A War in Crimson Embers

The Crimson Empire #3

by Alex Marshall

The final book in the Crimson Empire trilogy, a game-changing fantasy epic featuring an unforgettable warrior.

Former warrior queen and now pariah, Cold Zosia wakes in the ashes of a burning city. Her vengeance has brought her to this - her heroic reputation in tatters, her allies scattered far and wide, and her world on the cusp of ruin.

General Ji-Hyeon has vanished into the legendary First Dark, leaving her lover Sullen alone to carry out the grim commands of a dead goddess. The barbarian Maroto is held captive by a demonic army hell-bent on the extermination of the Crimson Empire, and only his protege Purna believes he can be saved.

Zosia must rally her comrades and old enemies one last time, for what will prove the greatest battle of her many legends...if anyone lives to tell it.

FIVE HEROES. NO HOPE. A WAR AGAINST DEVILS.
The Crimson Empire
A Crown for Cold SilverA Blade of Black SteelA War in Crimson Embers
By the same author, writing as Jesse
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart
The Enterprise of Death
The Folly of the World

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Audiobook, Epic, LGBT

707 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2017

About the author

Alex Marshall is a pseudonym for Jesse Bullington who has previously published several novels in different genres. - See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/auth...

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending to the trilogy! Choplicker still my fav. The book was left in a way it could keep going, but I’m happier with this ending

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some epic fantasy is all about the meticulous worldbuilding, others about the way it's written, and others love to revel in the plot.

This one just finishes us off in the trilogy by being bloody FUN. I may have mentioned in the previous books how much I love crusty old women taking up the sword and waging war and all, but this takes it all the way. The whole world is embroiled in a fight of mortals against demons and past enemies team-up.

Bt do you know what's best? The damn crusty language. It's like the whole book is full of Irish humor and insults and everyone is randy as hell. And it's written in such a way as it's positive and delightful. Celebration of life, as, you know, everyone's pretty certain of a nasty bloodbath. :)

So yeah, I had a fantastic time. Gibbering horrors, bright characters everywhere, vivid text. This is a trilogy that is a delight to read. :) Grannies and their demon dogs rule! :)

[Earwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to write a proper review eventually but for now I just want to say this series is the best "casual inclusion" of lgbt characters and women in a fantasy I've seen in any sort of media and might have skewed my standards now

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent conclusion to a trilogy I have mixed feelings about. If you enjoy zany, you may like this series more than I did. Marshall employs the same set of characters here as the previous volumes, but with a tighter focus on Zosia and the various 'villains' that once constituted the core of the Colbalt army. Picking right up from the last volume, our 'heroes' are scattered all over the Star, and even the formerly Sunken Lands. The old priests from the Sunken Lands are back in this universe thanks to the sacrifice by the Chain, the religious group that sees the Sunken Lands as Heaven on earth.

The Chain basically abandoned the capitol city of the Crimson Empire to collectively sail to the Sunken Lands only to find out they were mere pawns in some long game by the priests there. Now that they are back, they seek to eradicate humanity from the Star entirely. Can our rag-tag heroes stop them? Pack you pipe with your favorite mix, have a few bugs and find out.

Marshall does have quite an imagination to be sure and I did like the blend of cultures he brought to the picture here. We have the Indian arm of the star, the Korean one, the barbarian one, the Arabian one and the forsaken one, which we never find out more about. Marshall loves to discuss the various foods from these places and must of had a lot of fun writing this. The various adventures of our 'heroes', their dire predicaments and their hairy escapes reminded me a bit of classic adventures as penned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, although with a lot more boozing and partying.

My main quibbles concern how drawn out the series became. Each volume would rival a Sanderson tome and that asks a lot from the reader. Coupled with that, most of the characters I really did not care for. I think my favorite became the demon dog Choplicker. I have read reviews that call this series grimdark fantasy with humor, and yeah, I can buy that. I found the humor to be pretty juvenile, however, with lots of sex and dope jokes. YMMV! 3 stars for this volume and the series as a whole.

[Pearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series started off with a lot of fan-fare and hyped reviews back then. It was too tempting for me to resist so i got into it. As the follow-up books came out, i noticed a significant decrease in interest though, probably why i found out way too late that the final book was already out. I remember being so pumped getting into it, enjoying the differentness and the humour quite a bit in book one although the book didn't really commit to the one thing that had actually made me pick it up; Zosia: the retired old, cynical, often misunderstood female warrior general type character . This character trope is usually relegated to male characters in fantasy so i was ready for this!

The first book didn't put as much focus on Zosia as i would have liked and this trend sort of continued in the sequels which was dissappointing. More characters were added into the mix and she got the side character treatment as time went on, only to be called on when someone wanted revenge or to blame her for something totally not her fault, which frustrated me.

With the character saturation that is this series, events ended up being repetitive through the multiple characters' POVs and at times, made getting through the book quite tedious. The humour which had originally made me chortle dwindled down to a bare "ha". If, really, if the focus of the story had been more Zosia-centric, the enjoyability of the series would have improved significantly for me. If more work had been put into character development for her character, rather than on Moroto's confusing relationship exploits and his redemption at the cost of Zosia, it would have all been more interesting in the end.

