I'm a big fan of the First Law series and I loved how Joe Abercrombie was able to convince me to root for characters that were often pretty evil and selfish. However, the series quickly taught me that there can't possibly be a good outcome for any of those characters, because that's not how Joe Abercrombie rolls. Yet I continued to hope from book to book, all to no avail. So when I heard he was starting a new series, I was eager to jump into his new grimdark world and hopelessly root for a brand new set of characters in a totally new fantasy setting. However, in The Devils, Joe made some odd choices that impacted my ability to get into this new fantasy world, and I quickly worried that I was going to be the one with the bad outcome this time around.

Kay's latest historical fantasy is inspired by events in France during the Hundred Years War against England, and it builds on the world first seen in The Lions of Al-Rassan. Here Christians, Jews, and Muslims are represented by the Jaddites, Kindath, and Asharites, although the actual religious beliefs are quite different. Early in the 15th century little magic remains in the world, but there are still some who receive communications from the unseen half-world and a few remnants of the old gods seen in Sarantium (Constantinople). This particular story starts with the brutal assassination of a King's brother. Because this Duke was also acting as regent for the King while he was lost in madness, the desperate Provost pulls the tavern poet Thierry Vallar into the investigation in the hopes that he can ask questions behind the scenes. Thierry would much rather go back to his warm bed, but as he was in the middle of a criminal endeavor that would see him hanged, he has little choice but to assist. But their worst fears are realized because exposing the culprit might throw Feirrere (France) into a civil war, and they already in the process of losing a war against Angland (England).

After three books of setting up a complicated hairball of a situation, it is time to unravel the mess and get things sorted out. The generations old religious prophecy finally comes to pass, but not in the way anyone expected. The evil god Mikkik uses the prophecy itself to dupe the followers of his "good" rival into believing he is their god reborn. Why do the good guys always have to be the stupid ones? Of course, the battle between good and evil is no more complicated than the relationships that have formed between Gen, the Chalaine, and her mother, Mirelle. Who is going to marry who is ever changing, but at least the three of them are aligned on one thing. They are all able to see through Mikkik's deception and are united in their fight to expose him, although they are each destined to take their own path to a resolution. Each of these path's is a dangerous one, and the book's title implies that perhaps not all them will survive to sort out the relationship mess when the time comes.

From the start of the series, there have been flashbacks to unexplained visits from dark forces in Gen's childhood that have never been fully explained. These events have never appeared to have much impact on Gen, because after each visit an unknown individual always arrives to erase the memory. Gen has often been the only person capable of keeping the Chalaine safe from the dark forces trying to disrupt the holy prophecy, but now that she is pregnant with the Holy Child, Gen protects her no more. The significance of those visits in Gen's past have come into light, so now the Padra Athan and the church want him dead, and so does the Chalaine's new husband. However, the Chalaine's mother, Mirelle, still believes in Gen and she works to keep him from Athan's forces, convinced he is the only one who can protect her daughter. It's a mess of a situation, but one thing is clear - whichever side of the prophecy Gen's loyalties are on is likely to come out on top.

The first book of the series totally leaves you eager to find out what comes next, especially in the character relationship department. Gen finds himself promoted to the Chalaine's Protector because he was the only one with the moral fortitude to stand up for her when her future husband, the Ha'Ulrich, tried to treat her like a common harlot. Of course, this puts Gen in quite a predicament as the Ha'Ulrich and the Chalaine are prophesied to marry and conceive a child that will become the embodiment of a god. Because of the way Gen humiliated the Ha'Ulrich he knows that once the marriage is complete, the Ha'Ulrich will have the power to order his death. Still, that won't stop Gen from doing his duty, but the enemy army led by the evil god Mikkik just might.

Have you ever thought the world would be better off without your boss? Do they claim credit for your ideas while reducing production costs by removing safety features? Perhaps they resort to blackmail and their price is your hard earned promotion, or maybe they demand sexual favors in return for letting you work at all. If you're fortunate karma will catch up to these despicable supervisors, but if it doesn't, or you just can't afford to wait, the McMasters Conservatory is here to offer a comprehensive education in all things murder. A year or two of classes and you will be ready to attempt your thesis where a passing score consists of eliminating the horrible person and not getting caught. Fail in the attempt and you won't have to worry about prison because McMaster's will deal with the problem, you. This enlightening and humorous guide shall follow the academic performance of three students with the above workplace issues and their thesis. Fair warning, not all three succeed.

Gen is a bard's apprentice growing up in a small town and getting into mischief with his friends. He is a decent young man who pines for the prettiest girl in the village and gets in trouble for playing pranks on the local nobles, that is until his somewhat idyllic life is ripped away from him in an instant. Shadan Khairn is a war monger, and master swordsman, who's army invades Gen's small town unexpectedly during the winter. Shadan's goal is simply to establish a unexpected foothold in Gen's country for a larger summer invasion, but this invasion results in Gen going from bard to prisoner over night. Things only get worse for Gen when Shadan quickly becomes bored in this nowhere town, and he decides to train Gen to be a sword fighter. He does this mainly for the sick pleasure of inflicting one devastating injury after another onto Gen, and then magically healing him of his wounds so he can do it again the next day. This process of repeated beatings changes Gen at his core, and puts him on a much different trajectory in life.

Terry Brooks, best known as the author of the Shannara series, offers up a dystopian sci-fi tale set in the United Territories, which is the country that was formed after the fall of the United States. Ash Collins is a typical teenager working on his homework when he gets a message from his Dad. "Ash! Get out now! Go into the Red Zone. Go to Street Freaks. Don't wait!" his out of breath Dad urgently says before the call gets abruptly cut off. Ash is pretty surprised by that call since the Red Zone is the forbidden area of Los Angeles that is way too dangerous for him to have ever been there; however, when his apartment is suddenly assaulted he flees out a window without a real plan. Ash has lived a sheltered life and is ill prepared to be hunted by professionals, so when his Dad shows up on the news for supposedly committing suicide, Ash has little choice but to follow his Dad's cryptic final instructions and head into the Red Zone to find Street Freaks, whatever that is.

The Burning White is the long anticipated conclusion to the Lightbringer series and it is the longest book in the series by far. Brent Weeks brings all of the main characters back and he weaves the many threads of story together into one epic battle that determines the future of the Seven Satrapies. Then he tacks on three Epilogues and a "Postlude" just to make sure that he brings additional closure to some of the character arcs. That certainly has to be enough right? Nope, there is also a Shawarma scene available online which is intended to be read only AFTER you have read the book (link will be provided later.) This is all very welcome by me since I love closure, and I hate to be left hanging, but is the ending truly satisfying?

As this series approaches the finale some interesting bits of information are revealed that change the way you will view some of the main characters, none more so than Gavin Guile. No character arc has been more full of surprises than Gavin's and the revelations about his past in this book finally explain why he is known as the Black Prism. Gavin is in a bad spot for sure, but he may yet play a key role in shaping the future of this world, but not for the reasons you think. He also isn't the only main character shaping up to be a major player in the outcome of the war as Andross, Kip, and Karris all find themselves jockeying for position in order to influence things to their preference. One thing is for certain, this book sets things up for a conclusion to the series that will be hard to predict.