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The Long War #4
The World Raven
The dead god is waking. His power-mad priestess has deployed a mass of men and beasts onto the plains of Ro Weir. Faced with this black swarm, the last remnants of a nation crumbles and falls. This is the final battle for the mortal lands of Ro. Far to the north, the ice men of Rowanoco muster their Exemplars against the witch's assassins. In the blistering southern deserts, a squire with no master walks unscathed through a poisoned city. And, in the halls beyond the world, a thrice-born man dares to tread the path of Giants... All that was dead will rise. All that now lives will fall... This is the final epic battle for the Lands of Ro. What people are saying about THE WORLD RAVEN : 'A brilliantly engrossing series, full of action, great stories, a captivating set of characters, now a fitting conclusion' 'All round a cracking end ' 'It ties up loose ends and provides a fast paced and well written fantasy novel in doing so' ' Wonderful storytelling skills , something to lose yourself in'
640 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 11, 2016
29 people are currently reading
563 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Smith
8 books311 followersWriting is the only thing I do that doesn't make me feel like I should be doing something else.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 1, 2016
4.5 stars!
As always you can also find this review on my own humble blog: TheTattooedBookGeek.wordpress.com
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The World Raven is the final book in A. J. Smith’s The Long War series with The Black Guard, The Dark Blood and The Red Prince being the three previous instalments.
The World Raven follows on directly from the climactic conclusion of The Red Prince continuing the varying character story-arcs and plots that we have been following from the start of the series, building through to this final volume in The Long War.
I have followed this series from the very beginning, starting way back many many pages ago with The Black Guard and have thoroughly enjoyed it. With the lands of Ro, A. J. Smith has excelled with world building, crafted a richly detailed huge world full of religion, magic, history and lore with various different areas all with their own unique geography creating a rich tapestry in which to weave his tales of The Long War, ranging from the stark, cold ice lands of Fjorlan, to the sun soaked desert lands of Karesia, the large forest of The Fell, Ro Canarn, the area of Tor Funweir with it’s cities Ro Tiris, Ro Haran, Ro Arnon and Ro Weir all the way to the edge of the world with Oron Kaa. And, all are populated with interesting and intriguing creatures and characters.
Along side the high quality world building Smith also has great in-depth and detailed characterisation giving you the reader fully fleshed characters that you like and dislike in equal measure, heroes, villains, the grey area in-between where anti-heroes are placed. These are a set of characters that you care about, you feel for their fates and predicaments, hoping that they survive and for the villain’s, well, you hope that they get there comeuppance.
Being the final book in the series, it’s hard to go into characterisation as those characters that have made it this far have all already shown great development growing into their roles throughout the three previous books. But Smith does not disappoint, fleshing out the characters we already know even more, developing others who have only played very small roles, with even a few surprises thrown in along the way. Anyone that’s read the previous books will know that some characters and soldiers in The Long War have fallen along the way, but is the death of mortal flesh truly the end? That my fellow bookish peeps is the question, and the only way to find the answer out is by reading this book!
When you get to the final book in a series it’s not just a book any more and the characters you’re reading about aren’t just people on a page. Yes, there’s something to be said for the first book in a series and learning about a new world and meeting new characters for the first time, forming that relationship between you as the reader and the characters you are reading about. But, when you read a final book in a series, it transcends that as you’ve already developed that bond between you and the characters, you have your favourites, you have those you despise and you have mourned those along the way who haven’t made it this far. It’s a journey that you have taken and as the page count dwindles down to those final few pages you start to realise that your journey to is at an end.
It’s really hard to review a final book in a series without giving away spoilers as to what has transpired previously in the three books before and as I avoid spoilers I can’t really go into much detail about the story taking place in The World Raven. I’m a firm believer that reading should be a journey, I hate spoilers that give away the plot and I don’t want to spoil anything for you by telling you about story-arc’s, plot twists and deaths and thus spoil that journey for you should you so choose to read this series.
