Fall of Thanes

With the monumental defeats at the hands of the more powerful Black Road armies, the True Bloods are in trouble. Adding to their seemingly inevitable annihilation is the alliance collapsed as each Blood Line chooses to save itself. At the same time Aeglyss' mental state seems increasingly deranged. Blood Thane Orisian realistically understands what he and his people face as he has few shieldmen warriors left with his line nearing extinction. While his sister Anyara remains with Aewult the Bloodheir of the Haig Blood who are also in trouble, Orisian travels with Ess'yr the Fox Kyrinin and her brother. He knows he is falling in love with Ess'yr, but must defeat Aeglyss. At the same time, Kanin the Horin-Gyre Thane raises a heretical force of half-breed soldiers to fight Aeglyss. The third and final Godless World epic fantasy is a great ending to an overall terrific saga. The story line is fast-paced along several well written fault lines that ultimately converge in an anticipated epic center confrontation. However, the key to this entire trilogy is the cast. No one is a John Wayne like hero as everyone has prejudice and a willingness to sacrifice those they consider lesser. The battles are graphic and the other scenes vivid as history on this world seem destined to repeat itself with the flow of the True Bloods almost defiantly heading to extinction. With the exception of needing a glossary handy, Brian Ruckley completes his chronicle with a wonderful winner. Harriet Klausner

I also commend Mr. Ruckley for fininshing the series in three books. During the second book I feared it was going off the rails but the Fall of thanes brings it back together. Great resolution of the main story arcs for the protagonist and antagonist and much of that is due to the pretty solid writing. Last couple of chapters certainly brought me to tears. That said, a couple of negatives for me. I don't mind bleak, but I do mind pointless, and I felt several of the side characters who I thought had great promise from the first books just fade away in this series. Also, I felt much of momentum stemmed from great descripitive writing even though much of the action did not really advance the plot. Lastly, I thought the lack of even a modicum of sex almost off-putting given the level of violence that pervades the book. It was like the entire world just consisted of violence and death and the neutered chaste. In the end though, well worth the time. And I will certainly pick up the next book he writes since so few writers can execute such a consistent vision over several books that deliver a coherent emotional pay-off. well done.

First off, I feel like I have to applaud Brian Ruckley for ending the series at three books. Too many fantasy authors these days like to milk their fans for all they're worth, with diminishing results each time. So thanks for taking the high road, Mr. Ruckley. When we last left the gang at the end of Bloodheir, the bad guys had a seemingly insurmountable lead. The Black Road had defeated the True Bloods at every battle worth counting. Most of the northern cities had already fallen. Aeglyss' power was growing by the day, and now he had a zombified Mordyn under his thumb. Could Orisian, still in exile, get back to his people so they could muster a defense? Was there ANY way to defeat Aeglyss? My main complaint with the first two books was that the heroes were simply herded along in the direction of the plot. They are simply pawns in a vicious war that none of them chose. As underdogs their decisions are not really theirs to make, and they never have to go through the painful moral dilemmas that plague characters in, say, ASOIAF. Thankfully FAT rectifies this somewhat. After being baggage in Winterbirth and Bloodheir Orisian tentativly grows into his role as thane, albeit thane of an army of refugees. On the other side of the battle lines, Kanin's resentment grows at the cult of personality surrounding Aeglyss, and the result is a tug-of-war that pits them against each other. There's still a strong undercurrent of "minor characters doing minor things" syndrome, but Mordyn, Torquentine and Anyara are much better utilized this time around. Subplots that didn't make sense in Bloodheir come to fruition here, and are given as much importance as the war itself. The senseless violence in this book approaches George R.R. Martin levels, albeit not as graphic or entertaining. It seems every other page has descriptions of people dying in obscene ways. Since these are just nameless, faceless villagers, one can't be expected to care all that much. The man at the center of all this carnage is Aeglyss, who is using his Jedi mind tricks to cast himself as a present-day messiah. I have two minds about this. I like the idea of a beleaguered people giving in to their base instincts, but I have to wonder why the main characters are so immune (except for Wain). In the end the heroes lose and lose, only to win at the very last minute with some well-placed help. But victory, although welcome, is far from sweet. Too many have died, and those who remain face an uncertain future. A fitting end for a war that more often then not resembled a drunken brawl. As a villain Aeglyss turned out to be everything I thought he would be, though I found his style somewhat contradictory. On one hand, we're told he can look deep into your heart and pull out whatever he finds there. On the other hand, he can brainwash people and send entire armies fleeing. I prefer it when people do things because they WANT to, not because they've been coerced by Jedi mind tricks. In the en

First off, I feel like I have to applaud Brian Ruckley for ending the series at three books. Too many fantasy authors these days like to milk their fans for all they're worth, with diminishing results each time. So thanks for taking the high road, Mr. Ruckley. When we last left the gang at the end of Bloodheir, the bad guys had a seemingly insurmountable lead. The Black Road have defeated the True Bloods at every battle worth counting. Most of the northern cities have already fallen. Aeglyss' power is growing by the day, and now he has a zombified Mordyn under his thumb. Can Orisian, still in exile, get back to his people so they can muster a defense? Is there ANY way to defeat Aeglyss? My main complaint with the first two books was that the heroes were simply herded along in the direction of the plot. They are simply pawns in a vicious war that none of them chose. As underdogs their decisions are not really theirs to make, and they never have to go through the painful moral dilemmas that plague characters in, say, ASOIAF. Thankfully FAT rectifies this somewhat. After being baggage in Winterbirth and Bloodheir Orisian tentativly grows into his role as thane, albeit thane of an army of refugees. On the other side of the battle lines, Kanin's resentment grows at the cult of personality surrounding Aeglyss, and the result is a tug-of-war that pits them against each other. There's still a strong undercurrent of "minor characters doing minor things" syndrome, but Mordyn, Torquentine and Anyara are much better utilized this time around. Subplots that didn't make sense in Bloodheir come to fruition here, and are given as much importance as the war itself. The senseless violence in this book approaches George R.R. Martin levels, albeit not as graphic or entertaining. It seems every other page has descriptions of people dying in obscene ways. Since these are just nameless, faceless villagers, one can't be expected to care all that much. The man at the center of all this carnage is Aeglyss, who is using his Jedi mind tricks to cast himself as a present-day messiah. I have two minds about this. I like the idea of a beleaguered people giving in to their base instincts, but I have to wonder why the main characters are so immune (except for Wain). In the end the heroes lose and lose, only to win at the very last minute with some well-placed help. But victory, although welcome, is far from sweet. Too many have died, and those who remain face an uncertain future. A fitting end for a war that more often then not resembled a drunken brawl. As a villain Aeglyss turned out to be everything I thought he would be, though I found his style somewhat contradictory. On one hand, we're told he can look deep into your heart and pull out whatever he finds there. On the other hand, he can brainwash people and send entire armies fleeing. I prefer it when people do things because they WANT to, not because they've been coerced by Jedi mind tricks. In the end it

I am a huge Fan of this series. I can vividly remember the scenes and plots from both Winter Birth and Blood Heir. They remind me of George R.R. Martin Books in scope. This third book recaps what has gone before perfectly and you are pulled into the mind of Orisian as though you had never left. The images of the dark insidious plague that creeps into everyone and everything that incites madness and violence feel like a reflection of the world today. One simple personal vice and you become a pawn of Aegliss without realizing it. You are suddenly a puppet at the whim of a madman. The compelling truth is that Gods must come into the world to save men from themselves. A finer concept I cant imagine.