Here we are, the final book of the "original" series. Yes, the newer books are still technically part of the same arc, but they were only written after the series was originally declared complete. The whole main looming threat of the Soul Eaters is also concluded in this book, so the newer books might feel more like addons to the story. I don't know, I haven't read them yet, but this will be my last Ancient Darkness review for a while until I get the new books! Spoilers ahead!
After defeating the demonic bear and all the other Soul Eaters, one threat remains: Eostra. She tries her best to taunt the clan and Torak using her magic, but he in turn is all the more determined to face her. Torak's and Renn's friendship is tested one last time and Torak may just bite the dust in the end, but the conflict with Eostra is about to begin.
The last original book, and yeah, it's still really good. I definitely enjoyed it a lot and while I do have my gripes with the villain, it overall is just a pretty dang strong conclusion to the OG books.
Let's get the negative out of the way first: Eostra herself. For her to be the ultimate last villain we had to face is...slightly disappointing. She just doesn't have much of a presence. All we really know about her is that she digs owls and tends to speak in third person. But she doesn't have an interesting personality, interesting interactions with the characters or even a backstory that goes beyond the bare bones of one. We just know that she became a Soul Eater at one point and kidnapped Narrander's son. That's it, no more interesting lore.
Granted, Thiazzi wasn't that great either, but it was at least impressive to see that he managed to manipulate his way into not one but two clans. And Seshru and Tenris both had interesting interactions with the main characters due to being related to them. Eostra herself just feels like a stock villain with nothing really to her.
That said, the rest was great. I liked visiting the more mountainous areas once more, I liked seeing Torak being willing to risk everything (even his peace in the afterlife in case he were to die) to just get rid of Eostra, I liked seeing his and Renn's relationship develop, I liked seeing Wolf and his family recover after the heartbreaking attack, I liked seeing the budding friendships between the main cast and Dark, and I liked the main cast finally deciding that their fate lies beyond the known borders of the forest and mountains, with them leaving the Ravens in search for their own adventures.
For a book that was originally a conclusion, this still pretty dang strong. The only thing that really didn't work for me was our final villain. Still, I look forward to seeing what adventures Torak and his crew get up to in the last three books!
Rating: 4/5
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