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Ordshaw #3
The Violent Fae
They hid among us, until she exposed them.
They'll destroy everything to be hidden again.
Pax is discovering that the smallest mistakes can have the deadliest impact. To protect her city, she's uncovered monstrous truths and involved terrible people. The consequences are coming for her.
The Sunken City is unstable. The Fae are armed for war.
Can Pax stop the coming disaster?
In this closing chapter of the Sunken City trilogy, Williams weaves the complex strands of Pax's misadventure into a truly thrilling conclusion.
They'll destroy everything to be hidden again.
Pax is discovering that the smallest mistakes can have the deadliest impact. To protect her city, she's uncovered monstrous truths and involved terrible people. The consequences are coming for her.
The Sunken City is unstable. The Fae are armed for war.
Can Pax stop the coming disaster?
In this closing chapter of the Sunken City trilogy, Williams weaves the complex strands of Pax's misadventure into a truly thrilling conclusion.
- GenresUrban FantasyFantasy
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Phil Williams
25 books138 followersPhil Williams is an author of fantasy, horror and dystopian fiction, including the Blood Scouts epic military fantasies, the Ordshaw urban fantasy thrillers and the post-apocalyptic Estalia series. He also works as a fiction editor and writes reference books to help foreign learners master the nuances of English, two of which are regular best-sellers on Kindle. As a long-term teacher and tutor of advanced English, he runs the popular website “English Lessons Brighton”.
Phil lives with his wife by the coast in Sussex, UK, and spends a great deal of time walking his impossibly fluffy dog, Herbert.
Phil lives with his wife by the coast in Sussex, UK, and spends a great deal of time walking his impossibly fluffy dog, Herbert.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 19, 2025
An exciting end to the trilogy!
I did struggle a tiny bit with the audiobook and wasn't always entirely sure what was happening in this book but for 95% of the most part, I loved the political deception and evolution of the characters.
I still can't figure out how much time is passing during this entire trilogy - a few days? A few weeks? It is so fast paced and time seems irrelevant. It trips me up to read something and feel like everything is happening so quickly, including forming bonds🤷🏻♀️
My guess is a few weeks?
Once again I think Sam really shines in this one. I liked Landon again and their new boss. The theme of not judging people at first interaction is huge here and Iove how the men pull through for Sam and the MEE in general. A lot of things changed really quickly for them all and everyone was willing to roll with it
Even Casaria got reined in a bit, finally.
I'll have to reread Kept from Cages to see what carries over from this series to the next
I did struggle a tiny bit with the audiobook and wasn't always entirely sure what was happening in this book but for 95% of the most part, I loved the political deception and evolution of the characters.
I still can't figure out how much time is passing during this entire trilogy - a few days? A few weeks? It is so fast paced and time seems irrelevant. It trips me up to read something and feel like everything is happening so quickly, including forming bonds🤷🏻♀️
My guess is a few weeks?
Once again I think Sam really shines in this one. I liked Landon again and their new boss. The theme of not judging people at first interaction is huge here and Iove how the men pull through for Sam and the MEE in general. A lot of things changed really quickly for them all and everyone was willing to roll with it
Even Casaria got reined in a bit, finally.
I'll have to reread Kept from Cages to see what carries over from this series to the next
February 11, 2020
*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
The Violent Fae is the explosive (literally) climax to the Ordshaw Sunken City trilogy – an urban fantasy action thriller series with some underlying horror.
I definitely recommend reading Under Ordshaw and Blue Angel first, in that order, as Phil Williams has created an entirely new world with its own monsters and rules, and the character development that occurs as the series unfolds is important to fully understanding this finale.
There was a little less horror and a lot more action in this instalment of the story. All the familiar faces are back: Pax, Letty, the Bartons, Sam Ward and Cano Casaria, and my personal favourite side-character, the unflappable, ever-reliable Landon. The war between the humans – specifically the MEE – and the fae has moved from threatening to happening, and it seems like Pax and Letty are the only ones standing between the total annihilation of one species or the other (well, the portion of those races that happens to live in Ordshaw anyway), and the destruction of Ordshaw’s fragile balance of magic and mundane once and for all.
