Shadows Upon Time: The Sun Eater: Book Seven

Unfortunately, this book/series does not have a satisfying conclusion, and calling it a conclusion is being very generous. From the first book, the series builds up to a singular, climatic event, which finally happens, only for there to be quite a bit of reading afterward where you learn that a far greater story exists that you are not going to see explored or resolved (the author states he's moving on to other projects). It was very much a bait and switch. This book didn't end on a cliffhanger, but rather the realization that you've been on a side quest the entire time. I enjoyed the series and was excited for the finale, but became more and more disillusioned as it dawned on me that I wasn't getting an ending, but hundreds of pages of setup. Choose any character, major or minor, and unless their death is written in black and white ink, you will not get any kind of resolution to their story. Really disappointing.

Well written. Incredible world-building. Fantastically memorable characters. And there is an ending. Which in these sorts of books this isn't always the case. And at this series' end I wept. Though not for the first time. This series helped me with understanding my own loss and grief. I hate re-reading books. But sometimes there are exceptions.

There is no single word to describe how fantastic this series has been. This has been a journey of epic proportions and one I will sorely miss experiencing for the first time again. It has been a joy to read. I sincerely hope we see Hadrian again and I look forward to the next iteration of this universe.