Ruin and Rising is the third and final book in Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone Trilogy. I also listened to this in audiobook format, narrated by Lauren Fortgang.
Here is the blurb:
The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.
So this final book in the series brought everything together to quite a satisfying conclusion. I had guessed some aspects of the ending but not enough to spoil anything about it. I particularly like stories where the magic and the history come full circle and resolve something about the world, and this book certainly satisfies in that respect.
I don’t want to spoil anything by saying more here, but if you enjoyed the first two books, you will likely appreciate this conclusion.
For my review of book 1, Shadow and Bone, look here. Or for book 2, Siege and Storm, look here.
Have you read the whole series? What did you think? Please let me know in the comments.
Find more of my book reviews here.
Selection Error – a flash fiction story podcast by Utopia Science Fiction Magazine in December 2022