The only reason i was able to actually complete this book was probably because the audiobook narrator, Angèle Masters, who did the whole series, had such great delivery and gave life to the characters (even though half the female characters did sound like the same teenage female anime character). So good on her for that.

All in all though, i had a relatively good time with this series, its humourous weirdness, bug-infested and well described gross locations, was per for the course of what also made it a different reading experience for me.

I just wish my girl Zosia didn't get the shaft throughout the series like she did but oh well...it's been an okay 3 star ride at the end.

[Keith Pishnery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as book 1 or 2. 1 remains a favorite, and 2 has some of the craziest moments, but 3...eh, it meandered for quite awhile, got very big and climactic, then had quite an unexpected ending. Overall, I really enjoyed the trilogy, but felt most of book 3 was lacking the focus and plot the first 2 had.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a finale, this had everything I wanted: an inventive and brutal monster army; long journeys in a time-dilated Dreamlands; friends and lovers reunited; fate of the world resolved in a non-traditional genre ending; interesting backstory elements revealed; etc. The problem is that almost none of worked for me. I'm not sure if it's really all that different from the previous books, but the narrative voice and pace stood out in a bad way where I'd enjoyed them before.

Ultimately, it feels like two books worth of plot compressed into a single volume, and practically everything suffers for it to some extent. The first half feels like an extension of the second book, still building anticipation and moving pieces around for a great conclusion. It becomes apparent about 60% of the way in that the conclusion just can't be commensurate to the scope that has been suggested, but it's still a bit of a disappointment when it does. The denouement positively races through an enormous checklist of character beats, especially reunions, as well as battles, showdowns, revelations, and epilogues.

I appreciate that the battle scenes aren't belabored, as is unfortunately typical in fantasy, but what's missing is any sense that the tone of the story has changed to match the enormity of the circumstance. Characters are as flippant and arch as ever, and it makes things feel facile, insubstantial. Especially after Hjortt dies, the absence of any diverse perspectives feels even more keen than it did in Black Steel. The notable exception is Ji-Hyeon, but her journey in the Dreamlands is almost completely elided. That would have made a great novella-within-a-novel, and as it stands is still one of the best parts of the book. It's one of a few new ideas that don't get explored as much as it seems they ought to be, along with Lupitera, Hoartrap's backstory, and Choi and Maroto's relationship. There's a mismatch between setups and payoffs.

If the fun, flippant style of most of the characters' internal monologues fails to shift to capture the severe tone of the plot, I think it serves the romantic arcs even worse. In the previous volumes, hearing characters think about their crushes and agonize over signals and strategies felt uniquely vulnerable for the genre, it fails to transition effectively into something more . . . romantic? On one hand it's just the time issue again, that there isn't enough page space to effectively establish all the happy endings on offer. On the other, a lot of the happy endings are less emotional and more sexual, but Marshall's sexuality is still that flippant, immature tone and it makes it almost feel more uncomfortable with sex than if it'd been left out altogether (especially odd in contrast with the great sex stuff in Folly of the World).

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to one of my favorite modern fantasy series. Hoartrap the Touch is definitely my favorite "evil sorcerer" in fantasy - he's sinister, sure, but also a wisecracking, arrogant jerk and a lot of fun.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book begins where the previous novel ended. The five villains are scattered across the Star and beyond as is their leader, Cold Zosia. Jex Toth has retuned from exile and is much worse than anyone thought. Yet what does this land of devils want and what are the villains going to do to stop it?
An excellent conclusion to a wonderful series; the humour changes a little, tinged with tragedy but better for it. More appropriate for this book in terms of tone. The characters become more vivid and while some can grate at times this extra depth of character works. Creating empathy rather than sympathy.
The battle scenes are well described as less than organised chaos but manage to convey the desperation of the situation for the inhabitants of the Star. In a couple of words the whole series is “fleet” or perhaps “woof”. Well worth the read.

[Adrian Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally posted on Grimdark Magazine.

Alex Marshall’s A War in Crimson Embers is the barnstorming end to one of my favourite trilogies of the last few years. Brilliantly structured, full of laughs and groans and twists all delivered in the Marshall’s very readable style, the author has delivered on the promises the first two books made during the their build up to the unleashing of Jex Toth and the pitting of the remaining Villains against…well…just about everybody it feels like at times! I guarantee you, grimdark reader, that this is a trilogy you’ll want to finish (or start, if this is the first you’ve heard of the Crimson Empire).

The opening third to A War in Crimson Embers presents you with POVs from a broad spectrum of your favourite Marshall characters–the Black Pope, Zoisa, Colonel Hjortt, Ji-hyeong Bong, Sullen, Purna, Best, Indsorith, and of course our favourite Captain Screw-Up, Maroto. It’s a great deal to take in up front if you’re not into books with a large cast as these characters are spread across the Star (world), but by this point in the trilogy you should be pretty chill with Marshall’s style and story structures, and I can assure you that you won’t be waiting three-quarters of a book for our characters to start teaming up and creating mayhem.

