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The Last Oracle #8
The Book of War
Helena and the oracular bookstore Abernathy’s stopped an attack by the alien invaders’ human allies and destroyed their attempt at a second oracle, giving the Wardens much-needed victories. Now, after months of fighting a defensive war, the Wardens plan a direct assault on the enemy stronghold.But as the battle approaches, Abernathy’s has other plans. The oracle directs Helena to contact four ordinary people with extraordinary talents whose abilities will change the course of the war. Convincing them to join the fight challenges Helena’s persuasive powers to the extreme. If she fails, it will mean the deaths of thousands—including those Helena loves most.
302 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2020
114 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Melissa McShane
94 books860 followersMelissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 21, 2020
This is eighth in a Contemporary Fantasy series and characters and plot carry over from the start. So I definitely recommend reading them in order.
My usual, but non-standard, disclaimer applies here. I do my best to be honest, but part of that is admitting how much I adore Melissa, even after living together over a quarter of a century. If you want to disregard anything I have to say, that's fair enough.
The last couple of books have had the Wardens reacting to the Mercy and this book marks a change in tactic. And that marks a change in tone as well (though a subtle one). It starts with Helena learning more about her ability to see through illusion and some of what that means and how it relates to the Long War. At the same time, the Oracle itself begins taking an active interest in the war, including some preemptive auguries that prompt Helena to act sooner than later in gathering those like her together. And it isn't long before war happens and things get actiony in a way that hasn't been common up until now.
From there, the story enters a non-stop pace with action and reaction and lots of tense developments. I knew what to expect, so I actually took the day off work because I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else (which turned out lovely and I may schedule that more actively in future book release dates).
I loved getting to know Helena's people. They're an interesting mix with very different personalities and backgrounds and you can see from the start that getting them pointed in the same direction is a nearly impossible task. I particularly loved the friendship with the prickly Jun and the culmination of it chokes me up, every single time.
Anyway, this story sets us up for the next, and last, to come and does so without ever feeling extra or unnecessary or like it's just filler. The stakes have never been higher and the more we see of the invaders, the creepier and scarier they become. I'm glad this is more action than thriller and can't wait to get to the end!
Some inside baseball: This one is dedicated to the bookstore that put the germ of an idea into Melissa's head. The Arcadian is an amazing bookstore but I'm always torn about whether I mean that negatively or positively. Melissa has two book-related superpowers. The first is that she can enter any bookstore anywhere and come out with at least one unexpected treasure. This was never more amazing than at the Arcadian.
A note about Chaste: Helena and Malcolm are married and intimate. Which means sex. Which is sometimes mentioned. But nothing explicit ever hits the page. So I consider this chaste, but others may reasonably differ.
My usual, but non-standard, disclaimer applies here. I do my best to be honest, but part of that is admitting how much I adore Melissa, even after living together over a quarter of a century. If you want to disregard anything I have to say, that's fair enough.
The last couple of books have had the Wardens reacting to the Mercy and this book marks a change in tactic. And that marks a change in tone as well (though a subtle one). It starts with Helena learning more about her ability to see through illusion and some of what that means and how it relates to the Long War. At the same time, the Oracle itself begins taking an active interest in the war, including some preemptive auguries that prompt Helena to act sooner than later in gathering those like her together. And it isn't long before war happens and things get actiony in a way that hasn't been common up until now.
From there, the story enters a non-stop pace with action and reaction and lots of tense developments. I knew what to expect, so I actually took the day off work because I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else (which turned out lovely and I may schedule that more actively in future book release dates).
I loved getting to know Helena's people. They're an interesting mix with very different personalities and backgrounds and you can see from the start that getting them pointed in the same direction is a nearly impossible task. I particularly loved the friendship with the prickly Jun and the culmination of it chokes me up, every single time.
Anyway, this story sets us up for the next, and last, to come and does so without ever feeling extra or unnecessary or like it's just filler. The stakes have never been higher and the more we see of the invaders, the creepier and scarier they become. I'm glad this is more action than thriller and can't wait to get to the end!
