Having devoured the first two books of the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab, (posts dated 4/28/22 and 5/21/22) I immersed myself in the third and final book, A Conjuring of Light ©2017. It was quite lengthy but worth it.
I will admit, when I picked the novel up from the library and saw the thickness, my heart sank just a bit. Each book in the trilogy grew in length. To read all three at 401 pages, 514 pages, and 624 pages was a time commitment.
Book three had all the same favorite well developed characters: Kell the Antari, Rys the prince, Lila the thief, Luc the noble pirate, and the villain Holland who just possible turns into a good guy. The overall tone and mood was dark however with the appearance of a powerful evil presence, a godlike villain Osaron. Osaron invades from White London, exerting his magical powers to overturn the reign of King Maxim of Red London and claim the region as his own. A grey fog-like mist hovers over the kingdom infecting the masses and killing any one who refuses to bow to Osaron's power. The blood of an Antari acts as a vaccine of sorts and those who are anointed with just a speck of the blood become immune. Although
A Conjuring of Light was copyright in 2017, it parallels so closely the events of the COVID -19 pandemic, that I was somewhat spooked. The ending chapters seem abrupt, but they do provide satisfying closure as to the future of the familiar main characters.
Although great characters, an intricately depicted plot, and an ominously portrayed setting worked together superbly, my enjoyment of the book was somewhat diminished by my discomfort level with the COVID similarity. But then, I never was one to enjoy being frightened in a haunted house; nor do I like the nightmares that follow after watching a horror movie. I rate
A Conjuring of Light four stars.
★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience
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