The build up to the final confrontation with Jex Toth and its Vex Assembly is fraught with danger and betrayal, journeys into the magnificently depicted First Dark, insurmountable odds, and all but immortal enemies. However, what you are going to love is Marshall’s ability to give engaging and at times mind-blowing answers to questions you’ve been asking for about 7-800 pages across A Crown for Cold Silver and A Blade of Black Steel–what makes Choplicker a special little devil? Just what kind of monster is Hoartrap and what hasn’t he told us? Can Maroto possibly level-up in his screw-up ability? Just how buggered is the Star now that the Sunken Kingdom isn’t so sunken anymore? I could list them all here, but you’d be hanging around this review like a bad smell all day trying to read them all. And Marshall does that while bringing a range of storylines and POVs together in true page-turning fashion.

One of the things that really stuck out to me in the depiction of the fabled Jex Toth and its beastly inhabitants (these guys are essentially the larger story arc’s end game, for those just tuning in) was the author’s ability to mix grimdark fantasy and what I’d take for weird horror. Some of the descriptions had me jumping and trying to clear imaginary cockroaches off my neck. That kind of fiction isn’t usually my personal jam, but I reckon he’s worked it in really well throughout. Further, those of us who have been biting our fingernails for the first two books waiting for the realisation of Jex Toth and its inhabitants, Marshall does not disappoint. As the big bad, they are given drive and direction, and we’re given an enjoyable insight into the Vex Assembly (the rulers of Jex Toth) through a couple of our favourite characters–something I know you’ll enjoy.

Marshall unleashed his story like an already gathered storm increasing in ferocity and then dropped an ending on me that I deadset did not see coming. It was odd, and different, and it brought a wry grin to my face because when I sat back and thought of the way he’s twisted the expected around into the unexpected at pretty much every turn throughout this series, I should have known he’d take what I was hoping for and give it a big dose of bug dust before pointing me in a seemingly random direction before bringing the trilogy to a grab-me-a-beer-I’m-happy close. Very, very satisfying.

A War in Crimson Embers is full of awe, betrayal, twists, turns, and provides satisfying and on-tune endings for all the characters we’ve come to know, hate, and love over the last three years. Full of the same fun, flowing, enjoyable prose we’ve come to expect from Marshall, A War in Crimson Embers is a cracking ending to the Crimson Empire trilogy.

[Keeloca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2,75

Well. This is rather sad. In spite of being rather invested in the fates of most every character, I found myself bored for long stretches of time, skimming the pages just to get to where it would get interesting. I think one of my main problems were the antagonists - they were boring AND gross, and yeah. Not my cup of tea. No, it is not.

I found the lack of answers to several mysteries deeply unsatisfactory, but I also dig it a little? At least in cases like Chop, whose true identity is only hinted at, never flat out stated. Faceless Mistress, though. What's her deal? Inquiring minds wants to know. What's ANYONE'S deal, really? Can we get the scoop on the Fallen Mother and the Deceiver, please?

I might have had an easier time accepting the frankly weak plot if the characters had gotten more attention. I felt like a lot of the interesting relationships were left underdeveloped in the last installment, in favour of long, boring battles. At least we got TWO threesome endgames, so yay? Also, Diggelby! You rock, my boy!

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this series, and I’m so glad I did. Sure, they’re long and a little dense (and there’s scenes where wizards eat bats), but there’s so much good here that it’s well worth the time involved. Others have called out what a fantastic job this series does of pansexual representation, and it honestly feels like a breath of fresh air (and a path forward) in high fantasy. Then there’s the humour: unrelenting sass and genuinely character-based, a vein which runs through all three books with charm and heart. The action is truly epic, with sword fights and enormous monsters and sea battles aplenty, and the storyline is full of dramatic betrayals and unpredictable protagonists. Fans of Game of Thrones will come for the surface similarities (have I mentioned plenty of bawdy sex?) but stay for the characters, a decidedly different mix of villains and morally conflicted antiheroes who feel real and flawed and fun. And my god, this ending is just perfect. One of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read.

[Wortmagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Musik spielte für Alex Marshall während des Entstehungsprozesses der „The Crimson Empire“-Trilogie eine große Rolle. Er liebt Rock und Metal und ließ sich von diversen Bands und Songs inspirieren. Beispielsweise lief „Square Hammer“ von Ghost in Dauerschleife, als er das Finale „A War in Crimson Embers“ schrieb. Angeblich verstecken sich in der Handlung des Dreiteilers einige Anspielungen und Referenzen, die auf seinen Musikgeschmack verweisen. Solltet ihr sie finden – lasst es mich wissen. 😉