Instead I will write that Smith has crafted an epic conclusion to his The Long War series, with The World Raven he weaves together some of the separate story-arcs and threads bringing certain characters together in epic settings and battles and leaves other characters to their own devices and stories possibly with fleeting overlaps with other arc’s. Every character and story-arc throughout the book is given plenty of page time and none come across as more important than any other giving you a sense that every battle in The Long War is just as important as the next and every characters fate matters.
The conclusion isn’t all neat and tidy with every lose end tied up but that’s what you expect from a fantasy series. If you think of Steven Erikson’s epic Malazan series, one of the best ever and it has an open ended conclusion after ten books. Does it detract from the story? No, it doesn’t. It’s the same with Smith’s The Long War, the open ended conclusion of The World Raven for some characters is the perfect ending and a more than fitting climax, leaving the door open for future books to revisit The Long War and the lands of Ro.
Smith’s writing is just as good as ever, he has a fast paced and descriptive style that really pulls you in giving you what feels like just the right amount of history, characterisation, quiet moments, story progression and action. Added with humour, occasionally sarcastic from some characters – big bonus points for that from me as I enjoy my sarcasm and swearing (not to much that it’s over the top but what I found to be just the right amount and the Fjorlanders and their cursing are a highlight always bringing a smile to my face). All this together gives you a great fast-paced read. There are a lot of POV’s (points of view) in the series but Smith has always managed to maintain your focus as a reader and his focus as an author and while you will have your favourite POV characters – one of mine has been Randall the young squire, his has been a fun journey, you’re never bored with the others and can always find something interesting to pull you into their stories and plots.
I’ve mentioned both the deep characterisation and detailed world building that Smith incorporates into his books and along with that the action scenes demand a mention to. He really has an eye for combat and gives you plenty of action throughout the book and while it’s visceral in places it’s never over the top like some authors seem to write, more gore doesn’t always make better action, there needs to be a balance between the bloodshed and the action taking place and Smith has it on point giving you some great action in The World Raven.
From what I have seen not to many people seem to have read this series compared to others out-there and I feel that that truly is a shame as Smith deserves to be one of the top current fantasy authors. And, now that it’s finished I really feel like I can say that The Long War warrants being recognised as one of the top fantasy series. For me, Smith is a must read author and I will look forward to his future books.
If just one person who reads this decides to give The Long War a read – you need to start with The Black Guard as it’s the first book.
As always you can also find this review on my own humble blog: TheTattooedBookGeek.wordpress.com
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The World Raven is the final book in A. J. Smith’s The Long War series with The Black Guard, The Dark Blood and The Red Prince being the three previous instalments.
The World Raven follows on directly from the climactic conclusion of The Red Prince continuing the varying character story-arcs and plots that we have been following from the start of the series, building through to this final volume in The Long War.
I have followed this series from the very beginning, starting way back many many pages ago with The Black Guard and have thoroughly enjoyed it. With the lands of Ro, A. J. Smith has excelled with world building, crafted a richly detailed huge world full of religion, magic, history and lore with various different areas all with their own unique geography creating a rich tapestry in which to weave his tales of The Long War, ranging from the stark, cold ice lands of Fjorlan, to the sun soaked desert lands of Karesia, the large forest of The Fell, Ro Canarn, the area of Tor Funweir with it’s cities Ro Tiris, Ro Haran, Ro Arnon and Ro Weir all the way to the edge of the world with Oron Kaa. And, all are populated with interesting and intriguing creatures and characters.
Along side the high quality world building Smith also has great in-depth and detailed characterisation giving you the reader fully fleshed characters that you like and dislike in equal measure, heroes, villains, the grey area in-between where anti-heroes are placed. These are a set of characters that you care about, you feel for their fates and predicaments, hoping that they survive and for the villain’s, well, you hope that they get there comeuppance.
Being the final book in the series, it’s hard to go into characterisation as those characters that have made it this far have all already shown great development growing into their roles throughout the three previous books. But Smith does not disappoint, fleshing out the characters we already know even more, developing others who have only played very small roles, with even a few surprises thrown in along the way. Anyone that’s read the previous books will know that some characters and soldiers in The Long War have fallen along the way, but is the death of mortal flesh truly the end? That my fellow bookish peeps is the question, and the only way to find the answer out is by reading this book!
