At times, this volume feels rather anticlimactic to the previous books in the Warlord series, The Winter King and Enemy of God. That’s probably to be expected, as the highlights of Arthur’s career were told in those books. But his story wasn’t over, nor was that of Derfel Cadarn, our narrator who is one of Arthur’s most trusted men.

Loose ends are tied up, storylines come together so that Derfel can rest. There are even still some surprises and twists that we don’t see coming. The tragedies in this one might not hit as close to the heart as in the previous books, but the tone of the entire novel carries a sense of foreboding as we seem to be headed towards the end of the world as Arthur knew it.

It’s a satisfying conclusion to a memorable trilogy, bringing the legend of Arthur and 5th century Britain to a new level of epic storytelling.