The Last Bastion

Gallow #3

by Nathan Hawke

Nathan Hawke is the pseudonym of fantasy author Stephen Deas.

The last battle for the fate of your country is coming. My kin are out for blood and revenge. Another empire sees a chance to come in and pick up the pieces of our war. Most of your warriors are stuck hiding in the swamps, always aware that they do not have enough numbers to win a straight fight.

And from over the seas, my people bring their most deadly weapons, the Fateguard. Living suits of armour, imbued with mystical and deadly power. The end times have come for your land. I have fought alongside you, I have bled for you, I have made myself a traitor to all I believe in for you. And yet you still do not trust me.

But you have no option.

This will be our last battle, and there is only one place that it can be fought. We must defend our stronghold, no matter how many lives it may cost, no matter how hard it is. For if we do not, there will be no mercy and no relief from the terrors to come.

Good thing I'm on your side.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic, Military Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2013

About the author

Nathan Hawke is the pseudonym of fantasy author Stephen Deas.

Reviews

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This trilogy seems to be one of diminishing returns. This third book continues the dog's breakfast of a plot that's left after the previous two entries in the series. Gallow has become increasingly unsympathetic as the series has gone along and most of the other characters seem to be cut from the same cloth as Gallow. It's hard to understand the motivations of any of the different peoples. It's also hard to care about their fates since they all seem about the same. I feel like Hawke just keeps going over the same ground over and over again. This city is under siege by these guys. Wait, now these other guys are going to capture it. Then it's going to change hands again. Round and round we go.

By the time we get to Medrin's conversation with Oribas, nothing is making any sense. Nobody's motivation is that clear. The whole thing is a muddle. And I didn't give a damn about any of them. If I could do it all over again, I would read the first book in the series as a stand alone, and then stop. Because that was really the only one worth reading.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

C2013: FWFTB: blood, revenge, swamps, Fateguard, stronghold.Having enjoyed the first 2 books, it was a no-brainer to decide to get my grubby hands on this book. The author trusts his readers to be able to recall all the events of the past 2 books as there is no ‘what has come before’ but as I have read them in fairly quick succession, I did not struggle too much at all.The changes in POVs are handled well and although, the female characters are not developed as well as the male characters, the stereotypical female personages are present and accounted for.I know that Nathan Hawke is a pseudonym of Stephen Deas and for some reason I much prefer the writings done under Hawke. Absolutely no idea why that would be other than the novels under the ‘Deas’ name were more YA in plot and tone.Absolutely no blurb on either the front and back cover.And what a cover it is! There is no title on the front cover and the illustration by Alejandro Colucci is just outstanding perfectly capturing the mood and content of the book.Highly recommended as long as you have read the first two books.They didn’t say much, even if they hadn’t seen each other for most of the last three years. Somehow talking seemed a waste of the little time they had left.’

[Steven Poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's taken a while, for various reasons, but at last we reach the end of Nathan Hawke/Stephen Deas's paean to honour, loyalty, grizzled fighting, and - deep at its heart - the spirit and legacy of David Gemmell.

The Last Bastion takes a little while to shuffle all of its pieces into order, during which the reader may struggle to remember which Lhosir and Marroc warriors are which. Once it has everybody at the great citadel of Varyxhun however, the story settles into a grand siege that must satisfy all but the most jaded of fans of heroic fantasy.

A great trilogy that deserves a much wider readership, alongside Paul Kearney's Macht books.

[Jim Galford · Rating 1 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed the first two books in this series. Looking forward to this, the third, I was sorely disappointed. The author lost all focus. He tried to follow too many characters' storylines, and both the characters and the story suffered for it. It is disjointed and boring.

[Andrew Garrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The addition of so much supernatural to the action spoiled the series for me a bit. The books should have stayed more conventional.

[Dustman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read. Should have been more Gallow

[Scott Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Battle scenes were good , but the end seemed rushed , so a disapointment

[Shane Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong conclusion to the trilogy. If you've read David Gemmell's Legend (which I only did about a month ago) parts of this book should be familiar It's an homage, that even Nathan Hawke (aka Stephen Deas) acknowledges. The homage itself actually works really well within the context of the world these books have created & it's definitely it's own beast. The fantasy & military components of the finally meld together & it makes the conclusion suitably thrilling. You definitely need to have read the first 2 instalments to have any idea what's going on, but as a conclusion I don't think it could've been done much better. If you're looking for something to read over a week (during a holiday for example), I'd definitely recommend you give the Gallow trilogy a go.

