Iron Will

The Shifting Tides #4

by James Maxwell

The epic conclusion to James Maxwell's gripping fantasy series.

The world is facing a war to end all wars, a confrontation that will destroy everything Dion and Chloe hold dear. With Palemon's dragon army growing in number, time is running out...

Dion is doing everything in his power to prepare his kingdom, but he knows it will not be enough. Although he needs Chloe's help, recent tragedy makes him terrified for her safety. Magic is dangerous. Only Palemon is too arrogant to see it.

As chaos engulfs the land and Palemon risks civilization itself, Dion and Chloe must unite people of all nations to have any chance of survival.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Ebooks, Amazon, Dragons, Epic Fantasy

411 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2018

About the author

James Maxwell is a British-Australian best-selling author of epic fantasy novels, with millions of copies sold in multiple languages worldwide. With over a dozen acclaimed novels, including Enchantress, Golden Age, and A Girl From Nowhere, he is celebrated for his richly imagined worlds and epic, interwoven plots. His books have received multiple award nominations, including the World Fantasy Award, the Aurealis Awards, and three Arthur C. Clarke Award nominations, as well as garnering tens of thousands of reviews on Amazon.

Born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, and raised in Brisbane, Australia, James attended Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he studied a diverse mix of arts and sciences.

Since becoming a full-time author in 2012, he has made his home on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, where his writing is accompanied by the rumbling sound of the sea and the antics of his capricious white cat.

Blood and Empire, published in March 2025, begins James Maxwell’s latest gripping series, The Gateway Saga.

Reviews

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in this series gets 3 stars. Which is what the whole series boils down to and not just bc of the star average.

I’ve belabored my dislike of Dion, the Hero of this saga enuf in the 2 previous books, so I won’t Repeat myself. HE’S WEAk!!!

Ok, couldn’t help myself. At least there was no whoring or impregnating other women in this one...

Let’s talk action:
The plot and how everything comes together and why they came together that way was meh. That’s why the whole series gets 3 stars. A couple of areas were extremely anticlimactic- like when Marrix is still alive and is just an island and somehow slept hundreds of years and thengets killed off by a skull basher within 20 pages of awakening. WHAT??? Then what was the point of all that explanation and awakening and etc?

Predictable.

And if I’m getting no romance in my fantasy, I better have a freaking amazing plot!!!! Nope. It was meh.

World building was fine, maybe 4 stars.

Kargan - knew u would be a decent character. Honestly everyone grew except for Ehric and Dion.

Shout out to my man Zachary, who, along with Karagan might be my fave characters in this whole series.

I mourn the poor enunnch from bool1 who was shafted (literally).

Thta’s About it. Prob won’t Read more from this author.

(Stupid autocorrect!! Took me waaayyy too long to write and edit this thing!

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The worlds of the different kingdoms must find a way to come together to fight this new enemy & to survive as a people. Dion & Chloe do as they were both taught & bring about what no others have ever come close to accomplishing. With the help of many of their friends they find the strength & will to unite all people & eldran alike together. This a brilliant ending to an amazing fantasy series. These books have taken me on a journey far & wide while coming to this final epic battle that holds the fate of all these amazing characters in it's hand. James Maxwell brings to end the lands far away filled with magic & mystery. Thank you for this trip into the unknown. I will read these books again & again.

I voluntarily reviewed a Net Galley copy of this book.

[Zitong Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean like look, it’s a decent ending, everyone’s happy, blah, blah, blah. At the same time, it’s an extremely boring and predictable ending that really chose the easy way out. There were so many other ways he could have taken it instead of the actual way he did. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the sexualisation of 12/13 year old Sofia as pretty, or growing up to become beautiful is frankly just gross. I really don’t support that sort of stuff in modern fantasy even if it is set in an older setting. Despite some good moments, it is also anticlimactic and feels rushed as hell.

[Cati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as the rest of the series, though predictive in its conclusion😁

[Elizabeth Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I liked the ending, but a lot of this was a bit predictable. Cute story overall though, even though it got pretty dark in these last two books.

[Kyrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this series a little more with each book. It had its flaws, but I found the characters very likeable and by the end I couldn't put the book down! Definitely recommend this series to fantasy lovers 😊 a little bit predictable but I dont always mind that.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good ending! I was pleased with it.

At the beginning of the book, the realm is on the brink of full-scale war. The insatiable Palemon has an army of powerful dragons that are unstoppable, until.....something goes wrong with the magic that created them. They turn from controlled steads to wild demons intent on eating human flesh, any human flesh. The threat of these ravenous creatures that are systematically annihilating each kingdom serves to unite the previously at odd kingdoms of the realm. Oh, and of course, Chloe and Dion are thrown back together and despite the grim tasks at hand, decide that life is not worth living without love.

