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Ashen Torment #3
Nightfall
Book Three in stunning Scandinavia-inspired fantasy trilogy The Ashen Torment.
The sky is filled with dragons: the people are ready to burn the regime to the ground.
The seas churn with monsters and the tide is changing: revolution is coming.
Steiner has at last realised the part he will play in this fight.
Kimi knows now what it is to lead, but must learn to overcome differences if she is to unite and defeat the dragon factions.
Silverdust inches towards a final revenge.
Across the ocean, Kjellrun feels the call of war. But she must reconcile her new responsibilities to the people of the temple with the urge to find her family.
Leaders, all – and all are desperate. For the Emperor will not give up easily. He will rule – and he cares not if his subjects are alive… or if they are dead.
Worlds and outlooks collide, wars begin and lives will end in this spectacular finale by a new master in the fantasy genre. The stakes have never been higher in the roaring conclusion to the beloved Ashen Torment series.
The sky is filled with dragons: the people are ready to burn the regime to the ground.
The seas churn with monsters and the tide is changing: revolution is coming.
Steiner has at last realised the part he will play in this fight.
Kimi knows now what it is to lead, but must learn to overcome differences if she is to unite and defeat the dragon factions.
Silverdust inches towards a final revenge.
Across the ocean, Kjellrun feels the call of war. But she must reconcile her new responsibilities to the people of the temple with the urge to find her family.
Leaders, all – and all are desperate. For the Emperor will not give up easily. He will rule – and he cares not if his subjects are alive… or if they are dead.
Worlds and outlooks collide, wars begin and lives will end in this spectacular finale by a new master in the fantasy genre. The stakes have never been higher in the roaring conclusion to the beloved Ashen Torment series.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2020
10 people are currently reading
538 people want to read
About the author
Den Patrick
26 books189 followersDen Patrick is originally from Dorset and lives in London. His first three books for Gollancz, the War Fighting Manuals, were released in the autumn of 2013.
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade was nominated for the British Fantasy Newcomer award and forms the first book in the The Erebus Sequence. The Boy Who Wept Blood and The Girl on the Liar's Throne complete this trilogy of Gothic Fantasy books, described by Jen Williams as "Gormenghast meets the X-men".
2018 sees the start of a new series, The Ashen Torment, which kicks off with Witchsign on May 24th, a crossover Fantasy set in a Nordic and Russian inspired world of forbidden magic and imperial tyranny.
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade was nominated for the British Fantasy Newcomer award and forms the first book in the The Erebus Sequence. The Boy Who Wept Blood and The Girl on the Liar's Throne complete this trilogy of Gothic Fantasy books, described by Jen Williams as "Gormenghast meets the X-men".
2018 sees the start of a new series, The Ashen Torment, which kicks off with Witchsign on May 24th, a crossover Fantasy set in a Nordic and Russian inspired world of forbidden magic and imperial tyranny.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 20, 2022
This book was a little underwhelming. The build up to the final battle was not very interesting and was kinda boring. Steiner's (the main character) purpose throughout the series seemed to dwindle and he became kinda obsolete, yet he still had a lot of page time which just dragged the story on and on. However, the last chapter was very enjoyable and the aftermath of the events was pretty interesting to read.
September 30, 2020
The final instalment of the Ashen Torment series.
I really enjoyed this and was so happy to see one of my favourite characters resurrected.
If you love Dragons and great fantasy writing, then give this series a go. I highly recommend it.
I really enjoyed this and was so happy to see one of my favourite characters resurrected.
If you love Dragons and great fantasy writing, then give this series a go. I highly recommend it.
December 19, 2021
Good ending. Did not need that epilogue though.
October 14, 2020
My thanks to HarperVoyager for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Nightfall’, the third and final book in Den Patrick’s Ashen Torment series, in exchange for an honest review. It was published in August 2020.
As I had enjoyed both ‘Witchsign’ and ‘Stormtide’, on audio, I opted to purchase its audiobook to complete the set. All titles were narrated by Thomas Judd.
