The Shattered Path: The Cycle of Galand, Book 9

The Cycle of Galand #9

by Edward W. Robertson, Tim Gerard Reynolds (narrator)

Destroying the portals between worlds was supposed to force the entity out of Rale. Instead, it's trapped him there.

This has cut Nolost off from much of his power, buying some time to try to stop him from annihilating the world. Dante and Blays' last hope lies in finding someone or something called the Burdan rah Saylan. Knowing nothing about the Burdan except for their name, they travel far to the east into lands they've never heard of.

There, they discover that the Burdan are a secret order founded by a god thousands of years ago. They wield the mithir, an unknown form of sorcery developed to kill Beyonders, whom Nolost is using as his army—and this power might even be able to kill Nolost himself.

Training in the mithir might well kill them. But with all other hopes exhausted, Dante, Blays, and Gladdic race to harness its power before the entity can finish bringing Rale to its end.

But the entity's been hunting them all along. He knows what they've been doing. And he means to kill them before they've gained the strength to fight back.

The Shattered Path is the second-to-last book in the Cycle of Galand.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction

Audible Audio

Published May 14, 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

[Scottie Pouliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed in this one. Dante lost his spirit and it was hard to experience it after so long of him forging ahead. I really hope he finds it in the next one.

[Eleanor Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was 2 stars, the second half 4 stars, and though I value the end of a book a lot, it’s a solid 3 for me. The first half felt like the meandering drag of book 7-8 with chaotic plans, a lot of dithering about what to do, and overall not feeling like we’re doing all that much. Nolost is kind of out and about and taking his sweet ol’ time with the apocalypse. Things feel both fast paced and high stakes as well as really slow and unexciting. After reading the author’s update on his website, I can see how the story just got so big and the last few books have been a bit of a slog for me.

I found it an interesting choice that we added a whole new form of magic (the Mithir) in book 9/10, and I feel it was a bit of an excuse to bring back Cally, but I also kind of liked it? Looping the norren back into the plot was fun, for sure! They’re such an interesting group with a particular culture that adds a lot of EWR’s world he’s created. On the other hand, I got a little sick of Dante being a mopey bastard, but I understand from a big picture story arch, this was his darkest hour.

Even though books 7-9 haven’t really done it for me, I am very very excited for the final book to come out so soon. I still really love these characters, the world, the magic, and how this story grew so much over time. I really hope Dante, Blays, and the rest of this crew get back together for the final showdown with Nolost!

[Benjamin Sigman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I put one of these books down I want to become an occult priest. Just awesome!

[Lora Shouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 9th book of The Cycle of Galand. There is supposed to be one more book in this series. I hope all finally ends well. Things have been going from bad to worse continually since about the second book of this series.

Taim, the boss god, has determined that it is time for Rale (the world where our characters live) to be ended and replaced by something else.

For the past three or four books, Dante, Blays, and Gladdic have been trying the most improbable methods to stop Nolost (an Entity from the Becoming who is the latest being trying to destroy Rale; he has been doing a pretty good job of it). And everything they have tried has ultimately failed. In the previous book, they underwent a long, arduous process to close the portals between worlds to keep Nolost from being able to get to Rale. Unfortunately, he was already there when the portals closed, and now he is trapped there.

In this book, they hear of one more method that they might use against him. In a hidden area of Rale – not another realm, but just part of their own world – are a people known as the Burdan rah Saylan, who have access to yet another magical substance that may be able to destroy Nolost and his armies. This is the mithir. But they must be trained in its use before they can wield it against him. As usual, their trainers tell them to just focus their minds on seeing it, and they will be able to use it. Somehow, as usual, Dante has the most trouble doing this initially, although once he gets the hang of these things, he usually winds up being the best at it.

Fortunately, at least part of this book is a little less depressing than the last two, and some of the witty banter between Dante and Blays is back.

All that is shattered, though, when they receive a loon call from Nak, Dante’s second in command, informing them that Miranda, a vicious angel of Arawn (who is upset that the closing of the portals has cut her off from her god) has abducted Blays’ wife, Min. This galvanizes Blays into action like nothing in the past several books has, and he and Gladdic return to more familiar parts of their world to find and rescue Min. It’s good to see Min again, and she proves a valuable addition to their team. It’s also good to see some of the few remaining Norren again, and connect with their god, Josen Joh, who helps them find Min.

Meanwhile, the Burdan have brought back Dante’s old mentor, Callie, from the mists, and the two of them work to learn how to control the mithir, and Dante begins to get the hang of it. But while he is doing this, he discovers a serious problem with the nether and the ether, the substances they have been using for their magic all along.

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an improvement on the couple of previous books. Reminds me of wheel of time where books 7-9 were a low point in the series and the final books brought it home well (thank you Sanderson). I feel like in the cycle of Galand we have a similar thing. There are points to quibble with. There were some instances where a plot problem was solved far too easily. But whatever, it’s fantasy and it’s entertaining and these books can’t go on forever. Hoping the final book is entertaining as well.

[Sam Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing conclusion to this epic saga. I genuinely feel like the main characters are friends I’ve walked alongside for so long.

I’m sad to see the story end but also glad for the rest they can now hopefully enjoy.
The way these books kept the story flowing, the stakes rising and yet the gumption of the characters moving forward was so heartwarming and enjoyable to experience.

5 stars for the series. 4.5 for this book.

[Trevor Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow and the plot thickens

I’d have thought this series would be burnt. But that’s not the case. Adventurers extraordinaire. Blays, Calli, mims, gladic and Dante bring this haunting conclusion to a grand finale!!!

[amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment in this unforgettable series.

[Tim C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

I very much enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the series. It is well written as the struggles continue. Enjoy. Ciao.

[Taryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly an entire novel of Dante whining. I'm ready to get back to the plot in the last book... I hope.

[Adam Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly MEH, so far.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad we're nearing the end. It has been a fun ride, but a long one.