When you get to the final book in a series it’s not just a book any more and the characters you’re reading about aren’t just people on a page. Yes, there’s something to be said for the first book in a series and learning about a new world and meeting new characters for the first time, forming that relationship between you as the reader and the characters you are reading about. But, when you read a final book in a series, it transcends that as you’ve already developed that bond between you and the characters, you have your favourites, you have those you despise and you have mourned those along the way who haven’t made it this far. It’s a journey that you have taken and as the page count dwindles down to those final few pages you start to realise that your journey to is at an end.
It’s really hard to review a final book in a series without giving away spoilers as to what has transpired previously in the three books before and as I avoid spoilers I can’t really go into much detail about the story taking place in The World Raven. I’m a firm believer that reading should be a journey, I hate spoilers that give away the plot and I don’t want to spoil anything for you by telling you about story-arc’s, plot twists and deaths and thus spoil that journey for you should you so choose to read this series.
Instead I will write that Smith has crafted an epic conclusion to his The Long War series, with The World Raven he weaves together some of the separate story-arcs and threads bringing certain characters together in epic settings and battles and leaves other characters to their own devices and stories possibly with fleeting overlaps with other arc’s. Every character and story-arc throughout the book is given plenty of page time and none come across as more important than any other giving you a sense that every battle in The Long War is just as important as the next and every characters fate matters.
The conclusion isn’t all neat and tidy with every lose end tied up but that’s what you expect from a fantasy series. If you think of Steven Erikson’s epic Malazan series, one of the best ever and it has an open ended conclusion after ten books. Does it detract from the story? No, it doesn’t. It’s the same with Smith’s The Long War, the open ended conclusion of The World Raven for some characters is the perfect ending and a more than fitting climax, leaving the door open for future books to revisit The Long War and the lands of Ro.
Smith’s writing is just as good as ever, he has a fast paced and descriptive style that really pulls you in giving you what feels like just the right amount of history, characterisation, quiet moments, story progression and action. Added with humour, occasionally sarcastic from some characters – big bonus points for that from me as I enjoy my sarcasm and swearing (not to much that it’s over the top but what I found to be just the right amount and the Fjorlanders and their cursing are a highlight always bringing a smile to my face). All this together gives you a great fast-paced read. There are a lot of POV’s (points of view) in the series but Smith has always managed to maintain your focus as a reader and his focus as an author and while you will have your favourite POV characters – one of mine has been Randall the young squire, his has been a fun journey, you’re never bored with the others and can always find something interesting to pull you into their stories and plots.
I’ve mentioned both the deep characterisation and detailed world building that Smith incorporates into his books and along with that the action scenes demand a mention to. He really has an eye for combat and gives you plenty of action throughout the book and while it’s visceral in places it’s never over the top like some authors seem to write, more gore doesn’t always make better action, there needs to be a balance between the bloodshed and the action taking place and Smith has it on point giving you some great action in The World Raven.
From what I have seen not to many people seem to have read this series compared to others out-there and I feel that that truly is a shame as Smith deserves to be one of the top current fantasy authors. And, now that it’s finished I really feel like I can say that The Long War warrants being recognised as one of the top fantasy series. For me, Smith is a must read author and I will look forward to his future books.
If just one person who reads this decides to give The Long War a read – you need to start with The Black Guard as it’s the first book.
May 31, 2017
A superb final installment in one of the best series I have read in recent times. I'm a bit sad that the series is over but also very keen to see what Mr Smith has in store for us next. Thankfully, we will likely not to have wait as long for his next works unlike Patrick "Lord of the Buffet"Rothfuss.
Recommended all fans of dark fantasy.
Recommended all fans of dark fantasy.
April 12, 2019
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
The Long War series is an epic fantasy/dark fantasy quadrilogy which deals with courtroom intrigue, politics, magic and gods in a world similar to ours but set during the medieval period. It consists of the following books: The Black Guard, The Dark Blood, The Red Prince and The World Raven. These four books have a complexity and style that is a mix of George R.R. Martin and Steven Eriksson with a dash of H. P. Lovecraft.
