A Review - Until The Last - Mike Shackle

 I'm going to start this by explaining that I'm not a book reviewer and likely never will be. I don't know how to write, I don't know what technical skill tends to indicate a good book and I do not know how to use the word 'prose' in the correct context. What I am is a fan of fiction, more specifically a fan of fantasy novels. I know what I like, and I really like this book.

The backdrop of the story is relatively simple, an age old enemy is invading and the hero's are going to fight them off, only they don't, the invasion is successful and Jia falls to the Egril. That isn't a spoiler, it's the first chapter. From there Shackle takes us on the journey of four main POV characters; Tinnstra, the disgraced daughter of Jia's most famous warrior, Jax, formerly a high ranking officer of the Jian army, now attempting to lead a rebellion against the Egril, Yas, a widowed single mother doing everything she can to keep her son safe and Dren, a child terrorist, filled with a hatred for the Egril and willing to do whatever it takes to inflict even the smallest bit of damage. We also get to experience the POV of Darus Monsuta, the main antagonist for this particular book and one of the most wonderfully horrible people you'll ever read about.

The main cast in this book are fantastic, Shackle does such a good job of developing his characters, he breaks from traditional fantasy and gives his characters believable internal conflict and flaws, their reactions aren't always heroic, but they're realistic. Realistic to the point that for about 70% of this book I was so frustrated with Tinnstras lack of bravery that I almost wanted her to die. Without saying too much the way he brings her arc back from that place is nothing short of brilliant. By the end of the book we're left with a main cast of characters that I am fully invested in. The only downside to the casting is that the supporting cast are killed off and rotated so quickly and suddenly that they don't feel as significant, though part of me feels that's almost by design as Shackle tries to paint a picture of just how brutal this war is.

Now I typically find that when authors spend to much time developing characters the plot can suffer, but not here. This book is jam packed with things happening and I would consider the plot to be even stronger than the characters.

I would say that even my favourite fantasy novels come with their fair share of slow, difficult chapters that can feel like filler. Shackle however has managed to write this story in an incredibly efficient way to the point that I would say if you tried to trim it down without impacting the story you could manage maybe 10 pages, at most.

Another thing I really liked about this book is that Shackle has put all of his effort into telling a story, there's far too much expectation in modern fantasy to be thought provoking or politicised with an underlying message and I always find that it detracts from my ability to detach from real life and immerse myself in the world an author is trying to create. To contrast this books focus on delivering a good story over a favourable viewpoint, combined with some extremely cinematic writing meant I could really immerse myself in the world. I could see myself on the wall looking down at the Egril Army, I could see the streets of Kiyosun as I ran along its rooftops and I loved every second of it.

This book is just about as impressive a debut as I can remember. I would and will be recommending this book to absolutely every single fantasy fan I know and meet.