The Faoii have protected Clearwall with both magic and blade for generations. But when her monastery is attacked and her sisters slaughtered, only young Kaiya is left alive.
Forced to cope without the traditions of her Order, Kaiya travels the country on a mission to avenge her sisters and preserve her heritage. The search brings her not only to dark discoveries and ancient family secrets, but also to something she never wanted or dreamed of: an estranged brother.
Thrust into a war at the heart of a broken empire, the siblings face a dark past and darker future while Kaiya learns the true state of the world outside her monastery's walls, the true threat of the army seeping across the land, and her own innate abilities as the last of her kind.
Forced to cope without the traditions of her Order, Kaiya travels the country on a mission to avenge her sisters and preserve her heritage. The search brings her not only to dark discoveries and ancient family secrets, but also to something she never wanted or dreamed of: an estranged brother.
Thrust into a war at the heart of a broken empire, the siblings face a dark past and darker future while Kaiya learns the true state of the world outside her monastery's walls, the true threat of the army seeping across the land, and her own innate abilities as the last of her kind.
>>>>>>>>>
My Review:
My Review:
The first thing I want to say about this book is that the prose is gorgeous. The descriptions are so vivid I could almost smell and touch them. The emotional tone was so clear that I could sympathize with those characters, from the despicable villain that made my skin crawl every time he was mentioned, to the devastation whenever a character died, to the beautiful elation when characters found their courage or clung to hope!
Nelson built an incredible world with a great sense of lore and history, and she skillfully guides her characters through a complex narrative with all sorts of unconventional twists and turns. Beginning a story with a brutal massacre is definitely not the way books are typically done, but then again I suppose the whole book is about defying conventions in unexpected ways. I loved the character development that happened throughout. The way the main character Kaiya starts out is not the way she finishes, and even smaller side characters get their own arcs clearly laid out in the same way.
The two critiques I might have are first of all, the level of violence. It’s dark and it’s gross, but again, the focus is on a culture of warrior women so one can hardly have it any other way. It’s actually no worse than your typical grimdark fantasy, so if it doesn’t bother you, then you might enjoy this book, perhaps even the whole series. The second is the oddity of the goddess these characters worship. I find it strange, whenever people try to invent a deity, there is always some limitation to them, that a few times at least one human will gain some sort of “upper hand” in the specific area of the deity’s limitation. I cannot be much clearer about that without spoiling the book, and besides there could be readers whom that does not bother. It’s just something for me personally that affected my full enjoyment of the story.
Barring those things, the rest of the book was spectacular! The Last Faoii gets an ultimate rating of *****4.5 STARS***** and if you’re looking for a cool new female-driven read that ticks all the boxes of truly great grimdark epic fantasy, look no further than this title!
Nelson built an incredible world with a great sense of lore and history, and she skillfully guides her characters through a complex narrative with all sorts of unconventional twists and turns. Beginning a story with a brutal massacre is definitely not the way books are typically done, but then again I suppose the whole book is about defying conventions in unexpected ways. I loved the character development that happened throughout. The way the main character Kaiya starts out is not the way she finishes, and even smaller side characters get their own arcs clearly laid out in the same way.
The two critiques I might have are first of all, the level of violence. It’s dark and it’s gross, but again, the focus is on a culture of warrior women so one can hardly have it any other way. It’s actually no worse than your typical grimdark fantasy, so if it doesn’t bother you, then you might enjoy this book, perhaps even the whole series. The second is the oddity of the goddess these characters worship. I find it strange, whenever people try to invent a deity, there is always some limitation to them, that a few times at least one human will gain some sort of “upper hand” in the specific area of the deity’s limitation. I cannot be much clearer about that without spoiling the book, and besides there could be readers whom that does not bother. It’s just something for me personally that affected my full enjoyment of the story.
Barring those things, the rest of the book was spectacular! The Last Faoii gets an ultimate rating of *****4.5 STARS***** and if you’re looking for a cool new female-driven read that ticks all the boxes of truly great grimdark epic fantasy, look no further than this title!
Further Reading: (Strong Heroines/Excellent World-Building/Mythology/Sword and Sorcery)
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
The Chronicles of Lorrek--Kelly Blanchard
-Someday I'll Be Redeemed
-I Still Have A Soul
-I'm Still Alive
-Do You Trust Me?
-You Left Me No Choice
-They Must Be Stopped
-Find Me If You Can
-You're Not Alone
-Someday I'll Be Redeemed
-I Still Have A Soul
-I'm Still Alive
-Do You Trust Me?
-You Left Me No Choice
-They Must Be Stopped
-Find Me If You Can
-You're Not Alone
Verona: The Complete Mermaid Tales--Pauline Creeden
-Scales
-Submerged
-Salt
-Surfacing
-Scales
-Submerged
-Salt
-Surfacing
The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
-The Cry of the Firebird
-Ashes of the Firebird
-Rise of the Firebird
-The Cry of the Firebird
-Ashes of the Firebird
-Rise of the Firebird
Tales of the Fallen--Katika Schneider
-Devotion
-Deception
-Devotion
-Deception
The LouisiAngel Series--C. L. Coffey
-Angel in Training
-Angel Eclipsed
-Angel Tormented
-Angel in Training
-Angel Eclipsed
-Angel Tormented
The Time Tree Chronicles--Lisa Rae Morris
-The Emergence
-The Emergence
The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
-The Way
-The Truth
-The Lie
-The Way
-The Truth
-The Lie
