I am thrilled to have just read Tear the World Apart, the fourth installment in the Fallen Gods series. Like a certain growing wolf pup, this book is a big boy. It’s packed with politics, love, betrayal, regret, grief, war, and the lingering smell of a ripe swamp full of corpses.
Quick warning: this review contains spoilers!
We last left off with Flowridia having just executed the resurrection of her lover, Ayla using the blood of the silver fire from the slain empress of Solvira. The two quickly realize that Ayla inherited the silver fire and all of its powers, lending them the ability to return to Solvira with Ayla impersonating the fallen empress. Such a scheme led for a heavy amount of tension throughout. I was just waiting for things to fall to hell.
While Flowers and Ayla are playing royalty, Etolie and Khastra set out to find the God of Order to take him down on their own. This seems like a good idea at first but then quickly flies south. However, it does land Etloie in Celestiere for the mother-daughter reunion I had been hoping for. The scenes where Etolie and Staella are working on their relationship provided a nice cut in the surrounding tension.
I don’t want to focus too much more on plot in this review since so much happens. I’d rather recognize the exciting achievements this novel brought to the table. We get the pay-off here from the slow build-up of Flowridia’s character evolution in the last three books. Instead of merely benefitting from circumstances surrounding her, Flowridia accepts that she will have to commit questionable actions in order to fight for what she wants. The battles between her and Casvir for Solvira were epic. I love a well-executed drastic character arc. In terms of character depth, besides more of Etolie, we also get Ayla’s backstory which led to a greater understanding of her actions and behaviors.
Though the God of Order wasn’t too present in this book, I felt his explanation of his quest really elevated the story for me. By the time I finished reading Tear the World Apart, I had a much clearer view of all the moving parts and motivations. I could see more possible mistakes and regrets and felt even more intrigue at what was to happen next. If dark fantasy is your game, the Fallen Gods series is worth checking out. I am hyped for the next two books of this series!