The Core

Executive Summary: A satisfying conclusion to a really enjoyable series.

Audiobook: Another good job by Pete Bradbury. I thought he was a good fit for the series overall, and makes listening in audio a great choice.

Full Review
I was very late coming to this series, but I nearly listened to it all in one go. That should be a good indicator at how much I enjoyed it.

This series has one of the best magic systems I've encountered, and I'm always a sucker for that. The characters are fantastic too. There is a warrior monk, a bunch of badass women, and if that wasn't enough it also has a heroic bard or two. Fantasy books could always do with some more bards in my opinion.

It also has some of the best secondary ones I've ever read. Wanda Cutter deserves her own spin-off series. A few of the characters added in this book seemed to come out of nowhere however. Apparently one of them was introduced in some of the novellas. I didn't read those so it made their inclusion feel very strange to me. It was as if I had skipped a chapter or two in one of the previous books.

I did struggle a bit with the character development at times, but even a few I had a hard time sympathizing with for much of the series grew on me by the end.

Much like the last book this one focused a bit more on the human politics than the demon war than I'd have liked. However it was important to finish setting things up for the finale. I think it was handled pretty well, but it took me a bit to get completely sucked into the book as a result. It also made the ending feel a bit on the rushed side.

Still, I thought this was another solid entry in the series, and I was happy with where things leave off. I could happily read a sequel series (or that Wanda Cutter spin-off), but if we don't get any more from the universe Mr. Brett built, I'll be fine with that too.

I definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys darker fantasy and loves cool magic systems.

Pros: lots of action, character development, satisfying series ending

Cons: at a disadvantage if haven't read the novellas

This is the fifth and final volume of the Demon Cycle. A lot has happened as Arlen and Jardir finally take their party down to the core. Their captured mind demon alerts them that the hive is close to swarm, but it's too late for them to help their friends and loved ones who are about to be overrun at the new moon. All they can do as they journey below is hope they've prepared those they leave behind well enough to survive on their own.

There are a lot of point of view characters, some for the first time. This allows the reader to see events all over Thesa as the demons attack. And they attack hard. The book does a fantastic job of consolidating all of the people and places that have been visited in the series.

Having said that, I was surprised that the people and events of some of the novellas were referenced without preamble. Derek from Brayan's Gold shows up with no introduction and I'm assuming the novella Messenger's Legacy (which I haven't read) explains why Ragen and Elissa aren't in Miln when The Core begins. While I felt Briar was properly introduced in The Skull Throne, when Regan and Elissa showed up it felt like I'd missed a chapter, as there's no explanation of what they've been doing though there are a few cryptic hints that they were in Laktown looking for Briar. Once they were back in Miln I found their political situation quite interesting.

There is a lot of action both with the defenders up top and those penetrating the deeps. The battles are varied, as the mind demons fight dirty. Once or twice we're shown the after effects of a scene rather than a scene itself, which lessened the impact of some tragedies. But on the whole it's a whirlwind of battles intercut with preparations for surviving the next battle.

I liked that Arlen and Jardir continue to develop as people. Seeing Jardir start to question his beliefs as he learns more about Kaji's own descent while Arlen starts to realize there may in fact be a Creator after all, was kind of neat. I thought that the birth of Leesha's child and the politics surrounding its identity were handled well.

There are a number of touching, heartfelt moments in the book. I particularly liked when Jardir says his goodbyes.

The final battle was hard fought and gave a very satisfying ending for the series.

As this is the final book in the Demon Cycle series, if you've read the previous 4, you should read this to complete the series.

I struggled with the rating for this book. For 90 percent of the book, it deserves at least 4 stars. However, it is the last two chapters that has some major problems that I couldn't get over.

The ending seemed rushed. To me, it seemed as if the author didn't know how to fully end the story and the story arcs of so many characters. Through out the entire series there is an overarching theme of fate versus free will. The characters grow around this theme and there is a great running conversation between Arlen and Jardir for a majority of this book about this topic. But ultimately, this conversation is never satisfyingly resolved. There is also a continued internal monologue by the captured Alagai Kai of the humans not fully understanding the magic they use in comparison to Alagai Kai, but that also is never fully resolved/explained. In fact, the resolution of the Alagai Kai is wholly unsatisfactory.

As I said the rest of the story is great. The female characters are strong and the characterization across even the supporting characters is very strong. The struggle between the demons and humans is brutal and swings for both sides from seemingly easily overcome to extremely desperate.

My biggest problem with the end of this story is how Arlen beats the demons and dies. He dies by extending himself too far while dissipating to the Core trying to get all of the demons. The story is told as he uses the magic from the core to create wards for the queens and then extends himself out to write the wards on the surface to kills the demons. Now the problem I have with this is the logic. If he extended himself as a sphere, he would either be able to reach the surface in all areas, or none, as being close to the core puts him at the center of a sphere himself. If he extended himself in some other shape, why not then sweep the surface of the planet instead. It is mentioned multiple times how the closeness of the core is affecting Arlen and his desire to go into the Core, and that he has essentially dissipated himself over too large of an area, so distance is an important factor, but it is never explained to at least my satisfaction, how Arlen dies in this manner.

The other problem I have with the ending is the abruptness. Now this may mean that he is planning follow on stories to include the character arcs he didn't wrap up. like the Alagai Kai who gets them to the core, then escapes and is never heard of again. Abban's arc also ends abruptly, especially after a majority of this story talking about his part to play. His “part” seems to simply be a mental battle with a demon mind that ultimately does nothing to further or change the overall plot. The last thing I'll complain about is the use of dice and the suggestion by Alagai Kai that the dice was either manipulated by or doing exactly what the demons ultimately wanted. Again, another interesting arc that went unresolved.

I loved this series, I just wish it would have ended as strong as it started.

Maybe a couple of books late but we have a finale. I am happy to report that Pater brings the tale to a decent finish and manages to tie up all the lose ends. In all its a fantastic series which broke new ground and had an interesting magic system. Strong and well defined characters were at its “core” and not all of them had physical powers. All in all a highly recommended series