After the events of the last book, it is a miracle that Hadrian Marlowe is still alive. Or is it? Since Hadrian is narrating the story of his life as an old man, it is a foregone conclusion that he won't die, so every situation comes down to how he survives the events that threaten his existence. Things were so dire in Kingdoms of Death that any way out alive for Hadrian would have to border on ludicrous, and it did. It made me wonder if Christopher Ruocchio had fundamentally undermined this series by giving Hadrian a reality-shifting ability that was just too powerful. At the time it seemed that Hadrian could use this ability to get out of any situation without consequence, but there are also a few hints that things are not exactly as they seem to be. Only time will tell which side of plausible this series winds up on, but either way it continues to get more dark and foreboding. 

With the Red Company gone, Hadrian's dead friends and acquaintances now outnumber the living by a fair amount. So while the universe continues to expand in scope, the roster of characters worth caring about is rapidly dwindling. This one starts slowly, but does offer some quality time with those remaining characters. I suggest you enjoy it because things will eventually return to the usual formula: Hadrian being assigned one impossible mission after another as the overall war effort goes against humanity. Big things do eventually happen, but as the title implies, it isn't rainbows and unicorns for Hadrian or humanity. It ends with a few unexpected twists, and despite the bleakness, it does leave you wanting more. I mean, there is always the chance that things will get better in the next book right?

Samuel Roukin continues to provide a kick ass narration for the audio version of this series and at this point nobody else could possibly be the voice of Hadrian Marlowe. He definitely makes the series better.