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
The Long War series is an epic fantasy/dark fantasy quadrilogy which deals with courtroom intrigue, politics, magic and gods in a world similar to ours but set during the medieval period. It consists of the following books: The Black Guard, The Dark Blood, The Red Prince and The World Raven. These four books have a complexity and style that is a mix of George R.R. Martin and Steven Eriksson with a dash of H. P. Lovecraft.
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
February 22, 2020
An epic dark fantasy saga that falls somewhere in between ASoIaF and The Faithful & the Fallen. Great world building reminiscent of John Gwynne's Banished Lands. A cutthroat & brutal plot that makes you think who'll die next. The Dark Young & the Aberration are some of the most terrifying creatures ever created. Of all the character arcs throughout the seried perhaps Randall of Darkwald's is most interesting. Going from a naive young squire to an almost godlike being. What intrigued me most is the link to a separate series by this author. Part of the reason I started Long War was having read The Glass Breaks (also by AJ Smith) and now I'm thinking I should've read Long War first. At first I thought it was a coincidence but both series (seemingly on different worlds) feature a character called Utha, but then Ro Leith was mentioned in The Glass Breaks and is a city in Tor Funweir in the world of the Long War. Ryuthula is a major player in the Long War & shows up in The Glass Breaks. It seems both worlds are linked somehow. Even though this particular series has ended for me perhaps there's a continuation of sorts in Smith's Form & Void trilogy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2016
Overall I enjoyed this series, yet struggled at times with this book. Don't get me wrong, it ties everything up well enough but didn't wow me, possibly me, didn't have a great reading session, more fits and starts here and there. Whether that's the book or not enough time devoted to it I couldn't say.
I must admit I found it hard to connect with the characters this time round, again not sure why, some dying in the previous book may of thrown me off somewhat.
All in all, an enjoyable series and one I've recommended to others, give it a try.
I must admit I found it hard to connect with the characters this time round, again not sure why, some dying in the previous book may of thrown me off somewhat.
All in all, an enjoyable series and one I've recommended to others, give it a try.
December 14, 2019
A.J. Smith delivers a conclusion to his "Chronicles of the Long War". It is a strong conclusion to a series that has continuously surprised me. It is solid, wrapping up all major plot threads, without offering a definite resolution. The underlying conflict isn't solved with finality, and the Long War- the proxy conflict between divine beings that's really measured in millennia-will continue...
I guess this last part is what irked me a little. For a story so focused on actions of a few key characters, it felt a bit strange leaving off with "these characters have done X and now we leave them to live their lives". It's a very "real life" approach, that dovetails with the in media res approach taken to the start of the story-- Steven Erikson did something very similar in "Malazan Book of the Fallen", but I would argue his resolutions had a lot more finality to them. So I guess I haven't made up my mind yet whether I'm satisfied with the ending. Which is probably a good thing, since it means the author made me think.
Aside from this, the book is really good. The World Raven steps in, and the battered Giants get to empower their champions to set up some spectacular action pieces. The plot rolls along like a multi-front military campaign, and the final outcome has a number of real feel good moments attached to it.
If you've read previous books, this is more of the same goodness. If for some reason you are reading this review before picking up the series, all I can say is this: it starts out a bit formulaic for epic fantasy, but this is a series that definitely punches above its weight.
I guess this last part is what irked me a little. For a story so focused on actions of a few key characters, it felt a bit strange leaving off with "these characters have done X and now we leave them to live their lives". It's a very "real life" approach, that dovetails with the in media res approach taken to the start of the story-- Steven Erikson did something very similar in "Malazan Book of the Fallen", but I would argue his resolutions had a lot more finality to them. So I guess I haven't made up my mind yet whether I'm satisfied with the ending. Which is probably a good thing, since it means the author made me think.
Aside from this, the book is really good. The World Raven steps in, and the battered Giants get to empower their champions to set up some spectacular action pieces. The plot rolls along like a multi-front military campaign, and the final outcome has a number of real feel good moments attached to it.
If you've read previous books, this is more of the same goodness. If for some reason you are reading this review before picking up the series, all I can say is this: it starts out a bit formulaic for epic fantasy, but this is a series that definitely punches above its weight.
