Review of Wolf's-own, Book Four, Incendiary

by Cole Riann @ The Armchair Reader

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Rating: LOVED IT!!!!

**This review contains spoilers for the first three books — Ghost, Weregild and Koan**

BLURB

Fen Jacin-rei finds himself again on the run after discovering the reality of what he is and why the gods won’t let him go. His one source of support, Kamen Malick, is suddenly unavailable, and now hounded and chased by ghosts who want to drive him into insanity and keep him there, Fen will have to face life all alone. 

…Or maybe not. Old enemies and new allies seek to control Fen, now known as “Kamen’s Untouchable.” It’s going to take everything Fen’s got to figure out who he can trust—and who he should fear. It might take more than what Fen’s got to discern who is even real.

REVIEW

Well… wow.

This book and the ending to this epic story was very satisfying! The grunt work we had to pull in Koan finally came through in this book, as well as the turmoil the characters had to go through. Not only did I feel like this second chapter (Koan and Incendiary) was necessary to the story after what feels like an end after Weregild, but this series ended with a perfect amount of closure and possibility, of one very specific character’s future that almost has to be a whole new series (though, no pressure, Carole!). I couldn’t have been happier with the state the characters ended on their own personal journeys, though many still have much further to go, of course. In the end of this book I felt like I could relax and take a deep breath and that even though Fen’s life is completely FUBAR (never was there a more appropriate term), that it’s possible things might just go okay. Well, that’s how I picture it anyway — that way I’ll sleep tonight!

There’s so much I want to talk about, but I can’t because it wouldn’t be fair to spoiler those of you who love this series like I do and are reading along. But I think that, in my most cryptic manner possible, what makes this last book such a success is that while we’re given completely new revelatory information, it doesn’t feel cheap because it plays by the rules we’ve grown to know of throughout this series and in Fen’s world — manipulation, first and foremost… but by whom? Also, it’s so fun to get to see all the dedication pay off for someone who rivals Frodo in endurance, even while batshit (as Morin likes to say). It isn’t really about winning or losing, but the ability to make your own choices, and the way that Carole maneuvered the players so that something so impossible might happen was done quite well. Plus, I mean for godsakes, the man never has a cigarette when he needs one! I want to give one to him. If anyone, ANYONE deserves a cigarette, it’s Fen.

Most of my biggest burning questions throughout the series have all in some way revolved around the existence and motivations of the gods. The information we receive about them is crucial in a straightforward way, it is information Fen must understand to complete his goal. But I also had a bit of a hard time while reading Koan, understanding just what being an Incendiary means in the vaguest sense, and in relation to a Catalyst. The motivations, though not surprising, and actions of the gods themselves were what helped me understand that.

I think that there isn’t as much for me to talk about with these later installments, at least without giving anything away. I could happily chat along about how I loved it, but I think that the really crucial information about the characters and understanding who they really are comes in the first two books. And that never really changes. I’ve loved this series, and if Carole ever decides to extend it in the direction it is pointed, I’ll definitely be there to read, just as I will everything she writes. And now that all the books are out, I’m hoping that some new readers will pick up this series! I’ll definitely be reading it again, and I have a feeling that when I do I’ll see a whole new meaning in every direction. I can’t wait to find out what that is :)

 

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