Einst wurde Jex Toth versenkt, um die verheerenden Pläne des Priesterrats zu vereiteln. Für alle Zeiten sollte die verfluchte Insel im Ersten Dunkel angekettet sein. Doch das folgenschwere Ritual der Burnished Chain brachte Jex Toth zurück und die Priester zögern nicht, dort anzuknüpfen, wo sie vor 500 Jahren unterbrochen wurden. Ihre furchteinflößenden Truppen bereiten sich darauf vor, den Stern anzugreifen, die Bevölkerung zu versklaven und jede Seele auszulöschen, die sich ihnen widersetzt. Leider sind die Königreiche des Sterns in eigene Machtkämpfe verwickelt und ahnen nicht, welche Bedrohung am Horizont aufzieht. In Diadem hinterließ die überstürzte Abreise der Chain ein Vakuum, das die Revolutionäre zu füllen versuchen. Zosia und Indsorith bieten ihre Unterstützung an, müssen allerdings feststellen, dass die Umstürzler allzu bereit sind, die ehemaligen Königinnen für ihre Verfehlungen zu verurteilen. Auf die Hilfe der Kobalt-Kompanie können sie nicht zählen, denn diese wird auf den Makellosen Inseln festgehalten. Generalin Ji-hyeon konnte sich nur mit einem beherzten Sprung in das Portal vor dem rachsüchtigen Zorn der Kaiserin Ryuki retten und ist nun im Ersten Dunkel verschollen. Die einzige Hoffnung der Menschheit sind Sullen und seine Freunde, die auf ihrer Suche nach Maroto die Wahrheit über Jex Toth herausfanden. Werden sie den Stern vor einem Schicksal in Sklaverei bewahren können?

Was war das denn bitte? „A War in Crimson Embers“ ist das seltsamste Finale einer Trilogie, das ich je gelesen habe. Ich bilde mir ein, dass ich eine großzügige Leserin bin, die am Ende einer Geschichte vieles verzeiht und für die meisten Entwicklungen offen ist. Ich brauche kein Happy End und kann mich mit unbeantworteten Fragen abfinden. Aber das… Das war einfach skurril. Ich erwähnte bereits in der Rezension zum Vorgängerband A Blade of Black Steel, dass ich fürchtete, dass Alex Marshall die Handlung nicht konsequent genug vorantrieb und sich zu viel Zeit ließ. Ich hatte ja keine Ahnung. Ich hätte es nicht für möglich gehalten, doch „A War in Crimson Embers“ ist noch langatmiger, noch gestreckter und noch unfokussierter. Manche Kapitel behandeln lediglich eine einzige Szene. Dadurch wirkte die Geschichte zerstückelt, denn ich durfte bei vielen Ereignissen nicht live dabei sein, sondern erfuhr erst im Nachhinein, wie die aktuelle Szene zustande kam. Es baute sich kein Fluss auf und dementsprechend auch keine stabile Spannungskurve. Ich wurde ohne erkennbare Logik wie eine Flipperkugel quer über den Stern von einer Figur zu anderen katapultiert. Meine enorme Sympathie für sie brachte mich durch die Lektüre, doch je länger dieses Spielchen dauerte, desto stärker zweifelte ich daran, dass Alex Marshall es schaffen würde, auf einen Nenner zu kommen. Vielversprechende potenzielle Nebenhandlungslinien fielen Stück für Stück ungenutzt weg. Marshall sortierte aus, was ich für eine direkte Folge seines langsamen Erzähltempos halte, weil ihm der Raum fehlte, auf Ji-hyeons Abenteuer im Ersten Dunkel, Sullens Beziehung zur Faceless Mistress oder die Rolle der Wildborn gebührend einzugehen. Er musste sich auf das Wesentliche beschränken: den Kampf gegen Jex Toth. Doch selbst nach dieser radikalen Diät wurde es knapp, sodass er die finale Schlacht und die Konfrontation mit dem Priesterrat abrupt abschließen musste. Ach, was rede ich. Abschließen? Das war kein Abschluss. Das war ein Abbruch. Von jetzt auf gleich schickt Marshall seine Figuren in den Feierabend und zieht die Jalousien runter. Alle offenen Fragen bleiben ungeklärt. Wäre sie nicht so unbefriedigend, hätte mich diese bizarre Vollbremsung beinahe zum Lachen gebracht. Das Ende von „A War in Crimson Embers“ las sich wie eine Satire, weil es jede Erwartungshaltung enttäuschte, die ich bis dahin entwickelt hatte.

