Fantasy is not my typical reading jam, but I’ve been exploring different genres through audiobooks, which I’m enjoying immensely. I’ve listened to this entire The Last Dragonriders series and found it incredibly enjoyable.
In this book, Pieter returns to his homeland of Pothena, as that’s where the series’ ultimate villain (Uzmantine) is headed next. Pieter doesn’t know how his older siblings will react to him returning as the head of a dragonrider army already battle-tested against the villain and her Draznar army. Let’s just say family relationships aren’t always easy, and throughout this book, we witness the twists and turns of believable, challenging family dynamics… along with all the outside dangers they face.
I love the idea of Chamenos magic, first described in Book One of the series and used to great effect throughout each book of the series. This magic is drawn from emotion its wielders pull up through themselves to empower their spells. I like this idea of emotion-driven magic. In the first two books, this magic seems to work effectively with little effort (except learning and testing it), but in this third book, Pieter certainly struggles with it more. As he tests the limits of his (and this magic’s) abilities, the answers aren’t always simple, and he isn’t always successful. But in the final epic battle, we get to see Chamenos’ magic work at its full power in surprising ways that make perfect sense.
This book wraps up the series well, even tying up the plot line regarding the existing draznar in a very satisfying way. Pieter and Rosa grow closer in this book, and she even becomes more integral in the fight against Uzmantine and the draznar; you could even say she becomes the catalyst who turns the tide in the Rebellion’s favor. After all that everyone’s been through in the entire series, the epilogue of this book is particularly sweet. The narrator did a fantastic job with this series. She’s able to give the dragons wise, noble voicings. I love all the Chamenos characters, with their Scottish accents! This is an exceptionally well-thought-out series with a complex magical fantasy world that makes sense within itself and is easy to follow and understand even if you haven’t read other series set in this world. Pieter’s sister Dez has her own entire series that takes place before this one. I actually already have it queued up and ready to go, as I enjoyed this series so much.