I really really like siege stories. The cat and mouse games, the attempts by both sides to break the moral of the others, finding interesting solutions to all the problems that come up and the growing desperation on both sides. They’re compelling, always interesting and every author puts their own spin on it.

But honestly this isn’t much of a siege story. I mean they’re under siege and not leaving Skyhold but it is a mountain carved into a city so they weren’t leaving much anyway. There are attempts to break in but the story is focused on Hugh and his friends, who are still students despite all their power, and as such don’t have much to do with any active defence of Skyhold itself. They’re able to witness and hear about stuff happening but, with one or two exceptions, they aren’t able to actually affect anything. They spend large amounts of the book preparing, practising and trying to get ready for the worst.

Honestly, if I had to compare it to anything, it’s a little like lockdown was. There’s a large, nebulous threat they can’t do anything about, the news is all pretty grim but also distant in a weird way and they’re cooped up and the stress is slowly getting to them. Which is an interesting perspective but not what I usually look for.

What there is, though, is a huge dramatic battle. 

One of the strengths of John Bierce’s magic system is it’s sheer versatility. There are a lot of different affinities that the different mages can have and they all use them in different ways. In fact it’s a point that’s been made time and again that those that become Great Powers are those who don’t just follow a usual path but carve one out for themselves, becoming unique.

So a battle of said Great Powers is something to see.

I’m not going to spoil anything but the battle itself takes up the last 35% of the novel and it’s great. It’s a lot of fun seeing a bunch of different approaches and philosophies slug it out, with interesting tactics and dramatic moments. The whole book builds up to this and it’s worth it.

For the rest of the book there’s the usual things you’ve come to expect with Bierce’s writing. We’ve got new and interesting characters (and I think we’ve got some autistic and ADHD rep here!), great world building and fun, enjoyable writing. The book is great and ends fantastically. I don’t think I can praise it more.