David Mealing concludes his shaggy god Ascension Cycle trilogy with a resounding crash. I think it is a work of genius. On another plane, the Soul of the World(paper) can be manipulated by various gods who once were human. Vail, the goddess of Life and Regnant, the God of death, have a contest every thousand years with three champions . If Vail wins the Earth is lush and green. If the Regnant wins, people live in dark caves barely surviving. The first book introduced Sarine, a street artist with a magical lizard Zi who lets her draw strength from magic and Erris, a genius general whose magical powers let her link with aids around the battlefield. She’s been winning battles for the new democracy, but running into a political storm. There’s also Tigai who not only can teleport, but restore himself after being wounded. Three previous champions have cheated, killing the new champions so they can win for Veil and keep the sun shining. To do so they have sapped the Blood of the Gods (paper) and have killed Vail. Sarine doesn’t realize that she is the new body for the goddess and is supposed to be replaced. In the final tale the Chains of the Earth (paper from Orbit) have to be broken in the plane of the Earth’s Soul with the help of other gods like the sun and the moon.I had to buy the second book and don’t regret it at all.

This book took some time in coming but glad I have the chance to finish the journey. I regret not doing a reread of Blood of the Gods before reading this book though. I really didn't remember that book to well and that affected my enjoyment of reading this book somewhat. This final book in the trilogy was long and the cast of characters was sort of overwhelming in some ways. I think a reread will be needed to fully experience and enjoy this series. This is undertaking that could be intimidating for some, but it is one that could be a very fun time. The story was a little convoluted and confusing at times but it's time well spent figuring ti all out. There are so many little surprises that happen throughout this story that make this book and series a great read. I loved all the different magic systems and action. I did not care for Erris in this book but I think I liked her more in the first book and as I don't really remember the second book that much. Sarine was my favorite character in the entire series I think. The cast of characters I am sure there will be those who readers will love and hate as well. This is series a that is not simple and easy to read in some ways but well worth it to try. Look forward to doing a reread in the future.

Truly a magnificent ending to one of the more underrated fantasy series out there. I feel like this trilogy gets little to no attention and that really is tragic because the story is one of the best I've ever read, the magic is on a whole other level, and the worldbuilding is entirely creative and unique. I had high expectations for this book because the previous two were so incredibly amazing. And it more than exceeded all of them I'm happy to say. If you haven't read these books yet you really should get on that because you are missing out on a fantastic series that is beautifully written. I'll have more to say on the blog in the coming weeks.