Ich weiß nicht, was Alex Marshall sich bei der Konzeption von „A War in Crimson Embers“ dachte. Ich kann nicht erklären, wieso er den großen Showdown plötzlich abbrach. Also werde ich es gar nicht erst versuchen. Stattdessen möchte ich abschließend ein Thema ansprechen, das mich beschäftigt, seit ich Rezensionen anderer Leser_innen zum ersten Band der „The Crimson Empire“-Trilogie las, in denen behauptet wurde, Marshalls Universum sei nicht wirklich gleichberechtigt. Es sei kein Zeichen von Gleichberechtigung, dass die meisten Figuren bisexuell und promiskuitiv sind und Frauen alle wichtigen Positionen einnehmen. Dies ist ein Kritikpunkt, dem ich vehement widerspreche. Ich finde es kleingeistig und unversöhnlich, Marshall anzukreiden, der Stern, der gleichberechtigter und toleranter ist als die meisten Fantasy-Settings, sei noch nicht gleichberechtigt und tolerant genug. Meiner Meinung nach sind weder die sexuelle Orientierung der Figuren noch die Besetzung von Führungspositionen ausschlaggebend. Entscheidend ist, wie die Charaktere darauf reagieren: gar nicht. Toleranz und Gleichberechtigung zeigen sich darin, dass Gender, Geschlecht und sexuelle Ausrichtung eben nicht thematisiert werden, weil sie völlig selbstverständlich akzeptiert werden. Man kann Alex Marshall vorwerfen, dass seine Trilogie inhaltlich nicht überzeugt, aber nicht, dass er sich um ein vorurteilsfreies Universum bemühte. Das ist mehr, als die meisten Fantasy-Autor_innen überhaupt wagen und als Anerkennung dessen erhält „A War in Crimson Embers“ von mir trotz der Mängel drei Sterne.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent conclusion buried, as usual, in heaping helpings of excess verbiage. As before, I found the best way to read this was to focus on the dialog and just skim quickly over the rest. And even if the tale weren't so well cast and rousingly gross and funny, along with creatures like "cobraroaches" and "dire pangolins" thrown in there are many fine lines and exchanges, to wit:

"Staring in awe at the seraph that delivered her to the beating heart of the Garden of the Star, she'd found herself at a loss as to how she might describe it in words or even thoughts; it simply was, in all its winged, tentacled glory."

"He's got a point," said Purna, draining the blood from her most recent snake.

"Anyway, go fuck thineself."

The old giant's tattoos were pulsing with black light as he landed on another Tothan and bit through its helmet as if it were made of meringue, sucking out a mouthful of runny black gore. Well. Sullen could have done without seeing that.

"You sailed clear up here from the Dominions to throw down on the Immaculates, but when you got here decided to help them fight an unbeatable army of monsters instead?"

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. The last 150 or so pages of this book were solid. A lot of trilogies really falter with the ending and this did not. It was satisfying and fitting, and I can't say much more than that without spoiling things. But the first two thirds could be a real slog at times. The character POV changes were frustrating and sometimes pointless, where in the first two volumes they added to the story. I'm especially, incredibly, almost angrily upset over huge amounts of time unaccounted for with a certain Immaculate character in favor of what felt like endless brooding chapters about a certain Flintlander. I'm trying so hard not to be spoilery.

So really, parts of this book get a million stars and parts of it get like, two. Mega bonus points for drag queens. Other mega bonus points for the very last chapter before the epilogue. This trilogy as a whole is one of my new favorites. I suspect I'll give this more stars on a second reading.

[Aksel Dadswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible conclusion to one of the best fantasy series I've read. I love how each book maintains the overall tone of the series and builds its characters, while managing to veer in different and unexpected directions. This one goes all out with the monsters, and they're all gloriously gag-inducing and tactile. The way the author wrangles the big scenes and instills everything with a crazy energy is nothing short of masterful. The Crimson Empire trilogy is his most ambitious work but also his most accomplished, and what he manages to pull off is absolutely breathtaking. His characters are horrible and beautiful and brilliantly real, his world is vast and lived-in and built to perfection, and his humour is always on-point. I can't overstate how much I love this series.

[Eric Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is pure fun while also being a really modern take on fantasy that blows away a lot of old tropes. The ending was a bit abrupt but fitting, and the wrap-up showed just enough of everyone.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/10* for the book.
9/10* for the series

The is really a wonderful trilogy.

Crazy magic, awesome characters, lots of action and lots of fun.

Jesse Bullington aka Alex Marshall created an interesting world and then added a extra helping of crazy to the mix.

I strongly recommend this series.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the many things I love about this series is how hopeful it ends up, despite being a bloodthirsty revenge quest that gets pretty grim-dark at times. There are really no characters who get a bad ending - some of them are bittersweet endings, to be sure, but no one is entirely condemned (with maybe the exception of Boris, but there’s a reason for that).

I like the ending, because I feel like we get a satisfying (and kind of campy) ending to the main conflict with the Tothans, but we also get emotional closure via Maroto bringing Zosia’s story full circle.

