LOCKLANDS - Robert Jackson Bennett


 I've used the term 'epic fantasy' to refer to a style or genre of fantasy before, but Robert Jackson Bennett's Lockland, the conclusions to his The Founders Trilogy, is truly epic in style and heart - not just as a genre description.

Note that you won't want to read this as a stand-alone novel.  It requires prior knowledge of the characters and the world. Being already familiar with this world, I'm not 100% certain how it reads to a newcomer, but just based on how much I needed to recall in order to not feel completely lost, I pity anyone coming fresh to this final volume.

Our heroes are Sancia, Clef, and Berenice. They've worked and fought together before, but this time they take on not just petty criminals and the occasional ruler, but someone with the power of a god. 

Trevanne is our antagonist.  He is powerful and growing more so. He has been using scrivings to control not just the inanimate objects, but the people around him as well.  His goal now is to completely reset all life. To do that, Trevanne needs to open the reset door and Clef is the key (yes, that's a pun, for those of you who've read the other books).

This book doesn't waste any time and jumps right into some action with our heroes apparently on a heist (like their early days), but we sense there's more to it.  The section heading, "The Scriving Wars" lets us know what we're getting in to.

If you know what scriving is.

Here is one of those areas where Bennett relies on prior knowledge of the world. The details of this world were described so clearly in the previous books - it's part of makes a reader want to return, but this book focuses more on the story than the world. Which makes sense, of course, being the third book in the series, we aren't likely to learn too much new about the mechanics of the world. (We do learn some new tricks and new strengths for Clef.)

But despite my perceived shortcomings to the book, my attention was rapt.  If anything, this made me want to go back and read the trilogy, start to finish without years between publications.

Bennett builds truly remarkable worlds with strong, unique characters caught up in epic ... yes, epic ... struggles where the outcomes will determine the path for entire worlds.  If you like fantasy, you must read Robert Jackson Bennett.  If you think you don't like fantasy, you must read Robert Jackson Bennett to really understand what the genre can be.

I would rate this book a 4.5.  But on Goodreads, do I give it five stars or 4? It's not a 5 star book, but it's definitely better than 4.  You read it and decide.

Looking for a good book? Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett completes The Founders Trilogy. This is sad for readers because there is so much we still want to explore in this world, but it's also a joy because we finally get to read more spectacular Bennett writing.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Locklands

author: Robert Jackson Bennett

series: The Founders Trilogy #3

publisher: Del Rey Books

ISBN: 1984820672

hardcover, 496 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in...
Read more

THE WALLED CITY - Ryan Graudin

Image
  Jin and her sister, Mei Yee, were taken and sold and then sent to the lawless Walled City to serve as prostitutes or slaves to anyone willing to pay. Jin managed to escape her captivity, but not the Walled City and she now lurks about, disguised as a boy and is trying to track down the brothel where her sister is still captive. Jin will work odd delivery jobs to earn a small bit of money and hopefully have a legitimate means of coming in contact with her sister's captors.  This is how she meets up with Dai, a mysterious boy who has somehow managed to avoid running with any of the gangs in the city but he seems to have his own unusual connections, which Jon could desperately use if she has any hope of finding Mei Yee. But Dai has his own desperate needs.  The story is told from the different perspectives of each character and we do bounce around quite a bit as the chapters are generally short. This never bothered me, which is slightly unusual as often I find this techni...
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - ...
Read more