3 out of 4 stars
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End of the Last Great Kingdom, by Victor Rose, brings to life a fantasy world full of magic, mystery, and mayhem. Despite not being able to use magic, a young boy named Leaf miraculously passes his mage test and is reborn as Mage Brimstone. Unfortunately for Brimstone, his luck doesn’t last for long; soon after his classes start, The Order uses him as a political scapegoat and sends him to prison. While fighting to be reunited with his friends, Brimstone uncovers secrets about his powers and gains many allies along the way.
Since this was a fantasy book, I expected a lot of world-building and history lectures, but that was not the case! The reader is given enough background information to understand how the land of Sulphurium is governed and works, but not so much that it’s overwhelming or boring. Another thing I really liked was all the action! Action scenes can be quite difficult to write, but Victor Rose did an excellent job portraying the characters, how they moved, and what they did.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, though I would have liked to see more consistency with the pacing as well as more development among characters. Although the action and fighting scenes were great, they had very little buildup and usually ended abruptly. As far as character relationships, Brimstone was separated from his companions for most of the book, but when they were reunited, very little time was spent rekindling their relationships. Since this book is part of a series, I hope to see more character interactions and development in the next book.
I’ve made a few critiques about the writing, but I want to stress that the story itself is fantastic. It includes plenty of magic, action, and creatures—all of which help to create a captivating tale. All of the characters are driven and motivated, making you want to cheer them on even more. And with the hardships they come across, it only allows them to grow and evolve into stronger characters.
Although the main characters are all young (ten to fifteen years old), this book is definitely not for that age group. There are several points in the story that allude to sexual interactions with children—some of which are forced. Fortunately, these scenes go no further than simply hinting at the situation, though it was still difficult to read through. A substantial amount of violence and gore—including torture and rotting bodies—are also apparent throughout the book. Due to the heavy violence, torture, and implied sexual encounters, I suggest being an older teen or young adult before reading this book.
Since I wholly enjoyed the plot and characters, I rate End of the Last Great Kingdom a 3 out of 4 stars. Because of the pacing issues and a few errors (mainly sentences that didn’t make sense), I can’t give this book a higher score; however, the exciting narrative and interesting characters definitely make up for it. I see a lot of great potential for this series, and I would certainly recommend it to others who enjoy the fantasy genre.
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End of the Last Great Kingdom
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