[Soesje · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had some more problems getting though this book. I still really liked it but at some points the pacing was not working for me. Also it was sometimes difficult for me at the start of a chapter as I only knew what perspective I was reading after a name was mentioned, as there where multiple people around the same location and the first paragraph is describing something either perspective could be seeing or experiencing. Reading this book again makes me feel like the end of this book is not the end of the series. We have completed the conflicts that went through all of the books, but at the same time, around the end of the book multiple problems where put up that sounded like there would be more.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I think it was the best of the trilogy, but there were two issues I had, that caused me to knock off a star. The first one is that as the conclusion of a trilogy, I was hoping it would wrap up what became that biggest threat/plot point in the story for me - taking care of the Eye of Fate, but that never happened. The second is that it took Oribas until the
last second to figure out the water dragon. It seemed like as an extremely smart Aulian, he would have quickly identified how to use it. Still, the story was a page turner and I really loved all the characters, good and bad. It's a wonderful series, that I highly recommend.

[Gilly Pardy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this series i really did... but quite simply most of book 2 and certainly all of book 3 , was read out of the obligation to read the whole set.
whilst there were , I'll admit moments in which i was cheering the heroes ... those moments were few and far between.
The story had much potential, but seemed to really get lost in itself , and unfortunately came across very samey .


A valiant attempt , I can only hope I am in the minority in my thoughts of this.

I guess the lesson learned is don't be drawn to a book by its pretty art work.

[Raymond Just · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying last book in the trilogy, The Last Bastion is good, old-fashioned, hard-boiled fantasy. Thinks Game of Thrones meets Vikings, with a dash of Conan thrown in for good measure. The characters are by this time extremely well developed, and the plot works well as the story reaches its conclusion. I do have one gripe about a fairly large, nasty thread left dangling, but 'm assuming it's leaving room for a further story.

[Susana789 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posledné kapitoly patrili k najvydarenejším častiam celej trilógie. Kniha mala podobne ako celá trilógia slušnú úroveň, ale nič prevratné ani objavné čo sa týka spôsobu písania, podania príbehu alebo nápadu.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt, the best of the three. But don't try to read it without reading the first two.
There were moments when I was on the edge of my seat. Writing was engaging, exciting and detailed.
Ending was a little abrupt, but I didn't mind a bit.

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong characters who sometimes find themselves with moral dilemmas. Dark atmosphere with lots of fighting.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read better in this genre and I've read worse. This series rates high enough that the pages kept turning and the story got better with each book...Hero's, Villains and great battles, what more can you ask for??

[Sharkie · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I'm glad to be rid of this series. The first was lovely, and I enjoyed it a lot, but the second and third just seemed to take the story too far.

Maybe if this was a movie it would have been much more interesting and exciting to watch, but as a book it just got boring as hell and Modris protect me it took a long time to get through. I would love to have it condensed to a 2 hour long movie, that would be amazing, but this book was dull dull dull.

So 2/5 stars. Read on for a spoiler.



----- Spoilers Below ------



Okay, so why the fuck did Medrin have to have a heart? That bit where he's talking to Oribas and it seems like the author wants you to feel bad for him makes me furious. I could've liked him better if he was MORE ruthless and didn't have any cracks. This annoyed me so much.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great end to the trilogy. Of course it appears there's another trilogy that follows. But hey, you can't keep a Forkbeard down!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the series probably deserved four stars, it is an enjoyable read and keeps you interested. The story which is mostly in relation to one main character with a number of lesser ones moves along at a brisk pace and is full of action.

The problems I had with the series were mainly due to worldbuilding, there seemed a distinct lack of information regarding the different people and the physical setting. Also the book is mainly a story of non stop action/war, with a complete lack of any subtle inferences about anything else. Politics, religion, subtle sub plots, mystery are largely missing in this character driven book.

Having said the above, I found the main character a satisfying one to read about and follow through the 3 books. I will definately pick up future books by this author.