June 4, 2019
A summary of the final book?
.....stomach clenching.....pain.....must....continue........
......neck tensing (recently broke my neck).....fuck me.....pain......must....continue...........perfection.
Yea, that fucking good.
.....stomach clenching.....pain.....must....continue........
......neck tensing (recently broke my neck).....fuck me.....pain......must....continue...........perfection.
Yea, that fucking good.
December 12, 2023
Deities infuse & empower selfishly using the inhabitants of land. Creatures of legend, of nightmare wielding power of old emerge. The warrior heroes valiantly engage to end the Long War.
Incredible ending to a truly epic series. IMO it should be on everyone’s radar. So proud to own & recommend.
Incredible ending to a truly epic series. IMO it should be on everyone’s radar. So proud to own & recommend.
January 17, 2024
This is the first adult fantasy series that I binge-read, so either I'm finally all grown up or the whole series is just that good. Usually I read the first book, and then I took so long picking up the second book that I ended up not picking them at all. I may take a looooong time finishing this series, but that's merely because I was intimidated by the size of each book, and I was, kind of, waiting for myself to drop the interest, and thus stop reading. I usually read books that are around 300-350 pages, so it's a real struggle to get out of my comfort zone. But eventually, the story itself forced me to continue reading, and before I knew it, I finished the series one book at a time.
I am so, so glad that Chronicles of The Long War is my first series in my foray into adult fantasy because it gave me hope that there are still books out there that are incredibly good and underrated, I just have to find them. And it gave me hope that 600-page tomes are actually readable. Haha.
Moving on to the real review; I always start with the characters because I feel like they are the cornerstones of every book. Now, among the vast array of them, I'm only going to mention a few which I think are worth mentioning. Of course I'm going to start with my favourite boy Al Hasim. Unfortunately, I think he has gone through negative character growth since the first book. He played quite a big role in the first book, and then from there his importance just slowly declined until he's nothing more than a duchess's lover. His ending, however, is a proper ending although I expected more but at least he gets to live. I also find the purpose of Fynius to be quite vague. His role seems only to liberate South Warden and distribute Brytag's power. I find no true significance to his appearance. Everyone else other than these two characters underwent immense growth and development, and are truly worthy of being called the cornerstones of this series. Because honestly, if I can't connect to each character, then I won't care, and if I don't care, then I won't want to read the book. These characters are so well-crafted that they pulled me into their lives and made me so invested in each and every one of them (except possibly Ingrid, because she's fifteen and therefore has quite a juvenile narration, and I get annoyed easily) that I want to know what happens to each of them. I always want to know.
Next would be the plot. I like this. This is a series with a purpose. I've read books with well-defined plots in their summary, but the execution is actually more apt with a fish floundering around with no heading, and I'd get really annoyed by that. Each book in this series has a clear purpose from start to end, and I think that that purpose and plot is what drove the storytelling to be more precise and without bumps. The author never loses sight of that purpose and never strayed from the actual plot, which made this series so much easier to read, knowing that from whichever perspective I view it, it all came together in the end.
I also find the writing really easy to read; the prose is not flowery and complicated, it gets the message across and that's it. I think the art here is not in the writing, but in the storytelling. Because despite the simple and direct writing style, I was still utterly captivated. I do have a problem, however, with the sheer amount of time Rham Jas's name came up in this final instalment. Every time his name came up, I have to stop reading and wrestle with my emotions before I can be calm again and that hinders my reading experience. I miss my man!! 😭
To sum everything up, I truly enjoyed this series, and I hope that my reading streak this year is as good as or better than the opening book. Cheers!
I am so, so glad that Chronicles of The Long War is my first series in my foray into adult fantasy because it gave me hope that there are still books out there that are incredibly good and underrated, I just have to find them. And it gave me hope that 600-page tomes are actually readable. Haha.
