The Last Battle

Time of Judgment Trilogy #2

by Bill Bridges

Final Stand For Gaia

For millennia, a dwindling race of shapechangers has lurked in the woods and glades of the world. These werewolves, these Garou, hold a sacred duty to protect the Earth and fight against the corrupt spirit known as the Wyrm. But the battle is not an easy one — the enemy grows stronger daily and the Garou grow fewer. Tribal battles and personal rivalries have long divided the Garou, making their struggle all the harder. And with every dawn the final reckoning — the Apocalypse — looms closer.

Jonas Albrecht and his packmates have felt the weight of these times more heavily than most. Once an exile from his people, Albrecht has risen to the lofty position of king. But as the prophecies come true and the final call to battle sounds, Albrecht faces the prospect that all he has gained has been for naught. The prophecies are clear: the Last Gaian King will fall to the Wyrm.

Can King Albrecht fight on?

Genres: World Of Darkness, Fantasy, Horror, Role Playing Games, Gaming

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Bill Bridges is a writer and game designer, most known for developing White Wolf’s World of Darkness setting and the Fading Suns science-fiction universe.

Reviews

[Hanzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally.......finished it......after 15 years, it was just recently, I got the book, imagine reading a trilogy, without book 2....

Garou ,White Wolf lore, were Gaia's(Mother Earth)soldiers, fighting against her nemesis - The Wyrm(spirit of corruption), being both blessed and cursed with the trait RAGE, this ability further enhances their spirit and strength, they were divided into tribes, 13 to be exact(these were the famous ones, although in succeeding years, more were introduced), The Stargazers(mystics), Get of Fenris(warriors), Silver Fangs(rulers), for the purpose of this review, I just gave the three that had a major impact in the novel, King Albrecht "the last Gaia King" from the Silver Fangs, Antonine Teardrop from the Stargazers.......and their counterpart the Black Spiral Dancers, garous possessed by the Wyrm.....

This is the second book of their "Time of Judgement trilogy", the end times of the whole White Wolf universe, the first was for the vampires, and now it is The Apocalypse, wherein the Wyrm is set to devour Gaia, reading this without any knowledge of their shared universes might be a lot to digest for a casual reader, even I had a hard time following the story, reading any White Wolf novel, that is a feeling you might get, so many references, characters, abilities, the story was straight forward as can be, it felt like a movie that should have been a trilogy but was instead condensed into one, then fast forwarded to focus on the final fight......and then that cliffhanger(???!!!!).........

For 15 years, I hunted for this volume, White Wolf had the most unique take of these monsters, and honestly who does not love Vampires, Werewolves, Mages, Mummies(ohhhhh), as I have stated, reading any works, you have to have some knowledge, did I enjoy this gem, well a bit, imagine waiting for such a long time, then finally........reading it......anticipating this and that.........and(insert car braking)what happened...........your anticipation drops.....and ohhhh.....rises......then drops......until..........the book ends......

I wish they could have made it into 2-3 books, flesh out some of the characters, this was the Final Battle not just a battle, none of the grandiose war, more like a footnote......."and so the Final Battle has begun........then.......end"!!!

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, this book closes the Garou saga in a poetically way. The character development is fantastic and though sometimes it shows too many scenarios and plots running in parallel, the author ties them up in the end with competence. If you are fan of the old WoD universe, this book is a must read.

BTW, the only minus is that they could avoid so much trouble in the end with two .50mm machine guns and a sniper with a silver bullet. I'm pretty sure the Glass Walkers could help in that front. C'mon, they fought with guns in the WWII. Just saying.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review here:

http://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/2...

While not recommended to anyone without a pssing familiarity of the setting, this is a really good adventure novel that does a much better job of ending the setting than the game rulebook did.