The World's End

A Hundred Names for Magic #3

by Rin Chupeco

It's been three months since the Snow Queen and OzCorp infiltrated Maidenkeep and nearly seized the Nine Maidens. Ryker is still unconscious after the Snow Queen attacked him and is being monitored at the hospital. Abigail Fey's curse has far-reaching consequences, and many in the Royal States has been using it to stir unrest and hostilities against Avalon. When the Adarna, a firebird-like creature appears in Avalon, the gang discovers it is one of seven magical artifacts that the Snow Queen has been searching for, in her bid to open a portal to Buyan. Determined to find the artifacts first the Bandersnatchers find information about the other five the Lotus Lantern in China, the tamatabeko in Japan, the Pied Piper's Flute and the Singing Bone in Germany, and the raskovnik at World's End, the site where Peter Pan and Captain Hook had fought and had destroyed. The final relic is a portal somewhere inside Wonderland. But the Snow Queen will stop at nothing to get to the relics first. And when one of their own is killed in the fight it takes everything they have to continue the fight to save Avalon once and for all.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Queer, Audiobook, LGBT, Asian Literature, Young Adult Fantasy

448 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

Gone.

Newsletter: http://www.rinchupeco.com/newsletter
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Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Tala and friends discover an injured Ryker, they must stop the Snow Queen at all costs by finding the artifacts before she does. Will they succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a great finale to this trilogy and if you love fantasy and fairytales, then be sure to check out this series at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.

[Mara Magill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series rules

[dearrivarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Sydney Lefebvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say… not my favourite book.

Most of it was SO GOOD. The characters were EVERYTHING. The ships were EVERYTHING. FREAKING COLE WAS EVERYTHING. Plus, Loki+Ryker+Tala being completely oblivious=hilariously entertaining.

But the ending…. Girl that ending gave me whiplash.

For starters, two of my favourite characters died in SUPER poetic ways that were really sad. But then at the end, they were just BROUGHT BACK. With nothing about it mentioned. It was just kinda like oh yeah, they’re alive. I’m like, YOU CANT JUST DO THAT. You can’t just make me sob by killing my favourite character and then just bring him back!!!

Also Ryker’s death at the end was really random, and I feel like they didn’t go into enough detail about it. Plus, I was kinda pissed that Tala ended up with Loki. Like, they were a super cute couple, but it just pissed
me off because Ryker had been a love interest since the beginning, meanwhile there were no sparks between Loki and Tala for the entirety of the first two books.

Finally, I just didn’t understand the ending. Like, they were battling in Wonderland, yes. But then Tala hallucinated going somewhere, then just kinda teleported for no reason, then everybody also teleported for no reason. And am I the only one who didn’t understand anything about Alatlyr? Like, I was not following. I just read over and didn’t understand what was going on, and only followed which characters died.

But I mean, overall, the series is really good, and so reading the finale is kind of a must (especially after all those cliffhangers in book 2!). So I’d suggest giving this one a read if you’re into fantasy. It’ll definitely be impossible to put down, I can tell you that!

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5
This, unfortunately, was not a good book. I sped through it because I wanted to be done reading it, and I only picked it up in the first place to be able to have finished the series.

This book is almost entirely dialogue. It’s extremely fast paced to a fault–in the last book, we got POVs from a variety of characters and got to know each of them much more intimately as individuals and couples. The multi POV route was completely abandoned here, focusing only on Tala.

The world is saturated with fairytales and popular children’s stories. We have historical figures like Alice (from Wonderland) & her lover Cheshire (who looks like a cat), Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Arthur and Merlin, and present figures like Baba Yaga. It’s all over the place and feels like the author was just trying to cram as much into a single world as they possibly could.

Moreover, there was yet still far too much prophesying in this book. It became very annoying that all the characters were reacting the same way to each prophecy (it is inevitable and everything will be bad) up until the bitter end when Tala finally comes around to taking the stance that predestination does not undermine or negate free will.

I really just read this book for Loki (who the author misgendered one time in this book) because I love them. They have their moment(s) of being the star, and those were my favorites.

[Charisa Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someday I am going to read the whole series in a row. But for now I read this months (a year?) after number 2. I did feel that even without haven’t read the last one in awhile by about a quarter of the way through I knew what was going on - and without a recap just the way the story moved a long.
I really enjoyed this book (and the whole series( except for the romance between Tala and Loki. I felt that was thrown in just to have some tension between Tala and Ryker. It really never felt like Loki liked Tala, they were just friendly and protective of her. There was already a lot of relationship tension. Not every relationship needs issues. Plus the trust in Ryker because of his past with the snow queen was enough.
I did like that it wasn’t completely a happy ending. There was a lot of loss - and some saved. Overall loved it!

[USOM · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

The World's End made me cry, a few times actually. It's an emotional end to a series that perfectly balances humor, heart, and a perspective of the way the world could go and has gone - with a magical twist. Full of a variety of magical worlds, creatures, and stories The World's End is a must read for anyone who's read the first. It revolves around this central topic, but one that is resolved int his book, about sacrifice. What will we have to sacrifice to save the world?

[Kenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final installment to this series. At the first 55% of the story I was so slow for my liking. Nothing exciting was really happening. I was nervous I would lose interest and DNF especially because I love this author and their past work. But I pushed through and from 60% and on things really ramped up. It was sad and gritty and so much loss happened. There was something I think should have been left alone so I as a reader could feel the feelings as deep as they were when I was reading it. If that makes sense but all together I enjoyed the conclusion.

[Eric Nhem · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Prophecy isn't as important as the choice."

Part of me wishes I had read this right after the last book because I forgot so many of the plotlines, especially how each person has their own prophecy. But I also remember the first two books being meh, and I really enjoyed this one, so maybe I needed some distance. I'm always down for characters needing to find magical artifacts before the villains do. Everything came together in the end, so I'm satisfied overall. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and because of that, I wish there had been more deaths in the final battle.

[Bozhena Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Dreamscape Media, Sourcebook Fire, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this great book. I enjoyed the conclusion to this alternative history fairy-tale series. Same well-written, diverse set of characters, fast-paced action, and imaginative combination and connection of well-known myths, legends, and fairytales into seamless storytelling that made for a fun and a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to sharing it with my students.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gripped me immediately when I dove into the 1st page and didn't let me go till the end. It still has the merry band of heros, slapstick humor, classic Filipino reactions and slang (that cough up a laugh or two from me), and endearing traits as its predecessors, but with a satisfying ending. Yes, there will be ones who wouldn't make it, but it is all worth the final outcome.
I highly enjoyed everything about this trilogy. It brought much highs and lows from start to finish.

[Ally Renell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this trilogy and this is a decent final book. There were a few things I didn't jive with; the whole Loki subplot that came from nowhere and Zoe's doom not really happening? Or I missed it. But I still would highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who loves fairy tales and intensely complicated fantasy.

[Eliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too action-packed for me, I would've liked to be able to spend a little more time with each kid instead of in constant battle. Otoh, I did love each search for the artifacts and the lore about them, so it wasn't that bad.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was such a great end to the series! I loved it and it hurt me, and I had such a great time reading it!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cried like twenty times. i’m not ready to let this series go.

[➳ Anthony ➳ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops, I forgot this book came out and was still waiting for its release.
Anyhow, a good conclusion to the series. It's been an exciting series to read!

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was an emotional roller coaster

[neeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

the seat made it to the ground and maybe took me six feet under with the banders.