Moving on to the real review; I always start with the characters because I feel like they are the cornerstones of every book. Now, among the vast array of them, I'm only going to mention a few which I think are worth mentioning. Of course I'm going to start with my favourite boy Al Hasim. Unfortunately, I think he has gone through negative character growth since the first book. He played quite a big role in the first book, and then from there his importance just slowly declined until he's nothing more than a duchess's lover. His ending, however, is a proper ending although I expected more but at least he gets to live. I also find the purpose of Fynius to be quite vague. His role seems only to liberate South Warden and distribute Brytag's power. I find no true significance to his appearance. Everyone else other than these two characters underwent immense growth and development, and are truly worthy of being called the cornerstones of this series. Because honestly, if I can't connect to each character, then I won't care, and if I don't care, then I won't want to read the book. These characters are so well-crafted that they pulled me into their lives and made me so invested in each and every one of them (except possibly Ingrid, because she's fifteen and therefore has quite a juvenile narration, and I get annoyed easily) that I want to know what happens to each of them. I always want to know.
Next would be the plot. I like this. This is a series with a purpose. I've read books with well-defined plots in their summary, but the execution is actually more apt with a fish floundering around with no heading, and I'd get really annoyed by that. Each book in this series has a clear purpose from start to end, and I think that that purpose and plot is what drove the storytelling to be more precise and without bumps. The author never loses sight of that purpose and never strayed from the actual plot, which made this series so much easier to read, knowing that from whichever perspective I view it, it all came together in the end.
I also find the writing really easy to read; the prose is not flowery and complicated, it gets the message across and that's it. I think the art here is not in the writing, but in the storytelling. Because despite the simple and direct writing style, I was still utterly captivated. I do have a problem, however, with the sheer amount of time Rham Jas's name came up in this final instalment. Every time his name came up, I have to stop reading and wrestle with my emotions before I can be calm again and that hinders my reading experience. I miss my man!! 😭
To sum everything up, I truly enjoyed this series, and I hope that my reading streak this year is as good as or better than the opening book. Cheers!
June 20, 2023
a very good grimdark series
December 23, 2025
valeu a leitura, mas achei o final xoxo.
September 13, 2025
All that - ALL OF THAT - and it isn't even finished? Mr. Smith did you just get bored of writing it? Fair enough tbh, but I KNEW I should have given up after the first one, and yet here we are, with no one to blame but myself.
It's an impressive feat or whatever - creating the world, races, gods, religions etc - and that isn't to be sniffed at but we have to call a spade a spade and this was a slog (at this point it could be a spade, who fucking knows)
It's an impressive feat or whatever - creating the world, races, gods, religions etc - and that isn't to be sniffed at but we have to call a spade a spade and this was a slog (at this point it could be a spade, who fucking knows)
October 13, 2016
I honestly believe that this series is one of the best I have read. I bought the black guard on a whim in a sale and was glad I saw it to the end. I praise the author and look forward to the next books he writes
October 6, 2018
What a fantastic end to the series! I loved every chapter, every character and every plot twist in this book. The first half, especially, appealed to my adventurous and mischievous side. The second half, the culmination of all the story lines in all the previous books, was a mixture of the surprising and the predictable.
I think it would have been better as two separate books though, as there were a lot of action packed events back to back. I also sometimes found the switch between story lines a little difficult- in the previous books, the pace and intensity of various storylines were different and switching helped savor the plot twists. In this book however, all the different threads were ramping up and were equally intense so switching meant actually taking a break from the book to think.
On a different note, I Ioved driscriptions of oron kaa, the guardian, the queen in red, the system of tyrants and the void. I also enjoyed the fact that not all story lines were neatly tied up - things in life generally aren't anyway. There weren't as many one on one combats in this book, mainly big battles. Several characters did however have confrontations which where more psychological in nature - a feature that I very much liked about this book. Ultimately, several characters overcame challenges using their mental strength, convictions, ideas, discipline and determination rather than depending on brawn and numbers. I found several aspects of this book rather philosophical and whimsical, especially the cycle and source of divine power.
All in all, I definitely (and have already!) and highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys dark epic fantasy. I look forward to the next series from this author and hope to read about some of my favorite characters again.
