by Timothy Wolff, Book Three of the Legacy of Boulom
Summary:
A Royal wedding looms, and the realm will be altered forever.
Serenna Morgan struggles with the plan to assassinate the Emperor of Terrangus. For a Guardian to even consider such things would be madness, but Arrogance continues to grow his army of Vanguards. With the life she always wanted at her fingertips, happiness is just one victory away. Along with the risk of losing it all.
In the aftermath of their Harbinger, Dumiyah Bloom remains in Vaynex, doing all she can to help Warlord Eltune maintain balance in the reeling kingdom. With too much on the line, she opposes Serenna’s plan, but humans will be humans.
Mary Walker adapts to life as both mother and empress. Her betrothed may not see it, but enemies linger all around them, waiting to strike. With their god making his play for total control of the realm, Mary must decide if protecting her family is worth ushering in an Age of Arrogance. Either way…
Serenity awaits.
Review:
‘Nothing with a heart can ever break completely.’
Suffice to say, Age of Arrogance fulfills the promise set forth in Platinum Tinted Darkness in more ways that one. Not only does the story come full circle in terms of its characters and plot arcs, but the emotional stakes invested not only by the reader, but also by Mr. Wolff. There is a degree of completion, a serenity (pun intended) by the time the epilogue rolls around that only happens when it feels like an author has reached their zenith and every painstaking path has led to a singular moment of happiness, of contentment, of a job well-done. And also cheese.
Where to even begin… The Legacy of Boulom has been a favorite of mine since the first pages of PTD and as much as I was eagerly awaiting AoA to be released, part of me is sad to see this story end. But so it did… Gloriously.
Picking immediately after the fallout from Tears of the Maelstrom, the surviving Guardians and few remaining Gods struggle to reconcile the coming war for Serenity. The plot is a hectic pace from beginning to end, and while it does take place over many months (including a six month time jump), it never felt lagging or slow. There was no rest for our characters, especially the ones out to fight the God of Arrogance. A lot happens in this book: a lot of suffering (physical and emotional), a lot of death (Gods and mortals), and a lot of bittersweet moments. Everything felt earned, nothing was rushed, even the defeats. Each character received a fitting conclusion by the story’s end. Tears were shed along the way, as well as many expletives uttered in Mr. Wolff’s direction over certain events (iykyk what specific event I’m referencing here. Ughhh still mad at him for that!). The climax was amazing, I’ll leave it at that.
Serenna, our fearless and stubborn crystal mage, is tasked with ending the reign of her former Guardian ‘friend’ Francis, the new emperor. Her arc through AoA is one of determination, one of severe loss, and one that ultimately might cost her everything. I’ve loved Serenna since the beginning and after the personal happiness gained in TotM, her eventual fall was something I saw coming but also loved reading because her potential rise (no spoilers) would be entirely worth it. I can’t really talk about Zeen’s arc here because that would be incredibly spoilerish, but as throughout the entire trilogy, Zeen is just one of those characters we all love, even if he tends to be a dork. David, sweet, jaded David. He has been through the ringer in this series and this book is no different. His character is the epitome of sorrow forced upon man by unjust gods. I just love David and his ending is full of hope. The big standout character for me is Bloom. Filling the void of resident lizard-person post Sardonyx was always a tall order, but Bloom was mighty fun to read and her POV chapters were also the ones that elicited the most snickers by this reader. Francis and Mary were hard reads and I attribute that to Mr. Wolff’s ability to write characters in emotional pain and turmoil insanely well. Even the meddling gods got their moments to shine.
Despite the sometimes harsh and depressing nature of this story, there was enough levity to go around. A frequent dropping of humor, or in true Mr. Wolff form, plenty of meta jokes. Since PTD, I’ve really enjoyed the inclusion of the Rinso the Blue novel series within this world and Mr. Wolff has used said in-world book series to make fun of himself as an author and the review process as a whole. I find that both ingenious and hilarious. Especially when he casually drops lines like:
‘He reread the passage. Perfect! Zeen wasn’t entirely sure how those dash things worked, but it seemed imperative to use them at every opportunity.’
‘What an odd location. I wonder how I would describe such a place if I used it in Rinso? Descriptions were never my strong point. I make the reader do most of the work.’
I also would like to point out one specific chapter, aptly titled Age of Arrogance, that was pretty incredible. It takes place in the climax and is the only chapter told not only from Arrogance’s (the God) POV, but it is also told via 1st person point of view. It was a bold choice, but also very apropos for the story and Arrogance himself. Not only was it some of the best prose in the entire series, but it also was incredibly immersive in this God’s POV. Simply spectacular.
If you’ve stuck with the Legacy of Boulom through the first two books (which you should, seriously, this series is great!), then the final book will give you that satisfying series capper. Age of Arrogance brings everything together in a glorious conclusion. Characters get what they deserve, both good and bad, the plot weaves together impeccably, and we readers are left with a glimmer of hope for the future. Bravo, Mr. Wolff, I say bravo.
‘Debt is the most powerful magic ever conceived by god or man.’
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