Some inside baseball: This one is dedicated to the bookstore that put the germ of an idea into Melissa's head. The Arcadian is an amazing bookstore but I'm always torn about whether I mean that negatively or positively. Melissa has two book-related superpowers. The first is that she can enter any bookstore anywhere and come out with at least one unexpected treasure. This was never more amazing than at the Arcadian.
A note about Chaste: Helena and Malcolm are married and intimate. Which means sex. Which is sometimes mentioned. But nothing explicit ever hits the page. So I consider this chaste, but others may reasonably differ.
Read
October 5, 2022After writing The Book of Harmony, I took a long break from the series. (Long enough to write all six volumes of the Company of Strangers series and the truly massive fourth Extraordinaries novel. So, you know, about a year.) I think the ending of that one was enough of a natural break that I felt I'd completed something. But when the year was over, I was ready to tackle the ending of the Last Oracle series--something I knew was going to be intense.
I'd originally believed the series would be complete at ten books. It turned out what I thought needed to be wrapped up only needed nine, and extending it to ten would just unnecessarily prolong the story. I'm not in favor of drawing out the action, so nine it became.
With this one--and this may have been part of my reluctance to go on immediately after book 7--I knew I had to address one very important question that I'd been putting off since The Book of Lies, and that was the question of what was going on with Helena's ability to see through illusions, and the possibly related issue of why she reacts so oddly to having her magic drained by an invader. So here's the truth: I had no idea. I'd put in the idiosyncratic reaction in The Book of Peril on a whim. Seeing through illusions was another throwaway issue all the way back from book one. I did not have a grand plan for either of these.
Keep in mind that I wrote most of the series before publishing any of it, specifically to save myself from situations like this. I had a lot of details in place, and I just had to put them all in the right order. Also, I'd been trying to get Darius Wallach's "experiment" with Helena and the familiars into the story since book 6. So in this book, all those things come together, and we finally learn why Helena has some unusual abilities, none of them stemming from her role as Abernathy's' custodian.
This also gave me the opportunity to expand on the ending of The Book of Harmony with the introduction of another character who shares Helena's illusion-penetrating ability. And I think I needed that fallow year to work out the details of the other genetic sports and the role they would play. Almost everything that came of those throwaway details surprised me. One of the joys of writing into the dark, of not planning out every last detail of a plot, is the discovery that happens when a twist suggests itself from earlier writing. In this case, I ended up with a handful of new characters to complicate things--and, even more unexpectedly, a role for someone who's been around since book one and has evolved in ways I never imagined.
Spoiler for the ending--definitely don't read this until you've read the book:
And now everything is in place for the final book, The Book of Destiny. As I write this review, I've just finished the final edits on that one, and it feels satisfying to wrap everything up even as I'm sad to leave the series behind. I hope readers will stay with me to the end.
I'd originally believed the series would be complete at ten books. It turned out what I thought needed to be wrapped up only needed nine, and extending it to ten would just unnecessarily prolong the story. I'm not in favor of drawing out the action, so nine it became.
With this one--and this may have been part of my reluctance to go on immediately after book 7--I knew I had to address one very important question that I'd been putting off since The Book of Lies, and that was the question of what was going on with Helena's ability to see through illusions, and the possibly related issue of why she reacts so oddly to having her magic drained by an invader. So here's the truth: I had no idea. I'd put in the idiosyncratic reaction in The Book of Peril on a whim. Seeing through illusions was another throwaway issue all the way back from book one. I did not have a grand plan for either of these.
Keep in mind that I wrote most of the series before publishing any of it, specifically to save myself from situations like this. I had a lot of details in place, and I just had to put them all in the right order. Also, I'd been trying to get Darius Wallach's "experiment" with Helena and the familiars into the story since book 6. So in this book, all those things come together, and we finally learn why Helena has some unusual abilities, none of them stemming from her role as Abernathy's' custodian.