I think it would have been better as two separate books though, as there were a lot of action packed events back to back. I also sometimes found the switch between story lines a little difficult- in the previous books, the pace and intensity of various storylines were different and switching helped savor the plot twists. In this book however, all the different threads were ramping up and were equally intense so switching meant actually taking a break from the book to think.
On a different note, I Ioved driscriptions of oron kaa, the guardian, the queen in red, the system of tyrants and the void. I also enjoyed the fact that not all story lines were neatly tied up - things in life generally aren't anyway. There weren't as many one on one combats in this book, mainly big battles. Several characters did however have confrontations which where more psychological in nature - a feature that I very much liked about this book. Ultimately, several characters overcame challenges using their mental strength, convictions, ideas, discipline and determination rather than depending on brawn and numbers. I found several aspects of this book rather philosophical and whimsical, especially the cycle and source of divine power.
All in all, I definitely (and have already!) and highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys dark epic fantasy. I look forward to the next series from this author and hope to read about some of my favorite characters again.
January 6, 2021
This book solidified Halla Summer Wolf as my favorite character in the series. Such a strong female character and I loved how her story progressed through the books. Overall the ending was satisfying but certainly leaves it open to potentially return to this world once again, if the Twisted Tree starts to grow again. Absolutely thrilling to the end, I had a hard time putting the book down by time I reached the second half. Such a great series and I'm sad that it is done. I have recommended this series to several friends and I hope they it so I can return to this series again!
February 3, 2020
You know you've enjoyed a book series when oyu finish the last one and your first thought is what do I read now! The Long War series was no exception. It's a facinaitng story arc that keeps oyu turning every page. A host of interesting characters and a fantastically realised fatasy world make this none of the best I've read. The final book just left me wanting more. Oh well, what do I read now?
April 10, 2020
So that's the end. Why am I sad. Lol.
Fantastic closure.
This series was superb. Deaths happened that made me cringe, but I see they needed to happen. Like did you really have to rip the man into pieces?! That one surprised me and hurt.
Pregnant?! Lol, what will that child be?!
I am so recommending this series to my people.
Fantastic closure.
This series was superb. Deaths happened that made me cringe, but I see they needed to happen. Like did you really have to rip the man into pieces?! That one surprised me and hurt.
Pregnant?! Lol, what will that child be?!
I am so recommending this series to my people.
April 3, 2017
Great series with all of components that makes you want to read more fantasy.
March 17, 2025
Sigh... I wanted more! I hate giving it a 3 star the last 3 books were epic and this series was going into my top five favorites now I don't know the ending was rushed other stuff was and I left out was heart broken I do hope there's more books in this world in the future!!
April 17, 2018
Epic dark fantasy at its finest. A host of captivating characters, violence, magic, and even a eventually. Loved it
June 16, 2020
So, the Long War series is finally done. It's taken me a long time to get through this one, and at last it's finished.
To be honest, I don't really have much to say. My thoughts on this one are almost identical to the last one. Too many POV characters, no real tension because everyone is so overpowered, lots of battle scenes, although this time round, a few of them are actually pretty well written.
But this is the last book, the big finale. The final instalment. I have read series with surprising endings, long drawn out, boring endings, melancholic endings, perfect endings... The ending of the Long War is so abrupt and sudden that when I turned the page of the final chapter and was confronted with the epilogue I was so surprised I actually laughed. This book doesn't so much end as it is suddenly cut short.
I don't really have much more to say about this series. I commend AJ for the considerable time and effort it took for him to write this and get it published. That's no easy feat. That said, I probably won't re read these books.
To be honest, I don't really have much to say. My thoughts on this one are almost identical to the last one. Too many POV characters, no real tension because everyone is so overpowered, lots of battle scenes, although this time round, a few of them are actually pretty well written.
But this is the last book, the big finale. The final instalment. I have read series with surprising endings, long drawn out, boring endings, melancholic endings, perfect endings... The ending of the Long War is so abrupt and sudden that when I turned the page of the final chapter and was confronted with the epilogue I was so surprised I actually laughed. This book doesn't so much end as it is suddenly cut short.
I don't really have much more to say about this series. I commend AJ for the considerable time and effort it took for him to write this and get it published. That's no easy feat. That said, I probably won't re read these books.
