An adrenaline-fueled ending to a fantastic series. A truly desolately hopeful fantasy.

Crowfall is book 3 of Ed McDonald’s debut series, Raven’s Mark, and the final(?) journey of Ryhalt Galharrow. And what a journey it has been. Seeing the way Ed has developed the character across the trials and tribulations of these 3 books has been a pleasure, and the narrator Colin Mace should be applauded for bringing Galharrow to life in such a fantastic way.

Book 3 skips ahead a bit of time and we start with Galharrow living in and off the Misery, a desolate wasteland of misshapen horrors, physics gone awry, and wild stray magic. It deals with the endgame from the outset, and though there are a few diversions, never loses sight of the epic final confrontation it builds to all the way.

Ed has a philosophically poetical way with the prose that reminds me of Mark Lawrence. Rarely a page goes by without a line that needs further consideration, not just for the meaning, but also for the way the words run together to give the meaning a delivery that hits home.

I always struggle to review book 3s of a series, but suffice it to say I loved this one almost as much as the previous 2 books. The philosophising occasionally got a bit out of hand, but that’s only a minor gripe in the scheme of things. A fantastic end to a fantastic series. 5 stars and well earned.