560 pages
English language
Published Jan. 28, 2022 by Random House Publishing Group.
A god wages war—using all of humanity as its pawns—in the unforgettable conclusion to the Founders trilogy.
Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against plenty of long odds in the past. But the war they’re fighting now is one even they can’t win.
This time, they’re not facing robber-baron elites, or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe—a ghost in the machine that uses the magic of scriving to possess and control not just objects, but human minds.
To fight it, they’ve used scriving technology to transform themselves and their allies into an army—a society—that’s like nothing humanity has seen before. With its strength at their backs, they’ve freed a handful of their enemy’s hosts from servitude, even brought down some of its fearsome, reality-altering dreadnaughts. Yet despite their efforts, their enemy marches on—implacable. Unstoppable.
Now, as their opponent closes in …
A god wages war—using all of humanity as its pawns—in the unforgettable conclusion to the Founders trilogy.
Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against plenty of long odds in the past. But the war they’re fighting now is one even they can’t win.
This time, they’re not facing robber-baron elites, or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe—a ghost in the machine that uses the magic of scriving to possess and control not just objects, but human minds.
To fight it, they’ve used scriving technology to transform themselves and their allies into an army—a society—that’s like nothing humanity has seen before. With its strength at their backs, they’ve freed a handful of their enemy’s hosts from servitude, even brought down some of its fearsome, reality-altering dreadnaughts. Yet despite their efforts, their enemy marches on—implacable. Unstoppable.
Now, as their opponent closes in on its true prize—an ancient doorway, long buried, that leads to the chambers at the center of creation itself—Sancia and her friends glimpse a chance at reaching it first, and with it, a last desperate opportunity to stop this unbeatable foe. But to do so, they’ll have to unlock the centuries-old mystery of scriving’s origins, embark on a desperate mission into the heart of their enemy’s power, and pull off the most daring heist they’ve ever attempted.
And as if that weren’t enough, their adversary might just have a spy in their ranks—and a last trick up its sleeve.
Although the ending was emotional and made me cry, I feel like this is the weakest of the three books.
I like books that end. I mean they are sad because you say farewell but it's a good thing. I am glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy this world building. It was a unique magic system with unique interactions and some very memorable characters.
Overall the pacing of the book felt about spot on. Some character development or utility seem marginalized but it's ok, we have a plot to unravel and sh*t to do so they had to plow on.
It was interesting seeing how they used a shared-mentality-system as well. I always thought that a fully telepathic grouping would be problematic but between self-selecting to specific cadences and become highly self-aware it really resolves a lot of the ID/EGO problems I think would create conflicts.
I did find it funny just how much in frightening situations they use an 'Oh god..' kind of context when realistically I …
I like books that end. I mean they are sad because you say farewell but it's a good thing. I am glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy this world building. It was a unique magic system with unique interactions and some very memorable characters.
Overall the pacing of the book felt about spot on. Some character development or utility seem marginalized but it's ok, we have a plot to unravel and sh*t to do so they had to plow on.
It was interesting seeing how they used a shared-mentality-system as well. I always thought that a fully telepathic grouping would be problematic but between self-selecting to specific cadences and become highly self-aware it really resolves a lot of the ID/EGO problems I think would create conflicts.
I did find it funny just how much in frightening situations they use an 'Oh god..' kind of context when realistically I never felt much if any religiosity within the whole trilogy to create an indoctrinated approach to the concept. They did however have enough rock-and-rolling environments to create explicates that I could appreciate. hehe!
Thanks RJB for another wild ride.
That ENDING! Ugh, so much emotion in a measly 30 pages. How dare you do these things RJB
It's so hard to put into words my reaction to this book and the culmination of this mindbending fantasy trilogy about hacking the nature of reality. In many ways it's a bleak, kinda apocalyptic book—but also filled with a certain sense of optimism that empathy and humanity (whatever that means) can see a way to break cycles of oppression.
