What do you think?
Rate this book
Annals of the Nameless Dwarf #7
Last of the Exalted
He was a curse upon the dwarves.
Then their savior.
Their king.
But after the tragic loss of his wife, the Nameless Dwarf stood down from the throne of Arnoch and went into the mountains to die.
Two hundred years later, the dwarves are a dwindling race on the brink of civil war.
When the hordes of Arnoch storm through the Malfen Pass, refugees flee for their lives, among them the half-Slathian storyteller, Nyra Sahtis, and Sister Caelin, a priestess who was once a trainer of armies.
But with the capital, Jeridium, under siege from a second dwarven faction, there is nowhere for them to run. And so Caelin must seek the aid of the lord she once betrayed, while Nyra is forced to confront everything she left behind when she fled her childhood home in the City of Sorcerers.
As rival dwarven armies converge on Jeridium, the Senate send the assassin Shadrak the Unseen to the Southern Crags to find an old friend in a desperate bid to avert the coming catastrophe.
For ancient evil manipulates from the shadows, and the dwarves are not themselves. And if there is any hope of bringing them to their senses, it comes in the shape of a grief-stricken warrior and his mythical axe:
The Nameless Dwarf.
The hero of legends.
The last of the Exalted.
"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan
"Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" Dinorah Wilson
Then their savior.
Their king.
But after the tragic loss of his wife, the Nameless Dwarf stood down from the throne of Arnoch and went into the mountains to die.
Two hundred years later, the dwarves are a dwindling race on the brink of civil war.
When the hordes of Arnoch storm through the Malfen Pass, refugees flee for their lives, among them the half-Slathian storyteller, Nyra Sahtis, and Sister Caelin, a priestess who was once a trainer of armies.
But with the capital, Jeridium, under siege from a second dwarven faction, there is nowhere for them to run. And so Caelin must seek the aid of the lord she once betrayed, while Nyra is forced to confront everything she left behind when she fled her childhood home in the City of Sorcerers.
As rival dwarven armies converge on Jeridium, the Senate send the assassin Shadrak the Unseen to the Southern Crags to find an old friend in a desperate bid to avert the coming catastrophe.
For ancient evil manipulates from the shadows, and the dwarves are not themselves. And if there is any hope of bringing them to their senses, it comes in the shape of a grief-stricken warrior and his mythical axe:
The Nameless Dwarf.
The hero of legends.
The last of the Exalted.
"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan
"Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" Dinorah Wilson
- GenresFantasy
542 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2020
8 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Derek Prior
79 books211 followersInternationally bestselling and award winning author Derek Prior excels in fast-paced, high stakes epic fantasy adventure stories in which good ultimately triumphs, but always at a cost.
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.
Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)
Website: www.derekprior.us
Twitter: @NamelessDwarf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpprior
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 17, 2021
Last of the Exalted by Derek Prior is an action-packed epic fantasy with phenomenal characters and dialogue that is off the chart! This book is actually a continuation of The Nameless Dwarf Chronicles by the same author, but even without having read any of the prior stories featuring Nameless, I didn’t feel left behind or confused. The author allows the reader to jump into this world smoothly and efficiently.
The world-building in this book was great, but that wasn’t the main aspect that blew me away. The characters did that. The way they interacted with others and their dialogue did that. Additionally, this book was filled to the brim with epic battles and action scenes and while some authors can make even this seem tedious and long winded, those particular scenes in this book kept me on the edge of my seat and simultaneously yearning for more. I was never bored for one second of this book. In fact, I found myself really sad when it was over because I just could not get enough of this story.
I know this might be going off the rails for a moment, but I also want to mention just how freaking fantastic that cover is. I know we as readers are not supposed to judge books by their covers, but you know we all do it anyway. Or at least I know that I do. In any case the cover was what grabbed me right off the hop. It is very reminiscent of lots of other fantasy series that I know and love, and it was impossible for me to scroll past without taking a further look. If it did that for me, I guarantee it will do the same for bookstore wanderers.
I would highly recommend this to readers are looking for their fantasy stories to be intense, fast, and character driven. The world-building is excellent but honestly this book really shines the brightest when it comes to their characters, their interactions, and dialogue, so any fantasy fan who loves the work of John Gwynne, R.A. Salvatore, and Mark Lawrence is absolutely bound to also love this book as well. I would venture to say that this might be one of the best fantasy novels I have read so far this year.
I received a free copy of this book as a professional reviewer for Reedsy Discovery
https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/las...
The world-building in this book was great, but that wasn’t the main aspect that blew me away. The characters did that. The way they interacted with others and their dialogue did that. Additionally, this book was filled to the brim with epic battles and action scenes and while some authors can make even this seem tedious and long winded, those particular scenes in this book kept me on the edge of my seat and simultaneously yearning for more. I was never bored for one second of this book. In fact, I found myself really sad when it was over because I just could not get enough of this story.
I know this might be going off the rails for a moment, but I also want to mention just how freaking fantastic that cover is. I know we as readers are not supposed to judge books by their covers, but you know we all do it anyway. Or at least I know that I do. In any case the cover was what grabbed me right off the hop. It is very reminiscent of lots of other fantasy series that I know and love, and it was impossible for me to scroll past without taking a further look. If it did that for me, I guarantee it will do the same for bookstore wanderers.
I would highly recommend this to readers are looking for their fantasy stories to be intense, fast, and character driven. The world-building is excellent but honestly this book really shines the brightest when it comes to their characters, their interactions, and dialogue, so any fantasy fan who loves the work of John Gwynne, R.A. Salvatore, and Mark Lawrence is absolutely bound to also love this book as well. I would venture to say that this might be one of the best fantasy novels I have read so far this year.
