REVIEW: Only a Grave Will Do by James Lloyd Dulin
Well, I don’t know if I finished Only a Grave Will Do or if it finished me, but safe to say that James Lloyd Dulin absolutely nailed this epic finale to the Malitu series. I mean, THIS is how you write a satisfying and emotionally resonant ending; it’s not perfect, it’s not neat, and it’s definitely not a wholly glorious ‘happily ever after’, but the fact that it is so brutally honest and tragically fitting only makes it all the more powerful and outstanding to me. What can I say, I will always be a sucker for emotional turmoil and destruction.
“Tomorrow always seemed like a given until today turned bloody.”
To me, this finale just takes all the best elements of the first two novels (and prequel novella), and takes it up a notch. Dulin’s soulful and emotionally evocative prose full of its beautiful metaphors is somehow stronger than ever before, and I think the split timeline storytelling which smoothly travels back and forth between Current Day Ennea and Kaylo’s Story (which he is telling to Tayen) really reaches its peak power here in Only a Grave Will Do. The power of stories/storytelling has always been at the heart of this series, and I loved seeing how the theme of “we are the stories we tell ourselves, even the lies” that was established all the way in book 1 came full circle here. We really get to see these characters fight tooth and nail to take back control of their own narrative, on both a personal and nation-wide level, even if that meant making devastating sacrifices in order to break the cycles of oppression, tragedy and violence.
“It was Kaylo’s own damn fault. He had spent his life getting into trouble, especially when he tried to avoid it. He had made himself into a story. Everyone had this idea that he knew what they didn’t– that he could fight back the daemons. He wasn’t as reliable as the stories.”
But what I appreciated most about this finale, and this series as a whole, is that it never beats you over the head with its core themes and messages. Yes, this is an anti-colonisation narrative, but it never forgets that its Kaylo and Tayen’s story first and foremost. Their individual and shared growth over the year (or years, in Kaylo’s case) that we have spent with them since the start of No Heart for a Thief is one of the most beautiful character journeys I have ever witnessed, especially because it is so messy and frustrating and heartbreaking and heartwarming and just incredibly moving all at once. Like, everyone’s beloved broody trauma magnet Fitzchivalry Farseer has nothing on Kaylo, just saying.
“Every turn under occupation weathered away more of our culture. They enforced ideals, taught their history, and reworked our cities into facsimiles of their own. They didn’t even have to be subtle, just consistent for long enough. In a few generations, my people would forget their heritage. They would become more Gousht than Ennean.”
Moreover, the motley crew side cast that started to build in No Safe Haven also absolutely gets their time to shine in Only a Grave Will Do, and I loved exploring the different lengths that people were willing to go to protect themselves and their loved ones. Even though the Gousht colonisers are indisputably the villains of this story, this is anything but a black/white conflict. The Enneans/the Uprising are never presented as a perfect homogenous group, and I loved seeing the difficult clashes between people who should seemingly be on the same side, simply because they have different lines that they are (not) willing to cross. These are not empty vessels with the popular ‘morally gray’ label slapped on; they are real humans just trying to survive in a world that is out to get them.
“These people weren’t an army. They weren’t a clan or a family either. The cruelty of some pale fucks from across the ocean had driven them together in a clash of pain, trauma, and grief.”
I mean, I think the best testament I can give to Dulin’s incredibly strong character work is that I somehow managed to forget that I usually don’t even enjoy rebellion narratives, because I just felt so deeply emotionally invested in these characters and their missions. And sure, some of the minor side characters from Kaylo’s past might have gotten lost in my memory a bit, but I think that is more of a me-problem rather than a flaw of Dulin’s writing. For me, the standouts aside from Kaylo and Tayen were without a doubt Nix, Sosun, and our ‘bad guy’ Wal (who gets a few POV chapters of his own, which were SO good and which made me feel all the complicated feels), and I loved how they were just as emotionally complex as our main dynamic duo. Also, Wal and Nix are truly the king and queen of snark, and their sardonic comments constantly had me chuckling despite all the darkness and despair.
“We are fighting a war. Violence is a tool, but we can never become it. We would only turn into another version of the Gousht.”
Now, the pacing of Only a Grave Will Do is maybe a bit uneven with its slower start and bombastic ending, but I personally could not stop turning the pages and I just loved the gradual build-up of anticipatory dread as the Uprising prepared for their biggest and boldest move(s) against their Gousht oppressors yet. Moreover, the way that Dulin was able to interweave all the internal and external conflicts of this story made the intense climax all the more impactful, and please do not get me started on the revelations around the lore of the Spirits and the powerful role of the mystical spirit magic in the unfolding of this war; just masterful storytelling, period.
“The past was nothing more than a story. And like a story, it had ended. Right here and now, he could begin a new story. Kaylo could make this story something different. For Tayen, he had to.”
There’s no denying that Dulin’s vision for the Malitu series was daring and incredibly ambitious, but I think he more than did this story and these characters justice in the end.
It’s both extremely timely and tragically timeless in its honest and confronting exploration of hard-hitting real life issues surrounding war, colonisation, displacement, loss and the depravity of humanity, but then it somehow also manages to provide a safe space to escape into a fantasy world full of beautiful culture and breathtaking wonder. And if that isn’t the true magic of fiction/fantasy, then I don’t know what is.
“Sometimes winning is making sure there is a tomorrow for someone else”
Only a Grave Will Do absolutely wrecked me, and I love it all the more for it. It’s a finale full of painful growth, bittersweet reunions, regretful reflections, brutal sacrifices, and devastating losses, but most of all, it is a finale that showcases the immense resilience of the human spirit. This might be Dulin’s debut series, but I think he already deserves to be up there with Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin in terms of soul-stirring (and emotionally destructive) human storytelling through a wonderful fantastical lens. Kaylo, Tayen and the rest of this motley crew of scarred (but not scared) rebels have left a deep mark on my soul, and they can live rent-free in my heart forever more. What a journey.
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