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The Last Rune #4
Blood of Mystery
From an acclaimed new master of fantasy fiction comes Book Four in the continuing saga of magic, adventure, courage, and fate on parallel worlds–mystical Eldh and modern Earth.
Blood of Mystery
A twist of time has left Runebreaker Travis Wilder and three of his otherworldly friends stranded on 1880s Earth in a lawless Colorado mining town. As they search for a way back to their own time, Grace Beckett–in present-day Eldh–journeys to a frozen kingdom where she learns her own terrifying to oppose the Pale King and his monstrous army in the coming cataclysmic battle that will decide
Eldh’s future forever.
If the Pale King emerges victorious, his master Mohg, the dread Lord of Nightfall, will return from exile, break the First Rune, and remake Eldh in his own dark image. And Earth itself, Eldh’s sister world, will be the next to fall under shadow.
Even if Travis returns to Eldh in time to align his calling as Runebreaker with Grace’s destiny as Blademender, how can two mere humans hope to defeat an evil more ancient than any world, more powerful than all existence?
Blood of Mystery
A twist of time has left Runebreaker Travis Wilder and three of his otherworldly friends stranded on 1880s Earth in a lawless Colorado mining town. As they search for a way back to their own time, Grace Beckett–in present-day Eldh–journeys to a frozen kingdom where she learns her own terrifying to oppose the Pale King and his monstrous army in the coming cataclysmic battle that will decide
Eldh’s future forever.
If the Pale King emerges victorious, his master Mohg, the dread Lord of Nightfall, will return from exile, break the First Rune, and remake Eldh in his own dark image. And Earth itself, Eldh’s sister world, will be the next to fall under shadow.
Even if Travis returns to Eldh in time to align his calling as Runebreaker with Grace’s destiny as Blademender, how can two mere humans hope to defeat an evil more ancient than any world, more powerful than all existence?
579 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 26, 2002
16 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Mark Anthony
43 books192 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Mark Anthony learned to love both books and mountains during childhood summers spent in a Colorado ghost town.
Later he was trained as a paleoanthropologist but along the way grew interested in a different sort of human evolution—the symbolic progress reflected in myth and the literature of the fantastic. He undertook Beyond the Pale to explore the idea that reason and wonder need not exist in conflict.
Mark Anthony lives and writes in Colorado, where he is currently at work on his next writing project.
Also writes under Galen Beckett.
Mark Anthony learned to love both books and mountains during childhood summers spent in a Colorado ghost town.
Later he was trained as a paleoanthropologist but along the way grew interested in a different sort of human evolution—the symbolic progress reflected in myth and the literature of the fantastic. He undertook Beyond the Pale to explore the idea that reason and wonder need not exist in conflict.
Mark Anthony lives and writes in Colorado, where he is currently at work on his next writing project.
Also writes under Galen Beckett.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 2, 2017
Finally. The first book in this series, I can give 4 stars to without cringing for a moment! Of course there were still some tiny things I had problems with, which is why it doesn't get 5 stars, but overall I'm pretty happy with this book.
I've now accepted that these books strive on seperating the group of main characters, so that we can have as many different POVs as possible in as many different locations. It was a bit frustrating while reading still, but at least this time I equally enjoyed all the main locations (probably because none was present Earth for a change).
This time we go with Grace on an adventure in the snow to find a broken sword (which sounds so much less dangerous than it actually was), travel back to Calavere with Aryn to find out whom she's supposed to marry (a predictable, but no less enjoyable choice!) and follow Travis back to Earth around 120 years ago (Wild West story!).
Of course all the other main characters are neatly devided into these three groups, which worked surprisingly well! There are so many friendships I value so much more now, like Travis, Durge and Lirith or Grace and Beltan.