Pax has the additional problem of dealing with the weird effects left on her body and mind by her previous encounters with the mysterious force of the praelucente, or minotaur, which has her senses tingling with every movement in the Sunken City below… a little distracting when you’re busy trying to work out what’s going on while frantically fending off fairies, officials and gangsters alike!
There are some very satisfying character arcs here, and plenty of characters that I would love to see come back for more monster mayhem and mystery solving.
If you enjoy survival video games, action films and urban fantasy books then you will be hooked on Ordshaw and its snarky, sweary, reluctant-hero inhabitants. For a taster, head to the author’s website and pick up his Ordshaw short story collection FREE* by signing up to his newsletter!
*As at time of writing 🙂
Pax watched them flying with birdlike grace, becoming dark shapes against the cloud. How many times had people seen such sights, assuming delicate birds or big insects, when it was in fact a sweary little man with an attitude? There was something to be said for how far she’d come, and all she’d learnt, no matter where she’d ended up.
Checking the road again, she had another thought. How often did people survive learning these truths? And as if on cue, something throbbed in her.
– Phil Williams, The Violent Fae
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
The Violent Fae is the explosive (literally) climax to the Ordshaw Sunken City trilogy – an urban fantasy action thriller series with some underlying horror.
I definitely recommend reading Under Ordshaw and Blue Angel first, in that order, as Phil Williams has created an entirely new world with its own monsters and rules, and the character development that occurs as the series unfolds is important to fully understanding this finale.
There was a little less horror and a lot more action in this instalment of the story. All the familiar faces are back: Pax, Letty, the Bartons, Sam Ward and Cano Casaria, and my personal favourite side-character, the unflappable, ever-reliable Landon. The war between the humans – specifically the MEE – and the fae has moved from threatening to happening, and it seems like Pax and Letty are the only ones standing between the total annihilation of one species or the other (well, the portion of those races that happens to live in Ordshaw anyway), and the destruction of Ordshaw’s fragile balance of magic and mundane once and for all.
Pax has the additional problem of dealing with the weird effects left on her body and mind by her previous encounters with the mysterious force of the praelucente, or minotaur, which has her senses tingling with every movement in the Sunken City below… a little distracting when you’re busy trying to work out what’s going on while frantically fending off fairies, officials and gangsters alike!
There are some very satisfying character arcs here, and plenty of characters that I would love to see come back for more monster mayhem and mystery solving.
If you enjoy survival video games, action films and urban fantasy books then you will be hooked on Ordshaw and its snarky, sweary, reluctant-hero inhabitants. For a taster, head to the author’s website and pick up his Ordshaw short story collection FREE* by signing up to his newsletter!
*As at time of writing 🙂
Pax watched them flying with birdlike grace, becoming dark shapes against the cloud. How many times had people seen such sights, assuming delicate birds or big insects, when it was in fact a sweary little man with an attitude? There was something to be said for how far she’d come, and all she’d learnt, no matter where she’d ended up.
Checking the road again, she had another thought. How often did people survive learning these truths? And as if on cue, something throbbed in her.
– Phil Williams, The Violent Fae
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
October 15, 2019
I know from experience that writing a trilogy is not only a massive undertaking, worse than that, it is equivalent to weaving a tapestry. A story made up of different threads that need to come together in just the right way so as to make sense to the reader. Plus, ensure it provides the right amount of satisfaction to reward the reader for sticking with the narrative.
It is not easy. But Phil Williams manages it. And does so with panache. He even makes it look easy. A crime, for which, I will never forgive him.
‘The Violent Fae’ never lets up on the action. The pace is furious. Tension exists in so many ways because the sources of threat exist at every narrative turn. Our protagonists, Pax, Letty and Sam Ward, are pushed to their respective limits and face danger is so many imaginative ways. Each time it happens its because of the set-up established earlier in the story. Chickens are coming home to roost – and bringing their frightening, monstrous relations with them.
One factor that makes writing a trilogy so difficult, it to complete character arcs satisfactorily. It’s the same challenge the Russo Brothers faced in the conclusion of The Avengers films, how do you ensure each character remains fully-formed yet doesn’t slow the pace of the story with exposition? It’s another success factor that Mr Williams achieves. Sam Ward is a good example. In the first book she is insecure, little more than an administration-freak who is too entrenched in a Ministry mind-set to fully appreciate the danger the Sunken City poses to the world.