This also gave me the opportunity to expand on the ending of The Book of Harmony with the introduction of another character who shares Helena's illusion-penetrating ability. And I think I needed that fallow year to work out the details of the other genetic sports and the role they would play. Almost everything that came of those throwaway details surprised me. One of the joys of writing into the dark, of not planning out every last detail of a plot, is the discovery that happens when a twist suggests itself from earlier writing. In this case, I ended up with a handful of new characters to complicate things--and, even more unexpectedly, a role for someone who's been around since book one and has evolved in ways I never imagined.
Spoiler for the ending--definitely don't read this until you've read the book:
And now everything is in place for the final book, The Book of Destiny. As I write this review, I've just finished the final edits on that one, and it feels satisfying to wrap everything up even as I'm sad to leave the series behind. I hope readers will stay with me to the end.
May 25, 2022
Not the last book in the series (there's one more), but it's the last one for me .
I got a bit bored while reading this book; if the first one in the series was finished in 2 days, this one I barely managed to finish in 1 week. Plus, it's pretty predictable. I mean, I know what will happen next, just as I kinda' knew what would happen in this series.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad read, but maybe the series dragged on a bit too much. Maybe a book or 2 less would have been perfect.
I got a bit bored while reading this book; if the first one in the series was finished in 2 days, this one I barely managed to finish in 1 week. Plus, it's pretty predictable. I mean, I know what will happen next, just as I kinda' knew what would happen in this series.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad read, but maybe the series dragged on a bit too much. Maybe a book or 2 less would have been perfect.
February 11, 2022
I'm sad to say that this book felt a bit meh for me. I still love the series and I will finish it, but I took some time between last book and this one and maybe that is one of the reasons I did not love Book of war. There is no way to say what I didn't like without spoilers so here I go. Firstly the same plot device, which I do not love, was used twice - TWICE on the same person. That's just lazy.
One of the reason I love this book is rational characters and this time they did not feel rational at all. Everybody believes that Malcolm is dead, but Helena says that he can't be and what do you know, everyone starts thinking that he must be alive and it's good for untrained people to save him. Talk power of love here. Then Helena explains to a group of strangers, which she investigated (PRIVACY!) that there is secret war going on and gets disappointed then they are not rushing to join the cause.
An then there is the last minor thing that annoyed me. The three main female characters are in their early twenties, but they really come across like middle aged aunties who try to marry away their last single niece. Who in the real world has The Talk about feelings and relationship status and why God forbid having casual relationship when you are that young is bad (?).
I really hope the last book would make up for this one.
One of the reason I love this book is rational characters and this time they did not feel rational at all. Everybody believes that Malcolm is dead, but Helena says that he can't be and what do you know, everyone starts thinking that he must be alive and it's good for untrained people to save him. Talk power of love here. Then Helena explains to a group of strangers, which she investigated (PRIVACY!) that there is secret war going on and gets disappointed then they are not rushing to join the cause.
An then there is the last minor thing that annoyed me. The three main female characters are in their early twenties, but they really come across like middle aged aunties who try to marry away their last single niece. Who in the real world has The Talk about feelings and relationship status and why God forbid having casual relationship when you are that young is bad (?).
I really hope the last book would make up for this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2020
This was one of the more high-octane of Helena's adventures (but what else could it be, titled 'The Book of War'?), and I enjoyed it quite a bit. My only quibble is with , I can live with it.
April 16, 2022
I love this series SO SO MUCH!!! It has everything I love and I have loved each new book a little more.
Melissa McShane has created a completely addictive world around a magical bookstore with an unlikely but so likable main character in Helena. An everywoman dropped into an extraordinary situation, Helena has grown with each successive book and I love how she responds to the craziness of her life - with determination and often humor.