But let me get one thing out of the way: For most of the book I still hated Vani. That feeling turned into mere dislike towards the end of the book, but that still makes her my least favorite character in this series. It's not just because her appearance brought us that damn love triangle, it's also because through the whole book, Grace (a character we are supposed to agree with - which I do usually) was annoyed with Vani and Beltan not getting along and she (and the narrative) always told us they're equally bad... when that was simply not true. Glaring daggers at someone and maybe asking: "What is she doing here?" is simply not in the same league going from needling someone about their weight or generally question their usefulness to taking jabs at killing their father under a spell. That's just such an asshole move, I think I swore out loud while reading it.
And this is the person Travis supposedly counts as one of his most important people. Oh, please.
(If the love had been one sided, I would have much less beef with this love triangle to be honest.)
Of course she also didn't deserve what happened to her due the course of this book and her thoughts about it did soften me to her a bit. Still. I don't know what I'm supposed to think about this character.
Meanwhile, I never thought that I would enjoy Aryn so much again after the first book. While I still liked her, I had some mixed emotions about her since she started to have that existential witch crisis.
Her POV also brought us Prince Teravian, King Boreas' son, who is a lurking cloud of sarcastic doom. I love him.
And who would have thought hat Travis, Durge, Lirith and Sareth would work so well together? I really didn't expect that I would enjoy their scenes so much. They comforted and supported each other (without any love triangles happening!). A toast to friendships!
I also have to confess that I'm not super familiar with the USA of 1880, but I also liked their location. Of course there were difficulties (Well, Lirith being a black woman and Sareth basically belonging to a fantasy equivalent of the Sinti and Roma, was bound to raise a few bigoted hackles), but I'll take the friendly characters from the past any time over the ones from present Earth.
Of course all our heroes encountered evil beings - human and not (quite) human (anymore) - and probably wondered what they did to deserve this year of dangerous adventures, but really... what makes these books for me is the friendship between the characters. They all love each other and they actually TELL each other exactly that. It's refreshing.
My only quibble (despite Vani's genereal existence) is actually that one can tell when the author goes into LecturingTM mode (which luckily doesn't happen all that often in such a blatant way, usually his characters are just refreshingly open minded) or when something gets repeated (again and again) that the reader already knows. We don't need to be told stuff that happened 100 pages ago. Or hell, even from the last book (there are valid reminders and there are just no brainers ).
I've now accepted that these books strive on seperating the group of main characters, so that we can have as many different POVs as possible in as many different locations. It was a bit frustrating while reading still, but at least this time I equally enjoyed all the main locations (probably because none was present Earth for a change).
This time we go with Grace on an adventure in the snow to find a broken sword (which sounds so much less dangerous than it actually was), travel back to Calavere with Aryn to find out whom she's supposed to marry (a predictable, but no less enjoyable choice!) and follow Travis back to Earth around 120 years ago (Wild West story!).
Of course all the other main characters are neatly devided into these three groups, which worked surprisingly well! There are so many friendships I value so much more now, like Travis, Durge and Lirith or Grace and Beltan.
But let me get one thing out of the way: For most of the book I still hated Vani. That feeling turned into mere dislike towards the end of the book, but that still makes her my least favorite character in this series. It's not just because her appearance brought us that damn love triangle, it's also because through the whole book, Grace (a character we are supposed to agree with - which I do usually) was annoyed with Vani and Beltan not getting along and she (and the narrative) always told us they're equally bad... when that was simply not true. Glaring daggers at someone and maybe asking: "What is she doing here?" is simply not in the same league going from needling someone about their weight or generally question their usefulness to taking jabs at killing their father under a spell. That's just such an asshole move, I think I swore out loud while reading it.
And this is the person Travis supposedly counts as one of his most important people. Oh, please.
(If the love had been one sided, I would have much less beef with this love triangle to be honest.)
Of course she also didn't deserve what happened to her due the course of this book and her thoughts about it did soften me to her a bit. Still. I don't know what I'm supposed to think about this character.
Meanwhile, I never thought that I would enjoy Aryn so much again after the first book. While I still liked her, I had some mixed emotions about her since she started to have that existential witch crisis.
Her POV also brought us Prince Teravian, King Boreas' son, who is a lurking cloud of sarcastic doom. I love him.
And who would have thought hat Travis, Durge, Lirith and Sareth would work so well together? I really didn't expect that I would enjoy their scenes so much. They comforted and supported each other (without any love triangles happening!). A toast to friendships!
I also have to confess that I'm not super familiar with the USA of 1880, but I also liked their location. Of course there were difficulties (Well, Lirith being a black woman and Sareth basically belonging to a fantasy equivalent of the Sinti and Roma, was bound to raise a few bigoted hackles), but I'll take the friendly characters from the past any time over the ones from present Earth.
Of course all our heroes encountered evil beings - human and not (quite) human (anymore) - and probably wondered what they did to deserve this year of dangerous adventures, but really... what makes these books for me is the friendship between the characters. They all love each other and they actually TELL each other exactly that. It's refreshing.
My only quibble (despite Vani's genereal existence) is actually that one can tell when the author goes into LecturingTM mode (which luckily doesn't happen all that often in such a blatant way, usually his characters are just refreshingly open minded) or when something gets repeated (again and again) that the reader already knows. We don't need to be told stuff that happened 100 pages ago. Or hell, even from the last book (there are valid reminders and there are just no brainers ).
August 31, 2007
This was the last of the 'Last Rune' books that I read. The protagonist seriously looked like he was going for a queer relationship in the end of the third book, and I was really delighted, because the previous two books seemed to be heading that way in a bumbling, sweet sort of way (against a backdrop of Magic, Oppression, A Doomed Land and Team of Saviours etc). And then, he dropped it like a lead balloon. Instead a deeply annoying woman was shoe-horned into the story from nowhere, and foisted onto the hero as a love interest.
I wasn't convinced by the character, by the developments, or by the complacency of everyone. The story, frankly, was (if you hadn't already guessed) a rather formulaic Quest fantasy, with a certain amount (and I may be misremembering) of switching between our world and theirs. I've read much better. I liked the relationship between the two men -- friendship as I thought, and when it turned slashy I was surprised but pleasantly so -- and it was the only reason I kept reading something that was otherwise turning gloomy and interminable (four books and no end in sight).
Perhaps the author has changed his mind again, but alas, I was not prepared to chance it.
I wasn't convinced by the character, by the developments, or by the complacency of everyone. The story, frankly, was (if you hadn't already guessed) a rather formulaic Quest fantasy, with a certain amount (and I may be misremembering) of switching between our world and theirs. I've read much better. I liked the relationship between the two men -- friendship as I thought, and when it turned slashy I was surprised but pleasantly so -- and it was the only reason I kept reading something that was otherwise turning gloomy and interminable (four books and no end in sight).
Perhaps the author has changed his mind again, but alas, I was not prepared to chance it.
January 3, 2015
"I really liked it."
First of the books I finished in my back convalescence period!
This is the fourth book in The Last Rune series of six, and I'm devastated that I'm now more than half done. I'm enjoying these books so much more than I ever thought I would, like, wow. In Blood of Mystery, the core group has been split in two by the aftereffects of the black hole in Tarras. Grace, Beltan, Falken, Aryn, Melia, and Vani are still in modern Eldh, while Travis, Lirith, Durge, and Sareth have all accidentally traveled back in time to 19th century Earth where they find themselves stranded in Gold Rush Colorado. They can get back to Eldh, but not to modern Eldh, which does them no good. The group fractures even further, when Aryn receives word that a marriage has been arranged for her, and Melia accompanies her back to Calavere where she meets her husband to be, who is definitely not who I expected it to be -- suffice to say it's a character we've met before and not one I expected to be a love interest for Aryn.
Splitting the cast up made me nervous at first, but it ended up being a good idea. The whole group still hasn't reunited by the end of the book, and it gave the characters a lot of time to bond with one another one on one and build relationships that hadn't really existed before. Specifically, it was nice to see Falken, Beltan, and Vani, characters who are really tied to Travis, interacting chiefly with Grace and not with Travis at all, and vice versa for Durge and Lirith. The cast has also been getting frankly just huge, and chopping it up into groups helped keep the size manageable.
I enjoyed all three plots a lot, but damn if, as always, the Earth stuff didn't just sing. I adored Travis's adventures in the Old West. It was amazing seeing all these figures from Castle City history that I'd heard about and remembered from before being onscreen and real. I gasped when Maud introduced herself as Ladyspur! The weirdness of the sorceror's magic, as always, felt more threatening and raw in the real world, and I really enjoyed seeing how the real world treated Anthony's cast of queer not-white people. One thing I really enjoy about these books is how the presence of real world knowledge and the juxaposition between medieval horror and modern convenience lets Anthony actually address social issues with a lens that isn't different from our own.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY I DIDN'T LOVE THE OTHER STORIES. Grace's felt a little episodic but that was cool, I especially enjoyed the reveals about the Onyx Knights and Grace's growing sexuality, and I was so relieved to see Aryn getting some character growth that wasn't at all related to Durge, and an age appropriate love interest, hurray.
Also, I continue to be pretty much okay with how things in the Beltan/Vani/Travis triangle are handled. Vani and Travis's connection is one of obligation affecting reality where Beltan and Travis's is truly love. And that's cool with me. The scenes with Beltan and Vani on the ship and their relationship were really interesting.
This isn't as fresh in my mind as I wish it was because I finished it over a week ago boo but yes! Love these books, wish they could go on forever.
First of the books I finished in my back convalescence period!
This is the fourth book in The Last Rune series of six, and I'm devastated that I'm now more than half done. I'm enjoying these books so much more than I ever thought I would, like, wow. In Blood of Mystery, the core group has been split in two by the aftereffects of the black hole in Tarras. Grace, Beltan, Falken, Aryn, Melia, and Vani are still in modern Eldh, while Travis, Lirith, Durge, and Sareth have all accidentally traveled back in time to 19th century Earth where they find themselves stranded in Gold Rush Colorado. They can get back to Eldh, but not to modern Eldh, which does them no good. The group fractures even further, when Aryn receives word that a marriage has been arranged for her, and Melia accompanies her back to Calavere where she meets her husband to be, who is definitely not who I expected it to be -- suffice to say it's a character we've met before and not one I expected to be a love interest for Aryn.
Splitting the cast up made me nervous at first, but it ended up being a good idea. The whole group still hasn't reunited by the end of the book, and it gave the characters a lot of time to bond with one another one on one and build relationships that hadn't really existed before. Specifically, it was nice to see Falken, Beltan, and Vani, characters who are really tied to Travis, interacting chiefly with Grace and not with Travis at all, and vice versa for Durge and Lirith. The cast has also been getting frankly just huge, and chopping it up into groups helped keep the size manageable.
I enjoyed all three plots a lot, but damn if, as always, the Earth stuff didn't just sing. I adored Travis's adventures in the Old West. It was amazing seeing all these figures from Castle City history that I'd heard about and remembered from before being onscreen and real. I gasped when Maud introduced herself as Ladyspur! The weirdness of the sorceror's magic, as always, felt more threatening and raw in the real world, and I really enjoyed seeing how the real world treated Anthony's cast of queer not-white people. One thing I really enjoy about these books is how the presence of real world knowledge and the juxaposition between medieval horror and modern convenience lets Anthony actually address social issues with a lens that isn't different from our own.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY I DIDN'T LOVE THE OTHER STORIES. Grace's felt a little episodic but that was cool, I especially enjoyed the reveals about the Onyx Knights and Grace's growing sexuality, and I was so relieved to see Aryn getting some character growth that wasn't at all related to Durge, and an age appropriate love interest, hurray.
Also, I continue to be pretty much okay with how things in the Beltan/Vani/Travis triangle are handled. Vani and Travis's connection is one of obligation affecting reality where Beltan and Travis's is truly love. And that's cool with me. The scenes with Beltan and Vani on the ship and their relationship were really interesting.
This isn't as fresh in my mind as I wish it was because I finished it over a week ago boo but yes! Love these books, wish they could go on forever.
March 17, 2015
After the fight in the Etherion at Tarras Grace, Melia, Falken, Aryn, Vani and Beltan still try to find out what happened to Travis and the others. Grace discovers an old volume in the library of the university where they find information that maybe at the Black Tower they will be able to get Travis back. They leave Tarras to go there – only Aryn can´t go with them, King Boreas has summoned her home to marry and Melia is going with her. But first Grace and the others want to go to Toringarth to find the sword Fellring only the true heir of the malachorian throne can wield and only with this sword the Pale King can be defeated..
Meanwhile Travis and his companions have traveled through the gate to Castle City on Earth – but about hundered years in the past. They decide to wait for the arrival of Travis´ old friend the runelord Jack Graystone to ask him for help going back to Eldh. They have to find jobs – Travis as a bartender in his own prospective saloon and Durge as a deputy sheriff. Without their knowledge a sorcerer has come through the gate with them who´s trying to steal the artifact they need to go back…
Again some new characters are introduced in this book (Kelephon, Sheman) and we meet old acquaintances too – I admit I had a hard time sometimes to remember where and when did I read about them before. To make the story more interesting there is now an other prophecy about a second runebreaker and I think the author thought for the sake of his female readership he had to throw Vani into the relationship between Travis and Beltan. Travis is now swaying to and fro between Vani and Beltan and comes to the conclusion that he loves them both (when did THAT happen, I wonder) what annoyed me a bit – honestly I could have really done without Vani. A nice twist was Travis working in his own future saloon and serious and righteous Durge as deputy sheriff made me smile. What consequence the trick of the fey people will have on Beltan and Vani I still have to find out although I have my suspicion…
Website of the author: http://www.thelastrune.com/
Meanwhile Travis and his companions have traveled through the gate to Castle City on Earth – but about hundered years in the past. They decide to wait for the arrival of Travis´ old friend the runelord Jack Graystone to ask him for help going back to Eldh. They have to find jobs – Travis as a bartender in his own prospective saloon and Durge as a deputy sheriff. Without their knowledge a sorcerer has come through the gate with them who´s trying to steal the artifact they need to go back…
Again some new characters are introduced in this book (Kelephon, Sheman) and we meet old acquaintances too – I admit I had a hard time sometimes to remember where and when did I read about them before. To make the story more interesting there is now an other prophecy about a second runebreaker and I think the author thought for the sake of his female readership he had to throw Vani into the relationship between Travis and Beltan. Travis is now swaying to and fro between Vani and Beltan and comes to the conclusion that he loves them both (when did THAT happen, I wonder) what annoyed me a bit – honestly I could have really done without Vani. A nice twist was Travis working in his own future saloon and serious and righteous Durge as deputy sheriff made me smile. What consequence the trick of the fey people will have on Beltan and Vani I still have to find out although I have my suspicion…
Website of the author: http://www.thelastrune.com/
January 22, 2011
This was one of my favorites of the series up to this point. The time travel theme, the setting in the wild west, and our heroes tryi g to get back together. Several great plots points in this one. Aryn comes to grip with who and what she is. Durge gets employed as a Deputy in the old west. Some really great rune magic in this one. Travis and love triangle with Beltan and Vani. Grace as the queen, the orhcestrator, and the witch. I never read the last two books in the series and cannot wait to do so now. Highly recommend!!!
March 20, 2010
As a whole i loved The Last Rune series. This was the weakest of the six.
December 30, 2019
My second read through of the series (some fifteen years after the first) continues. This was definitely a solid book that both answers several questions from earlier in the series and establishes a number of plot threads going into the conclusion. Some of the things that happen here have significant consequences in the last two books, and - thanks to time travel - in the first three books as well.
There's nothing of modern Earth here, though perhaps half of it takes place on Earth in 1883 - a setting I found to be far more compelling than the present. The general principle of time travel here seems to be one of stable time loops; Travis and co. don't change history by their presence, because their presence was already part of history. The one thing that annoyed me, though (and it annoyed me the first time I read it, too), is an ontological paradox regarding an object with no origin point.
While this book went a long way to flesh out characters like Durge, Lirith, Falken, and Grace, I was somewhat disappointed with Aryn's arc. It's not that it's unimportant or ancillary (in fact, the things she learns and does are very important), it's just a bit dull compared to the other two primary storylines in the book.
There's nothing of modern Earth here, though perhaps half of it takes place on Earth in 1883 - a setting I found to be far more compelling than the present. The general principle of time travel here seems to be one of stable time loops; Travis and co. don't change history by their presence, because their presence was already part of history. The one thing that annoyed me, though (and it annoyed me the first time I read it, too), is an ontological paradox regarding an object with no origin point.
While this book went a long way to flesh out characters like Durge, Lirith, Falken, and Grace, I was somewhat disappointed with Aryn's arc. It's not that it's unimportant or ancillary (in fact, the things she learns and does are very important), it's just a bit dull compared to the other two primary storylines in the book.
November 20, 2017
This is a terrific series. It has a good plot and lots of intriguing subplots. The characters are believable. There is lots of suspense and intrigue. Great reading overall
December 1, 2018
Heyyyy that wasn't an ending, it just stopped lol
October 25, 2014
Book four of the Last Rune picks up immediately after the cliffhanger from book 3, with Travis, Durge, Lirith, and Sareth trapped in the past in the 1880s version of the Colorado silver town of Castle City. Fortunately, Travis has lived there in the present and is able to use his knowledge to help acclimate his companions from Eldh to a different world. From there they need to survive the rough and tumble town while trying to figure out a way to not only return to Eldh but back to the right time. Fortunately, Travis knows a certain runelord is supposed to show up in town later that year.
Meanwhile, Grace, Falken, Beltan and Vani set off on a quest to not only rescue the other four, but restore Grace's heritage as the last descendant of the royal family of Malichor by reforging the magic sword shattered the last time the Pale King attempted to take over the world. With his Raven cult resurging stronger than before, they need any weapon they can get to use against him.
Once again Anthony weaves a complex story with flawed characters striving to overcome their own foibles and self-doubts, whether about their unexpected power, or sins and traumas of their past. He addresses self-righteous crusades in two worlds, along with racism and bigotry, while introducing new characters who are fully three dimensional as the main protagonists. Add to the mix a strong does of magic and mystery and the Last Rune series continues to delight. Anthony also does a wonderful job slowly peeling layers back of the onion, answering some mysteries set up from the very beginning of the series, introducing bits of history and lore that invariably resonate through the rest of the series, and still leaving some things to be revealed in later books.
Meanwhile, Grace, Falken, Beltan and Vani set off on a quest to not only rescue the other four, but restore Grace's heritage as the last descendant of the royal family of Malichor by reforging the magic sword shattered the last time the Pale King attempted to take over the world. With his Raven cult resurging stronger than before, they need any weapon they can get to use against him.
Once again Anthony weaves a complex story with flawed characters striving to overcome their own foibles and self-doubts, whether about their unexpected power, or sins and traumas of their past. He addresses self-righteous crusades in two worlds, along with racism and bigotry, while introducing new characters who are fully three dimensional as the main protagonists. Add to the mix a strong does of magic and mystery and the Last Rune series continues to delight. Anthony also does a wonderful job slowly peeling layers back of the onion, answering some mysteries set up from the very beginning of the series, introducing bits of history and lore that invariably resonate through the rest of the series, and still leaving some things to be revealed in later books.
July 24, 2016
Book 4 of "The Last Rune". I rfealized that I have read the first book ("Beyond the Pale") since I remembered scenes with characters from this book that weren't in the others. It was also interesting since "My Life as a Whore," the next book I read, is set partially in the general area that the Earth part is set in, only 10 years earlier.
May 22, 2015
Now coming into the decline of the series, to for a complete change in setting! From fantasy to Western.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews