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Kingdom of the Serpent #3
Destroyer of Worlds
It is the beginning of the end ...The end of the axe-age, the sword-age, leading to the passing of gods and men from the universe. As all the ancient prophecies fall into place, the final battle rages, on Earth, across Faerie, and into the land of the dead. Jack Churchill, Champion of Existence, must lead the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in a last, desperate assault on the Fortress of the Enemy, to confront the ultimate incarnation of destruction: the Burning Man. It is humanity's only chance to avert the coming extinction. At his back is an army of gods culled from the world's great mythologies - Greek, Norse, Chinese, Aztec, and more. But will even that be enough? Driven to the brink by betrayal, sacrifice and death, his allies fear Jack may instead bring about the very devastation he is trying to prevent ...
387 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2009
About the author
Mark Chadbourn
67 books221 followersA two-time winner of the prestigious British Fantasy Award, Mark has published his epic, imaginative novels in many countries around the world. He grew up in the mining community of the English Midlands, and was the first person in his family to go to university. After studying Economic History at Leeds, he became a successful journalist, writing for several of the UK's renowned national newspapers as well as contributing to magazines and TV.
When his first short story won Fear magazine's Best New Author award, he was snapped up by an agent and subsequently published his first novel, Underground, a supernatural thriller set in the coalfields of his youth. Quitting journalism to become a full-time author, he has written stories which have transcended genre boundaries, but is perhaps best known in the fantasy field.
Mark has also forged a parallel career as a screenwriter with many hours of produced work for British television. He is a writer for BBC Drama, and is also developing new shows for the UK and US.
An expert on British folklore and mythology, he has held several varied and colourful jobs, including independent record company boss, band manager, production line worker, engineer's 'mate', and media consultant.
Having travelled extensively around the world, he has now settled in a rambling house in the middle of a forest not far from where he was born.
When his first short story won Fear magazine's Best New Author award, he was snapped up by an agent and subsequently published his first novel, Underground, a supernatural thriller set in the coalfields of his youth. Quitting journalism to become a full-time author, he has written stories which have transcended genre boundaries, but is perhaps best known in the fantasy field.
Mark has also forged a parallel career as a screenwriter with many hours of produced work for British television. He is a writer for BBC Drama, and is also developing new shows for the UK and US.
An expert on British folklore and mythology, he has held several varied and colourful jobs, including independent record company boss, band manager, production line worker, engineer's 'mate', and media consultant.
Having travelled extensively around the world, he has now settled in a rambling house in the middle of a forest not far from where he was born.
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December 24, 2022Synopsis
It is the beginning of the end . . . The end of the axe-age, the sword-age, leading to the passing of gods and men from the universe. As all the ancient prophecies fall into place, the final battle rages, on Earth, across Faerie, and into the land of the dead. Jack Churchill, Champion of Existence, must lead the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in a last, desperate assault on the Fortress of the Enemy, to confront the ultimate incarnation of destruction: the Burning Man. It is humanity’s only chance to avert the coming extinction. At his back is an army of gods culled from the world’s great mythologies – Greek, Norse, Chinese, Aztec, and more. But will even that be enough? Driven to the brink by betrayal, sacrifice and death, his allies fear Jack may instead bring about the very devastation he is trying to prevent . . .
CONTAINS SPOILERS – Summary is SPOILER FREE
I can’t say this enough – though I’m going to be very careful this review is most likely going to CONTAINS SPOILERS so you have been warned. The Summary is spoiler free.
Comments/Thoughts/Analysis
Before I start with Destroyer of Worlds I want to take you back a bit. The wonder of Amazon is that you can check on when you bought things. And when you look at a particular books it reminds you that you have them. So if I look at Worlds End it says:
You purchased this item on 28 Jun 2001
and after I finished reading it I put this on Twitter at 3.05pm 16 March:
So that was the end of @Chadbourn’s 9 Vol sequence – am sad and happy – bloody brilliant – the end is the beginning! I’m blown away.
Why am I saying this? Well it’s the final book of a sequence of three trilogies: The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age and Kingdom of the Serpent. And one I’ve been reading for almost nine years so I’m more than invested in its outcome.
So was it worth the wait? Undoubtably. I’d read it again right now from the beginning. And I probably will though I’ll be reading the Pyr Books editions rather than the Gollancz ones. But that’s OK as the Pyr covers are stunning. I’d better get back to this book.
By the time we reach the end the stakes for our original Brother and Sisters of Dragons (Jack, Ruth, Veitch, Shavi and Laura) is literally the end of the world. We’ve know each of them intimately. We’ve seem them all change, adapt, grow and die. We’ve been through all their struggles and challenges.
But even then Chadbourn manages to do something surprising with them. They and the people that have joined them along the way like Tom, Hunter, Hal, Catlin to name a few. He shows us that nothing is black or white and we always have a choice.
We can accept the world around us or we can strive to change it. Sometimes we don’t think we’ve succeeded but by trying we’ve actually achieved more than we thought and we put in motion changes that will ultimately help us and those around us.
And there are lots of lessons about life and living. Some characters die. And I was saddened by each of their deaths. They weren’t always happy but their stories and lives will stay with me.
Chadbourn has built up his skill of using the patterns in myth and their parallels and connections to build his story after focusing on Celtic myth for most of the sequence we now have the other great Dominions making a stand with humanity. He gives them the same injection of personality and individuality that he does for every other character. I love his version of Thor.
Most of the screen time is spent with following several interchanging groups of characters as they go about their various tasks. Chadbourn keeps everything tight and relevant. He creates pauses in action when needed to give the characters a small time for processing and rebalancing before setting them off again.
He also takes them down different routes than you might expect. There are some startling revelations. But in the end as it has from the beginning it boils down to the relationships between the characters and the choices they make. They aren’t your normal heroes but they are what normal people become when they become heroes.
Summary
It’s the end. All the other books have been building up to this point. Not all characters survive. And none are the people the same as they were at the start.
Chadbourn skilfully pulls the threads of myth and weaves them into his own powerful and penetrative tale about our potential as individuals to be more than fragile creatures.
Chadbourn leaves on a high and a hint that the end is also the beginning.
A perfect ending to a series that requires almost immediate rereading to enjoy the journey all over again.
It is the beginning of the end . . . The end of the axe-age, the sword-age, leading to the passing of gods and men from the universe. As all the ancient prophecies fall into place, the final battle rages, on Earth, across Faerie, and into the land of the dead. Jack Churchill, Champion of Existence, must lead the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in a last, desperate assault on the Fortress of the Enemy, to confront the ultimate incarnation of destruction: the Burning Man. It is humanity’s only chance to avert the coming extinction. At his back is an army of gods culled from the world’s great mythologies – Greek, Norse, Chinese, Aztec, and more. But will even that be enough? Driven to the brink by betrayal, sacrifice and death, his allies fear Jack may instead bring about the very devastation he is trying to prevent . . .
CONTAINS SPOILERS – Summary is SPOILER FREE
I can’t say this enough – though I’m going to be very careful this review is most likely going to CONTAINS SPOILERS so you have been warned. The Summary is spoiler free.
Comments/Thoughts/Analysis
Before I start with Destroyer of Worlds I want to take you back a bit. The wonder of Amazon is that you can check on when you bought things. And when you look at a particular books it reminds you that you have them. So if I look at Worlds End it says:
You purchased this item on 28 Jun 2001
and after I finished reading it I put this on Twitter at 3.05pm 16 March:
So that was the end of @Chadbourn’s 9 Vol sequence – am sad and happy – bloody brilliant – the end is the beginning! I’m blown away.
Why am I saying this? Well it’s the final book of a sequence of three trilogies: The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age and Kingdom of the Serpent. And one I’ve been reading for almost nine years so I’m more than invested in its outcome.
So was it worth the wait? Undoubtably. I’d read it again right now from the beginning. And I probably will though I’ll be reading the Pyr Books editions rather than the Gollancz ones. But that’s OK as the Pyr covers are stunning. I’d better get back to this book.
By the time we reach the end the stakes for our original Brother and Sisters of Dragons (Jack, Ruth, Veitch, Shavi and Laura) is literally the end of the world. We’ve know each of them intimately. We’ve seem them all change, adapt, grow and die. We’ve been through all their struggles and challenges.
But even then Chadbourn manages to do something surprising with them. They and the people that have joined them along the way like Tom, Hunter, Hal, Catlin to name a few. He shows us that nothing is black or white and we always have a choice.
We can accept the world around us or we can strive to change it. Sometimes we don’t think we’ve succeeded but by trying we’ve actually achieved more than we thought and we put in motion changes that will ultimately help us and those around us.
And there are lots of lessons about life and living. Some characters die. And I was saddened by each of their deaths. They weren’t always happy but their stories and lives will stay with me.
Chadbourn has built up his skill of using the patterns in myth and their parallels and connections to build his story after focusing on Celtic myth for most of the sequence we now have the other great Dominions making a stand with humanity. He gives them the same injection of personality and individuality that he does for every other character. I love his version of Thor.
Most of the screen time is spent with following several interchanging groups of characters as they go about their various tasks. Chadbourn keeps everything tight and relevant. He creates pauses in action when needed to give the characters a small time for processing and rebalancing before setting them off again.
He also takes them down different routes than you might expect. There are some startling revelations. But in the end as it has from the beginning it boils down to the relationships between the characters and the choices they make. They aren’t your normal heroes but they are what normal people become when they become heroes.
Summary
It’s the end. All the other books have been building up to this point. Not all characters survive. And none are the people the same as they were at the start.
Chadbourn skilfully pulls the threads of myth and weaves them into his own powerful and penetrative tale about our potential as individuals to be more than fragile creatures.
Chadbourn leaves on a high and a hint that the end is also the beginning.
A perfect ending to a series that requires almost immediate rereading to enjoy the journey all over again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2018
Jack Churchill and his allies have gathered the keys of existence, traveling Faeire, Earth, and the Land of the Dead. The forces of anti-life have continued their assault on existence itself though, and even the army of gods gathered by The Brothers and Sisters of Dragons have recruited from cultures across the world cannot stop the onslaught.
Ultimately, it's the relationships between Jack and his allies, their fears, betrayals, and whether Jack can find a way to stop him from becoming the dark future self who has been dogging him for thousands of years, and now seeks to destroy all of life that Jack desperately tries to save.
As the final installment in the third trilogy, Destroyer of Worlds not only wraps up all of the loose ends from throughout the series, but provides answers to long seeded mysteries in a satisfactory way, and makes reaching the end to a reality spanning series well worth it.
Ultimately, it's the relationships between Jack and his allies, their fears, betrayals, and whether Jack can find a way to stop him from becoming the dark future self who has been dogging him for thousands of years, and now seeks to destroy all of life that Jack desperately tries to save.
As the final installment in the third trilogy, Destroyer of Worlds not only wraps up all of the loose ends from throughout the series, but provides answers to long seeded mysteries in a satisfactory way, and makes reaching the end to a reality spanning series well worth it.
June 23, 2024
I left this book unfinished for 6 years! I didn’t want it to end and I finally decided one day that it was time. I carved through the rest with a feverish speed.
I would’ve given this one 5 stars but this book almost had too many threads. Mark still managed to tie up the loose ends on a 9 book series with beauty and grace but in the end I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I did the others. Still a great book and sad it’s over
I would’ve given this one 5 stars but this book almost had too many threads. Mark still managed to tie up the loose ends on a 9 book series with beauty and grace but in the end I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I did the others. Still a great book and sad it’s over
May 29, 2018
I honestly can't finish this..... Normally I hate not finishing a book.... but after the first two.... I have no desire to find out how it ends and I am not inspired to keep reading.
It has had so many amazing reviews and I'm glad all these people loved it...
But life is too short to keep reading a book that you aren't enjoying :(
It has had so many amazing reviews and I'm glad all these people loved it...
But life is too short to keep reading a book that you aren't enjoying :(
December 27, 2017
Full review here:
http://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/2...
Honestly, when I set out to read these last year, I was expecting something else. What I got was something different but well worth the time investment.
http://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/2...
Honestly, when I set out to read these last year, I was expecting something else. What I got was something different but well worth the time investment.
April 22, 2012
If you have traveled with the whole crew, you have the character you most identify with already in mind. Their strengths and weakness’, loves and hates are pretty clearly defined for you already. If that is the case, you believe you can skip the prologue. I would recommend not skipping it. Even if you have read all the previous books there might be some connections you have missed. After all this is an epic that starts around 2500 BC and goes up to our present day and goes from our world to the lands of Summer and the world of the dead. Just a lot to try to keep up with. Luckily for us, Mark Chadbourn does an excellent job as guide for the entire trip. Like with life, even with all the challenges (both every day and heroic) that our adventurers face it turns out that even the small decisions have consequences, many of which are unforeseen (even if done with the best of intentions). In the end, it is a normal bloke to borrow a phrase) that makes the difference. This book is an excellent end to the series and continues to play with the timeless themes and philosophical questions. I came away feeling a little sad, as though I had been through a catharsis and also feeling very philosophical. © Night Owl Reviews
April 2, 2015
This marks an unfortunate return to the Mary-Sue-ism of the first book; while the Jedi are returning from all sides, poor Church is discovering that the only person who might vaguely be able to challenge him is...himself. I liked the final battle, which was a bit like The Ultimate Showdown (of Ultimate History), but I was a bit disappointed by the ending. However, having been on the whole nine-book journey with the original Brothers and Sisters, I have to say that I'd definitely recommend them as an innovative series which is enjoyable and memorable; particularly the Age of Misrule trilogy.
January 24, 2010
I can't recommend this series enough, it is definitely up there in my top trilogies of all time along with Lord of the Rings. The final book is a brilliant read in itself and a fitting finale to the Destroyer of World trilogy. I don't often award the five stars, but Kingdom of the Serpent certainly deserves it.
Despite not yet reading the preceding two trilogies by Chadbourn, I did not feel left out at all. I plan to return to these later!
Despite not yet reading the preceding two trilogies by Chadbourn, I did not feel left out at all. I plan to return to these later!
July 6, 2010
I don't like being beaten over the head with maudlin, repetitious descriptions of characters I've read about in 2 previous books. However, the science seemed interesting albeit probably not accurate. I really wanted to like this book more since it finishes two different trilogies, but finally I wound up saying, "Yada, yada, yada," several times just to finish. Honestly, I'd rather just vomit and get it over with.
September 7, 2014
The finale of the best series I have read. The Brothers and Sisters of Dragons are ordinary flawed people whom existence has chosen to fight on its behalf. It challenges every idea about reality while weaving history, mythology and folklore into a wonderful tale. Books you can read again and again and again, always finding new concepts and hidden meanings. I'd recommend them to anyone
July 15, 2012
I probably would have rated this higher had I read it closer to when I finished the first 2 trilogies. At that time, The Kingdom of the Serpent was out of print. I will be definitely rereading all 9 books as a whole, and expect it to be more coherent.
June 3, 2012
Great book to end this trilogy of trilogies, best books using Celtic mythology in the real world I've read. But the VERY ending was not awesome. I could see what he was getting at but it was a little too cursory. Still, worth reading.
February 20, 2015
A satisfying conclusion to a journey I started 11 years ago. All the lose ends are tied up, and the questions that remain are not bothersome ones. A great series that has been very thought provoking and thrilling!
October 9, 2016
Took a long time to read this one because I was distracted with many other things but in the end I was disappointed with the last few pages that marked the ending. I enjoyed the character interaction and the suspense but the final pages didn't give me that wow factor.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews