Robert Jackson Bennett

Locklands

Apiecalypse Jen

Alice Hyman

This book ! This series ! These characters !

Oh scrumming hell how am I supposed to put into words how incredible this book is. This book left me full on ugly crying on the floor at midnight. But its not sad in the way that it wants you to be sad. Its not a book that's made to crush you. Its about hope. Its about the goodness in the world and bloody well fighting to see it - and that somehow made me cry even more.

This book is and has everything. A magic system that is written into the face of reality, that seems so real that its almost unmagical . Found family that heals your soul and queer romance that melts your heart. Characters that are so real, characters that I want to be real. Character arcs of your dream - redemption, to prove oneself, to protect your family, to let them be themselves, to live, to love, and to let go. 

Through three books, more years, and some tears it comes back down to a heist 

“Its like old times again. You and me against the whole goddamn world”

Except the world has changed a lot. 

This is the best conclusion to a series that I have ever read - there's amazing battles and satisfying conclusion to foreshadowed clues. It all just makes sense. In a world where money means magic and everything has changed. Chasing the footprints of godlikes who came before. Can they change the world ?

I enjoyed the other two books in this series, but for whatever reason, I couldn't get into this one. Maybe it was because I listened to the audiobook rather than reading it physically, but I never found myself invested in the story. It was definitely action-packed. It felt like you hit the ground running right at the start, and there was no breathing room until the end. It was dynamic and fast-paced. I liked how it heavily revolved around the magic system and how it could benefit them in the battle with the gods. I liked how despite being hardened by the war and losses they've suffered, Sancia and company were still as cheeky as ever. Bennett incorporated some twists and emotional moments I wasn't expecting but really enjoyed. I do think the series wrapped up in a satisfying way, and maybe I'll reread this physically in the future to see if my rating changes.

Heather Harrington

Benjamin

A god wages war--using all of humanity as its pawns--in the unforgettable conclusion to the Founders trilogy. Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against plenty of long odds in the past. But the war they're fighting now is one even they can't win. This time, they're not facing robber-baron elites, or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe--a ghost in the machine that uses the magic of scriving to possess and control not just objects, but human minds. To fight it, they've used scriving technology to transform themselves and their allies into an army--a society--that's like nothing humanity has seen before. With its strength at their backs, they've freed a handful of their enemy's hosts from servitude, even brought down some of its fearsome, reality-altering dreadnaughts. Yet despite their efforts, their enemy marches on--implacable. Unstoppable. Now, as their opponent closes in on its true prize--an ancient doorway, long buried, that leads to the chambers at the center of creation itself--Sancia and her friends glimpse a chance at reaching it first, and with it, a last desperate opportunity to stop this unbeatable foe. But to do so, they'll have to unlock the centuries-old mystery of scriving's origins, embark on a desperate mission into the heart of their enemy's power, and pull off the most daring heist they've ever attempted. And as if that weren't enough, their adversary might just have a spy in their ranks--and a last trick up its sleeve.

Locklands

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