What do you think?
Rate this book
Order's Last Play #3
The Second Endgame
“Trust no god” is the best advice ever given. Too bad no one can take it as intergalactic chaos spreads, heroes switch sides, and divine, new players start making moves.
Doomed to play the roles Order’s cast them in, Lyle, Evan and Lawrence Lauduethe struggle to make the dangerous decisions needed to win an intergalactic crusade. Meanwhile, recent prisoner of war Devon finds himself face-to-face with the enemy god, Order’s son Pandemonium. Desperate to return to his brothers, Devon considers a counteroffer made by Pandemonium who will save Devon’s loved ones if he surrenders. As Devon discovers the universe isn’t as black and white as he once believed, Lyle, losing his mind from prolonged separation from his twin, sells the rest of his soul to Order, betraying brothers and friends alike to ensure Order returns Devon to his side.
Fearing that his blindness is permanent, Lawrence travels to a distant planet for a magical procedure that might restore his eyesight or leave him in the dark forever, while Evan ventures out to join the war effort’s ground forces. Partnered with a stowaway Maiden and former love from a past life, Evan may hold the key to unlocking a power that could free him and his brothers from Order’s curse and level the godly playing field at a deadly cost.
As the war boils to a head, the Lauduethe brothers are pawns and rooks in a perilous endgame. The gambit is on the table, but what will the brothers choose when mortal lives are the sacrifice?
Doomed to play the roles Order’s cast them in, Lyle, Evan and Lawrence Lauduethe struggle to make the dangerous decisions needed to win an intergalactic crusade. Meanwhile, recent prisoner of war Devon finds himself face-to-face with the enemy god, Order’s son Pandemonium. Desperate to return to his brothers, Devon considers a counteroffer made by Pandemonium who will save Devon’s loved ones if he surrenders. As Devon discovers the universe isn’t as black and white as he once believed, Lyle, losing his mind from prolonged separation from his twin, sells the rest of his soul to Order, betraying brothers and friends alike to ensure Order returns Devon to his side.
Fearing that his blindness is permanent, Lawrence travels to a distant planet for a magical procedure that might restore his eyesight or leave him in the dark forever, while Evan ventures out to join the war effort’s ground forces. Partnered with a stowaway Maiden and former love from a past life, Evan may hold the key to unlocking a power that could free him and his brothers from Order’s curse and level the godly playing field at a deadly cost.
As the war boils to a head, the Lauduethe brothers are pawns and rooks in a perilous endgame. The gambit is on the table, but what will the brothers choose when mortal lives are the sacrifice?
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 5, 2024
3 people want to read
About the author
E. Ardell
6 books60 followersE. Ardell spent her childhood in Houston, Texas, obsessed with anything science fiction, fantastic, paranormal or just plain weird. She loves to write stories that feature young people with extraordinary talents thrown into strange and dangerous situations. She took her obsession to the next level, earning a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Maine where she specialized in young adult genre fiction. She’s a big kid at heart and loves her job as a librarian. When she’s not working, she’s reading, writing, running writers critique groups, producing a web-show, and even writing fan fiction as her guilty pleasure. Her first YA science fiction novel, THE FOURTH PIECE, was released by 48fourteen Publishing in July of 2016. THE FOURTH PIECE went on to win the bronze medal for YA Science Fiction in The Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2017, Most Promising Series in the Red City Review Book Awards 2017, and to be a finalist for the 2017 RONE Awards for YA Science Fiction/Paranormal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 17, 2024
I. Love. This book.
Third books in series are always my favorites. This one is no exception! The author has finished all the world and character building, developed her characters, and gets to just FLOW. Each of our favorite brothers are set up in situations designed to test, twist, and break them. We get to see who they really are deep down in their hearts, and even the bad choices that were brought about by Godly manipulation at its finest, are made for love. We really get to see Evan shine, and Devon grow. We get to see Lyle under the worst kind of pressure, and brilliant happy hyper Lawrence have to do a lot of growing up really fast. I look forward to the fourth and final installment of this series!
Third books in series are always my favorites. This one is no exception! The author has finished all the world and character building, developed her characters, and gets to just FLOW. Each of our favorite brothers are set up in situations designed to test, twist, and break them. We get to see who they really are deep down in their hearts, and even the bad choices that were brought about by Godly manipulation at its finest, are made for love. We really get to see Evan shine, and Devon grow. We get to see Lyle under the worst kind of pressure, and brilliant happy hyper Lawrence have to do a lot of growing up really fast. I look forward to the fourth and final installment of this series!
March 22, 2024
I was hooked from the first page, and couldn’t put it down. Although this is the third book in a series, you don’t need to read the first two. You’ll have a deeper understanding of the characters and setting, but Ardell does a great job of filling in the pieces for new readers. (And if you start with this book, you’ll absolutely want to go back and read the others, the story is just too good)! The world-building is top tier, and the magic system is very well-developed. I loved getting to know the characters, and seeing their unique personalities and how they interacted with each other. There was plenty of tension to keep everything moving forward at a good pace. If you enjoy space operas with a touch of magic, you’re going to love this book!
January 17, 2024
More please? Just when I thought this series couldn't get any better, this book erupts on the scene and shakes everything up. From magical creatures to descents into madness where moral gray turns black, I'm hooked and can't wait for the conclusion of this series! Where's Book 4?
May 7, 2024
This is my first book by this author and I will be going back to read the first two in the series. a good story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 30, 2024
Awesome
Could not put it down. If you're after a book that keeps you riveted on the storyline, this is yet another in the series. Fast paced, with twists I didn't see coming. Definitely needed tissues in places. Just couldn't turn the kindle pages fast enough.
Could not put it down. If you're after a book that keeps you riveted on the storyline, this is yet another in the series. Fast paced, with twists I didn't see coming. Definitely needed tissues in places. Just couldn't turn the kindle pages fast enough.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews