The Last Mortal Bond: Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 3

The concluding events of this epic-scale fantasy series (after The Providence of Fire) inexorably crash together, though the focus remains on the individual figures caught up in the chaos. Kaden overthrows his father’s empire, but his sister, Adare, claims the imperial throne for herself in absentia. Valyn, their older brother believed dead at Adare’s hand, struggles to resolve his shattered loyalty to his family and military companions with his long-standing vendetta against Ran il Tornja, a kenarang general and his sister’s ally. Several events feel forced, which unfortunately undermines Staveley’s more interesting philosophical debates. Staveley does spend time exploring the outer squares of his chessboard world, but after some welcome misdirection, he finally pushes all the pieces into the center to resolve matters in a grand battle, checking all the epic fantasy boxes. (Mar.)