Some of my favorite parts in no particular order:
— Zosia finding and rescuing Indsorith. Nursing her back to health and then becoming friends (and maybe becoming something more by the end of the book 💜)
— also I love Indsorith’s prologue and her story. Her acceptance that her pain and rage was *real*, but ultimately misguided (especially in her blame of Zosia) makes me insane.
— Hjortt and Choi’s bromance is so funny
— Ji-hyeon is a fucking BADASS, and I love that she got run through a two-year hellfest in the First Dark to really complete that transformation from princess to general
— and they’re all alive!!! Everyone (well, everyone that we care about) is still fucking alive!!! She gets to tell one of her dads goodbye!!!!
— Y’homa fully embracing going off the deep-end… we love an unhinged girlboss
— the fucking pay-off of all the hints that Hjortt’s sister-in-law was also Maroto’s drag queen bestie… *chef’s kiss*
— also Hjortt’s death!!! The way he fucking tore the Empress apart (and he knew just how to do it too, as another parent grieving a child)… and he was so ready to accept his death up until that last second. Good shit.
— but also Shay was alive!!! I can’t help but think that is Hjortt hadn’t been such a complete shithead, he might have held on long enough to see her come back, and to teach her the way he never got to teach Ephraim.
— Maroto is such an absolute shit-stain and I love him. Man is absolutely committed to making the worst possible decision at every given opportunity
— (except when he has to make the one that matters the most!! Like, you can argue that he’s definitely not suffering by running away to be a pirate with his girlfriend(s?), but he does sacrifice everything he could have had with Sullen and with Purna to give Zosia some closure.
— also Maroto and Fennec running around were v funny
— Purna getting her adventure, even if Maroto isn’t there to see it 🥺 and also a hot fucking witch girlfriend 😜
— Just. Everything with Hoartrap. Hoartrap being the fucking traitor wizard lich of Jex Toth. Hoartrap needing other people to summon demons for him because they know he’s a fucking creep. Hoartrap getting tortured and fucked up AND STILL GOING BACK FOR ZOSIA!!!
— Ji-hyeon/Sullen/Keun-ju 💜 love won
— also Sullen going berserk when he thinks that Keun-ju died saving him 🥺
— Sullen the Singer 💜
— Boris not being a true believer like Sister Portolés fucking GOT him in the end. He tried to do what was right, but he died because he couldn’t commit the way she did.
— Purna loosing her devil by wishing that it would go do what it wanted to 🥺 AND THEN IT’S FUCKING PRINCE!!!
— truly that ending chapter with Diggleby and Prince makes me sob every single time. They found each other again!! They’re so happy!!! Prince is a fucking devil and Diggleby is the pope!!! 💜

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Where to start.

I guess I’ll start with how the child/preteen/adolescent version of myself felt as I devoured countless fantasy sagas, curled up in a chair in a dark corner: left out. Stories of far-off places, interesting characters, and unforgettable adventures always captivated me yet also held me at arm’s length, because they were, to a one, blatantly heterosexual.

The Crimson Empire series is not. Nether am I. And finally—FINALLY—I was able to get swept off on another grand adventure with characters who quickly felt like friends of my own, as they travel the world over, meet, part ways, get mixed up in different unexpected permutations as the quest goes ever onward.

I roll my eyes at this whole anti “woke” thing going on right now. White heterosexual people are suddenly mad that a small fraction of all the stories out there, in prose or film or video game or anything else, aren’t all exactly like them. Well, too bad. Because this is a story people like me have been waiting for.

A fantasy world, but without the tired sexism, racism, homophobia or transphobia. A great majority of the cast is bisexual, many are gay, and there are some wonderful, kickass trans characters too. That, in itself, is enough of a reason for a shy gay bookworm who dreams of adventure, such as myself, to love. But wait, there’s so much more!

There are all of the elements which made me fall in love with the fantasy genre from the beginning: a whole world of countries and cultures. Action. Suspense. Mystery. TONS of secrets. High adventure. Characters getting to know each other, then being sent off in opposite directions to be paired off with other characters, each on growing and learning from each interaction. Not to mention, kickass older women swinging swords and taking names is DEFINITELY my cup of tea.

Yes, a few plot points felt a bit rushed as we neared the end of this trilogy which really packed SO MUCH in…I felt like there were six books instead of three, and in a good way…and I quite honestly didn’t want this story to end. These characters have been through so, so much, and I’ve come to love them all for it. I’m not lying when I said I felt the prick of tears and definitely had goosebumps when I reached the last pages.

These three books all rank on my top shelf, reserved for my most beloved. What an amazing ride. And I loved every moment of it.

[Alan Behan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn, what a cracking conclusion to a fabulously written series. A War in Crimson Embers continued to leave me in stitches with Alex Marshalls comedic characters, Maroto, Hoartrap and Diggleby are just some that will leave you laughing out loud. This series has a fantastic array of characters, Devils, big ass monsters and the worldbuilding, setting and plot will keep you hooked from start to finish. The first gate has been blown wide open after a ritual by the burnished chain bringing hell know as Jex Toth back into existence. Bug ridden priests and priestesses and their armies of monsters are coming to end the lives of those who dwell in the Star. Will our Cobalt heroes and the Villians save their world from the nightmare they find them selves in. Check it out, you will absolutely love it. A fantastic ride all the way. Excellent read! Can't wait for more from Marshall. Hope the epilogue is the start of a new series. I very highly recommend to all you fantasy lovers...😁💥🔥🖤

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2017: (15) FWFTB: warrior, pariah, goddess, barbarian, protégé. Not as good as Books 1 and 2. There is some complex plotting in this book and the lack of a 'What-has-gone-before' really hampered my enjoyment of this third book. Sadly, it was not as gripping as say, the Malazan books, where I am quite prepared to spend a lot of time looking up the various characters etc. I thought the characters were brilliant before so its sad that the only one I really remember is Zosia and only a very superficial memory of the plot. Perhaps it will make more sense to me when I get the time to re-read the previous 2 books and then attack this one straight afterwards. Unfortunately, therefore, I can't recommend to the normal crew at this time."Zosia gave Choplicker a light kick, annoyed that the bastard hadn't tipped her off to the ambush..