In this third novel we see her gain confidence to stand up against her bullying boss, Obrington. She confronts and intimidates an executive of a powerful multinational company and survives a gun battle, albeit with the natural concern of someone who feels guilty for killing a man. She is so very normal and that is important. You see, like Pax at the start, we see this abnormal, chaotic, violent world through her eyes. We try to make sense of everything that’s happening at the same time she does. Therefore we need to empathise with her, cheer her on too. Sam, like all the characters, is a realistic person in an unrealistic world. And what I love about these stories, the same is true for the Fae.
The Violent Fae is a wonderful, thrilling and highly imaginative conclusion to this trilogy and I’m so pleased that it looks like the door has not been closed to this world. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.
It is not easy. But Phil Williams manages it. And does so with panache. He even makes it look easy. A crime, for which, I will never forgive him.
‘The Violent Fae’ never lets up on the action. The pace is furious. Tension exists in so many ways because the sources of threat exist at every narrative turn. Our protagonists, Pax, Letty and Sam Ward, are pushed to their respective limits and face danger is so many imaginative ways. Each time it happens its because of the set-up established earlier in the story. Chickens are coming home to roost – and bringing their frightening, monstrous relations with them.
One factor that makes writing a trilogy so difficult, it to complete character arcs satisfactorily. It’s the same challenge the Russo Brothers faced in the conclusion of The Avengers films, how do you ensure each character remains fully-formed yet doesn’t slow the pace of the story with exposition? It’s another success factor that Mr Williams achieves. Sam Ward is a good example. In the first book she is insecure, little more than an administration-freak who is too entrenched in a Ministry mind-set to fully appreciate the danger the Sunken City poses to the world.
In this third novel we see her gain confidence to stand up against her bullying boss, Obrington. She confronts and intimidates an executive of a powerful multinational company and survives a gun battle, albeit with the natural concern of someone who feels guilty for killing a man. She is so very normal and that is important. You see, like Pax at the start, we see this abnormal, chaotic, violent world through her eyes. We try to make sense of everything that’s happening at the same time she does. Therefore we need to empathise with her, cheer her on too. Sam, like all the characters, is a realistic person in an unrealistic world. And what I love about these stories, the same is true for the Fae.
The Violent Fae is a wonderful, thrilling and highly imaginative conclusion to this trilogy and I’m so pleased that it looks like the door has not been closed to this world. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.
October 4, 2019
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review: my thanks for this opportunity.
The long-developing, all-out conflict brewing in Ordshaw is about to flare up, and nobody is inclined to take prisoners. This could very well sum up the situation in the third and final installment of Phil Williams’ Ordshaw trilogy. And to think that it all started, quite prosaically, with the theft of some money…
Pax Kuranes used to be a gifted poker player, moving from seedy venue to seedy venue to earn a living through her skill with cards, but everything went upside down one night when, after she won a considerable sum that could tide her over for a while, a young thief stole her earnings and Pax, following the trail of that money, stumbled on a book that changed her life forever. The book contained a huge amount of sketches of weird, scary creatures of a Lovecraftian nature, but they were not the product of an inventive – if deranged – mind, because under the surface of the city of Ordshaw another world lurked, filled with strange beings.
This is how this story began, two books ago, and since then Pax has learned that monsters roam the tunnels under her city and that the Fae not only exist but were exiled from those same tunnels by the fearsome beasts: she’s not the only human possessing that knowledge though, because a government agency, the MEE, is also monitoring the situation and a few civilians have, over the years, made forays into Ordshaw’s bowels. After clashing with, and then befriending, the feisty Fae Letty and coming into contact with a few Ministry agents, like the level-headed Sam Ward or the oily Cano Casaria, Pax finds herself enmeshed into a very complicated situation where everyone’s survival is threatened not only by the monstrous horde dwelling in Ordshaw’s bowels, but by years of misunderstandings between the factions and by purposely disseminated lies that have kept them from uniting against the real danger.
Having gained – or maybe brought to the surface – the ability to sense the underground creatures, Pax knows she must do all she can to avoid disaster and here she keeps running against time, false accusations and people intent on killing her, to help her city and her newfound friends survive. No matter the cost.
