Hard Magic, Great World Building, and Anti-Colonial Themes

As is always the case, the ruling class has lied to get and keep power. They’ve effectively shaped history to their will, but revolution is imminent. Whether it’s Sylah, the working-class revolutionary infiltrating the upper echelons, or Hassa, the enslaved woman pulling strings from the shadows, those secrets are going to come out. The Final Strife isn’t patterned after a single real-world story of colonialism, but rather reflects our world’s troubled past (and present) with colonialism.

It’s hard to talk too much about The Final Strife without giving away spoilers, but the world that El-Arifi has built really opens up once you proceed to the second and third books in the series, including a satisfying, epic battle that every epic fantasy needs. Add in a complicated and well-done web of romantic subplots with a dash of spice, and The Final Strife is the perfect epic fantasy to break out of the Tolkien and Sanderson archetypes.

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