Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

There was no way I was going to wait to read Legacy of a Hated God. I have loved the Mennik Thorn series since I first picked it up, so the moment the e-arc landed I started reading…and I may have read it again since then while waiting for that stunning cover to be revealed yesterday. I was also trying to delay the inevitable of saying goodbye to this series, and more importantly to Nik – a character that I have felt the need to wrap in blankets and lock away for his own good many times over the last few years. It’s always bittersweet reaching the climax of a series, and even more so when it has one of your favourite characters, and there is always that question of how everything is going to be wrapped up.

Brilliantly, as it transpires.

Legacy of a Hated God encapsulates everything that has made this series so great but turns it up yet another notch. This book sees Agatos, and everything that simmers beneath its surface cut open, letting everything that has festered and built up well up and see the light of day. Samphire’s worldbuilding for this series has always been fantastic, but here it is simply spectacular, as threads and hints that have been scattered throughout the books fed into the unravelling events. We got to learn more about the history of the city, about the web of connections between those in power and more about the Ash guard and their role in the city. Honestly, after two read throughs I’m in awe of what Samphire has achieved in this last book, and I want to sit down and reread the entire series so I can see it all as a whole because this was a series climax to be savoured.

There were also new elements, which added to the already complex layers of Agatos.  Firstly, the idea of a religion built around hating your god is absolutely brilliant, if not a little self-contradictory – which is why I loved it so much. And the mystery that was built around it was as devious and twisty as any that Nik has solved and had me guessing (often wrongly) right until the very end and was a wonderful way of showing Nik at his very best and most chaotic.

Then there was the Warrens. This location that has been so central to the story, really stepped into the limelight here, as the powder keg was exposed to open flame. This was where the story really shone for me, because this was something so central to Nik’s history, to his friendship with Benny, and his relationship with his mother and the weight of his step-father’s death, and here Samphire takes us right down into the depths of what makes the Warrens what it is, into the friction between the Warrens and the rest of the city, and the truth of the Wren.

Previously, while tendrils of the events Nik has faced have stretched out across Agatos they’ve felt more localised. Perhaps because we follow Nik and see his involvement and role in the ensuing chaos, but in Legacy of a Hated God, it feels like the scope of the chaos has hit a whole other level. A fitting crescendo for the end of the series, and one that had me on the edge of the city – because disaster has always been close, but this time… this time there was a feeling of inevitability.

‘No gods, mages, or monsters. How many times had I told myself that? It was bad enough to get involved with the Brythanii priest. This? It was insanity.’

Oh Nik, when will you ever learn? I was less than 30% into this one and already torn between wrapping him up for his own protection and slapping him silly. How this idiot manages to get into trouble is an art form all of its own, and I love that has remained a core of the story through all four books. One thing you can absolutely say about Nik is that his heart is in the right place. His brain…not so much. Maybe that is why he makes for such a compelling character, because you just want to cheer for this underdog wading through situations that he finds himself stumbling into. But Nik is so much more than that, and while he remains very much an idiot – we’ve seen him grow a lot over the course of the series, and that was truly evident in this book. He’s still messy. Still working through the shadow of expectations and his own actions, but through it all he stepped up and forward.

It was always hard to imagine how his story would end, other than in disaster – probably of his own making, or at least his own involvement as to be fair he doesn’t start the trouble he just falls headfirst into it.

We get to see more of Benny and Sereh, and oh my goodness do I love Serah and if there are any future stories, I hope we get to see more of her, and this book reminds us of why you don’t want to meet her in a dark alley. It was great to have them centre stage again, and to see Nik trying his best to bridge the gap between them, while juggling about a dozen things at once. Benny I’ve always found an interesting counterpart to Nik, they’re both flint and flame to one another, a friendship that can be strong as iron and as volatile as oil next to open flame, and that was very true here. And I think it’s safe to say Nik is not the only idiot in this duo.

“You only come here for two things, Nik. Questions or favours, and I know even you’re not asking for a favour right now.”

We also get to enjoy familiar faces with Captain Gale once again being a voice of reason and knowledge, and I still love the unlikely friendship between her and Nik and the fact that there is someone who tries to get him to walk away from the events he finds himself in. There was one raw moment that had me wincing, although it was one that had been built up across the series, so it absolutely had to happen. We also have more of Mica and her and Nik’s mother, and I have to say the events involving them in the latter part of the book were fantastic – it redeemed their mother just a little bit (and was both awe-inspiring and terrifying), and it felt fitting that with truths being revealed, and the Warrens and it’s secrets overspilling into the streets of Agatos, that these two had their moments to shine. Kehsereen was another returning face, and I’m glad that he stayed around – although not sure he is the safest influence on Nik, as he was an all too willing accomplice, but I enjoyed seeing the thread of his story continue, and his efforts to find an alternative to Ash to help his nephew.

Ilenoi was a fantastic addition to this colourful cast of characters, it was interesting to see someone who had been completely separate from all the past events, and Nik’s childhood, being drawn into his circle. It also felt fitting for a story that saw Agatos almost from a bird-eye-view, and I loved that like Gale she looked at the disaster that was Nik and still wanted to help and honestly, Ilenoi is all of us readers who have wanted to wrap him in a blanket to protect him from his own idiocy.

And of course, we can’t forget the best boy – although I have to admit I had doubts about Nik being given responsibility for a dog (and I think Sereh agreed with me).

Legacy of a Hated God is a fantastic capstone to what is easily one of my favourite stories and tied up Nik’s story in a truly fitting way, while leaving Agatos as a living, breathing, chaotic city whose story would continue long beyond the closing of the book. Samphire did a spectacular job of tying up threads new and old, including some that I hadn’t expected to see again, while also upping the ante all the way along. There was no stopping this ride once I was on it, Nik’s misadventures sweeping me along from start to finish, and it was an absolute joy to read even in the moments that had me on the edge of my seat and expecting the worst.

If you haven’t picked up the Mennik Thorn series, then what are you waiting for? This series has it all – heists and Gods, a chaotic, idiotic mage with a heart bigger than he can handle, and spectacular worldbuilding. What more could you want?