I'm not sure I'd have read this except that I'd just finished the previous volume. It's very readable writing, although in the sense that I tended to skim it quite a lot rather than dwelling on every word. In some sections I do slow to absorb everything, particularly the exploratory sequences of new places and things; in others I just picked out the main points.

This brings the arc of the previous two books to a close in the inevitable way (which isn't a criticism; that's how this arc cries out to be closed). The five main characters (or the two protagonists and their three mates) discover their secret and unique powers, encounter a second magical realm, and combine their pluckiness and abilities to defeat the evil wizard and save the universe.

I found this book hard to place. The early sections are quite interesting; I liked the flying city of Irrakesh, and felt it ended up with rather a raw deal, partly because it never got quite the pagecount it seemed to deserve, and partly because it becomes the scene of a colossal war and mass slaughter. The disposal of the Sultan seemed rather abrupt and it always seemed like there ought to be something the group could do.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book bogs down tremendously with a series of huge battles. Fighting is supposed to be exciting, but I found it dragged with repeated similar sequences, especially given that we've already experienced mass Merlon attacks in two books, and a war against the flying creatures earlier in this book. My eyes began to glaze over, not a specific criticism of Moesta, but I think it's actually very hard to make lengthy descriptions of fighting interesting (and the same applies in film - looking at you, Lord of the Rings).

Though the heroes do eventually work out how to combine their powers to defeat the villains, it felt to me as though they were rather slow on the uptake. They missed opportunities to use them earlier in the book. I also felt that the revelation of the powers was rather perfunctory - characters simply noticed that they could suddenly do something when it became convenient to the plot, and neither the build-up nor their reactions felt suitably strong. To be fair, they are in the middle of a war and rather preoccupied, I suppose.

It's an okay book, and a reasonable end to the trilogy, though it clearly leaves space open for a sequel.

I was a bit disappointed with this series in the end (I got it in a book bundle). There's nice ideas here and it's pleasantly easy to read, but I felt like it didn't exploit its full potential, and often didn't earn the narrative credit need for me to buy into some of the convenient coincidences. I would have liked Irrakesh better explored, a much shorter Battle of Five Armies, and a stronger narrative build-up and exploration of the characters' powers manifesting.

If I hadn't got all three books as a set, I suspect I would not have paid nor made the effort to obtain the second, and almost certainly not the third. To be fair though, it's YA and I'm not YA. If you've read the first two you honestly might as well read this one and close the storyline, it's short and easy enough to read, and it'll leave things a bit more satisfactory.

My suspicion is that having two authors may have undermined the book; my observation is that it seems to result in a lot of books that are a little blander than they should be, perhaps because the primary author's distinctive vision has some edges filed off. That's pure speculation though. ( )

So of all three books, I only disliked this one. Yes i get that the trilogy is cliched, trite, and rather static, but for some reason I enjoyed the first two. This one had a cliche every paragraph, the characters "hooked up" right in the last 2 pages, and a whole host of other problems. So, like yeah, whatever. ( )