Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Pattern of the World by J. T. Greathouse, which is the final book in the Pact and Pattern trilogy. I enjoyed the first two books quite a bit and have been looking forward to finally getting to finish the series. Be sure to check out my reviews of book one and book two for all my thoughts on them. Did the finale live up to my expectations? Read on to find out!

THE PACTS HAVE BEEN BROKEN. THE REBELLION HAS FAILED.

Foolish Cur has fallen into a trap. By resorting to forbidden magic when he failed to overthrow the Emperor, he has done exactly as the gods wanted. Now they are free to wage their war, twisting the world into new forms, as strange and terrible beasts walk the earth.

To fix what he has caused will take every ounce of Foolish Cur’s cunning. But mending the pattern of the world is too large a task for one man alone. As the Empire, rebellion and the landscape itself crumble, he and those still fighting for freedom will be drawn together to end the struggle against Emperor Tenet and the gods for good.

But Foolish Cur does not know what such a task will ask of him. And, powerful though he may be, the costs may be more than he is willing to pay . . .

***Thank you to JAB Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

My thoughts about The Pattern of the World are incredibly mixed, and I’m honestly not sure if it is a me thing or an actual deficit in the story. Maybe it’s a bit of both. There was plenty to like, especially if you enjoyed the first two books, but I just never wanted to pick the book back up. It took me over a week to finish it, which is a really long time considering how quickly I usually read.

I’ll start with some of the things I enjoyed. First, The Pattern of the World added so much to my understanding of the world-building of this series. I now have a much better grasp on how the magic works, and this story provided some fascinating information about the history of the gods, their origin, and the seemingly endless war they’ve raged. Some of the descriptions did get a bit too cerebral at times, which made it hard for me to picture some of the magic and events, but the writing, in general, was superb, which should come as no surprise.

The Pattern of the World also continued Greathouse’s beautiful examination of these characters. Just like the second book, this one follows multiple POVs, and each of them had a significant arc with a great deal of growth. Alder was still my favorite, and I liked that he had learned from his mistakes but also still struggled to go against his nature to implement those lessons. He had to accept the sacrifice of the things he wanted most in the world to fix the horrible consequences of his previous actions. Pinion’s journey of dealing with his grief and desire for revenge and Koro Ha’s road to accepting his new power and role of hope-bringer to his people were also both compelling.

The place where The Pattern of the World fell short was the story and its pacing. There was so much philosophizing, and it seemed like the entire book was spent on characters talking about deciding what they should do. The world was literally falling apart around them, but we only got a few glimpses of the mayhem because they just sat in a safe city and squabbled. I kept waiting for the characters to come together and DO SOMETHING, which didn’t happen until the very end. When it finally came, the end made sense, but it was definitely lackluster. I also wish anyone else had helped Alder because my least favorite character played a larger role than I’d have liked.

Overall, there were things I liked and disliked about The Pattern of the World. It definitely wasn’t my favorite book in this series, but it brought the character arcs to a logical and mostly satisfying conclusion. Make sure to read the epilogue. The ending was way too abrupt without it. I just wish there had been a little less talking and a bit more action in this one. Therefore, I rate The Pattern of the World 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Have you read The Pattern of the World or any of the other Pact and Pattern books? Let me know what you thought down in the comments!