The Killing Light

July 22, 2019
Cole concludes his Jeanne d’Arc–meets–Fullmetal Alchemist saga in signature pull-no-punches style, albeit with some emotional flattening. Humankind’s existential foes, the devils, have leaped through the world’s wizardry-torn Veil, and 16-year-old Heloise Factor is the only one with a hope of stopping them. As she collects followers ranging from ragged villagers to a professional foreign army, her efforts trigger factionalism, and the already high body count continues to rise. Heloise’s quixotic goal is to take the imperial capital, but what sacrifice will be required to keep her ragtag forces together? Cole occasionally allows himself to retroactively endow scenes from prior books with meaning that was not apparent at the time, such as Heloise’s immolation of the traitor Sigir. Presented as pure, vengeful satisfaction in the Queen of Crows (2018), it is recast here as having created an emotional “yawning gulf” in Heloise. These moments do not ring wholly true, but the rest of the story makes up for them. Cole has brought this trilogy home with hard insight, maintaining the high standard set from the start.

Starred review from September 1, 2019

Sixteen-year-old Heloise is on her way to the Imperial capital to confront the emperor and finally destroy the murderous Order that devastated her and her village. Tenuously allied with her group are the Traveling People and Red Lords, but allies in conviction do not always lead to harmony. When devils in incredible numbers arrive through a rent in the veil between worlds, the bloody destruction they cause touches all factions, allies and foes alike. To save her people and world, Heloise joins forces with the one person she holds accountable for the path they are on: Brother Tone. From her growing feelings for the Hapti knife-caster Xilyka and her struggle with the men surrounding her, to her questions of faith and fears of what is outside her war-machine armor, Heloise is both familiar and fantastical. VERDICT This final volume of the "Sacred Throne" trilogy (after Queen of Crows) will wreck your emotions in the worst and best ways. Writing intelligent, intense prose, Cole delivers vivid worldbuilding in a story brimming with religious and military fervor and ruthless action, offering a stunning conclusion to Heloise's journey.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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