Reviews

***may contain spoilers***

Set 10 years after the conclusion of No Place For Peace, Where Heroes Were Born is a great book and a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy.

We follow Fran and a new character named Locke, but old favorites are still very present in this one. Where the first two books had a relentless pace, this one slows down, and expands the world. I loved seeing the world grow, and we are introduced to different people and cultures. This book felt much more refined than the first two, which says a lot, considering how much I enjoyed them.

Despite the newer cast of characters, I had no problem developing emotional attachment to them. Between their storylines, their struggles, and their romances, Dumbrell manages to develop them very well in this thrilling conclusion. You never feel safe, and the author doesn't hesistate to take away some of your favorites. This is a ballsy choice, and one I like, as I am tired of authors strictly killing off side characters making their deaths feel inconsequential.

The story is as exciting as the first two books, and despite this book having a standalone feel, I love how it tied back to the previous two books. Both characters have this internalized battle in which they are fighting for their place in the world. Francine feels she is living in the shadow of all these other impressive people, while Locke has to deal with being a constant disappointment to his family. Following these two characters and seeing how their storylines interconnect was a lot of fun.

The writing has improved quite a lot from the first book, showing the author's growth. It still reads easy, but is a lot more refined and outright beautiful at times. Seeing this makes me very excited for what Dumbrell has coming next.

Really my only complaint is that I wasn't as engaged in the start of the story, simply due to this being set 10 years later. Finding the queen a husband was something I really didn't care much about, but eventually, I became completely engrossed in the story.

All in all, this is a fantastic book to a fantastic series!

evitaveda's review

Go to review page

4.0

“Life is rarely fair. But it can be beautiful.”

The final book in The Pillars of Peace trilogy did not disappoint. In fact, it was my favourite of the series.

If you’ve read Tom’s other books you’ll know that they’re full of exciting twists, fast-paced storytelling and lots of action. This story was a bit different. It still had action and twists, but it had a much slower start. I think the characters really benefitted from that. They were given time to develop and the reader could get properly invested before the action started. For me (a person who places more importance on characters than plot) this was a great approach. I think this book really shows how Tom’s writing has progressed as well. Especially when it comes to the focus on the characters.

One thing I’ve missed throughout the series (and this is probably more a personal preference) is a bit more humour. I’ve talked to Tom and I think he’s quite a funny guy, so I wish he’d put more of that humour into his books. For pretty serious stories like this one, humour breaks the tension in such a good way. It would also bring the characters more to life (cause isn’t there always a person who throws out a stupid joke at the worst possible time? Or is that just me?) I did actually have some laugh-out-loud moments in this book, and I greatly appreciated them!

In short, I’ve enjoyed this series and I can’t wait to get the super fancy special edition for my shelves. If you’re looking for a new indie author to support, look no further!

melsbookshelves03's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am a puddle of emotions as the trilogy comes to a conclusion. Peace. Satisfaction. Sadness. Oddly nostalgic. I don’t want to leave this world or these characters behind. A fitting end to a series with a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish. The third book is unlike the first two in that, even though it is still filled with plenty of action, it takes beats to pause and reflect. It focuses on character emotions more than the first two books and it is something I think is done very well. The third book is also different in that different characters take center stage after a ten year time jump and at first I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Having Cyrus take a largely backseat roll for most the novel made me tense at the beginning. But by the end I had fallen for Locke and Francine just as hard as a fell for Cyrus in the last two. This is a series that will not be forgotten and it is even a series I can see myself reading to any future children I have as they get a bit older. Here’s to hoping Dumbrell’s writing journey is not done and that he has other fantastic stories up in his head somewhere.

harrietsbookcorner's review

Go to review page

5.0

Okay, I literally finished this book in 48 hours so my review cannot wait another day!

The Pillars Of Peace trilogy by Tom Dumbrell concludes fantastically with Where Heroes Were Born. In this novel we get to follow characters who we haven’t seen much from before, including some new ones, whilst also getting to see our favourite characters from the previous 2 books.

There really is something for everyone in this book. There are many strong female characters, with one of them being the lead, conversations surrounding sexism, lots of great romance, tension, violence and a strong emphasis on the importance of family and friendships.

When I tell you that this book made me cry… it broke me. I put it down and thought to myself ‘what book will ever make me feel like that again?’ because I’m not certain I’ve ever cried like that before at a piece of literature (minus the Earthsea Cycle, because Sparrowhawk has my heart). The way that Tom was able to portray the raw emotions of all of these fantastic characters was brilliant, and really solidified this book as one of my top 5 favourite books of the year so far.

Please, if you are remotely interested in fantasy or historical fiction, or just great books in general, please pick up this series and give it a try. It’s so accessible, but not simple in any way. The characters are so genuinely believable, so realistic, that you can’t help but feel a punch in the gut every time something bad happens to them, or elated whenever something good comes about. 5⭐️s.

starlathornhill's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

connorjdaley's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the third and final installment in the Pillars of Peace trilogy. As many of you know I’ve been following along (quite loudly) since book one, and I still firmly believe every person on earth should give these a read!

In this third installment we get a new group of perspectives. As ten years have passed, it’s not that Tom is doing away with the original main characters, he’s simply telling others’ stories now. For starters we get a heavy dose of Francine. 10 years older, she’s now a young adult and the chosen shield to Queen Mathilde. We also get a heavy dose of a new character named Locke (who we technically briefly meet in No Place For Peace). Locke is a very troubled and tormented individual. Not necessarily a good or bad man, but perhaps cornered into bad decision making, the author does a great job of giving us an entirely different feel with him.

The author is another writer that simply gets his characters. Even the characters that aren’t given the fully fledged attention of being a perspective are fleshed out and have depth to them. He’s able to take the characters we know and love and age them 10 years, with experiences and hopes and desires we may never know about, and yet their character development still shows a believable change. I’m looking at you King Cyrus!

The action is big, the emotion is better. There’s such a fine line while weaving the two of those things together and the author just hits it perfectly time and time again. We need the action for the harder hitting emotions, and emotions are what drives these characters to action.

Considering the three novels as a whole, the author’s writing has progressed and matured in every single one. There are some sentences and pages that I don’t believe could have been written without the first and second novel existing first. Both in terms of literal content of course, and the growth as a writer. I’ve often likened the author’s ability to weave perspectives to George R.R. Martin, and I’ve seen his character building likened to Joe Abercrombie as well. I’d personally put these three novels by Tom up there with any of them!

I know many of you won’t have read this yet, but I will be bombarding you about it regardless. This book is perfect, a flawless close to a fantastic trilogy.

“Battle was where Heroes were born.”

Content Warnings

thebookishdesigner's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

How good was this book? Well it’s 378 pages and I read it in one day. It’s THAT good.

I don’t think we could have asked for a better ending to this series, Where Heroes Were Born has everything you expect from a Dumbrell book and then so much more. Tom’s writing has gotten stronger with each instalment leaving us with a masterpiece to close out this series.

The highlight of this book without any shadow of a doubt are the female characters. I’ve said before that to me Tom is the standard for men writing strong female characters, his work with Fran, Adeline and Marcia in the first two books is phenomenal, here he adds a few more women to the mix and every single one of them is a glowing example of female characters can and should be written.

Much like the previous two the plot is gripping from the get go. We’ve shifted the POV and we are now seeing things from Fran’s POV and also a newer character Locke’ We also get a sprinkling of POVs from some of the side characters, a brilliant addition that let’s some of the fan favourites have their spotlight and finish out their story.

The main POVs of Fran & Locke and paced and intertwined perfectly, leading us the climatic ending of the series. The last third of this book is unputdownable, I was not dropping this book for love nor money. We are talking life and death situations to make me put this book down. It’s action packed, dramatic, heart warming and heart breaking all at the same time.

For the first time in a very long time I was broken by a book, the epilogue had me sobbing to the point I couldn’t read the words though my tears and had to pull myself together to get it finished, and while the ending wasn’t what I wasn’t what I wanted it couldn’t have been more perfect.

While this may seen like a short review for a book I’m recommending so highly I’m finding myself incapable of telling you all the reasons I love it without spoiling it. I cannot give the book and the series as a whole any higher praise. I adore it. I will re-read it again and again… and you should to.

More...