The Skull Throne, Peter V. Brett

Publishers: Harper Voyager

Pages: 786

Main Characters:

Arlen, Jardir, Leesha, Rojer,

The Skull Throne is the fourth book in this ever expanding dark fantasy world and takes places directly after the ending of The Daylight War. With the battle between Arlen and Jardir ending in the disappearance of both potential ‘Deliverers’, the whole of Thesa is thrown into chaos as rivalling powers struggle to fill the power vacuum Jardir leaves behind.

His two sons Jajan and Asome both set out on their own paths to seek glory and stake their claim to their father’s skull throne. Jajan is sent by his mother Inevera to Dock Town to fulfil his father’s plan of attacking the Duchy of Laktons’ source of food for the winter. Whilst Asome tries to build support by defying his father’s wishes and letting his Dama warriors fight in Alagai’sharak.

Meanwhile, Leesha Paper and Rojer Halfgrip travel to Fort Angiers to assist the Duke there. However, what they don’t realise is that they are walking into a vipers pit, where court intrigue rules. Mixing this with old enemies, Leesha, Rojer and his wives must be cautious in the capital if they are to survive and fulfil Arlen Bails’s plan.

I’ve been reading and listening to this series over a number of years now. It has always been a series that I enjoy coming back to, however I never rush to read the new novels when they are first published. I've always found them to be interesting but never all engrossing like other fantasy series can be. However, this book totally, totally changed that. 

The plot moves away from the focus of killing daemons which was the emphasis of the first three novels. With the disappearance of Arlen and Jardir, the focus of the novel twists to the spiritual conundrum of humans fighting each other for the power to lead and continue the war on daemon kind. Jardir’s sons tare their father’s hard earned Empire apart as they both struggle for control. Honestly, the intrigue and plots in this book are epic and I haven’t been so immersed in a novel like this since A Game of Thrones. So much so that all I’m thinking about is what could happen next!

The Skull Throne is by far the best book in the series and I’m so excited for the next novel! I would suggest this book to anyone who is a fan of epic fantasy like A Game of Thrones or Mark Lawrence'sThe Brocken Empire series.

For author’s official website click here.