The Forsaken Throne by Jeff Wheeler

The Forsaken Throne (Kingfountain, #6)

by Jeff Wheeler

In the thrilling conclusion to the Wall Street Journal bestselling Kingfountain Series, a conflicted champion must navigate a treacherous world to secure the peace.

A devastating disaster has left the Forbidden Court in ashes, its fountains destroyed, and its magic at risk. It was destined as the site of Trynne Kiskaddon’s coronation as empress. Now, all Trynne can imagine is the roar of flames, the cries of Gahalatine’s people, and the smell of cinders in a city gone dark. Tragic as the threat to Kingfountain is, it’s nowhere near as foul as the treachery posed by Morwenna. Saboteur, conspirator, and full-blood sister of the king, she is prepared to set forth a wave of destruction that will eliminate everything that stands between her and possession of the throne.

But Trynne has her weapons, too—her magic, her resilience, her skills at intrigue, and especially, Fallon. The man who once swore his allegiance to Morwenna now stands by Trynne’s side as they venture into the unknown to protect those they love, reunite with a family scattered by diabolical forces, and safeguard a kingdom…as well as the destiny the Fountain has for each of them.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Forsaken Throne is the 6th (final?) book in Jeff Wheeler's Kingfountain series. The series is an epic multi-book fantasy with some crossworld tie-ins from the author's other series. There are several interconnected storylines, most of which are tied up in this, possibly final, installment.

I enjoyed reading this one a lot and seeing how the storyline would unfold and resolve, though, as other reviewers have mentioned, the pain that the heroine Trynne suffered seemed unending. Lady of Sorrows, indeed. Building a rapport with characters only to see them pushed and broken and betrayed over and over again felt wearying to me and I often took a pause for a few days. This was not a read-in-one-sitting book for me. I liked it very much that she was emphatically not a pampered soft and pliable princess. She is honorable and, frankly, pretty badass.

By my rough reckoning, the main series includes well over 2000 pages; that's a lot of room to develop a world and characters. The plotlines are in my opinion, certainly worthy of the epic scale of the books. I never had problems keeping the characters straight in my head, though I wouldn't suggest this book as a standalone, especially to people who aren't die-hard epic fantasy fans.

Though I would certainly class this series as comfortably inside the fantasy genre, it's not the same sort of gritty massively epic fantasy of G.R.R. Martin or Joe Abercrombie, full of pitched battles and people disemboweling one another. Never fear though, there's lots of evil magic vs. good magic, betrayal, sacrifice and dishonesty. I liked the ending a lot, without spoiling anything.

Four stars for this installment and four for the series as a whole. I'll be picking up his other books.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

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