Heloise and her allies are marching on the Imperial Capital. The villagers, the Kipti, and the Red Lords are united only in their loyalty to Heloise, though dissenting voices are many and they are loud.

The unstable alliance faces internal conflicts and external strife, yet they’re united in their common goal. But when the first of the devils start pouring through a rent in the veil between worlds, Heloise must strike a bargain with an unlikely ally, or doom her people to death and her world to ruin. Well, fuck.

I knew The Killing Light was going to shatter me emotionally, just like the first two books in Myke Cole’s brilliant Sacred Throne trilogy did. And here we are. This trilogy is…oof…it’s a beautiful & brutal masterpiece. All three of these books thrilled me, broke my heart into little tiny pieces, and just made me feel…everything.

It’s book three in a trilogy. It’s hard to review & keep it spoiler free, so although I’ll do my best, if you haven’t read The Armored Saint and The Queen of Crows, and you plan to, here’s where you should bail out.

Ok?

Ok.

Heloise continues to lead a mishmash army, all marching towards the Capital. So many different people, from so many different walks of life, all (mostly) united in their support for Heloise. But the journey becomes almost immediately unbearable, as snow beats down upon the caravan.

And then the devils arrive. Because of course they do.

Creating action sequences where you can just barely stand to turn the page, because your stomach is in fucking knots…like…maybe I’ll just stop reading. Because I don’t want to know what’s going to happen. But then of course…you turn the page. I feel like Myke Cole’s ability to write scenes with this kind of tension, with so much on the line…it’s just amazing. Outside of certain scenes in Joe Abercrombie’s books, and Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor series, I’m not sure I’ve ever been as uneasy as I was during the action sequences across all the Sacred Throne books.

This third volume finds Heloise still struggling with her role as a leader, but pushing forward regardless. Her relationship with Xilyka continues to grow, just as her relationship with Onas continues to sour. Heloise goes through a tremendous amount of growth in a relatively short amount of time over these books, and it’s really incredible to think of her at the beginning of The Armored Saint, compared to who she’s become in The Killing Light.

One of the more interesting elements explored in this book was just how attached Heloise has become to the war machine. To the point that the idea of coming out of it is a source of tremendous anxiety for her.

Over the course of these three novellas, Myke Cole has absolutely brutalized Heloise Factor. I can’t think of a protagonist that’s gone through more physical & emotional pain than her, quite honestly. And she just…fucking endures. I mean, goddamn…sometimes I wished she’d just stay down & quit. But that’s not Heloise. At all. She really is one of my favorite characters in fantasy.

I knew almost immediately after starting The Armored Saint that this series was going to be something special. That it would become a favorite of mine. And it for sure has. The Sacred Throne trilogy is bleak & brutal, but also so fucking beautiful & full of hope. I sincerely wish that somehow, we’ll get to see more of this world (and I REALLY would love to see a gorgeous omnibus edition of these books down the road!). But if that’s not the case, The Killing Light is a perfect finale. It’s bloody, gritty, emotionally devastating, and also achingly romantic. I’m in awe of what Myke Cole has achieved with these books.

Also, all three covers for this series are fucking fantastic! The first two were from Tommy Arnold but Chris McGrath did The Killing Light. I adore all three, but I think The Killing Light is my favorite!

Huge thanks to TOR.COM PUBLISHING for the copy! The Killing Light releases November 12th!!