The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts

Magical and mundane armies collide in the last of the trilogy set after the end of the world.




Third books of trilogys are tricky. It's hard to wrap everything up nicely, while still having a good story, and maybe leaving a couple of threads in case you want to expand the world afterwards. It's a fine line and sadly, for me at least, this one doesn't make it.

First of all - and this is a problem with a lot of series, not just this one - it's been a year since I read the last book and another year since the first one. I remember, vaguely, who the main characters are, but relationships, fine details, and a lot of names are gone. There's no recap or glossary or anything that might help, although there may be in the physical book. In an ideal world, of course, we'd all have time to reread earlier books before tackling later ones, but...

And to be fair to Nora, some of the characters reminisce about events from the first book. They don't do it until about halfway in, but still.

Nora has an odd habit of jumping POVs in a scene. Almost every scene is from Fallon's point of view, but there'll be a few lines or a paragraph from someone else's point of view in the middle. It probably doesn't matter to a lot of people, but I personally find it quite jarring.

Even laying those aside, I just wasn't that interested in the story. It seemed to be an endless cycle of 'an attack, Fallon feels bad but then remembers that they saved people, they plan the next attack, an attack...' I'm glad I finished the series, but I just can't say that I enjoyed this read.

After the sickness known as the Doom destroyed civilization, magick has become commonplace, and Fallon Swift has spent her young years learning its ways. Fallon cannot live in peace until she frees those who have been preyed upon by the government or the fanatical Purity Warriors, endlessly hunted or locked up in laboratories, brutalized for years on end. She is determined to save even those who have been complicit with this evil out of fear or weakness—if, indeed, they can be saved.

Strengthened by the bond she shares with her fellow warrior, Duncan, Fallon has already succeeded in rescuing countless shifters and elves and ordinary humans. Now she must help them heal—and rediscover the light and faith within themselves. For although from the time of her birth, she has been The One, she is still only one. And as she faces down an old nemesis, sets her sights on the enemy’s stronghold, and pursues her destiny—to finally restore the mystical shield that once protected them all—she will need an army behind her…