I received a free copy of this book as a professional reviewer for Reedsy Discovery
https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/las...
Read
May 9, 2021Lost my way with this one, will try again later.
September 4, 2020
In Last of the Exalted, the reader follows the story from several perspectives. When I look on Amazon it is categorized as “New Adult Fantasy” and “Classic Fantasy”, both of which I understand, but I would categorize it as Adventure Fantasy meets High Fantasy. I really love adventure fantasy, and in my opinion author Derek Prior really got it right. I thoroughly enjoyed Last of the Exalted.
If you know me, you know I love a diverse character set. I think my favorite character is Shadrak the Unseen, an assassin hired by the Senate to find The Nameless Dwarf. Shadrak is not only a badass assassin, but I like his witty and snarky dialogue. He is the guy who can take on a whole room of bad guys and break the tension with a funny quip. Nyra and Caelin are great, also, and I really like their dynamic. The two characters play off of each other by challenging and supporting the other during their journey, and one gets the feeling that these two were lucky to come together. They have a kind of yin and yang thing going on, which is a significant aspect of the story. Last but certainly not least is The Nameless Dwarf. There is so much history and depth in his story as he was once not well-favored among his kind, then through a series of events was named King only to abdicate the throne at some point and go into hiding. Now seen as the savior once again, he reluctantly goes along with it until he finds out how he can actually contribute to the cause. No one wants unity and peace more than The Nameless Dwarf, and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. This is a fun cast of characters to follow, each with her/his own strengths and weaknesses.
What I really liked about the story itself is how much narrative was packed into this one book. It is not incredibly long at 400+ pages, but due to the way the story is broken up it feels longer. I mean that in a good way. The characters start by going on a journey, which itself is full of trials and tribulations. Not only do they have to figure out how to make it a successful trip, but it is taking place over the backdrop of a civil war amongst the dwarfs both of which also have eyes on the capital city of Jeridium. This converging of storylines creates layers of tension that the reader is just waiting to pop, like setting several springs that are all set to go off at the same time. It is this emotional strain that keeps the story moving, an almost-magnetic force pulling the characters toward the conclusion.
I do not think using the word “magnetic” is a stretch, either. Everyone has skin in the game and is invested heavily in the outcome of the war, and they all have so much history that the reader can feel each character searching for some kind of closure of their own, as well. And the ending is very satisfying in that way. Loops are closed, stories come together, relationships are made and ended. While it was not super-twisty, there were a few surprises along the way, and I found the ending to be rewarding of the journey taken to get there.
I do want to say that while this works just fine as a standalone story, I think I would have appreciated the world Prior created had I read The Nameless Dwarf, first. This is a world that rich in history having some of that information banked already would have benefited me in reading Last of the Exalted. I may have had more admiration for The Nameless Dwarf himself, as well. Not that I do not think he is an awesome character, because I do. But there is a difference between reading about someone’s exploits and experiencing them firsthand, and so reading that book may be my next stop.
Last of the Exalted was quite an enjoyable read. With a fun diverse cast of characters, a fascinating and fun journey, and an impending war it has all of the aspects of a really good fantasy book. This book has my recommendation for fantasy readers.
If you know me, you know I love a diverse character set. I think my favorite character is Shadrak the Unseen, an assassin hired by the Senate to find The Nameless Dwarf. Shadrak is not only a badass assassin, but I like his witty and snarky dialogue. He is the guy who can take on a whole room of bad guys and break the tension with a funny quip. Nyra and Caelin are great, also, and I really like their dynamic. The two characters play off of each other by challenging and supporting the other during their journey, and one gets the feeling that these two were lucky to come together. They have a kind of yin and yang thing going on, which is a significant aspect of the story. Last but certainly not least is The Nameless Dwarf. There is so much history and depth in his story as he was once not well-favored among his kind, then through a series of events was named King only to abdicate the throne at some point and go into hiding. Now seen as the savior once again, he reluctantly goes along with it until he finds out how he can actually contribute to the cause. No one wants unity and peace more than The Nameless Dwarf, and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. This is a fun cast of characters to follow, each with her/his own strengths and weaknesses.
What I really liked about the story itself is how much narrative was packed into this one book. It is not incredibly long at 400+ pages, but due to the way the story is broken up it feels longer. I mean that in a good way. The characters start by going on a journey, which itself is full of trials and tribulations. Not only do they have to figure out how to make it a successful trip, but it is taking place over the backdrop of a civil war amongst the dwarfs both of which also have eyes on the capital city of Jeridium. This converging of storylines creates layers of tension that the reader is just waiting to pop, like setting several springs that are all set to go off at the same time. It is this emotional strain that keeps the story moving, an almost-magnetic force pulling the characters toward the conclusion.
I do not think using the word “magnetic” is a stretch, either. Everyone has skin in the game and is invested heavily in the outcome of the war, and they all have so much history that the reader can feel each character searching for some kind of closure of their own, as well. And the ending is very satisfying in that way. Loops are closed, stories come together, relationships are made and ended. While it was not super-twisty, there were a few surprises along the way, and I found the ending to be rewarding of the journey taken to get there.
I do want to say that while this works just fine as a standalone story, I think I would have appreciated the world Prior created had I read The Nameless Dwarf, first. This is a world that rich in history having some of that information banked already would have benefited me in reading Last of the Exalted. I may have had more admiration for The Nameless Dwarf himself, as well. Not that I do not think he is an awesome character, because I do. But there is a difference between reading about someone’s exploits and experiencing them firsthand, and so reading that book may be my next stop.
Last of the Exalted was quite an enjoyable read. With a fun diverse cast of characters, a fascinating and fun journey, and an impending war it has all of the aspects of a really good fantasy book. This book has my recommendation for fantasy readers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews