The Shadow King

The Raveling, Book 3

By: Alec Hutson

Narrated by: Guy Williams

The conclusion to the epic story that began with The Crimson Queen and continued with The Silver Sorceress

Scarred by what transpired on the island of the sorceress Niara, Keilan, and his companions journey north, bearing a weapon forged to end the unnatural existence of the Chosen. But the sand is trickling through the hourglass as the demon-children are laboring to bring about a second Raveling and end the age of man....

In the shattered city of Nes Vaneth, Cho Lin struggles to survive her imprisonment by the vicious Skein, while in Dymoria the Crimson Queen prepares to reveal her school of sorcerers by bringing them into the Frostlands to confront the Chosen and their allies....

Meanwhile, the immortal sorceress Alyanna schemes to restore her lost glory and destroy those who have wronged her....

©2019 Alec Hutson (P)2020 Alec Hutson

Expansive but with shortcomings

Alec Hutson crafts another complicated but exciting addition to the series. Complicated since there is a lot going on in the story, what with several separate story-arcs involved, each with their own separate backstory events which makes following the fullness of the primary story arc difficult to maintain. After a year time span from the previous book availability, it also took several chapters before familiarity with most of the cast of characters gained recollection. Still, for those who enjoyed the first 2 books and decide to stick with it, you won't be disappointed except possibily for the ending. The biggest shortcomings has to do with the numerous loose threads and seemingly hasty completion. After the defeat of the final threat, there was an allusion that was made but never clarified as well as a number of significant characters and open quests left unknown, none of them even seemed to qualify as cliffhanger level.

Still, I plan to purchase book 4 after it becomes available.

great conclusion to a really enjoyable series.

Fully fleshed out world, story and characters!
I love audible but sometimes I go a good while without a series I would even finish let alone listen to again. This series had me heading to the author's website to make sure I was on the mailing list and that's not something that happens everyday. Hope this helps

Excellent End to a Great Series

Wonderful fantasy adventure featuring a satisfying ending that brings closure but makes you want more. The world building in this series is as good as I've seen in any fantasy novels in a long time. The characters are likeable and believable. They make errors but not the kind that make you go "oh, come on..." I just hope we get more of this world.

show not tell

the story had the classic character of a kid who is special because he's got ancient Magic. he's driven from his home by the villagers, goes on an adventure baba baba blah. However they author tells us that each character is the most powerful warrior or the most powerful sorcerer or the most evil demon. The author keeps telling us that they are the most of the most character yet they continually make naive childish decision so that the story can have some drama... I fucking hate that. straight up artificial drama.