W. G. Hladky’s THE LAST SKINWEAVER is the fourth in the “Book of Ruin” series, and while it certainly can be read as a standalone novel, it is best to read them in sequence to really get a sense of the history and scope of the series. The world-building here is intricately done, well thought-out, and believable, with multiple cultures interacting according to their own particular views and needs in a place that is recognizable as a descendant of ours, but deeply affected and drastically changed by our civilization’s collapse in the great Flash. Each culture has a past and a detailed present that makes sense in light of that history and of the changes it has undergone along the way. And all of this is revealed in the course of a lively and action-packed story, without too much tedious explanation or intrusive textbook-like diversions.

The main character, Roge Callan, is a recognizably traditional fantasy hero–disowned by an unworthy father, possessed of a strong and unwavering set of moral principles, courageous in battle and kind and compassionate in peacetime, wielding a sacred family sword–but he manages to stand out as a believable, fully-developed human character as well. There’s some stereotyping with respect to other characters as well–the enthusiastically sexually-active maidservant, the autistic computer genius and his tough, protective, prickly but beautiful older sister, the bodyguard with a hidden berserker potential who is “civilized” by the main character and devoted to him ever since, the ruthless Chinese imperial court lady who has the Emperor’s ear and her own plots and schemes, etc. But none of them are left as flat stereotypes, and all of them feel like full human beings with their own purposes and points of view, protagonists of their own stories rather than merely background decoration for Roge’s.

The story is full of action, with excitement and danger at every turn, and the main plot unfolds as a series of little events whose relevance and relation to larger events is revealed, bit by bit, as the story goes on. In the end, mysteries that have been hidden since the beginning of the series are revealed, and the epic drama comes full circle and finds a solid and satisfying resolution–which nonetheless contains intriguing potential for more stories, should the author be so inclined.

W. G. Hladky’s THE LAST SKINWEAVER carries on the incredible post-apocalyptic world-building and dramatic epic fantasy begun in the previous three novels in the author’s “Book of Ruin” series.

~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader