Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands Book 3)
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Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands #3)
by Sarah Fine
Introduction
The concluding book of the series, Chaos is by far the best one. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. It is action packed and full of elements not for the squeamish!
Genre
YA fantasy; this installment has some of the most horrific violence in the series and may not be suitable for all teens
Narration
First person past tense told by the main character Lela Santos
Charactersâ¨Lela Santos - seventeen year old girl who has been in foster care since she was four, now a guard of the Shadow Lands
Diane - Lelaâs foster mom
Tegan - Lelaâs human friend
Anna - former lieutenant of the Guard of the Dark City who is now captain of the mission to the Mazikin city
Malachi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Henry - a human guard from the Wasteland (the purgatory reserved for murders)
Raphael - angel, healer
Michael - angel, weapons master
Takashi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Setting
Present day Rhode Island and the Mazikin City
Intended audience
Young adult
Plot
The Judge sends Lela and Anna on the most dangerous mission yet. They must infiltrate the Manikin City and rescue Malachi and Takashi from a place where no human has ever returned from. With Anna in charge of the mission, the two women plan as much as they can before going into the Mazikin city, but they mostly have to improvise.
The Judge makes it clear that Raphael can open the dome of the city to let them in and back out again, but while there they will not receive any help from the angels. In addition to rescuing their loved ones, they must also fulfill the
Judgeâs conditions - destroy the portal and kill the Mazikin queen. And they must do it with only the few weapons they can smuggle and their wits.
About the Author
In addition to the Guards of the Shadowlands
series, Sara Fine has written three other series. I havenât read any of them yet, but she is an author well worth following.
Find out more on Goodreads https://goodreads.com/author/show/5752145.Sarah_Fine and her website http://sarahfinebooks.com.
My Opinion
All of the elements that I loved about the first book are back and then some. Again, Lela is on a mission to rescue someone - this time Malachi himself, and she teams up with Anna who also plans to rescue Takashi.
The story, once they are in the city, is almost non-stop action and horrifying tension. The author does an incredible job of raising the stakes in this installment as she paints the most hellish location yet. The Mazikin city is full of torture, misery, and suffering and there is no escape as even permanent death is denied its human inhabitants.
Once Anna and Lela understand the scope of the suffering and injustice for the humans there, they (along with Takashi and Malachi) canât just leave with their own. They can settle for no less than rescuing the entire enslaved human population.
One of my favorite moments in the book depicts an argument in which Lela challenges the Judge on allowing the Manikinâs evil to exist and allowing the horrific suffering of innocents whose
only crime was to be unlucky enough to fall into their hands. The Judge gives the theological answer that is almost as old as the question. She gave the creatures she loved free will and free will must allow evil. It is a pretty familiar answer to the question of evil and no more satisfying here than anywhere else Iâve read it. It is satisfying that our characters are having none of it. All of them challenge the Judgeâs way of doing things. All of them openly rail about the injustice of it. I liked that about this story.
I appreciate that the author has created a god (because the is what the Judge appears to be, though never explicitly called that) that doesnât demand worship, devotion, or faith. All of the various purgatory areas and the country side are reached by souls based on their own actions and attitudes. Redemption is always possible (unless you are trapped in the Mazikin city!).
Chaos did feel like it should have been book 3 and 4 though. There is a point in the plot where the story is over and a new one begins. I suppose the author didnât feel like the final story could take an entire book. Not that it mattered as I read the entire series back to back with no break.
In the end, after all of their trials and tribulations, all of the main characters get their happy endings in a perhaps a perhaps too pat wrap up. It should satisfy reader who want happy ever after endings and no one could argue that the characters in this story donât deserve it after all their suffering.
Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands #3)
by Sarah Fine
Introduction
The concluding book of the series, Chaos is by far the best one. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. It is action packed and full of elements not for the squeamish!
Genre
YA fantasy; this installment has some of the most horrific violence in the series and may not be suitable for all teens
Narration
First person past tense told by the main character Lela Santos
Charactersâ¨Lela Santos - seventeen year old girl who has been in foster care since she was four, now a guard of the Shadow Lands
Diane - Lelaâs foster mom
Tegan - Lelaâs human friend
Anna - former lieutenant of the Guard of the Dark City who is now captain of the mission to the Mazikin city
Malachi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Henry - a human guard from the Wasteland (the purgatory reserved for murders)
Raphael - angel, healer
Michael - angel, weapons master
Takashi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Setting
Present day Rhode Island and the Mazikin City
Intended audience
Young adult
Plot
The Judge sends Lela and Anna on the most dangerous mission yet. They must infiltrate the Manikin City and rescue Malachi and Takashi from a place where no human has ever returned from. With Anna in charge of the mission, the two women plan as much as they can before going into the Mazikin city, but they mostly have to improvise.
The Judge makes it clear that Raphael can open the dome of the city to let them in and back out again, but while there they will not receive any help from the angels. In addition to rescuing their loved ones, they must also fulfill the
Judgeâs conditions - destroy the portal and kill the Mazikin queen. And they must do it with only the few weapons they can smuggle and their wits.
About the Author
In addition to the Guards of the Shadowlands
series, Sara Fine has written three other series. I havenât read any of them yet, but she is an author well worth following.
Find out more on Goodreads https://goodreads.com/author/show/5752145.Sarah_Fine and her website http://sarahfinebooks.com.
My Opinion
All of the elements that I loved about the first book are back and then some. Again, Lela is on a mission to rescue someone - this time Malachi himself, and she teams up with Anna who also plans to rescue Takashi.
