The Scourge of Muirwood

Executive Summary: A enjoyable, but mostly predictable conclusion to a decent trilogy.

Audio book: Ms. Rudd is once again the narrator for the third and final book of the trilogy. As with the previous two, she a good, but not great reader with little variety in her character voices.

She does attempt to do some accents for a few of the characters, but many of them sounded the same to me.

Full Review
I finished this of the course of the weekend. This was partly due to various chores and activities I had to finish that allowed me the opportunity to get extra listening in, and partly due to my desire to finish the story.

While I found it enjoyable, it's ending was mostly predictable, and I didn't think it was as strong as the previous novel.

One of the aspects of all the books in this trilogy that I didn't hit upon in my previous reviews is the heavy use of Christian allegory.

A key concept to the series is that your ability to channel “the Medium” is largely related to your belief in it. This relates to the notion of giving your will over to that of the Medium and faith that it will protect and bless you if you do so. Many of the abilities of the medium may only be used to the benefit of others and not oneself.

There is also a large theme of life after death, and resurrection of the dead. While these themes are present throughout the whole trilogy, they weren't as much at the forefront as they were in this book. The plot of this novel largely revolves around testing the main character Lea's faith in the Medium.

I'm reluctant to throw out the term “Deus ex Machina” because I feel that all the events fall within the explained abilities of the Medium and someone who is strong with it being able to perform those actions. I could see someone making a good case for it however.

Overall, I think Mr. Wheeler does a good job of wrapping things up with a neat bow. There is certainly room for future stories in the world of Muirwood.

The author's note indicated he has a novella called Maia taking place many years after this trilogy available on his website. I believe he wrote it prior to completing any of the Muirwood books however.

I can't even begin to say how much I enjoyed this series, but I will try my best. Though at first, I was uncertain, as Lia grew, so did my love for her, and for the world around her. The story has a wonderful slow build through the three books, and by the final book, I was hard-pressed to put it down. I've spent the past day wanting nothing else but to read.

As a long-time fan of Fantasy, this hits on so many of my loves. Magic, intrigue, and romance, all intertwined and subtly crafted. Wheeler keeps you guessing from moment to moment, and makes you love characters without even knowing their names.

Lia's story of love and faith, pulls you along, and you can't help but want her to succeed, whatever that means, and it is truly amazing to watch her succeed despite everything thrown at her. Despite the disparity of odds, the story never seems forced or false in the least. The only slight blot is the obvious secret kept until the last moment of the second book, when her true identity is revealed.

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a good fantasy book, especially those who have enjoyed Hunger Games or Harry Potter, though the story itself does not take place in our world, but another. For fans of fantasy, this is definitely one of the best.

And thank you to Dorri, who recommended this one to me. Definitely worth the read.