The Cycle of Galand

The Cycle of Galand #10

by Edward W. Robertson

The world of Rale is being consumed by Nolost, the entity of destruction. There are only days left to stop him, and only one man who the nethermancer Dante Galand.

But the mentor who would have shown him how has just been slain by Nolost's armies.

With his last hopes fading, Dante hatches a mad travel into the afterlife, find his dead mentor, and finish training in the ancient technique to kill the entity.

His friends the blademaster Blays and the sorcerer Gladdic have been separated from him, but knowing Dante needs more time, they strike a mad plan of their own. Embarking on a suicide mission, they strike out for the secret heart of the world, meaning to sabotage Nolost's work.

But the war that has devastated the land of the living is exploding across the once-peaceful afterlife as well, threatening the missions of Dante and Blays alike. Time has run out. The final battle is upon them—and Rale's last champions may not get there in time to fight it.

~

The last book of The Cycle of Galand is here. Resolving secrets both old and new, and culminating in an epic battle and its shocking aftermath, the grand story of Dante and Blays is now complete.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dragons

730 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 2, 2024

About the author

Ed is the author of the post-apocalyptic Breakers series and the epic fantasy series The Cycle of Arawn. A former New Yorker and Idaho-guy, he currently lives in the LA area. His short fiction has appeared in a whole bunch of magazines and anthologies.

Reviews

[Daniel Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unbelievable series. I can’t believe it has come to an end. So detailed, with interwoven story lines that kept it exciting. The writers comments explaining the history and development of characters and worlds from creation to end was a bonus, well done. A top read for me!

[Benjamin Sigman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m devastated that it is over but I loved every second of it!

[Taryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, let me preface this by saying I've enjoyed a lot of the books in this series, and I particularly liked the books in The Cycle of Arawn, so this is not to say you shouldn't read Robertson's stuff if you're into sprawling fantasy. But, my goodness these last three books were a slog. The villain was not compelling, and we spent three entire books dealing with it. Not to mention there was an entirely new form of magic introduced to defeat this thing, and then it's really just a divine revelation at the end that saves the day? Those problems are nothing compared to the realm jumping though. Every chapter seemed like a new place just for the sake of describing one more random magical city or revisiting a previously dead/irrelevant/resolved character. This would be a spoiler if it mattered at all to the plot, but it doesn't, so... There is a whole chapter in which Dante decides not to go after his friends, miraculously learns to open a portal, finds a world in the process of being built, is offered the opportunity to basically be a god of that world (by some random god-dude we've never seen?) which he accepts with no regret about leaving his best friend, plays around for a few hours building mountains and cities, and then realizes he has to leave for "reasons." And again, none of that even matters! The epilogue was satisfying at first and I finally got the best friend banter back for a bit, but then there is an entirely new magical power and problem introduced??? In the epilogue? My head is spinning. I missed the best parts of this series when we slowed down to really fill out the new characters and locations and the plot was driven by more human antagonists.

[Kamal Syed · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 13 books and many years, the Cycle of Galand has come to an end. While at time it felt like Dante, Blaze, Gladdic and the rest were just facing one crazy escalation after another, the journey came to a satisfying conclusion in this book. I listened to all the books in Audiobook format so I might have the names spelled incorrectly, spelling as they sounded in the narration.

I can say that this specific book tied together most of the loose threads, while leaving just enough of a frayed edge to leave open the possibility of another epic tale in the future - maybe with these characters, or maybe their descendants.

Unfortunately a few of the characters I feel were hard done by, and woefully underutilized and almost forgotten - especially Blaze’s wife Min. She does come back and has a small role to play near the end.

I also want to call out the narrator, it requires real dedication to stick with a single narrator and for the narrator to stick with a series for so long, but I really appreciate it on both sides. As a listener, the consistency of voices and pronunciations was very much appreciated. Some authors/narrators change every book or even every couple of books and it can get quite annoying to hear voices, accents, and names change between books.

Was it worth it? YES - at time I was wishing for it to wrap up already, and while I’ll miss the characters and the world, I’m glad that it’s ended and things can be back to a new normal for the world and characters - at least for a little while.

[barry haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farewell to Dante and blays

I've been reading this series since 2015 and love how it ended. One of my favorite series and loved each and every character. Hope more people will read and enjoy as much as I have.

[Trevor Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

I can safely say the journey in its entirety was epic!!!! Thank you for what has come and what is coming!!

[Gabriel Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked up the cycle of Arawn years ago for a single audible credit, I thought I was just getting a good deal, but instead I had found one of the best series I have ever read. I was around the same age as Dante and Blays in the beginning, and it feels like I grew up with them. They felt like more than just characters to me; they felt like close friends as I went on their journey with them.

There were a few times where it felt like the series had meandered a bit too much in one direction without much thought, but then it would straighten out and turn out great, and in the end, I find myself missing that meandering, that almost contemplativeness, as it's what separates the series from others in my opinion. It felt at times as if we were truly in Dante's mind, understanding the world with him and the struggles he had to go through. I adore Blays as well, as he was just the right person I needed to read when I had been going through tough times in my younger years. His optimism, even when things were bleak, was something I needed.

*SPOILERS*

I don't think this will be the end, though, because there are just too many threads left, and I can tell that Edward himself will struggle not to return, and I hope he does because I do believe there is much left to be revealed. It's hard for me to imagine that Taim will just allow rail to continue on or that the gods will be unified in what to do with it, and mysteries about the God's past remain as well. I still would like to know what truly happened to Olastar and whether something like it can be made again(maybe with a different gods soul). Even the question of what happened to the spear of stars and red ears is still one that I wish to know. I understand Edward's hesitation because surely nothing can top this ending in terms of grandeur, but I simply don't abide by the idea that no other stories are worth telling after an ending like this. I would still deeply enjoy learning more about this world, even if it doesn't come from Dante himself. (And honestly I would love a more slow paced and scaled down plot like the Red Sea as I just love learning about rail and its people)

[David Leppo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great finish to an awesome series

If you've made it this far, it's worth finishing. That said, this was surprisingly rough. The plot jumps around and the rules of the world inconsistent. The third act breakdown is cliche and there's so many loose plot threads from this book.

Still love the series.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid ending to a series that, at times, struggled to get to the point. Having a satisfying ending to a 10 book series isn't always a given, and there were still some loose ends left untied, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with the ending.

[Jason Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this series it's had it's ups and it's Downs but overall it's been a very good series and I really like the way everything was tied up it's definitely worth a read and I enjoy these characters and we'll miss them

[Chris W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it!

[Kyle W · Rating 5 out of 5]

satisfying conclusion to the series

[Adam Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew, a bit of a slog. I think this series went on a bit longer than it should have. The ending was fine, but the plot was just getting too weird.