The Last Mortal Bond

Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 3

By: Brian Staveley

Narrated by: Simon Vance

The trilogy that began with The Emperor's Blades and continued in The Providence of Fire reaches its epic conclusion as war engulfs the Annurian Empire in Brian Staveley's The Last Mortal Bond

The ancient csestriim are back to finish their purge of humanity; armies march against the capital; leaches, solitary beings who draw power from the natural world to fuel their extraordinary abilities, maneuver on all sides to affect the outcome of the war; and capricious gods walk the earth in human guise with agendas of their own.

But the three imperial siblings at the heart of it all - Valyn, Adare, and Kaden - come to understand that even if they survive the holocaust unleashed on their world, there may be no reconciling their conflicting visions of the future.

©2016 Brian Staveley (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Overall

This book was captivating as it had turns on top of turns. I couldn't see the end until I was almost at the end which is what I liked. I do wised that a bit more relationship was described between the Flea and Valyn, their was more than enough scenes for it to happen, but it was still great. Both had their own darkness, which to me builds a character and make things more realistic. I could see the my own version of the Flea and Valyn because of the descriptions shaved head and scared eyes. I would have to say this is as good as Game Of Throne, the idea of killing people off really hurts, but it happens in reality . Mortality whenever it's confronted even in a book hurts and that's how I know it was good.

Such an amazing trilogy!

Wow! This is a must listen in my opinion. I’m a huge epic fantasy fan partly due to the lengths of the books and the depth of character development that is achievable by great authors. For reference, I’ve listened to hundreds of fantasy/science fiction books. Given the relatively short length of this trilogy, I was surprised to find myself emotionally connected to the three main protagonists, even Kaiden (and yes, I get the irony). I was also really happy with how the story was mostly wrapped up by the end. I hope for many more books to come from this fantasy universe.

Amazing!

This is the best sci/fi-fantasy I've read since Dune, many years ago. I'll leave the writing of a synopsis to far more articulate people. This other-world fantasy is incredible, full of fantastic imagery and fully rounded characters. I listened to all three of the Audible books; they left me wanting more. Simon Vance has a beautiful reading voice, his use of the many accents made the characters come alive. I'll be looking for more of his performances.

Excellent writing and plot twists.

Excellent character and intelligent plot twists. it keeps you guessing who is right and who is wrong and which choices should they make. as in life nothing is easy or clear about what is right to do. There was quite a bit of twisted sadistic rituals from some of the clearly evil characters which was not easy to stomach but it fit with the story overall. Great writing.

Loved it, fo sho.

Characters are fo reals. Performance was legit. One through three... all good. If you like strong characters that will jack you up, this fo you.