Cataclysm

Frozen Flame #8

by Paul J. Bennett

Peace is impossible while the family survives

As the Northern Alliance threatens the Stormwind's power, the family retaliates, forcing the rulers of the Petty Kingdoms to bend to their will. Hoping to finally end the family’s influence, Athgar and Natalia travel to Abelard for a secret meeting, striking a deal for the future of Therengia.

With a bold plan to destroy the Volstrum, they must cross Zaran, where the brave vanish, and the foolhardy lose their minds. Is there truth in the stories of dangerous beasts, or are they just tales meant to frighten children?

Struggling through the wilderness, with danger threatening at every turn, they seek solace in the knowledge that their sacrifice will lead to a future without strife Only when they discover a secret long lost to the annals of history do they see a beacon of hope.

The end is coming—a titanic clash of the most powerful mages on the Continent.

Witness the ultimate confrontation in Cataclysm, Paul J Bennett’s epic conclusion to The Frozen Flame series.

New to the series? Get to know Athgar and Natalia in their origin stories, Into the Fire & The Awakening, then pick up Book Ashes to learn how they met!

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2024

About the author

Paul J Bennett (b. 1961) emigrated from England to Canada in 1967. His father served in the British Royal Navy, and his mother worked for the BBC in London. As a young man, Paul followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983. He is married to Carol Bennett and has three daughters who are all creative in their own right.

Paul’s interest in writing started in his teen years when he discovered the roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons (D & D). What attracted him to this new hobby was the creativity it required; the need to create realms, worlds and adventures that pulled the gamers into his stories.

In his 30’s, Paul started to dabble in designing his own roleplaying system, using the Peninsular War in Portugal as his backdrop. His regular gaming group were willing victims, er, participants in helping to playtest this new system. A few years later, he added additional settings to his game, including Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, World War II, and the all-important Fantasy Realm where his stories take place.

The beginnings of his first book ‘Servant to the Crown’ originated over five years ago when he began a new fantasy campaign. For the world that the Kingdom of Merceria is in, he ran his adventures like a TV show, with seasons that each had twelve episodes, and an overarching plot. When the campaign ended, he knew all the characters, what they had to accomplish, what needed to happen to move the plot along, and it was this that inspired to sit down to write his first novel.

Paul now has four series based in his fantasy world of Eiddenwerthe and is looking forward to sharing many more books with his readers over the coming years.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cataclysm
The End?

Don’t want to give any spoilers but if anyone has read the other reviews they know this series is ending, which I hate because this and the Crown series are my favorites, the interactions of the humans with the other races intrigues me. I do hope to see the fruits of Athgar and Natalia and the others labors in future books, there is too much potential there to not follow up on (in my opinion). Is this the end or the beginning of the end of the Stormwinds influence or will they bounce back from the damage dealt?, are there enough left to have any influence to speak of…guess we will have to wait and see.

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All's well that ends well, and it did end well. Our family of characters survive to face another day. Natalia is even reunited with Tatiana.
It's always a bit sad when a series comes to an end. The main characters become like an extended family, so it is sad to see them go. I don't think the Author is quite done with the machinations of the Petty Kingdoms or Halvaria, so hopefully we will meet up with some of them again.

I received a free Advance Reader Copy of Cataclysm through Bookfunnel, and have chosen to leave a review.

[Denzel Struchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Athgar and Natalie continues thier clearing of the Petty Kingdoms of the controls of the Stormwind and Sartelline families. In their March to get to the Volstrum they travel new path and meet orcs from a hidden city. They have been reclusive since the Great War and killed anyone who came on their land. Upon meeting their Queen and showing how there mixed race party and use of magic, it is concluded they will live and come out of hiding. Taken down the Volstrum is another matter. The paths that Athgar and Natalia have walked through this book series is amazing.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final chapter of the series! And what an ending – discoveries, surprises and dangers await Natalia, Athgar and friends as they attempt to finally destroy the Stormwind’s Volstrum and the family’s hold on the Petty Kingdoms. Undertaking a perilous journey to that end, they find an Orc settlement with ancient beginnings. Will these Orcs be lasting friends or manipulative foes? And will magic overcome the might of the Stormwind’s? Can Therengia and her allies truly find peace? Will our heroes survive? A fitting conclusion to a classically engaging story.

[Quilting Tangent · Rating 4 out of 5]

End the Stromwind's power! 
As the Stormwind's power grows.  The wonderful characters of Natalia, Athgar and their friends form a risky plan to take down the Volstrum. They will face unknown dangers along the way.  This is the unpredictable, smooth flowing, interesting conclusion to the Frozen Flame Series.

