Hello, everyone! Today I have the pleasure of reviewing The Slain Divine by David Dalglish, which is the final book in the Vagrant Gods trilogy. If interested, you can find my thoughts on books one (The Bladed Faith) and two (The Sapphire Altar) in my previous reviews, which are linked to the titles in parentheses. Was this finale all I hoped for? Read on to find out! 🙂

In the thrilling conclusion to USA Today bestselling author David Dalglish’s new epic fantasy trilogy, a usurped prince must master the magic of shadows in order to reclaim his kingdom and his people.

The Everlorn Empire’s grip on Thanet is tighter than ever. The God-Incarnate himself has arrived on its shores to crush the struggling rebellion and carry out his final, sinister act. He will sacrifice the entire island in order to rise, reincarnated from its ashes. 

The rebellion is struggling to separate allies from enemies, and to figure out a way to stop the slow destruction of everything and everyone they care for. Meanwhile, Cyrus is disappearing deeper beneath the vicious mask of the “Vagrant”. Under the mantle of the legendary assassin, he may be strong enough to take down the Empire, but at what cost?

***Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of The Slain Divine via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

There was a lot to like about this series, and The Slain Divine was a fitting conclusion to the story of Thanet and the Vagrant. It had plenty of exciting fights and battles, which is definitely one of Dalglish’s strengths as a writer, and the themes were fascinating and thought-provoking. The end of each character arc made sense, and the way the story wrapped up left the door open for further adventures in this world while also feeling like a whole story had been told. All in all, I was satisfied.

Unfortunately, there were some things that didn’t really work for me in The Slain Divine. The repetitiveness of the plot was the primary factor that kept me from completely loving this book. It just jumped from one fight to the next. The first half of the story was the characters hunting down the God-Incarnate’s children, which seemed redundant given that none of them were as strong as the heir from the previous book. Despite the fights being intense, I never believed the protagonists would lose because they were overpowered compared to their foes. It took me forever to get through the first half of the story because I just didn’t find any of it gripping.

There was also just too much being wrapped up in The Slain Divine, including the final execution of Lucavi’s plan, the return of Dagon, the end of Sinshei’s scheming, and the resolution of each of the protagonists’ arcs. It didn’t help that most of it was crammed into the back half of the book. The end reminded me of The Return of the King with several distinct places that should’ve been an end. This ultimately diluted each climax for me because they were squeezed together one after the other. Dagon’s story, in particular, felt sidelined for most of the book, and his ending felt rushed as it was sandwiched between two other climactic moments that held more weight for me.

All that being said, the latter half of The Slain Divine had me in a choke-hold. It was intense, and I was on the edge of my seat to see how everything would come together in the end. I finally felt scared for the characters and really enjoyed how it all played out.

I also loved how the theme of faith was explored in The Slain Divine and the entire series. It brilliantly illustrated that faith can be used for both good and evil and provide the impetus for growth and destruction depending on how it is wielded. The climax of the book, or one of them at least, was brilliant in the way it showed how forcing one’s faith on others has a tendency to create a residual resentment, or counter-faith, that will come back to bite you eventually. The story also explored the influence of power and its tendency to corrupt even those with noble goals. It tackled the age-old question of whether the end justifies the means in fascinating ways.

I was pleasantly surprised by the characterization of the God-Incarnate Lucavi in The Slain Divine. I wasn’t expecting something so human given how the heir, Galvanis, was portrayed in the previous book. Lucavi’s character provided a fascinating window into the mind of someone raised into godhood and shaped into something awful by the expectations of his ancestors and the world. I honestly wish he’d been explored even more because his story expanded on the history of Everlorn’s faith in such interesting ways. I also really loved Arn and his blossoming relationship with Mari. Arn was such a lovable oaf, and I found myself smiling anytime the two were together on the page.

Overall, The Slain Divine was a good conclusion to the story of the Vagrant Gods. If the second half of the story had been expanded into the entire book, this probably would have been a five star read for me. I struggled so much with the first half, though, which means I rate this one 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Have you read The Slain Divine or any of the other books in this trilogy? What did you think? Let me know down in the comments!