It’s an unusual review this week, in that I’m reviewing two books in one. Ruin and Wrath are the third and fourth books in Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen series, which I have previously raved about here and here. I often find that the deeper you get into a series, the harder it becomes to review them, partly due to the increasing difficulty in avoiding spoilers, and partly due to the fact that you find yourself saying the same things over and over. There are, after all, only so many ways to say “this is absolutely fantastic” without boring you. In this case though, it’s also because I read both books so quickly back to back and was so absorbed in them that I don’t think I could extricate them from each other. I don’t like to read new books in the same series in a row or I can get a bit oversaturated, but Ruin finished on such a phenomenal, gut-wrenching cliffhanger, when I tell you I literally sprinted upstairs to grab Wrath there isn’t a hint of exaggeration.
The God War is raging, and every corner of the Banished Lands are consumed by violence and conflict. The Dark Sun has succeeded in opening the door to the Otherworld, releasing a tide of demonic forces with the intention of amassing the Seven Treasures and bringing forth the great Destroyer Asroth. As the Seven Treasures are gradually uncovered, resistance grows against Asroth’s and the Bright Star and his warband must make new allies to stand with them in the final battle, turn back the tide of darkness, and save the Banished Lands.
This is, without a doubt, the best fantasy series I have read in a Very Long Time, and it has rightfully sailed straight into my top five all time series. I have been absolutely blown away by the storyline, the character development and pacing. This series gripped me by the heart and dared me to put it down. I couldn’t. If Malice was character driven and allowed us to become invested in all the POVs, then Valour picked up pace, Ruin builds it up further, and is fully plot driven, starting to funnel everyone, previously scattered all over the Banished Lands, to the same place. Finally, Wrath charges headlong into the final showdown. Although a large chunk of the final book is focused around the deciding battle, somehow it doesn’t drag at all. Battles, skirmishes, ambushes, they’re all well described, exhilarating and gripping, you feel like you’re in the midst of it. You’d think that after several hundred pages of fighting your mind might wander a bit, you might get a bit bored of sword fights and shield walls, but this isn’t the case at all. Every time our heroes find themselves at the sharp end of a blade you’re just as hooked, just as desperate to find out how it will turn out, as you were the very first time Corban stepped onto the Rowan field in Malice. All of this culminates in an incredible, poignant finale that delivers an epic, emotional and satisfying conclusion.
I will be honest. Is it still quite tropey? Yes. Are there a lot of convenient moments where main characters are saved from almost certain death in the nick of time by someone else showing up unexpectedly? Yes. Do I care? Nope. Did it affect my enjoyment? Absolutely not. As I said in the review for Malice – tropes are tropes for a reason. If they’re done well, they work, and Gwynne certainly knows how to do them well. I was worried that the ultimate deus ex machina might show up to save the day at the end (I won’t give it away, you’ll be able to work it out quite easily if you read it), as that would have been a bridge too far I thought, but luckily that trap remains unsprung and I was utterly satisfied with the ending.
There’s been a big trend in the last few years for all fantasy to be pretty grim and dark, full of morally grey characters and no clear heroes. While I am a complete sucker for grimdark and all sorts of shades of grey, it’s refreshing to have a book that is so clearly black and white, Good vs. Evil. Even though it does get dark in terms of storyline The bad guys are very much bad and the good guys are unproblematically good. Aside from one or two minor characters (I definitely feel bad for the huntsman Rafe, for all his bullying and aligning with the enemy, he’s had a rough time of it), it’s clear here who we should be rooting for and who we can love to hate. I don’t think I’ve ever read a character I enjoyed hating as much as Lykos, what a delightfully unhinged, completely evil monster. Characterisation and development remains the core strength of this series, Gwynne has crafted characters such well fleshed out characters and strong relationships that you can’t help but get attached, even to the animals. Don’t expect to come out of this with dry eyes or an intact heart. Despite the many POVs that switch quickly, especially during action scenes, there wasn’t a single POV that I wanted to skip or wished was over, every single one has a unique and interesting voice. The friendships and family relationships are everything, and the slow burn romances I mentioned in Valour do come to a head but are subtle and investing without taking over the story. My one complaint is that I wish there had been more of an emphasis on strong female friendships and relationships. There is one fantastic one – a mentor/apprentice dynamic between healer Brina and Cywen, but given the number of strong female characters I would have liked to see them interact with each other more.
I literally don’t think I can recommend this series enough. If you like fantasy at all, you absolutely have to read this, and even if you don't like fantasy, hell you should try it anyway. This is, without a doubt, one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read and it deserves to be up there and recognised with the giants of the genre, if not surpassing some of them (GRRM who?). And, to top it all off, the series is completely and satisfyingly finished. Truly an epic fantasy treat.
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