As her own governors plot treason, the Shardless Few renew hostilities. Worse still, Lin discovers her old nemesis Nisong has joined forces with the rogue Alanga, Ragan. Both seek her death.
Yet hopes lies in history. Legend tells of seven mythic swords, forged in centuries past. If Lin can find them before her enemies, she may yet be able to turn the tide.
If she fails, the Sukai dynasty – and the entire empire – will fall.
As ever, the list of trilogies/series to finish grows longer all the time. Will 2024 be the year I finally stop just saying I’m going to focus on finishing unread series & you know…actually do the thing?
Debatable. Probably not. We’ll see.
But I was way overdue to finish up Andrea Stewart’s THE DROWNING EMPIRE trilogy! I remember falling completely in love with THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER when it was released, and dang…taken as a whole, this trilogy has been absolutely epic & heartbreaking. Oof.
I think with all said & done, I’ll always be most partial to THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER. But Stewart does an incredible job wrapping things up in THE BONE SHARD WAR, capping off what has been one of my favorite fantasy trilogies of the last few years!
There’s a slight time jump between the end of THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR & the beginning of THE BONE SHARD WAR, I think just a couple years.
I loved that Phalue had stayed by Lin’s side all this time, to continue Lin’s training. Despite the pull back towards Ranami & Ayesh, Phalue is definitely a character who will finish what she starts, in this instance helping Lin embrace her inner badass.
Lin is still trying to find her way as Emperor, and to become a completely different ruler than her father ever was. She’s a character that exhaustively tries to reinvent herself, and to do the right thing. But the politics of this world can be slippery at best, and it’s a struggle for her. Lin will always be the beating heart of THE DROWNING EMPIRE, and she’s for sure my favorite character of the trilogy.
I think there was a lot more for me to grab onto with Nisong’s storyline in this one. I remember struggling a bit with her chapters in THE BONE SHARD EMPEROR, but here she comes across much more sympathetic & relatable at times. The way her story is intertwined with Lin’s is pretty fucking epic, all things considered.
Against all odds, Mephi (and all the ossalen) continue to grow & evolve. These are massive animals at this point of the trilogy, and also so completely instrumental to story…oof. It’s a really cool progression over the three books from like…” oh wow, cute talking animals!” to “damn, these creatures are the backbone of the whole story!”
This is a massively ambitious trilogy & I think Andrea Stewart pulled it off beautifully. It’s richly imagined fantasy world that doesn’t feel like anything else I’ve read, with a really fascinating magic system that doesn’t require too much of the reader. And these books have such vibrant characters…Jovis & Mephi, Ranami & Phalue, Lin & Nisong…they’re all so wonderfully messy & lifelike.
I’m really glad to have finished this trilogy & I’m eagerly awaiting Andrea Stewart’s next series, THE GODS BELOW!
Huge thanks to Orbit for sending THE BONE SHARD WAR my way!
Grimdark Dad 
I loved this review!! I feel many of the same things. This series just made me feel so many emotions.
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