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This book took far too long to read for two reasons, one of them being my sudden mental exhaustion.

The other reason being that this book took too damn long to get to the point! I can only put up with Maroto’s self-centred pity party for so long before casting about searching for where the fuck the plot went!!

The crazy thing is, once this book GETS to the plot it’s actually quite juicy and satisfying. There’s just so much darn exposition between point A and point B that it became very hard to care. 300 pages could have been cut from this book and it only would have improved the result.

It’s a shame about this finale overall because this series is actually great in concept, but the execution fell short.

[Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting conclusion to the series. Pretty much every character showed significant growth and they were the driving force behind this story.

I liked their complex relationships and pretty much all of them got the happiest ending they could get with the circumstances.

It will be interesting to see if there will be any more novels in this world and if Zosia ever finds out Maroto is still alive.

[Cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two books in the series were outstanding. A lot of weird crap in this one.

[Ben Brackett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ending suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A War in Crimson Embers carries on straight after the previous book with Cold Zosia trying to still help the people of the Star but the populace generally not liking her approach given her track record so things do not go according to plan which results in epic craziness as she tries to do the right thing by her standards anyway! Zosia's approach is certainly off the wall but from the start we can see that her heart is in the right place! She is sassy and her attitude is brilliantly handled with barreling her way through the Star still trying to help even when she wants to escape to the country and her development from the start and change to wanting to help is handled brillaintly showing us how she genuinely seeks to help! Her relationship with Choplicker is also brilliantly handled as the two of them always seem to have secrets and this leads to eyeballing from start! Choplickers secrets are also there and the books does a great job from the beginning showing us what they are!
The choices that she confronts though really show how much she has learnt since she was on the throne and her running chastisement on herself is hilarious! Her observations of those around her are also brilliantly done with her giving us more backstory at the same time as she is setting the future in line!

At the same time we have General Ji-Hyeon who is busily battling the beasties of the First Dark! She, also like Zosia, is one who has led people and is determined to get back! At the same time initially she is on her own but the discovery of her army with extras surviving really puts things in their head! At the same time the with have the rise of Jex Toth who Maroto has put his foot in it intentionally or not depending on your point of view and given them pointers on how to go about conquering the Star! Maroto like all the characters such as Purna, Best are all given roles front and center as well as all getting their POV's on the page! The constant flashing between the characters POV works brilliantly to keep us up to date with events but also add brilliantly to the humour as we can see how motivations have been completely misinterpreted! This gives us great perspectives on what is underneath all the brashness of all the characters! The way that character like Zosia, Maroto etc size up the battlefield and put themselves in the frame or their own heroics is hilarious and contrasts brilliantly with all the blood, mud, gore etc that is lying around!

The world building in A War in Crimson Embers is all up there to boot with us getting backstory on Jex Toth, the origins of the Star etc but at the same time getting a tour of the other realms as well! A War in Crimson Embers is fully developed with the worlds and characters all coming off three-dimensionally ! The Cities feel used and the characters are all fleshed out creating a world that is a palimpsest of different events and developments! A War in Crimson Embers puts the gang in all sorts of positions that really test their ingenuity from battlefields, high sea etc and Marshall puts the characters through the wringer! A War in Crimson Embers is a white knuckled ride one where you do not know what is going to happen to the characters of how it is going to turn out from the start!

A War in Crimson Embers is a crazy blood soaked humour filled book from the start which brings together seemingly disparate plotlines together in a creative way that you will not see coming but at the same time feels completely natural! A War in Crimson Embers is full of heroics as the characters make their stand, cunning as the characters outwit there opponents, rib breaking humour which is cutting and brilliantly delivered, twists as the plots take unexpected turns, inevitable betrayals cunningly delivered, pipe making Zosia keeps her hand in, revelations as the characters reveal secrets, giant appetites as things are wont to get eaten whole, escape plans as they always prove handy, bugs to rival Starship Troopers, world building as we get to zip around the Star and the dimensions past, future etc, beasts that are not beasts like Prince and Choplicker who tries to eat the show as ever, adventure as the gang smoke, swashbuckler etc their way through there adventures and action!as Brilliant Crisp High Five! Highly Recommended! Get it When You Can! :D

[Chernz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeping this short and sweet because it's basically impossible to summarize the third book in a series without massive spoilers.

Better than book 2, still not as tight and interesting as book 1.