The story, once they are in the city, is almost non-stop action and horrifying tension. The author does an incredible job of raising the stakes in this installment as she paints the most hellish location yet. The Mazikin city is full of torture, misery, and suffering and there is no escape as even permanent death is denied its human inhabitants.
Once Anna and Lela understand the scope of the suffering and injustice for the humans there, they (along with Takashi and Malachi) canât just leave with their own. They can settle for no less than rescuing the entire enslaved human population.
One of my favorite moments in the book depicts an argument in which Lela challenges the Judge on allowing the Manikinâs evil to exist and allowing the horrific suffering of innocents whose
only crime was to be unlucky enough to fall into their hands. The Judge gives the theological answer that is almost as old as the question. She gave the creatures she loved free will and free will must allow evil. It is a pretty familiar answer to the question of evil and no more satisfying here than anywhere else Iâve read it. It is satisfying that our characters are having none of it. All of them challenge the Judgeâs way of doing things. All of them openly rail about the injustice of it. I liked that about this story.
I appreciate that the author has created a god (because the is what the Judge appears to be, though never explicitly called that) that doesnât demand worship, devotion, or faith. All of the various purgatory areas and the country side are reached by souls based on their own actions and attitudes. Redemption is always possible (unless you are trapped in the Mazikin city!).
Chaos did feel like it should have been book 3 and 4 though. There is a point in the plot where the story is over and a new one begins. I suppose the author didnât feel like the final story could take an entire book. Not that it mattered as I read the entire series back to back with no break.
In the end, after all of their trials and tribulations, all of the main characters get their happy endings in a perhaps a perhaps too pat wrap up. It should satisfy reader who want happy ever after endings and no one could argue that the characters in this story donât deserve it after all their suffering.
Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands #3)
by Sarah Fine
Introduction
The concluding book of the series, Chaos is by far the best one. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. It is action packed and full of elements not for the squeamish!
Genre
YA fantasy; this installment has some of the most horrific violence in the series and may not be suitable for all teens
Narration
First person past tense told by the main character Lela Santos
Charactersâ¨Lela Santos - seventeen year old girl who has been in foster care since she was four, now a guard of the Shadow Lands
Diane - Lelaâs foster mom
Tegan - Lelaâs human friend
Anna - former lieutenant of the Guard of the Dark City who is now captain of the mission to the Mazikin city
Malachi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Henry - a human guard from the Wasteland (the purgatory reserved for murders)
Raphael - angel, healer
Michael - angel, weapons master
Takashi - former Captain of the Guard of the Dark City, now a captive of the Mazikin
Setting
Present day Rhode Island and the Mazikin City
Intended audience
Young adult
Plot
The Judge sends Lela and Anna on the most dangerous mission yet. They must infiltrate the Manikin City and rescue Malachi and Takashi from a place where no human has ever returned from. With Anna in charge of the mission, the two women plan as much as they can before going into the Mazikin city, but they mostly have to improvise.
The Judge makes it clear that Raphael can open the dome of the city to let them in and back out again, but while there they will not receive any help from the angels. In addition to rescuing their loved ones, they must also fulfill the
Judgeâs conditions - destroy the portal and kill the Mazikin queen. And they must do it with only the few weapons they can smuggle and their wits.
About the Author
In addition to the Guards of the Shadowlands
series, Sara Fine has written three other series. I havenât read any of them yet, but she is an author well worth following.
Find out more on Goodreads https://goodreads.com/author/show/5752145.Sarah_Fine and her website http://sarahfinebooks.com.
My Opinion
All of the elements that I loved about the first book are back and then some. Again, Lela is on a mission to rescue someone - this time Malachi himself, and she teams up with Anna who also plans to rescue Takashi.
The story, once they are in the city, is almost non-stop action and horrifying tension. The author does an incredible job of raising the stakes in this installment as she paints the most hellish location yet. The Mazikin city is full of torture, misery, and suffering and there is no escape as even permanent death is denied its human inhabitants.
Once Anna and Lela understand the scope of the suffering and injustice for the humans there, they (along with Takashi and Malachi) canât just leave with their own. They can settle for no less than rescuing the entire enslaved human population.
One of my favorite moments in the book depicts an argument in which Lela challenges the Judge on allowing the Manikinâs evil to exist and allowing the horrific suffering of innocents whose
only crime was to be unlucky enough to fall into their hands. The Judge gives the theological answer that is almost as old as the question. She gave the creatures she loved free will and free will must allow evil. It is a pretty familiar answer to the question of evil and no more satisfying here than anywhere else Iâve read it. It is satisfying that our characters are having none of it. All of them challenge the Judgeâs way of doing things. All of them openly rail about the injustice of it. I liked that about this story.
I appreciate that the author has created a god (because the is what the Judge appears to be, though never explicitly called that) that doesnât demand worship, devotion, or faith. All of the various purgatory areas and the country side are reached by souls based on their own actions and attitudes. Redemption is always possible (unless you are trapped in the Mazikin city!).
Chaos did feel like it should have been book 3 and 4 though. There is a point in the plot where the story is over and a new one begins. I suppose the author didnât feel like the final story could take an entire book. Not that it mattered as I read the entire series back to back with no break.
In the end, after all of their trials and tribulations, all of the main characters get their happy endings in a perhaps a perhaps too pat wrap up. It should satisfy reader who want happy ever after endings and no one could argue that the characters in this story donât deserve it after all their suffering.
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