December 22, 2017
In the Chronicles of the Long War, a battle has been won; however, the war continues.
Will be interesting to see how (if) the author goes forward with this series.
For the Fantasy enthusiast, this series belongs on your bookshelf.
Some truly unforgettable characters.
Will be interesting to see how (if) the author goes forward with this series.
For the Fantasy enthusiast, this series belongs on your bookshelf.
Some truly unforgettable characters.
August 11, 2019
What a great series and I want to read so much more of this. I liked the ending, but I have to say that I had hoped for one that wasn't as open. Of course, this does leave open the possibility for a continued series... ;)
August 14, 2016
A master storyteller
Wow what a series each book building up to fitting climax and a stepping stone to further tales . I just can't wait to see what the future holds
Wow what a series each book building up to fitting climax and a stepping stone to further tales . I just can't wait to see what the future holds
November 15, 2016
An amazing end to an amazing series. Someone please make this into a TV series.
November 9, 2018
Well, finally at the end of this series and I'm a bit disappointed with the ending, there was so much promise through books 2 and 3 but I felt this final book features far too much magic, this essentially introduced a large element of 'deus ex machina' in a story that didn't otherwise need anything but light touch magic.
The magic really was a bothering point for me in spite of the fact that there were chapters with satisfying battles that pushed this up to a 3 star for me but the reliance of magic and some strange dimension which made very little sense ruined the ending.
I also feel that a lot of characters has unsatisfying endings (not in terms of what happened but how quickly this happened) I'm not a fan of books dragging but this does seem like it needed an extra 250 pages or even another book to tie things out without feeling like everything was rushed and characters that we've followed for four books deserving a more conclusive ending.
Still a good series overall and interesting, I just think this is an example of where a little less magic and a better defined system of magic would have worked far better.
The magic really was a bothering point for me in spite of the fact that there were chapters with satisfying battles that pushed this up to a 3 star for me but the reliance of magic and some strange dimension which made very little sense ruined the ending.
I also feel that a lot of characters has unsatisfying endings (not in terms of what happened but how quickly this happened) I'm not a fan of books dragging but this does seem like it needed an extra 250 pages or even another book to tie things out without feeling like everything was rushed and characters that we've followed for four books deserving a more conclusive ending.
Still a good series overall and interesting, I just think this is an example of where a little less magic and a better defined system of magic would have worked far better.
October 13, 2016
c2016: FWFTB: witch, Gods, exemplars, squire, battle. Every page of this book was a sheer joy to read. Such great characters, realistic battle scenes, well-thought out cultures...just wonderful. And with a hint of some more to come set in a much later time-frame. I have only two whinges and they are so personal that they really don't matter in the bigger scheme of things. These are 1) no what-has-gone-before; there are subtle nudges but I needed a little more and 2) the map needs to be bigger for these poor old eyes- but at least there were maps which always helps me to orientate myself into the story. I liked all the POVs but not every thing worked out the way this reader wanted it to - but just a brilliant read. Light and dark; funny and sad; exciting and nail-biting - a complete book in every sense. Highly and definitely recommended to the normal crew."Gwen let go of the Karesian's hair and his body slumped to the canvas floor. 'Three are worth ten,' she repeated. 'We beat them for armour, weapons, tactics, skills. morale, and we have nothing left to lose - they're calling it the Lands of the Twisted fucking Tree.'"
September 11, 2018
An improvement on the previous books - The author finally got over his obsession with people puffing their cheeks out and gave the reader a considered and appropriate ending. It would get 3.5 stars if that was an option.
January 15, 2021
It has been a long time since I have read such great fantasy! When you can not put down a book because it's so good and in 1 way you want to get to the end and than when you get there you don't want it to end. Than you know it is an awsome book. Please write more!
January 26, 2024
easily one of the worst endings I have ever read. everything bad in the previous books is tripled in this one
bad facing
bad action too much plot armor
terrible Magic
inconsistent characters
boring storylines
armies numbers that make no sense
bad facing
bad action too much plot armor
terrible Magic
inconsistent characters
boring storylines
armies numbers that make no sense
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