[Jill Gauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in awe of this book. Paul J Bennett has written a beautiful and compelling book that I didn’t want to put down.
Athgar, Natalia and the others are taking down the Volstrum even if it’s the last thing they do.
I love these characters and the end of the series is heartbreaking. I feel like I’m losing my dearest friends. Their story may be over but I am hopeful to see them again.

[Jean Livingstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just fininshed the final. book in this

series it was one of the best series I have
read the storyl


series thank you to the author for one of the
best I have read the storyline and chAracters
was absorbing the whole series was great
I have read his Temple Knight series and am
looking forward to the final book
I hope the author gives us more of the same

[Barbara Raue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Athgar and Natalia have a difficult job to accomplish. It will take everything they have, and more. They cannot do it alone and must find allies and different methods to even attempt to destroy the Volstrum.

[Helen Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like spoilers, so I won't say more than it has been a great series, and this was a great place to leave Athgar and Natalia's story. I really appreciate how this world building is coming together. Can't wait for more.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul J. Bennett delivers again with his final installment of The Frozen Flame series. It is full of action and tension. Although I’m sorry to see the series end, I look forward to the adventures of Oswyn and Agar.

[Ramona Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading on the 28th of February. Finished March the 13. Mr. Bennet has finish this series in a timely manner and I have really enjoyed it. I have read the entire series and highly recommend all 8 books.

[Richard Cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as I have all his books, you get the characters and your in the story with them,it’s a shame this is the final one of the series gonna miss Natalia ,athgar and the rest,I would recommend this book,it doesn’t disappoint

[H.C TOWERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

what can I say except that the author ended the story as strong as he started it and left us wanting more, I hope the new series picks up where this one leaves off or time skip because I want more, love the series . This series was the greatest and remained epic all the way to the end.

[Evelyn Goughnour · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book!

I thoroughly enjoyed all eight of these books. This whole series was wonderful. I truly hope that they see some peace for at least 10 years, especially after the downfall of the stormwind school!

[Kari Fredlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in one night!!!😍 Could not put it down!😁

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most satisfying end to this story .
But can’t wait for the future to be revealed.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great ending. I couldn't be happier with how the series ended...except to not have it end. Well done!

[Brian Lamphier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this series

Can't wait for the next book and what becomes of the daughter and Agar and all the rest I loved this series and can't wait for the next. Well done

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0-4.5 Stars

I have thoroughly enjoyed the story & journey of The Frozen Flame series from start to finish, and I'm glad to see it have a satisfactory ending.

However, I did have some small criticisms about three minor pieces to this final story [spoilers!]:

1) The trade agreement with the Dwarves in the opening chapter - better-crafted goods & plate armor for food, and a mutual defensive pact - seemed pointless, as they played no part in the final fight, no mention of new armor on the Therengians. It would have made more sense to have a few companies of dwarven shield warriors in place of the new orcish glaves.

2) The "Shadow Kingdom Beast" that attacked the group in the wilderness... what was the point? I'm fine with it having "migrated" from the rumored 'Kingdom of Shadow' to the far north, but it added nothing to the plot. Natalia losing an arm was of no consequence thanks to healing magic and the 10-day delay of her recovery changed nothing.

3) The long-lost hidden city orcs & their queen - now in concept, these were a fun addition even in a finale book. However, while the casual warning of 'Oh the queen plans to conquer some lands thanks to your teaching of the arch spell' could have been an interesting twist during the final fight, it became irrelevant by never summoning the aid of city-orc mages who had volunteered, only the glaves - thus I repeat from 1) they could have used dwarves instead.

*I will note that if these items are meant to be main-story related in future series, or are part of an existing series that I haven't completed yet, I generally have no problem with them for world-building, they just seem odd additions to a finale book.

*Two additional small criticisms:

4) Not really a big deal, but it seems a missed opportunity to have included the lost Therengian enchanted banner relic that was found in the previous book (Torrent).

5) No important main or supporting characters died in the final fight, even though events in that fight and preceding build-up dialogue made it seem that was a real risk. The two obvious examples (1) Belgast gets "pierced" in the chest/stomach by a large ice shard... but he's pulled to safety and later healed; and (2) before the final fight, Natalia's father figure, Stanislav talks about his plans to settle down & marry post-fight... in most writings, that could be a "death flag" which, in this case, could have had Stanislav sacrifice himself to help the heroes escape by grappling with the evil head mage to ensure they're both crushed by the collapsing building. This is a pretty important 'underwhelming/disappointment' for a big finale - supposed to be high stakes - battle, which undermines the overall stakes of the battle & series finale - not terrible, just underwhelming.