Inspired by Scandinavian mythology, Den Patrick’s world building has been brilliant throughout the series. This is very much a trilogy and as such the books need to be read in order. As a result, I won’t mention plot details in order to avoid spoilers for the earlier books.
‘Nightfall’ hits the ground running - or rather the seas churning. It’s a spectacular finale, as its characters come together in a final attempt to overthrow the Emperor. As in the earlier books the narrative point of view moves between various characters.
Overall, I felt that this was a powerful ending to an excellent epic fantasy series with strong characterisation, plenty of action, dragons, ghouls, magical weapons, an integrated mythology, and just the right amount of romance.
The designers at HarperVoyager have again created a stunning cover that compliments the earlier books in the series.
A highly recommended novel and series.
As I had enjoyed both ‘Witchsign’ and ‘Stormtide’, on audio, I opted to purchase its audiobook to complete the set. All titles were narrated by Thomas Judd.
Inspired by Scandinavian mythology, Den Patrick’s world building has been brilliant throughout the series. This is very much a trilogy and as such the books need to be read in order. As a result, I won’t mention plot details in order to avoid spoilers for the earlier books.
‘Nightfall’ hits the ground running - or rather the seas churning. It’s a spectacular finale, as its characters come together in a final attempt to overthrow the Emperor. As in the earlier books the narrative point of view moves between various characters.
Overall, I felt that this was a powerful ending to an excellent epic fantasy series with strong characterisation, plenty of action, dragons, ghouls, magical weapons, an integrated mythology, and just the right amount of romance.
The designers at HarperVoyager have again created a stunning cover that compliments the earlier books in the series.
A highly recommended novel and series.
August 14, 2025
Perhaps I’m not the right target audience in my 30s, and I fully admit had I read this in my teens I would be writing a different review.
For me, the first book blew me away; it was fresh, cool idea, the characterisation and story telling was ace. The second and third books however seemed a bit too heavy on action sequences, all of which ending in some form of deus ex machina or an “oh of course…” sequence. Props to the author, I wish I could write a trilogy book series this well. But as a reader I was sadly let down with the last two instalments. The lore was really well developed through the log entries at the start of each chapter which displays just how much time and effort went in to the history. 5 stars for the background and world building, but the delivery was what let me down. Definitely not a series to miss for some easy reading fantasy, but not one I’d return to.
For me, the first book blew me away; it was fresh, cool idea, the characterisation and story telling was ace. The second and third books however seemed a bit too heavy on action sequences, all of which ending in some form of deus ex machina or an “oh of course…” sequence. Props to the author, I wish I could write a trilogy book series this well. But as a reader I was sadly let down with the last two instalments. The lore was really well developed through the log entries at the start of each chapter which displays just how much time and effort went in to the history. 5 stars for the background and world building, but the delivery was what let me down. Definitely not a series to miss for some easy reading fantasy, but not one I’d return to.
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April 27, 2023J'avoue ne pas trop savoir quoi dire sur ce dernier opus, que j'avais hâte de lire...
