REVIEW: The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi
After delivering one hell of a debut in The Final Strife and following that up with one of the strongest sequels in The Battle Drum, Saara El-Arifi had set the bar incredibly high for the epic conclusion in The Ending Fire. Now war has officially arrived at the Wardens’ Empires shores, and we are launched into a slightly messy but bloody satisfying finale that pulls zero punches and delivers tragedy and triumph in equal measure.
Look, El-Arifi proved to me in the first two books of this series that she is already a true master at her craft, but we all know that it’s rare for a finale to perfectly stick the landing, let alone a finale to a debut series. Needless to say, I went into The Ending Fire equally nervous and excited, hoping against all hope that all my favourite chaos queers would get their happy ending.
In many ways, I think The Ending Fire contained all the best elements of this visionary series and delivered on what was promised and set up in the first two books. Much like in the second instalment, our favourite perfectly imperfect characters find themselves separated against their will, fighting their own battles both within and without. Sylah and Hassa find themselves navigating the dangerous politics within the Wardens’ Empire where a mysterious vigilante is stirring up trouble, Jond is trying to bring war allies from overseas, and Anoor is taking up her role as the prophesied Child of Fire under the Zalaam’s oppressive thumb.
Now, I think these characters would be the first to admit that they are anything but perfect, but that relatable human messiness is exactly what made me love them so much in the first two instalments. However, in The Ending Fire, I felt like some of their satisfying and well-earned character growth was almost reversed a bit, and they started to test my patience just slightly too much with their questionable and frustrating actions. Moreover, while I appreciated how the separation of the characters in The Battle Drum allowed the world to expand and the characters’ individual arcs to shine, I personally thought it started to hinder both the development of the interpersonal relationships and my personal emotional investment in The Ending Fire.
Especially Anoor’s storyline in this finale had me feeling a bit conflicted, despite the fact that I deeply appreciate what El-Arifi tried to do with her character. The exploration of religious zealotry, cultism and indoctrination was quite powerfully executed, but her gullibility and ignorance just felt a bit too convenient and unbelievable for how savvy she had proven to be in the first two books. And as a result of Anoor’s tragic circumstances, I felt like a large part of Sylah’s entire personality was reduced to little more than “I am Anoor’s lover and I need to save her because there is no world and life without her”, which I found understandable for her character but nevertheless slightly disappointing.
Luckily, I could count on my girl Hassa to pull me through the rocky moments, and she just absolutely stole the show for me once again. The way that she continues to fight (in the shadows) through so much adversity despite her limitations was so empowering to see, and I honestly think she has the best character arc of anyone in this entire trilogy. Though while I personally wouldn’t hesitate to say that The Ending Fire is Hassa’s book, I also feel like I have to give some credit to Jond. See, I was stunned by how much I came to really enjoy Jond’s perspective in this finale, and I consider that a huge testament to El-Arifi’s skill as an author considering how much I loathed him in the first (and part of the second) book. His dynamic with Kara really entertained me, and their romantic tension proved to be a nice counterbalance to the unending yearning from Sylah and Anoor.
As the big climax drew near and the threatening (but undeniably cool) innovative blood magic creations/weapons were geared up for an epicly devastating showdown, I found myself getting surprisingly anxious and emotional over the fates of these characters despite my exasperation with them for large parts of this book. El-Arifi did a magnificent job of weaving together all the loose plot threads, resolving both the internal and external conflicts in a surprising but satisfying way. And although I was personally not the biggest fan of how messy and anti-climactic the final battle felt due to the sudden switch to perspectives from people we had never seen before, I can appreciate such a bold storytelling move and ultimately liked how it showcased the devastating impact of the war on all the little people outside of our (anti)-heroes’ lives.
Despite some of my quibbles with the execution of this finale, I can’t deny that I absolutely devoured this finale and found it to be a fittingly imperfect and beautifully bittersweet conclusion to The Ending Fire trilogy. Seeing how far these scarred characters have come since we first met them in The Final Strife tugged on my heartstrings in all the most unexpected ways, and I truly think El-Arifi succeeded in pulling off her ambitious vision for this story. I absolutely consider this one of my favourite series, and I will always be grateful to El-Arifi for helping change the landscape of the fantasy genre to a more diverse and inclusive space to escape into.
So, if you like the sound of a brutally dark yet delightfully fun fantasy tale set in a richly immersive African/Arabian-inspired world full of conspiracies and secrets, featuring beautifully queer and diverse characters who are way too snarky for their own good, and brimming with fascinating blood magic that will excite, delight, and freak you the fuck out, then I can’t recommend The Ending Fire trilogy highly enough. This is a journey I won’t soon forget.
Read The Ending Fire by Saara El-ArifiThe post REVIEW: The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.
