For some, this might feel like a big backstab. And maybe it could have been sprinkled in a bit more throughout the whole series as to make it feel more like it didn’t come out of nowhere. It is one of the major arcs for the Burning White. Yes, one might argue that there has always been instances of it in the whole series, but it has not been the focus in the same way as in this last book. It kind of throws you off when religion and God is introduced in the last book. My only wish with that stance was that it would have been introduced earlier in the series. Inspiration from older series such as Narnia. That felt like a very new and innovative stance to have in a fantasy series. Religion is used for their benefit, but it is not actually evil. It makes me think of one of my other favourite series, Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman, where the big AI is not evil, it is not there to take over and kill all of humanity with a horde of killer robots. In the Burning White, religion is not this evil entity. It is why people are bad, it does not exist, it is dark and evil. In fantasy, religion often is portrayed as something negative. I really liked how this book deals with religion and God. The others are out fighting great wars, and she is hiding in the shadows, being an assassin, and uncovering so much more than anyone else. Teia was very interesting as she started out as this small character, a slave that had a power no one really believed did anything, and she is shown this hidden world because of it. I think maybe her story was so interesting because I wasn’t that interested in the great war (more on that later) and Teia did her own thing, fought her own monsters and was the hero of her own story. I mean, she was interesting before as well, but every chapter with Teia was my favourite chapter. She started out as a side characters, as a crush to Kip, but then she was allowed to be her own person, to go her own way, and it really paid off in this book.

Her story is really interesting and I love that she gets to be her own. My favourite character since book 3, Teia, has grown into such a wonderful creature. And while maybe I should feel annoyed by those things, I really don’t. There is so much that have been leading up to this book, so many different plots for different characters. Andross and Karris are trying to share the power on the Chromeria, while also dealing with outer and inner threats. Gavin is on a mission that will most likely get him killed. Kip and his Mighty are looking for something that can help them fight the Bane which removes drafters powers. Everyone is coming back to the Chromeria to fight for its freedom.

In this last book we finally see the big battle between the White king and the Chromeria. The last book of five in the Lightbringer series.

The burning white book