Much as this series features a number of interesting characters, the story it narrates is above all Pax’s journey of transformation, from average person intent on making ends meet from day to day to selfless heroine: what’s extraordinary though is that she does so without losing her street-gained common sense or her endearing abrasiveness. Which makes Pax the perfect counterpart for Letty, the foul-mouthed, wildly aggressive Fae who defies every kind of trope about such creatures and in so doing becomes one of the best characters in this series, and the one whose chapters I always eagerly anticipated.
And female characters are indeed the best – and best crafted – in this series, rising over their male counterparts in a significant way: not only Pax and Letty, but also Holly Burton, the wife of one of the bumbling adventurers who explored the city’s underground tunnels: in the course of these three books she grew from an angry spouse, suspicious of her husband’s mysterious activities, into one of the most dedicated players in the complex game, able to hold her own even against the senior Ministry functionary assigned to the case; or again Sam Ward, whose keen curiosity had driven her superiors to relegate her in a clerical position, until circumstances finally afford her to show her mettle. The men, sadly, fall quite short of such bright examples, like Chief Obrington, who takes a long time to emerge from his political obtuseness, or field agent Cano Casaria, whose dedication to the job is marred by a too-high consideration of himself and a strong belief in his appeal to women. Even though, I must admit, he takes a turn for the better in the end.
The city of Ordshaw deserves a special mention as well, because it gave me the strangest vibes and little by little it gained its own personality just as much as the living beings inhabiting it: the most peculiar impression I gained was that it was more alive in its lower, hidden levels than in the surface ones – granted, the tunnels where the monsters dwell are dark, damp, scary places where the only light comes from the eerie luminescence of the creatures, and yet it feels… alive, no matter that it’s with the kind of life no one in their right mind would ever encounter. The Fae city, on the other hand, is far from scary, because of its hive-like architecture that resembles that of a human city writ small – with neon signs and advertising billboards, theaters and office buildings, and everywhere flying Fae of every shape and color. The city of Ordshaw proper, though, comes across as somewhat deserted, as if its people preferred to stay indoors and go out only when strictly necessary, and I wondered more than once if that was because of some subliminal signal coming from the dangerous underground. I realize it’s a weird notion, but I could not shake it, no matter how much I tried…
I realize I have not said much about the story in this final book of the trilogy, but it was a conscious choice: there is so much happening, so many twists and turns, discoveries and betrayals, that to talk about them would be a disservice. Even though the story might appear a little confusing at time – or at least it was for me, given the great number of interlacing threads – everything falls into place in the end, and lays the foundation for new stories that might already be in the making, continuing this engaging journey.
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
The long-developing, all-out conflict brewing in Ordshaw is about to flare up, and nobody is inclined to take prisoners. This could very well sum up the situation in the third and final installment of Phil Williams’ Ordshaw trilogy. And to think that it all started, quite prosaically, with the theft of some money…
Pax Kuranes used to be a gifted poker player, moving from seedy venue to seedy venue to earn a living through her skill with cards, but everything went upside down one night when, after she won a considerable sum that could tide her over for a while, a young thief stole her earnings and Pax, following the trail of that money, stumbled on a book that changed her life forever. The book contained a huge amount of sketches of weird, scary creatures of a Lovecraftian nature, but they were not the product of an inventive – if deranged – mind, because under the surface of the city of Ordshaw another world lurked, filled with strange beings.
This is how this story began, two books ago, and since then Pax has learned that monsters roam the tunnels under her city and that the Fae not only exist but were exiled from those same tunnels by the fearsome beasts: she’s not the only human possessing that knowledge though, because a government agency, the MEE, is also monitoring the situation and a few civilians have, over the years, made forays into Ordshaw’s bowels. After clashing with, and then befriending, the feisty Fae Letty and coming into contact with a few Ministry agents, like the level-headed Sam Ward or the oily Cano Casaria, Pax finds herself enmeshed into a very complicated situation where everyone’s survival is threatened not only by the monstrous horde dwelling in Ordshaw’s bowels, but by years of misunderstandings between the factions and by purposely disseminated lies that have kept them from uniting against the real danger.
Having gained – or maybe brought to the surface – the ability to sense the underground creatures, Pax knows she must do all she can to avoid disaster and here she keeps running against time, false accusations and people intent on killing her, to help her city and her newfound friends survive. No matter the cost.