[Carmina Valdizán · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning I thought this was going to be a trilogy, when I heard about the 4th book I was slightly disappointed, I hate when authors keep the sagas going only to sell more books. This was not the case, it was necessary to finish the story, I can see that now. I love the book and the conclusion of the story. James Maxwell created a fantastic world with wonderful characters, a wonderful journey and a great read.

[Danae Mckain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It was a series we started in book club and I went on by myself and finished it. It’s not my normal genre of books that I enjoy but these were very well done. I liked the characters and all the different plots that rolled into one.

[Taddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just kept reading after book 3 and was through the final in no time. Good finish of this series which really picked up after the first book.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series and the themes it addresses

[Mr A Dhanani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

This does not disappoint. It is a lot faster than the previous books and I did not see the twist that was very clever. Well worth a read.

[chloe-phloe ₊ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I’m just salty. The fact of the matter is that I just stopped caring. I didn’t care about any of the characters anymore. Dialogue was dumbed down, and lots of telling (not showing) took over. The author became a sort of broken record.

Amazing imagination, I can say, but the execution was poor. The first two books were thrilling, good fantasies. Solid characterization, structure well thought out. Now this and the third book… felt so messy. I kind of saw it coming, but I was hoping for better.

Strong beautiful start with a messy finale.

major spoilers ahead!! proceedth with caution
All the characters I actually cared about either got dumbed down to a basic NPC or died. In a nutshell, the main characters Chloe and Dion were in this excruciating-to-read romantic plot-line, and that was not fun to read. At first: cute, love it. At the second half: holy moly.

Also the POV of Kyphos or whatever his name is? Dude, who the heck is that? Like—genuine question, okay not really, but you get it. In short, I didn’t care about that dude. His POV would come up, and I would be goin’ crickets. I know that sounds mean, but I did not. Like if I met this character in real life, I would run away. Not like an “I’m scared boohoo,” but like a “I don’t wanna talk to him.”

I’m sure the author was like, “who can replace Palemon when I kill him? oH thiS rAndOm dUde!”
end of spoilers!! unproceedth with caution


I need to take a break from these long winding fantasies in general. There are some people who really love these kinds of books, and I’m starting to feel a bit bad for trashing this book…

Maybe I actually don’t like this kind of stuff. No clue. Perhaps I just no longer have the time or energy to fully appreciate the scale at which fantasy writers go to anymore. I dunno. I’m trying, though.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book was released January 16, 2018.

This is book 4 in the Shifting Tides series.

Golden Age – 4/5 Shape-shifters
Silver Road – 5/5 Warships
Copper Chain – 5/5 Political Assassinations (My review)
Iron Will – 4/5 Red Dragons

What is it about?

Iron Will is the fourth and final installment in the Shifting Tides series. As a conclusion, it is hard to describe without spoiling things for books 1, 2, 3. Let’s just say that in these dark times allies must pull together or risk facing destruction, kings must make difficult decisions, and the fate of all man-kind and eldren is uncertain.

Was it good?

I really enjoyed this book. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that I thought some of the story threads were heading toward a different final confrontation and I was sad when one or two of these just fizzled out on the sidelines. Overall it was a very solid and exciting story. It was a very final conclusion which left no doubts about what would become of the world thereafter.

Now that it’s over..

I highly recommend this series for fantasy lovers. People who love kings, strong women, dragons, shape-shifters, or any combination of the above should find something to love in these beautiful books. The whole series was written consistently well.

[JenBsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

... and it's the end of the series. I got though all four books in a little over a week. Experiencing the audio editions (Kindle Unlimited) I was listening any chance I had. As the series started, I didn't think I was going to like this series as much as the Evermen Saga ... but I did.

If I have one complaint, it would be the repetition. Dion ... is flaxen haired, we know. As he transforms into a dragon he pictures himself elongating etc, etc ... it happens a lot, and is described the same way every time. And the word INDOMITABLE ... seems to be a favorite of this author, or maybe one that just stood out to me (also indefatigable *Ü*).

This conclusion was full of battles and dragons and death. But here also, the author has a way of making things less than black and white. Characters that we hate ... maybe we don't hate them quite as much as we thought we did. Some interesting thoughts (ala the oracle) on why things happen.

Parental perspective ... no foul language (just doesn't exist in this fantasy world), there is some sex, although nothing at all explicit. Violence ... a lot of that.

[Rachel Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in Maxwell's Shifting Tide Series, Iron Will is fantastic!!