J'ai adoré les deux premiers tomes, notamment le précédent. Et je ne sais pas si j'étais pas dans un bon mood, ou si j'ai carrément changé de goûts en 1 an, mais impossible de la finir, et avancer a été très difficile 🥲
J'ai lu 80% + le dernier chapitre après avoir enfin pris la décision d'arrêter de me forcer au bout de 3 mois de lecture 👀
Je ne sais pas trop ce qui n'a pas fonctionné avec ce tome. Mais j'ai trouvé l'ensemble très plat... J'ai eu le sentiment de tourner en rond dans les pensées, les actions, et ça complètement tué mon intérêt pour l'histoire, au point où connaître le dénouement a fini par m'indifférer 🤷🏻♀️
Bref. Ce fut malheureusement un bel échec pour moi 😅
J'ai adoré les deux premiers tomes, notamment le précédent. Et je ne sais pas si j'étais pas dans un bon mood, ou si j'ai carrément changé de goûts en 1 an, mais impossible de la finir, et avancer a été très difficile 🥲
J'ai lu 80% + le dernier chapitre après avoir enfin pris la décision d'arrêter de me forcer au bout de 3 mois de lecture 👀
Je ne sais pas trop ce qui n'a pas fonctionné avec ce tome. Mais j'ai trouvé l'ensemble très plat... J'ai eu le sentiment de tourner en rond dans les pensées, les actions, et ça complètement tué mon intérêt pour l'histoire, au point où connaître le dénouement a fini par m'indifférer 🤷🏻♀️
Bref. Ce fut malheureusement un bel échec pour moi 😅
March 7, 2022
DNF. Going into this book, I kind of predicted I wouldn't LOVE it after not loving the first two. But it actually made me angry. I guessed when reading book 2 that Steiner would get jealous that other people rode dragons because he was the dragon rider. It happened in Nightfall. He got jealous that his friends were riding dragons. I just. I have never hated a protagonist more than Steiner and my own curiosity as to how the book ends can't even save it for me. That's not the only reason I didn't like this book, but it is one of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2021
A really good read to finish off the trilogy, but for me not quite up to the same standard as the two other books in the trilogy. I can appreciate how difficult it is to tie up all the loose ends after all the events & all the characters we've come across, so it was just fun to understand and appreciate the conclusion to such a wonderful set of books.
December 23, 2020
Loved it! Such a brilliant ending, the way he weaves together the different story threads is amazing. Everything is tied up so well, there's some serious heartbreak at times but the ending left me with a smile on my face.
January 7, 2021
Mixed feelings
Overall, a good series. This book-less good, I think. A few ambitious things were done, but somewhat poorly; a few plot details happened that I don’t think really served any purpose, or actively hurt the narrative of the book (or series as a whole) somewhat.
Overall, a good series. This book-less good, I think. A few ambitious things were done, but somewhat poorly; a few plot details happened that I don’t think really served any purpose, or actively hurt the narrative of the book (or series as a whole) somewhat.
January 3, 2022
Great to start the year by finishing this trilogy.
Again some great character development and also a significant amount of loss, including some of my favourite characters. A good plot and a great way to end the series, although the epilogue was unnecessary
Again some great character development and also a significant amount of loss, including some of my favourite characters. A good plot and a great way to end the series, although the epilogue was unnecessary
April 13, 2021
I really enjoyed this series. Easy YA read. Intriguing story line, with enough characters but not too many.
October 6, 2025
This was a fun series with a satisfying ending, albeit sad. Silverdust was my favourite.
November 13, 2025
3.75 stars
October 19, 2020
Fans of the TV show Vikings and the book, Ruin of Kings, will absolutely love this series! I couldn't put it down and I'm shocked more fantasy lovers aren't talking about this series!
Forbidden magic, epic mythology, action, adventure and DRAGONS! Need I say more? The only complaint I have is that this is the finale of the trilogy, and I'd love to see more from this world! I simply loved feeling like I was right there with the characters through their journeys!
Forbidden magic, epic mythology, action, adventure and DRAGONS! Need I say more? The only complaint I have is that this is the finale of the trilogy, and I'd love to see more from this world! I simply loved feeling like I was right there with the characters through their journeys!
September 9, 2020
This was a thoroughly enjoyable conclusion and very satisfying. I wasn't as engaged by the characters as I should have been so perhaps didn't feel their deaths in the way the author intended. But this is still a solid fantasy series with a lot of classic elements.
September 3, 2020
What a good way to end what has been a great trilogy. I must admit Steiner was annoying at times but still a good book.
January 4, 2022
I received an eARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
The book is interesting, adventures and it has dragons in it. I felt very entertained on the 3 book journey.
i can absolutely recoment this series, for those that like books with a goal and adventure.
The book is interesting, adventures and it has dragons in it. I felt very entertained on the 3 book journey.
i can absolutely recoment this series, for those that like books with a goal and adventure.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews