Sword of the Tyrant: Celestine Chronicles, Book 5

I've been into this series for a while, and I remember eagerly anticipating the arrival of this book ever since Book 4 came out. Maybe it's the fact that the wait was longer, but I feel like this book didn't live up to the hype.This series, in my estimation, is predicated on romance and adventure. All else is secondary to those two things. The adventure is present, with all the gooey problem solving goodness that makes it a good read. The romance, however? Put it this way: our main man, Terry, spends the vast majority of this book separated from half of his harem, some of whom have barely spent romantic time with him. Those that remain seem to be on his case a lot, and even when they chill out there's not much positive emotional rebound.I recall the first book, how Terry was separated from his ENTIRE harem for a while. What made it work was that we spent literally half the book with them. So, when the separation came, we were content with our fill of romance.Here, the separation takes up about 80% of the book and is preceded by an extended goodbye, rather than a long while of characters bonding and talking and making whoopy cushion. Worse still, the reason feels rather contrived. They want to make sure Tee doesn't die at the edge of this mythical hero-killing sword. I get that, but many stages of the journey would've been made less harrowing if they'd just all gone as a group. The sword's killing power ends up being a pretty much non-factor in terms of who can go, so I don't see why the whole gang couldn't have gone.Ah, but then we wouldn't have the OTHER story, which also feels hampered by contrivance and misteps the previous books did better. I don't want to spoil anything, but comparing his confrontation with The Madsee in Book 1, the confrontation with the monster in this book feels like a shallow imitation. There's no strong character-building to make the monster feel realized. The strong character and motivations of The Madsee made it more than just an obstacle, whereas the rather dull and two-dimensional character of our final boss leaves her utterly forgettable beyond her accent. I never got a handle on her wants, vices, or opinions, as her entire personality revolved around her powers. She's basically the evil plant from Little Shop of Horrors: a self-centered monster with no motivation beyond "Feed me, Seymour." The horror in her menace isn't played up as much as it could be, mostly coming from the effect she has on other people rather than any threat she poses directly. There's talk of it, sure, but it seems so distant and nebulous compared to a carnivorous plant that LITERALLY devours people, or an angry tomb guardian that LITERALLY turns people to stone. The resolution was kind of BS and unsatisfying, too.This book's issues can be summed up in a scene where what WAS explicit, emotional intimacy in a previous book... is now reduced to a sentence. "And then they made like jack rabbits. Scene." No time for romance or intimacy, aside from one fairly nice subplot involving someone other than the leading man's love life. The only interactions Terry has feel empty, like casual sex rather than lovemaking, in one case purely manipulative. This makes the ending fall flat, as it essentially returns us to the emotionally deadened status quo we've had the whole time.Maybe all of this could've worked had the book been restructured: "Get the sword from the dungeon, then return to find tiger village savaged by monster." The whole group could've stayed together, with no new members making the obstacles faced inconsequential (at least by my reckoning). In a few cases, obstacles which the smaller party slipped past would've needed more clever, interesting, out-of-the-box thinking to surmount, simply because of the bulk of their roster. Plus, Terry's presence in the dungeon might have netted us another "Will they, won't they" dilemma with a lady present among the defenders.Then, the trials faced in the tiger village would've been more heartwrenching as the most emotionally devoted of Terry's bonds would be subject to the final boss's perils, especially in one scene, plus the added danger a double-edged sword poses to not just Terry but to the trust and devotion of several of his bonds, namely Prada. I found the whole tiger village section to be rather droll anyway, and those parts could've easily been swapped out with interplay and tactical speculation.Yet all these complaints don't change the fact I blazed through this story, jumbled as it is, over less than 48 hours and am now right back to anticipating the next installment. I have no regrets about reading it or buying it, since I love these characters and this series. On the other hand, I don't see myself revisiting this book like I do the others.

I'm not sure how I discovered this series, as I'm not really a "harem lit" fan, but I'm glad I did. The series as a whole has some really fun world building, interesting characters with their own motivations, and does some small explorations into morals more complex than binary. The author writes well, and the plot is nicely paced and engaging. In short, this book, like the others, is a fun, easy, fast read.Some may complain that the villains in this book lack development, I don't see it that way. While sometimes we don't get a lot of backstory concerning them, their goals, origins, etc, we get enough of a basis to understand their primary motives (essentially hedonism in one case, and world domination/species propagation in another) that it is enough to explain their decisions. To me, the author struck the right balance between detail and streamlined storytelling to make a fun reading experience.I really love the characters in the book, each is unique in their drive and their place in the world. I'm not a "furry-fan", and the short interludes into what some may view as beastiliality did not really bother me; given the characters involved and the world building, actually most of these moments seemed tender and beautiful.In closing, this book sets up what should be a fascinating conclusion to the series. I can't wait!

I laughed, I cried, I punched the air. This was so good!!! Terrence has a solution to killing the Twilight Lord but that solution is going to get him killed. The way to combat this is to split their party and have Yuri go get the sword. But what should be a short trip to a dungeon turns into a fight against impossible odds. Terrence runs into an enchantress that turns all men who gear her song into slaves and he isn’t immune. The penultimate book to this series is awesome and leaving you waiting for the final book to come out

This story is gamelit light, harem with monster girls and adult situations. This is book 5 in a series. If this book interests you, start with book 1; this series builds on itself, so to get full appreciation, start at the beginning. The characters continue to grow the MC Terrence Mack works toward completing his quest. Shy, Laina, Halla, Asturial, Euryale, Prada, and Mila, and the others are here with new ones -- both temporary and part of the growing cast. Plenty of action interspersed with good prose, and Marion's revenge was extremely well done. The poignant ending ala cliffhanger was misty-eyed good, too. For most of us, it takes time to write a good story, and a reader can finish it in a day or so. That's the harsh truth for both readers and writers. Even so, I'm ready for book 6. Today. So, here's me asking, Cebelius -- moah plez! Highly recommended.

Dam! What can I say. Since the ending of book 1 i fell in love with this tale. I especially loved Euryale and reading about her love and adoration from her perspective at the end of the first book. Now here we have arrived and this book did not disappoint in the least. The fight scenes, the grueling toil/exhaustion of the characters. It was like I could feel it. There was one scene with the demon that I could see coming from a mile away but even that was brilliant. I so look forward to the next book. I'm dreading the ending. I just wish that I could look forward to another installment in the series every year. I've read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials and thought no other series would be as beloved as those two. This series is well on it's way to being put on that pedestal of true works of art. Praise for Cebelius!

That last chapter broke me. The emotions I'm warring with right now. Loved this book, the continual inner conflict and the gradual acceptance Terry goes through, throughout this series constantly amazes me. I hope the end is near as sad as that may be. Shy has possibly been my favourite character since the start. To see her leave Terry side makes me wonder who'll take up her supportive role the next book. I also hope that the characters left behind, don't get into any further conflict or captured. The next I want to see them is during a happy ending. Looking forward to book 6

What can I say,if you have got to this volume without reading the others,you have missed a treat. I look forward to the concluding volume.I bought the concluding volume after reading the first volume,and I am glad I got the rest of the series,As I would have missed a treat

Holy crap dude that was Absofuckinglutley incredible I thoroughly enjoyed reading every page and seriously found it hard to stop had to work though I seriously can't wait for the next instalment in the Celestine Chronicles awesome job dude many many many many thanks.

Again a great if dark read and looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed this book as indeed I did the previous 4. A superb story teller, a fine creator of many different characters and many other superb ingredients to boot! Get the series, it's a must.