Review Day: Storm Forge by Paige L. Christie

There are no major spoilers in this review.

Storm Forge is the last book in the four-book series, Legacies of Arnan by Paige L. Christie. It delivers from start to finish, weaving all of the threads from the first three books into a perfect conclusion while simultaneously elevating the earlier books into something more than they already were with new layers and hidden context. I couldn't put this book down (I finished it in a weekend), and appreciated the tale so much that I immediately purchased a complete physical set to grace my bookshelf for future rereads.

Time has always been a key aspect of how this story is told. The earlier books offered us glimpses of the main characters, Cleod, Leiel, and Kilras, through vignettes spanning over forty years. Yet in the course of the first three books, only a few weeks had passed in the period we might label as the present. This lack of forward momentum definitely frustrated me at the time, but it was necessary for the final book. Each of the earlier books weaves a unique layer of new understanding into a tightly-wound flywheel until the pressure is almost unbearable.

Storm Forge finally allows that flywheel to spin out of control, and the chaos doesn't stop until its final pages. The characters continue to adapt and evolve, and each one is given the space to shine in climactic moments. I was constantly surprised by the direction of the plot in each chapter, and even more impressed by how many callbacks to earlier events were crucial to my appreciation -- this conclusion would not have been nearly as impactful if the earlier books had been any differently crafted.

This under-the-radar series deserves recognition as a masterpiece on par with any of the more visible bestsellers. If you enjoyed any earlier part of this series, you'll want to finish it. If you're a new reader intrigued by the idea of a series where the damsel in distress might not actually want to be saved, try the first book, Draigon Weather -- you will not be disappointed! With the concluding volume, Paige L. Christie has expertly fitted the capstone on a tightly-plotted, deeply moving series about friendship, hope, and the power of change.