Much as this series features a number of interesting characters, the story it narrates is above all Pax’s journey of transformation, from average person intent on making ends meet from day to day to selfless heroine: what’s extraordinary though is that she does so without losing her street-gained common sense or her endearing abrasiveness. Which makes Pax the perfect counterpart for Letty, the foul-mouthed, wildly aggressive Fae who defies every kind of trope about such creatures and in so doing becomes one of the best characters in this series, and the one whose chapters I always eagerly anticipated.
And female characters are indeed the best – and best crafted – in this series, rising over their male counterparts in a significant way: not only Pax and Letty, but also Holly Burton, the wife of one of the bumbling adventurers who explored the city’s underground tunnels: in the course of these three books she grew from an angry spouse, suspicious of her husband’s mysterious activities, into one of the most dedicated players in the complex game, able to hold her own even against the senior Ministry functionary assigned to the case; or again Sam Ward, whose keen curiosity had driven her superiors to relegate her in a clerical position, until circumstances finally afford her to show her mettle. The men, sadly, fall quite short of such bright examples, like Chief Obrington, who takes a long time to emerge from his political obtuseness, or field agent Cano Casaria, whose dedication to the job is marred by a too-high consideration of himself and a strong belief in his appeal to women. Even though, I must admit, he takes a turn for the better in the end.
The city of Ordshaw deserves a special mention as well, because it gave me the strangest vibes and little by little it gained its own personality just as much as the living beings inhabiting it: the most peculiar impression I gained was that it was more alive in its lower, hidden levels than in the surface ones – granted, the tunnels where the monsters dwell are dark, damp, scary places where the only light comes from the eerie luminescence of the creatures, and yet it feels… alive, no matter that it’s with the kind of life no one in their right mind would ever encounter. The Fae city, on the other hand, is far from scary, because of its hive-like architecture that resembles that of a human city writ small – with neon signs and advertising billboards, theaters and office buildings, and everywhere flying Fae of every shape and color. The city of Ordshaw proper, though, comes across as somewhat deserted, as if its people preferred to stay indoors and go out only when strictly necessary, and I wondered more than once if that was because of some subliminal signal coming from the dangerous underground. I realize it’s a weird notion, but I could not shake it, no matter how much I tried…
I realize I have not said much about the story in this final book of the trilogy, but it was a conscious choice: there is so much happening, so many twists and turns, discoveries and betrayals, that to talk about them would be a disservice. Even though the story might appear a little confusing at time – or at least it was for me, given the great number of interlacing threads – everything falls into place in the end, and lays the foundation for new stories that might already be in the making, continuing this engaging journey.
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
October 26, 2022
Such an explosive end to the trilogy and an overall rollercoaster of a read.
The battle lines are drawn. As the Fae and the MME prepare for the final showdown, Pax once again finds herself embroiled in overlapping schemes threatening the peace in Ordshaw. As Letty attempts to bring down the corrupt Fae governor Valoria, the homicidal maniac Lightgate pushes both humans and Fae closer to an all-out war of annihilation. Against shifting alliances, Pax must risk all for one final chance to preserve the peace and destroy the minotaur terrorising the Sunken City.
Like the other books in the series, this is exceptionally well written with crisp, vivid characters. The plot moves along at a steady pace and builds up beautifully to the final showdown.
Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
The battle lines are drawn. As the Fae and the MME prepare for the final showdown, Pax once again finds herself embroiled in overlapping schemes threatening the peace in Ordshaw. As Letty attempts to bring down the corrupt Fae governor Valoria, the homicidal maniac Lightgate pushes both humans and Fae closer to an all-out war of annihilation. Against shifting alliances, Pax must risk all for one final chance to preserve the peace and destroy the minotaur terrorising the Sunken City.
Like the other books in the series, this is exceptionally well written with crisp, vivid characters. The plot moves along at a steady pace and builds up beautifully to the final showdown.
Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
February 26, 2021
A great way to end the Pax and Letty storyline, but I'm sad that there will be no more books with these characters in. I've really enjoyed this trilogy, Phil Williams really knows how to create great characters and exciting stories.