I loved loved loved this book. It has been a while since I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading a book, and I couldn't put this book down! What a fantastic conclusion to a great series.

Chloe and Dion once again have their work cut out for them, as the world is thrown into a truly dire situation. Quite literally, everyone could die. This book is messy, people die, sacrifices must be made and it is written so compellingly .

There are a lot of things things in this book that resonant in the world today. The core message I have come out of this with is acceptance of diversity. Through the whole series there has been this message but it really comes home in this final book. Only through unity can the world be at peace. Only through unity can the true evil in the world be defeated. Only through unity can all nations thrive.

I sincerely recommend this series - especially if you like a fantasy story that is more action than romance.

[Megs C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really impressed how the author tied this series up, and made it all work out in the end without seeming to be too unrealistic. You can see there will still be matters of intrigue and political skirmishes among the people, but their shared history and plan for a UN of sorts bodes well for the future. I wish the “green shards” were explained a bit more- how much magic remains, will it increase, is it limited to only Sindara, etc. Also just throwing the three kingdoms of Dion, Chloe, and Tanus together in the end- not sure how that would work. I guess they all went under Xanos rule after all. Long live the king, so long democratic process?

Anyway- highly satisfying series, I loved it all, each book was unique, and the ability for redemption stories among the characters was great. I was waiting the whole time for Javid to be revealed to Chloe as Tomays (sp? Cant remember) brother. The whole time! What a miss- that would have been cool. Unless I imagined that link up, but I’m pretty sure I did not. Oh well!!

[Cata Grui · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final materia

Iron Will gracefully closes the loop on magic and conflict, wrapping together the past with the present, allowing the glimpse of a bright future to shine through the text of the final pages. Smartly written, with minor hiccups here and there, the story is fun, thrilling and exciting to follow. It’s easy to read, the characters ‘behave’ as expected and the flow of the action makes it quite nice. There are minor hiccups in he storyline, seemingly forcing the characters and events to play out for the sake of the narrative, but they are easily overshadowed by the rest of the book, which, overall is very good. It’s also the last novel of the series, so newcomers will probably not benefit from the entire backstory and nuances. It’s best read in its intended sequence, after the previous 3 books. Overall, again, very nicely written, believable plot and likable and relatable characters. Definitely worth it.

[The Neighbor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, an End of Series book that actually ends the series without leaving you hanging on half of the plot lines.

James Maxwell wraps this one up in a way that practically every question about any of the characters, major or minor, are all answered. I'm not going to give you the answers, you have to read, or listen to the book to find those out. But, I will say that the end was good. It came to logical conclusions for the storylines with a few twists just to make sure you're paying attention. Even though Mr. Maxwell wrote such a beautiful ending, he still leaves the possibility of new series that are in the same world.

Always leave them wanting more. I don't remember who said it, but it's definitely true. With all the awful things that are happening out there in the "Real World", it's nice to have a place to escape to that leaves you with that warm happy feeling when you're done. This one really is a "GoodRead".

[Andy Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:

Copper Chain set the table for a global war and this book delivers. Just not quite how you think.

The first part of the book is awful, with the typical "I lied to you to protect you" crap and predictable actions by every character. But then, the twist! This changes everything... oh wait, nevermind. We're back to the cliche war war/political story told a hundred times over. But then...

As one of the lesser characters, Zachary really saves this book (this is not a spoiler). After the big change, the book is awesome. Yes, it's a bit cheesy and the end has enough sugar to make your teeth rot. But would you have it any other way? It perfectly settles the world into a place that we can walk away from without any worries.

Obviously if you're three books deep already, you'll read it. Knowing what I know (after reading all four books), would I do it again? Based on the strength of the first and fourth books, I'd love to take this adventure again.

Read it!

[(Grace) Kentucky Bohemian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Close to the Series
James Maxwell is a literary Swiss watchmaker. His epics contain so many characters and shifting plot lines as he creates his fantastic worlds that the reader has to mentally sprint just to keep up. The moving parts in this series are mind boggling. But completely worth the investment of the reader's time.

Dion and Chloe have seemingly traveled the known world relentlessly in an attempt to protect their people. During their struggles they've each grown exponentially, and though their paths intersected frequently, their fates appeared to be travelling down different paths.

The plot of this last book in the series flies at the speed of light as it seems the nations are facing utter doom. But those with iron will refuse to give up or give in. This is a tale of heroes, bravery, strength, and perseverance.

If you are new to the series, don't start here. Back up to Golden Age and catch the entire saga. It's well worth it.

[Asl4u · Rating 3 out of 5]

so i like the stories in all of these books but i am really disappointed in the stability of the character Dion. there are times he’s a normal guy and had the makings of as good leader and hero and then he becomes just so stupid- he makes decisions on no evidence whatsoever in fact he makes decisions that are totally out of character- His Own Establish Character!... it’s just so mind numbing. and because the other characters are all reasonable and creative and able to think and reason and make decisions that are not stupid.. it just doesn’t make any sense- the writer is capable of writing a person- so what does he choose Dion - a major character to go al wishy-washy?.. so at this point i’ve finished the books- he’s an OK writer- i’ll read something else by him at some point - it’s just frustrating

[Rose Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not disappointed in my long wait for The Shifting tides #4 - Iron Will. Book one starts a little slow and I almost quit reading but had a nudge for "just a little further". I thought... mmm.. I'm not sure if I'm into the Greek thing.. I'm glad I kept reading. I wasn't disappointed there either. All sorts of things were going on by the end and I plowed right into book #2, then #3... and found I had to wait for the last book! There is lots of magic, dragon changlings, sorcery, love, compassion, bitter evil, cold heartedness, desperation, sadness and joy. The list goes on. A bonus for me, was in the acknowledgment section where I learned that this is same author who wrote The Everman series, which I read a year to two ago. I Loved that series too!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging stories, even though not the best writing

I was given a Kindle version of this book through Goodreads. Since it's the fourth and final in the series, of course I had to go back and read the first three first. I really enjoyed the story, the characters were interesting and the plot was not always predictable. Although I don't find Maxwell's writing to be the best ever, the descriptions often seemed repetitive and I felt like the characters could have used more development, it was engaging enough and the stories compelling enough to get me through all four books in a fairly short amount of time. In fact I liked them enough that I have already started his Enchantress series.

[Nathan J · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is amazing, and the resolution to the great conundrum of how to deal with an army of dragons was a lovely twist, beautifully foreshadowed.

The biggest issue with this book is that the climatic battle comes, the enemy is defeated, and then there are eight more chapters before the book's over. It would have been better if Maxwell had set up the resolution for some of the characters earlier, and then quickly said, "yeah, they did that thing that they were going to do". That would have allowed the main story line with Chloe and Dion to resolve, and then the final chapter, which is quite satisfying could have maybe had a bit of extra lifting to do, but it would be fine. As it stands, there are just too many endings, and it cheapens what's been a really enjoyable series.

[Marilu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t believe I finished!

The story ended and I am crying! This was an amazing journey. I wanted all of the bad things to end but I didn’t want the good ones to end too, so now I’m sad because I’ve faced a lot of things with Dion and Chloe and every character of this story that I can’t believe is over. I’m missing them already.

Anyway, I loved The Shifting Tides series. I started it without expectations and it surprised me a lot. I am so glad I gave the books the opportunity. Of course not everything was perfect and amazing, there were things that I didn’t like or that I felt that were not necessary, but overall the story was amazing and I’m sure it’s gonna stick with me for a long time!

[Theodore Kopoukis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending of the series was... OK? I enjoyed the first book so much when I read it years ago, that I immediately bought the rest of the series in one batch. It is refreshing to read a world based on the Mediterranean mythology, instead of the classic Tolkien-esque northern European settings. But while the first three books build gradually and foreshadowed how the story would unfold, the final installment felt rushed, with certain POVs so completely unnecessary, that they could be edited out and no one would notice. It's a pity that a great story fizzled at the final stretch. Rega, if you've read the rest of the books, you'll read this as well to find out how it plays out. It's not bad, just, meh...

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endearing

I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Will and the Shifting Tides series. I gave this book 5- stars for its well orchestrated plot and story twists. I did not anticipate the rise of Marrix, the fall of Zachary, or the fate of Palemon's dragons. Maxwell is a tight and efficient writer who has mastered the art of storytelling. His world building is solid and the characters were well thought out and developed. I recommend this book for mature minded teens and fantasy loving adults. There is sexual innuendo so I would not offer this series to tweens. Maxwell has become a 'go to' author for me and I look forward to his next series.

[Andrew Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason my review of this book didn't save! So here goes from memory...

A strong closing novel from James Maxwell here - I do like an author who knows when to finish a series properly rather than trying to drag it out! All storylines converge into a neat close with unexpected surprises, but certainly no disappointment from me.

I did feel like there were a couple of narrative developments towards the end that felt a little rushed and should either have been explored further or not really used at all. However, overall I was very pleased with it!

Good end to a strong series. Would recommend to any fans of fantasy novels with a Viking/Greek mythology kind of feel.