This final anathology brings things full circle as Aveyard through the historian-academic Julian Jacos give readers an overview of the world that sprung the Red and Silver universe, important figures and timelines, maps, and declassified materials. This along with five novellas, two previously collected plus three all new ones!

So let’s get to it.

Julian’s materials are spread throughout, collecting material from various sources like those before their civilization ie. National Graphic magazines from the year 2022 so he’s able to construct a timeline of the Calamaties that led to the breaking and reshaping of the world. It’s a helpful guide to the different territories and of course, the long line of Calore kings plus has extra material like any good historian in researching the Red side of events after years of being excluded and oppressed from the narrative.

There’s also a brief “Where are they now” esque document at the end that gives a summary of events that lead to almost all territories to becoming blood equal, democratic representative states or at least, leaning towards that. Mare, Cal, Farley, Shade and everyone else’s dream of having a blood equal society does come true!

As for the novellas, Queen Song shows the trapped and brief life of Corienne Jacos aka Queen Corienne, Cal’s mother. As a girl, she was a disappointment for her interest in mechanics and building just as her father derides Julian for his interest in academics. They’re supposed to be use for political advantage to elevate their posturing poor house. She knows her role even as she reluctantly appears at court, bemouning the day of her potential engagement and Julian and Sara leaving her. She’ll be alone, worthless and invisible.

Until she meets Prince Tiberius who may be the only other person who feels as lonely as she does. Their relationship is sweet but Corienne feels trapped still. Trapped, knowing his affection has put a target on her back from everyone, especially Elara. That she’ll be bound by queenly propriety and nobles. That her son may follow the intense destruction bound for all Calore kings as she sees he inherited Tiberius’ military enthusiasm. She wants more for him, she wants to be strong but she knows she’s not. She can’t handle the nightmares and stares and the creeping pressure of Elara’s whispering.

Until she finds out Elara’s not the cause of her broken dreams and fraility, it’s all in her head. Suffering insanity alone.

It’s a bittersweet novella with sharp insight to this tragic figure that influences the Calore sons. I think it’s my favorite of them all.

Steel Scars is a rare look of Farley’s side of the action, leading up to the events in Red Queen. Her gruff tension with Ram aka her the Commander is in full view as well as broad strokes of her unit command that she risks with each choice she makes to infiltrate Corvium without the okay from the rest of the Red Guard.

Farley is as intense, pragmatic and tough as she is in her public persona but you can also see that she’s as driven by the suffering of common Red families torn apart by poverty and conscription as she is by the greater Red Guard ideology. It doesn’t give as much insight that readers couldn’t already draw from the books but it is nice to see things from her own voice as well as her first meeting with Shade that sparks her interest in recruiting newbloods to the cause.

World Behind takes readers to the world of Rivermen, smugglers willing to take refugees across the river as well as cargo, ammunitions and what else have you as long as they get a buck. It’s survival.

Ashe doesn’t really keep up with the politics and wars of Norta, Piedmont, Lakeland etc. He despises Silvers as most Reds do, but he takes in Lyrisa since she’ll pay more than what he thinks she’s worth. Unfortunately, taking her brings trouble as she’s a Piedmont princess on the run from her sadistic fiance. The brief jaunt forces the two to see beyond the prejudices of their Silver/Redness and makes for a light battle-wrought romance. Extraneous but nice if you like that sort of dynamic. I suppose Aveyard wanted to show the war from the sides of people who have no investment in it.

Iron Heart is another Evangeline-center novella as she struggles to commit to Montfort and give up the throne of the Rift Kingdom. I had said in my last review that I had found Evangeline’s POV repetitive and unnecessary but Aveyard rectifies this as she hones in on Evangeline’s true insecurities in committing to Montefort-the fear that it is too good to be true and will eventually fall apart. That she’ll never be able to let down her walls and love Elane without war and bloodshed and prejudice. It is spiced up by the fact that there is finally some insight and fight in Elena who’s been as invisible as her gift so long. There’s also plenty of Evangeline and Ptolomy sibling banter which I always enjoy. Okay, seriously still wish for some Ptolomy side story but that’s just me. It’s a good novella for Evangeline fans and shows some of the action of the post-war Norta world.

Fire Light reunites Mare and Cal after months of healing and reflection. It is time for them to return to the world of politics and unification, trying to convince the various delegations to build a new Norta based on blood equality and democratic representation like Montefort. Of course, the biggest problem is convincing the remaining Silver nobles not to join the Silver successionists and Lakeland, and to convince the Red Guard not to take decisive action when their demands aren’t met.

But the real core of the novella is seeing Mare and Cal finally come back together, and communicate! It’s a no brainer that they’ll get there but it’s the quiet moments that mena the most to them even as they struggle with their own demons.

Farewell is another bittersweet novella, the shortest of the bunch focused on Cal and Maven’s final words and thoughts before Maven’s execution. Maven is as twisted and layered as ever, thinking on his own brokenness and morality as he toys with predictable, stupid Cal one more time. The brother who took everything from him. Yet he cares and hurts one last time.

Cal’s feelings are equally complex, still thinking on the what-ifs and whether it was possible to really save Maven as obssessed, sadistic and broken as he is. But even as Cal grieves and guilts himself over his brother, I felt there was a sense of peace with himself as the months path and I think Cal will find his way forward with this ghost.

Overall, a nice send-off to the world that I’m sure readers will devour to the last page.

4 stars.