June 14, 2022
Of the trilogy, I liked Under Ordshaw the best. The more of these books I read, the more I realized that what drew me in was, first and foremost, Letty, and second - Letty's dynamic with Pax. Why Phil Williams decided to all but go away with the relationship between these two is beyond me. We spend the first third of the book with Pax pissing about, playing pocket, for some reason. Letty is stuck at the FTC, interacting with characters I cared nothing about. Pax and Letty don't share any screen time until the last ten percent of the book, and that's just criminal, especially considering they spend the majority of Blue Angel apart, as well.
In terms of story telling, there are just too many balls being juggled here. In the last book of the trilogy, when Williams should have been tying up plot threads, he just kept adding more instead. All of them are played too little screen time to be fully developed and, as a consequence, the conclusion of the story is rushed and plain underwhelming. The big bad is defeated in some ten pages and nothing is properly explained... it ended not with a bang, but with a pathetic whisper, honestly.
And, you know what, I'm gonna say it - Lightgate, the homicidal lunatic, deserved better, and Casaria, the creep, deserved much worse.
I know there are more books in the series. Maybe a lot of the unexplained plot elements are explored further there. I don't care because I have no plans to read further.
December 4, 2019
Firstly, if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading at least one of the previous books, then my firm advice is to put this one back on the shelf and go and track down Under Ordshaw. This one hits the ground running and we are in the middle of a complicated situation within an urban fantasy landscape that is both layered and nuanced. You certainly won’t get an appreciation of the stakes involved if you try crashing midway into this series.
That said, it’s hard to overstate the hurdles facing both Pax and the fairy Letty. It looks as though those running the human and Fae factions are determined to lock horns over what is going on in the Sunken City and neither seem in the mood to listen to anyone else.
Due to the complicated scenario, this book does take a bit of time to get going. However, when it picks up the pace and we are back in the swing of the story, I was once again swept along with this cast of quirky and original characters. I enjoyed the fact that both Pax and Letty took centre stage in this slice of the adventure, along with Sam Ward and the man I loved to hate in the first book, Cano…
While there is a lot of action in this original urban fantasy series, I also like the fact that Management is clearly at a loss to know what to do in the face of all the paranormal events and once they are aware of how badly they have misread the situation, send in a colourful character as a fixer. I enjoyed that dynamic as it had a real ring of authenticity about it. I also like the fact that one of the characters who I loathed in the first book has had his come-uppance – to the extent that I genuinely felt quite sorry for him. Williams ably negotiates these nuances so that while his cast of characters ping off the page with their vivid eccentricity, they are also capable of change and growth.
Inevitably, I am not going to be able to say much about the plot, as this is the third book in the series, but what I will say is that the overall narrative arc is satisfactorily tied up and I felt happy with the way all the characters completed this particular journey. However, I am very much hoping that this series will continue as it is peopled by too many fascinating characters with intriguing relationships. I definitely want to know what happens to them next.
Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy with a difference.
9/10
That said, it’s hard to overstate the hurdles facing both Pax and the fairy Letty. It looks as though those running the human and Fae factions are determined to lock horns over what is going on in the Sunken City and neither seem in the mood to listen to anyone else.
Due to the complicated scenario, this book does take a bit of time to get going. However, when it picks up the pace and we are back in the swing of the story, I was once again swept along with this cast of quirky and original characters. I enjoyed the fact that both Pax and Letty took centre stage in this slice of the adventure, along with Sam Ward and the man I loved to hate in the first book, Cano…
While there is a lot of action in this original urban fantasy series, I also like the fact that Management is clearly at a loss to know what to do in the face of all the paranormal events and once they are aware of how badly they have misread the situation, send in a colourful character as a fixer. I enjoyed that dynamic as it had a real ring of authenticity about it. I also like the fact that one of the characters who I loathed in the first book has had his come-uppance – to the extent that I genuinely felt quite sorry for him. Williams ably negotiates these nuances so that while his cast of characters ping off the page with their vivid eccentricity, they are also capable of change and growth.
Inevitably, I am not going to be able to say much about the plot, as this is the third book in the series, but what I will say is that the overall narrative arc is satisfactorily tied up and I felt happy with the way all the characters completed this particular journey. However, I am very much hoping that this series will continue as it is peopled by too many fascinating characters with intriguing relationships. I definitely want to know what happens to them next.
Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy with a difference.