The story of the world and how it has expanded and evolved across the series has bee excellent. McShane clearly has a solid vision of where this story was going to go and the series has developed and remained exciting and engaging across the whole series. I haven't been disappointed in any of the books and in fact have rationed these last two books because I don't want to let this world and these characters go.
I have one more book to read and I hugely look forward to seeing how McShane wraps this story up. I do not expect to be disappointed, except that there won't be anymore books after that one.
Melissa McShane has created a completely addictive world around a magical bookstore with an unlikely but so likable main character in Helena. An everywoman dropped into an extraordinary situation, Helena has grown with each successive book and I love how she responds to the craziness of her life - with determination and often humor.
The story of the world and how it has expanded and evolved across the series has bee excellent. McShane clearly has a solid vision of where this story was going to go and the series has developed and remained exciting and engaging across the whole series. I haven't been disappointed in any of the books and in fact have rationed these last two books because I don't want to let this world and these characters go.
I have one more book to read and I hugely look forward to seeing how McShane wraps this story up. I do not expect to be disappointed, except that there won't be anymore books after that one.
February 10, 2023
Of all the books in the series - I struggled with some of the authors choices in this one.
I don’t love pretend deaths - and definitely not more than once. That said, I would have been wrecked if Malcolm had really died.
I loved the inclusion and explanation that came for the “Sports” specifically with the inclusion of the professor X analogy.
I will be starting the final book in this series now - but I’m a bit timid. I really don’t like when characters that have been integral to a series are killed off. I know it’s a necessity most of the time but I still just don’t like it. Hoping there aren’t too many deaths in the last one.
I don’t love pretend deaths - and definitely not more than once. That said, I would have been wrecked if Malcolm had really died.
I loved the inclusion and explanation that came for the “Sports” specifically with the inclusion of the professor X analogy.
I will be starting the final book in this series now - but I’m a bit timid. I really don’t like when characters that have been integral to a series are killed off. I know it’s a necessity most of the time but I still just don’t like it. Hoping there aren’t too many deaths in the last one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2020
The Book of War is the eighth addition to Melissa McShane’s The Last Oracle series. I enjoy this series and this one does not disappoint. It was a little bit different from the other ones, which I found it to be unique and refreshing. I am giving it five stars.
I received The Book of War from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
I received The Book of War from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
May 31, 2022
I got bored. Helena (FMC) is married to the rich guy (Mal). His mother hates her, she went all telenovela on her. They decided that his mother was not going to be part of their lives. Mal basically has only Helena and his brother has family. Things have become a little repetitive and they're not even close to win the war.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2020
I love how Helena is able to be part of the main action without having to turn into a commando. It doesn't feel out of place - just a natural extension. I will say I nearly had a heart attack part way through. Well played.
May 6, 2023
The author finally picks up the thread of Helena's mysterious and unusual ability to see through magical illusions and actually *does* something with it. Then we briefly get a new super team, and take the fight to the bad guys. And then... things are fighty, as per the title.
April 19, 2024
I love the characters in this series and the direction the story has gone. The main character is a fun person to spend time with and her sweet husband too. I think it will be interesting to see what happens next.
September 19, 2020
Another Great book in this series.
February 1, 2021
This one took a little more time getting into - I wasn't too keen on the whole "sports" storyline at first - but one the ball started rolling it was un-put-down-able!
June 20, 2021
all a bit convenient
i like the new characters. it is a nice twist. i don’t feel like the majority of them did much. and the bad guy was pretty obvious. also, good for judy!
i like the new characters. it is a nice twist. i don’t feel like the majority of them did much. and the bad guy was pretty obvious. also, good for judy!
June 3, 2023
The BETRAYAL
December 20, 2023
Fun series to read.
June 2, 2024
I liked the overall conclusion but found Helena both too passive on the sidelines and also too confident when actually going in. Felt hard to connect to brand new characters this far into the series
January 3, 2026
I wasn’t expecting that story, but it kept me engaged.
October 13, 2020
I like these stories but really don't like Helena!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews