**Warning: This post may have spoilers from the earlier books in these series. Check out my reviews for books 1 and 2 in these series if you want to know more about them.
Intro
After the events of Of Dawn and Darkness and Of Darkness and Dawn, you would think that things could not ramp up much more than they already had, but Wight is able to crank up the scale once again in these conclusions to the Elder Empire series. The smoldering tensions in the previous books have blown up into a full-on guild war. Which side will emerge victorious? Will the empire survive? What happens if the two guild alliances are not the only sides in the war?
I decided to read these after enjoying the earlier books in these parallel series. If you missed my review of the first four books, the brief description is that these books tell the stories of two individuals on different sides of an emerging conflict. You can choose to read just one of the two trilogies and get a complete story, or you can choose to read both and get a fuller picture of the events in this fantasy world.
Kings and Killers were written by Will Wight (author’s website and Amazon profile with his other books) and released on the same day, July 7, 2020. The books are both medium-length with Kings being 414 pages long and Killers being 392 pages. Like with the first four books, I read Calder’s story first and started with Kings.
Read on for a detailed breakdown, or click here to jump to the conclusion.
“We’re all locked in the same burning house. It benefits no one to fight while the flames rise.”
– Baldezar Kern
Plot
Continuing the trend from previous books, these concluding books do an alternating past/present structure to the plot. However, the past sections do not follow the main protagonists as much as in the previous books; rather, they flesh out the world by giving backstory and telling histories of some of the side characters. I got the feeling that Wight had wrapped up the background for the main characters enough in the first two books that they did not need to be explored as much in these books.
Since the past events were more scattered, they did not have much of a cohesive plot of their own, and they served more to supplement the present events chapters. The supplemental material was not strictly necessary, but it did help with the fleshing out of some of the promises that were made in the second books. In the second books in these series, I could see the groundwork being laid for bringing in more parties outside of the main guild war factions, and the past segments of these third books help fulfill and explain those promises from the second books.
In the present, the plotting for both Killers and Kings starts off explosive. These books move along at a much quicker pace than Dawn and Darkness (those books have a fairly slow pace that I critiqued in my review). The guild war flames up right at the beginning. Gone is the plodding groundwork of the second books, and here is enough action and overpowered character fights to suit any superhero movie.
When reviewing the second books, I remarked that the conflict seems artificial. Now, with some of the answers and motivations he gives, the guild war seems more justified. I think the second books and the series as a whole would have been well-served by moving some of the groundwork in this book into those second books to give some explanations a little earlier.
Further plot review contains spoilers:
Spoilers
The plot of these books ends, as expected, with a big showdown. However, the showdown is not between the two sides of the guild wars. Rather, the guilds have all joined together and are battling some of the Elders in an attempt to prevent the utter destruction of the world. This plotline was definitely a suitable close for a series so expansive in its scope.
My main critique here is that the final battle does rely a lot on knowledge from the paired book. I read through Kings first and was a little confused by some of the final events until I was able to read the alternate perspective in Killers. Similarly, Killers had aspects that I know I would not have understood without having read Kings first. This one section really ruined the entire “separate but connected” aspect of the parallel trilogies and kind of forces readers into reading both rather than choosing just one and enjoying it.
Worldbuilding/Series Connection
Worldbuilding continues to be the series’ main strength. With each book, the scope of the plot and the size of the world ramp up in a pleasing way. We go from personal/small team conflicts in the first book to guilds/small army conflicts in the second books and then to massive civil war/interference from powerful magical creatures in the third books. I like to see a series gradually grow its scope while maintaining the individual focus on the main characters, and I think Wight managed that here. He provides us with a solid expansion of the already large world he crafted in the first two books in the trilogies.
Characters
These final books do a great job with characters. Wight has managed to correct most of the issues I had with the second books. As I mentioned in the plot review, he gave a lot of the side characters deeper motivations that explain a lot of the unclear motivations in the second books. After reading these final books, I believe I would enjoy the second books more. It is a pity those second books felt like such a slog since he was lacking these important clarifications in them.
He also corrected the gripe I had with the main characters. Calder and Shera both grow a lot through these final books, and we can see much more clearly the path he was taking them on from the beginning. Both of those characters seemed to stall out in the second books, but they took on new life in the third books and were much more enjoyable to read.
My only real complaint about the characters is the arc for Calder’s wife, Jyrine. Without going into details (for spoiler reasons), I really did not like where he took her character. Further details are in the spoiler section below:
Spoilers
I really wanted to see Jyrine have a redemption arc. Calder so obviously adores her, and I really wanted to see him redeem her at the end and fight alongside rather than against her. Honestly, this issue is not a problem with the characterization; it is just not my preference. What can I say? I am a sucker for a good story about a guy who loves his wife.
Prose
The prose in the books is once more a strong point. Wight’s language is vivid and engaging without being overly complex. These books are very readable books, and the prose matches the style he is going for.
Conclusion
Unlike the previous books, I am not super conflicted in my review. These final books are a payoff worth the wait and the downsides present in some of the earlier books. Wight continues his strengths in prose and worldbuilding and addresses some of the weaknesses in plot and characterization. I can fully recommend them to anyone wanting a swashbuckling fantasy adventure tale.
You should read this if …
- You have read the other books in the series. If you are getting bored with the second books, just continue on! These books make up for any slow points in those second books.
- You want some solid payoffs for promises made earlier in the series
