Rating: 4 out of 5.

4.5 stars

Book 3 in this series starts with a 100 year time jump. Hadrian and the Red Company had a huge victory, giving Hadrian cult hero status and the nickname Halfmortal. The emperors court are worried about his popularity and deem him a threat to the empire. Hadrian narrowly escapes an assassination attempt, so the emperor sends him to the library that Hadrian has been trying to get into for hundreds of years. After years of searching, he finally finds answers to some mysteries, and questions to a lot more of them.

I love Valka, Pallino, and the other members of Hadrian’s found family. With the stakes so high at all times, it’s important to surround yourself with people you can trust with absolute certainty. The addition of Lorian Aristedes adds a lot to the story. He doesn’t swear his allegiance to Hadrian, and it’s not certain he can be completely trusted, but the more we get to know Lorian and how clever he is, the more important he becomes to the story.

It’s hard to say too much about this book because it seems everything I want to say is a spoiler. Let me say that I completely understand why so many readers deem this one of the best sci fi books they’ve ever read. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading this series after I finished the first book. I’m so glad that I did. I also listened to this book on audible, which is a great way to get through these huge books, especially if you have a long commute like I do.

On to the next book.