metaphysical discourse (there is always something bigger), I found, to be very entertaining. I was not anticipating what occurred in the last few pages and was pleasantly surprised. There is definitely room for a sequel ... or would it be a prequel in this case? The only thing missing was a reckoning for those called gods in the book. Deep down inside I wanted Ruth to strike down the Queen of the Court of Yearning and members of the Court of the Final Word with a bolts of coruscating blue fire. Sigh ... perhaps soon enough. Overall the series was a good read!

The ancient Gods and the Fomorii demons have brought Balor the Heart of Shadows into the world for the first time in eons. The power of the all evil essence is growing and on Samhain the WORLD'S END will be completed. The last hope for humanity ,the five Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, have been defeated by the Fomorii after a horrific battle though they did their best it proved futile during the cataclysmic THE DARKEST HOUR. They are leaderless, scattered apart or dead. Though despondent and filled with a hopeless despair, each one of the quintet continues to risk their lives as they separately try to move past the insufferable loss and seek one another as well as persuade Queen Tuatha de Danann to help them defeat the Fomorii to prevent Balor from succeeding. Church, Ruth, Shavi, Ryan and Laura must find their inner strength for if any falters, it means Balor rules and the end of mankind. Even if they prove successful starting with obtaining Tuatha's help, they will still need to deal with the potentially treacherous Queen. The third book in The Age of Misrule saga is an excellent finish to a fabulous saga as readers will mark this author for future tales. The story line is action-packed as the follow-up to the stunning defeat in the aptly titled THE DARKEST HOUR which is filled with escapades and adventures, but also allows the audience to see into the hearts and minds of the fearsome five who have no hope for the future as all seems lost. Fans will admire them for their courage to carry on in spite of their anguish, accentuated by the belief some of their allies died. The quintet brings the souls to Mark Chadbourn's great trilogy. Harriet Klausner

Thomas the Rhymer, fancy mythological ships, and more, as the Brothers and Sisters stage a guerilla campaign to try and drive out the evil beasties and others that would like a big nasty void to happen. Fighting a fimbulwinter with no technology is not a lot of fun, so they have to use their powers to see what they can do about getting some airpower support, in the form of large, flying lizards, who share the same magical source of energy.

Chadbourn's final book in the `Age of Misrule' is a sparkling read where the Quincunx of Church, Shavi, Veitch, Laura and Ruth lead the Tuatha De'Danaan into battle against the Fomorri and Balor. Ruth and Church are on the Waverunner, a magical ship-Tardis where they save and gain the respect of the Danaan. Church and Baccharus form a great fighting friendship after Callow and the Nightwalkers storm the ship, capture Manannan and bring the Wish-Hex with which to unlease a great plague to destroy the Golden Ones. Ruth becomes over more powerful, whilst, a world away, Veitch enters the underworld, Orpheus-style to rescude Shavi, whilst Tom gains immense power from the most ancient of Gods enabling him to control deities such as Epona.The circle is turning as our human Fragile Creatures' realise the Pendragon Spirit and become leaders in their own right.Laura reawakes after birthing Balor and finds her self with the Bone Inspector. During the titantic struggle Church realises his love for Ruth and the pair head for the Western Isles, home to the Danaan, so Church can take the water from the Pool of wishes to cleanse himself from the Roisin Dubh's taint. There they discover the Danaan are on the verge of civil war over the potential of humans but manage to secure the aid of the Golden ones in unleashing another war on Balor and the Fomorri. What follows is a battle royal as the three separate armies converge on London, one headed by Ruth and Veitch, the other by Church, Tom and the Bone Inspector, the final by Laura and Shavi. Along the way they fight every dark creature under the mythical sun, crawl through more London tunnels that we ever knew existed and find their own personal glory. Come the denoument we discover the unwitting traitor, people die nobly and Balor is defeated. However, there is a cyclical ending with Church and hope for a new beginning.All in all a great trilogy that brings together many Celtic myths and weaves a fine tale around them that drags the reader in. The central characterisation across the trilogy is not terribly strong but the supporting cast are well drawn and provide enough support. Of the three, this final novel is the best as Chadbourn seems to relax in his writing style, the first half given to the Waverunner being the best of it. The denoument is suitably climatic and not cliched. So all in all a good first series from this author and well worth any fan of Celtic fantasy reading.