9/10
February 2, 2020
A thoroughly satisfying end to a very entertaining trilogy. It brings together all the big loose ends and leaves some room for possible follow-ups. But if this were the last of it, I could personally feel satisfied. A definite recommendation for some alternative urban fantasy.
October 27, 2020
This was an intense end to a great trilogy! If you haven't read the previous two books, then I highly suggest you pop on over to wherever you buy books.
The Violent Fae is one of those books where I was yelling "Seriously, Phil?!" then desperately reading on to see what else he would inflict on my favorite unbalanced characters. There is so much going on during this book and yet Williams managed to juggle multiple POVs expertly and manipulating that tension as competing interests collide. I was happiest with Pax's character growth. In book one, she really was just this nondescript character that I thought was only mildly interesting. Over the last two books though, readers are treated to a closer look at what drives her forward. While we don't get as much of that whip-smart back and forth between Pax and Letty, they absolutely remain one of my favorite bookish duos.
Honestly, I'm not really ready to let Ordshaw go so I'm relieved that there more waiting for me. Pax and Letty are such a great duo and I'm excited to see them in the future. After all, there are plenty of mysteries to investigate in Ordshaw.
The Violent Fae is one of those books where I was yelling "Seriously, Phil?!" then desperately reading on to see what else he would inflict on my favorite unbalanced characters. There is so much going on during this book and yet Williams managed to juggle multiple POVs expertly and manipulating that tension as competing interests collide. I was happiest with Pax's character growth. In book one, she really was just this nondescript character that I thought was only mildly interesting. Over the last two books though, readers are treated to a closer look at what drives her forward. While we don't get as much of that whip-smart back and forth between Pax and Letty, they absolutely remain one of my favorite bookish duos.
Honestly, I'm not really ready to let Ordshaw go so I'm relieved that there more waiting for me. Pax and Letty are such a great duo and I'm excited to see them in the future. After all, there are plenty of mysteries to investigate in Ordshaw.
November 5, 2019
They hid among us, until she exposed them.
They'll destroy everything to be hidden again.
Pax is discovering that the smallest mistakes can have the deadliest impact. To protect her city, she's uncovered monstrous truths and involved terrible people. The consequences are coming for her.
The Sunken City is unstable. The Fae are armed for war.
Can Pax stop the coming disaster?
In this closing chapter of the Sunken City trilogy, Williams weaves the complex strands of Pax's misadventure into a truly thrilling conclusion.
What a truly excellent read this was.
Well written plot and story line that have me engaged from the very start.
Such well fleshed out characters that you love to read about and follow.
I love the whole trilogy and how well the author has brought it all together in this one.
Amazingly written and love all the twists and turns that kept me reading til the very end as I could not put it down!!
Can't wait to read more from this author.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
They'll destroy everything to be hidden again.
Pax is discovering that the smallest mistakes can have the deadliest impact. To protect her city, she's uncovered monstrous truths and involved terrible people. The consequences are coming for her.
The Sunken City is unstable. The Fae are armed for war.
Can Pax stop the coming disaster?
In this closing chapter of the Sunken City trilogy, Williams weaves the complex strands of Pax's misadventure into a truly thrilling conclusion.
What a truly excellent read this was.
Well written plot and story line that have me engaged from the very start.
Such well fleshed out characters that you love to read about and follow.
I love the whole trilogy and how well the author has brought it all together in this one.
Amazingly written and love all the twists and turns that kept me reading til the very end as I could not put it down!!
Can't wait to read more from this author.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
November 6, 2019
The Violent Fae, believe it or not, actually surpasses the previous books in The Ordshaw series. And that, dear readers, is saying a lot. It is well-written, tension-filled and brimming with action and suspense. I loved every second of the roller-coaster ride it is. I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
November 12, 2019
Third book in the series of Ordshaw and quite a show stopper. Pax is on a non-stop action-packed ride along with crazy fairies, monsters, and devious humans. Williams has created a wonderful world in Ordshaw and I wonder how many other strange cities he will visit. Each one of the books has gotten better. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend the series.
November 14, 2019
A great addition to the Ordshaw world. This installment is fast paced and packed with action, suspense and intrigue from start to finish and continues to develop the characters we know and love really well. I want a booze swilling, pistol wielding, Fae bestie as well! Producers heads up, this would adapt well to the big screens!
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