This is grimdark if grimdark was written with a humorous self-aware edge how much you like Marshall's narrative voice will determine how much you like the series overall. I enjoyed the story and became genuinely invested in a couple of characters and this one flows a lot better than the middle book in the trilogy. Things actually happen, we get a lot of big questions answered and there were enough cliffhanging chapter endings that I was enticed to keep reading and keep reading - something that didn't happen much to me in book 2.

That being said I'm not sure the direction Marshall chose to took the series in really worked and part of that is due to his writing style. The big baddies weren't exactly scary and neither were their armies (probably because Marshall kept describing the monsters as hybrid crosses between real world animals and really, what's that creepy about "naked mastadons" or "squid" dragons?) I kept comparing the horrors of this world to the things that infested the world of the "Vagrant" and the OOMPH factor of Marshall's beasties/demons was lacking.
It also doesn't help that there are numerous "we're all going to die so let's go out with a bang moments," that never come to fruition and once the reader cues in on this the tension's gone. There's only so many times you can spare a character from what looks to be a surefire end and there are FAR too many saves between this book and book 2 for me to have felt real fear that someone's going to kick the bucket. And that that bucket's going to stay kicked over.

What does work are the emotional moments and the tension between characters as they discover things about each other. The mysteries at the heart of Hoartrap and Choplicker are the driving force of the book too, in my opinion and there are a couple of bittersweet moments at the end where everything comes together.

As a whole I appreciated what Marshall did here and I can certainly say he brings a whole new tone to this genre (though your mileage may vary on how much that tone works for you.) The ending was satisfying enough that I feel content closing the covers on this big trilogy and I'm glad I slogged through book 2 to reach a satisfying conclusion in book 3.

[Tracy Middlebrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightfully entertaining meaty treat. This trilogy was fantastic, and this 3rd book delivered on the promise of the premise. Epic in scope and in action. Darkly witty observations, great dialogue, and amazing descriptions of a fascinating and varied world. It's been great fun following this huge journey of quests and war and revenge and religion and attempts at brokered peace, and vastly different fully realized cultures and ways of thinking. The descriptions in general are fantastic and often visceral, particularly of Jex Toth (a newly risen demonic realm full of insectoid creatures and caves that seem to be made out of living flesh *shudder*).

But it's the characters that really make this journey sing. They are each so unique and different and entertaining and heartbreaking and human (with all our shades of grey). It was such a delight. Zosia as a woman in her 60's and leader of the rebellion is such an un-seen character in Fantasy. All of these characters won my heart, and represented so many different ideas. Maroto's journey in particular was my favorite (watching someone struggle through addictions, looking for redemption, his heart and emotions so huge but continuing to be wrong-footed all the time, often with the best of intentions. Yet not giving up. And making more friends/helping more than he could recognize). As soon as I typed that Maroto's journey was my favorite, my brain started arguing "What about Keun-ju? Sullen? Purna?" Richly layered characters.

Written in that multi-character narration style where each chapter follows a different journey. But you have to read them in order (I just recently learned my sister sometimes in these types of books will skip ahead to follow a cliffhanger chapter ending) because they sometimes overlap and interweave in fascinating ways. The Black Pope's visit to Jex Toth wouldn't have been nearly so effective if we hadn't previously seen this same land through Maroto's eyes, for example.

These are those giant fantasy type books that I don't often pick up anymore, because of page count. But I'm so glad the staff at my local bookstore had me start this series last year. Great adventures and a satisfying ending

[Jesse C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wavered between 4 and 5 stars on this. On the one hand, this is a fantastic series and the ending is quite satisfying. On the other, this final volume feels like it is maybe 20% too long and legitimately drags in some places which can't be said of the other two books. Ended up with 4 stars. More a 4.5 but such is life. To catalog some of my issues. I really question what the point of Best was, as a character. It feels like she could have been complete excised from the novel and nothing would have changed. And we spend so long with her in the book only to really end up with none of it mattering. That was disappointing.

Maroto was a clear floor-raiser: every character who got to spend time around him immediately got more interesting. But splitting Purna apart from him for basically the entire book meant that a) we had to listen to Maroto whine about it constantly, which eventually grated and b) she got much less interesting. Enjoyed her romance with Nemi but how much more fun would it have been with Maroto there to be all weird about it?

You appreciate all the Hell King stuff happening off screen (because book was already too long), but then, again, what was the point of that except to age Ji-hyeon up another 7 years (which also didn't seem to make any difference to the story). In fact, her entire storyline in the First Dark felt super rushed.

There was never any real payoff from Sullen's god encounter. Again, if you took that entire section of the books out does anything really change? His input didn't really sway Zosia at all and it never comes back to mean something to him, so why?

Overall it felt like this third book was maybe 2 or even 3 books worth of ideas wrestled into a single, too long book. Especially with all the dangling bits from the earlier novels that never seem to pay off. Still a fantastic series and super enjoyable. Slot it in right after Kameron's Hurley's Worldbreaker for the second best grimdark series I've read.