The goddesses and gods have restored King Tel’s magic. His power over dirt, wind, fire, and rain is keener than ever. Still, his people are in danger. The sorcery of the antlered ones has also returned to his exiled brother, Lag. Hungry for power and revenge, Lag will cross any moral boundary to defeat his older brother—and make him suffer in the process. He’ll exploit Tel’s faith, decency, and generous heart to win the advantage in a war that will spill blood over the heart of Feigh. He’ll terrorize unarmed innocents. He’ll use sinful magic to transform the man Tel loves into a weapon.
To end the bloodshed and secure the kingdom, Tel must ready himself to meet his brother and lover on the battlefield and eliminate the threat to peace and justice, whatever the cost. To do that, he’ll need to realize the final confrontation is really with the darkness, tragedy, and grief of his own past. The last war must be won inside himself.
"Fortune has surrounded me with good people".
Gideon E. Wood's The Stagsblood Brother sticks the landing with this incredible conclusion to the Stagsblood Trilogy, where all the loose threads are tied up and the final confrontation between Tel and his sadistic brother takes center place, pushing Tel beyond his limit. He will have to battle with himself and with his own, and make hard decisions that might haunt him; but he might find healing in the end.
This book deals with loss, grief, memory, and healing in such a poignant way. Tel, a recovering alcoholic, must do his best to avoid the lure of the drink when all things seem to go wrong; he has help, from his friends and loved ones, as he battles both himself and the dangers that threaten to tear not only his kingdom apart, but the known world, the cluster of six kingdoms inhabited by different races of humanity who hail from the gods and goddesses. The gods of the Stagsblood Trilogy are very real and passionate and meddle in the human affairs, appearing to Tel ever since the first book; the prophecy that was at the center of the second book takes here new meaning, for an extraordinary and quiet ending where wounds begin to heal and peace might be found.
The world-building keeps being effective and rich, painting the history of the nations, the struggles of the smallfolk, and the powers that control the world in all their irrationality. Lag is a perfect antagonist because he's truly unhinged, stopping at nothing in his quest for blood purity. He maimes and corrupts and revels with childlike delight in the destruction of his own kingdom, showing no remorse and a chilling amorality. The mental torture he subjects his own brother to is painful and difficult to read.
The author course-corrects all the things that prevented the previous books from being truly excellent (especially the second book, that was a step down from the quality of the first while still narrating a beautiful journey of healing), adjusting the way he recounts events and the pace of the book. The heart of his writing, the emotional passages that tear at the reader, he keeps and strengthens, creating a novel that doesn't shy away from the ugly in order to make it beautiful, that uses language at times very crude but always precise. This is a journey in three books, and he doesn't forget what started Tel's emotional journey towards healing, but always keeps it at the forefront of the reader's mind. The decision to tear Tel apart so cruelly in the first novel, followed by the way he begins to give Tel peace in the second, might make some readers decide to pull away, but I admire his decision to show that life doesn't end after a terrible tragedy.
Unfortunately this book is still saddled with numerous typos and small mistakes that take aback and stop the flow of reading, although it's less than in the first two books. But the strength of the narration is so intense that I'm inclined to forgive the lack of proper editing. The author also has a list of trigger warnings on his website, that I urge to check before embarking on this fulfilling but dark journey.
The Stagsblood Brother is a beautiful exploration of grief and healing.
✨ 4.5 stars
📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:
* All the Hidden Paths, by Foz Meadows
for: trauma, healing
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