Series finales have a great deal of pressure on their proverbial shoulders…even if the story is just a trilogy (albeit three books well over 600 pages in length), the conclusion and pay-off of a whole story is put upon the last book. Can the writer stick the landing and deliver on the promise of the first two books? Well, Tyler Whitesides has most certainly stuck the landing in his Kingdom of Grit series.
The final book in an action-packed epic fantasy series set in a world with dragon-fueled magic where master con artist Ardor Benn takes a job to steal a living dragon.
Ardor Benn has taken his lies to a new level, infiltrating high society so he can steal a priceless resource. But now that he’s on the inside, he finds himself poring through ancient texts, searching for answers to his deepest questions. He discovers something is coming. Something world-ending.
Now, an old enemy is extorting him for one last job. Steal a live dragon. He doesn’t know how, and he doesn’t know why. But he’s got a feeling that it’s a job he has to take. Only problem is, Ard’s running short on time and shorter on lies. And his personal ambitions are alienating all of his allies.
With no one else to rely on, he’ll have to trust the one person nobody else does: himself.
After the events of the first two novels Ardor Benn has come forward and publicly apologized for his past deeds and Queen Abeth Agaul has pardoned him.. As a result, he is now considered by some as something of a holy man. Benn is into this role, but he also is using it to his advantage, which shouldn’t be a surprise to readers of the first two novels. He takes that “holy man” moniker to heart as he becomes entrenched in the religious community known as the Islehood. Of course, part of being in the community is so he can get more of the valuable dragon eggs.
Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg because each novel set Ardor Benn, Raek, Quarrah with a challenging heist. The finale is no different and may prove the most difficult: steal a dragon. Ardor Benn is approached to steal said dragon by a man named Hedge who seems to know everything about Ardor Benn; what he’s done, what he will do, and what he’ll say. This makes it difficult for Ard to pull off a multi-layered ruse with the same sort of ease we saw in the first two novels.
One element of this series I hadn’t touched upon in the first two reviews is something that sets these books apart: time travel. Sure, time travel is a well-worn trope and sub-genre of Science Fiction, but it isn’t used through magical means very often in fantasy. Off the top of my head, the only books that come to mind are the enjoyable Islevale Chronicles by D.B. Jackson and there, time travel is at the core of the story. Here in The Kingdom of Grit, Time Travel is just one-way magical energy derived from Grit (Dragon Dung) can be employed. The time travel element was key in the first novel and comes back to importance here, more so for the ramifications of the time travel than traveling through time itself. That detail – the extremely powerful and long-range consequences of time travel – is extremely well handled throughout the three novels in the series, which I did point out in my review of each previous book.
One of the most enjoyable elements of a heist story is experiencing the story; reading or watching it unfold. That’s why I won’t go beyond what I’ve already said about the plot. What I will say is more about the quality. Whitesides has masterfully balanced character, plot, humor and world-crafting through the three novels in the series and his abilities in these areas are on display in great doses in the finale to Kingdom of Grit trilogy. Ard is a frustrating character…well, he would be a frustrating character to deal with on a daily basis, but being able to get inside his head makes him a joyous character to follow. I’ll also give high marks for a few choices Whitesides made as the novel reached the apex of tension and simmered to its conclusion, but even more so for things he did not do with some of the characters.
The world Tyler Whitesides created is fascinating, immersive, and holds ample room for more stories either with or without these characters. Put it this way, whether Mr. Whitesides decides to continue telling stories based in The Kingdom of Grit or elsewhere, I’ll be ready to read them.
The Kingdom of Grit is a big, bold, rip-roaring fantasy adventure with some insight largely around consequences of actions. I really appreciate that Orbit books did a little repackaging of the first novel and had all three available on shelves to read for quick consumption in successive months.
At this point, I can only highly recommend this trilogy.
© 2020 Rob H. Bedford
Orbit Books | Trade Paperback
December 2020 | 656 Pages
http://www.tylerwhitesides.com/
Excerpt: https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-last-lies-of-ardor-benn/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
