Athena of Velaris's Reviews > Lightbringer

“Love is the one constant force that no violence or despair can diminish. We must hold onto the light of this truth. Even when the world grows dark. Especially then.”

This novel destroyed me. Absolutely destroyed me. Having completed a reread of the first two books about a week ago, I had just fallen back in with the characters and had grown attached to them and their world all over again. This trilogy as a whole is excellent, and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of fantasy. Lightbringer , which is the final book, takes place about 10 days after Kingsbane ends, and is easy to fall into. More PoV’s are introduced, and though it did take a little while to get used to that, I was grateful for it later on. As a warning, I’m going to talk about some very minor spoilers from the other books in the series, but nothing major will be revealed.

“To rise, first one must burn.”

The characters, especially Rielle, Audric, and Eliana grew so much! Eliana reacted to the torture she faced and changed because of it. Though this seems pretty basic, I’ve read many fantasy books where the characters are not affected by the terror around them. Rielle, as expected, grew more insane and lost herself in her power. Even though this has happened in every other book, it was still heartbreaking to watch her spiraling descent. Audric, after facing heartbreak, changed because of it, and grew into the Lightbringer he was always supposed to be. The side characters (Remy and Ludivine especially), also grew, but if I told you how, the book would be spoiled, so you’ll have to read it to find out.

“Our prayers for so long have been this: May the Queen’s light guide us… But I say that we are the light. We are the salvation we have prayed for! We stand on this earth that is our home, and it is we who will drive from it every creature who would dare try to take it from us!”

The plot was a MASTERPIECE! Every moment weaved together seamlessly with another, and this book was near impossible to put down. Very few parts dragged, and every character’s perspective added to the story in some way. Yes, the time travel was never explained properly, but I’m ignoring that because I loved everything else. The battle scenes were beautifully written, and it was easy to get lost in the world. At the start of every chapter, the author includes quotes from texts that tie into the plot (Saint’s journals, letters, reports, etc) and each quote added layers to the following chapter.

“We all have light and darkness inside us. That is what it means to be human.’
‘And if I am more than human?’ she asked.
‘Then you must carry more of the light, and more of the darkness too, and so must I.’ Eliana tried to smile. ‘That is our burden.”

In summary, the Empirium Trilogy as a whole is a genius work of fiction, full of elemental magic, heart stopping romance, cohesive world-building, stellar characters, betrayal, heartbreak, and politics. Every chapter flies by, and every books stays in your mind long after the final page is turned.