Feast of Chaos
Four Feasts till Darkness, Book Three
In this grand adventure, tortured villains turn into twisted heroes, hardened warriors reveal hidden passion and compassion, and everyone seems to be hiding something.
Feast of Chaos is the emotionally charged third book in Christian A. Brown’s addicting Four Feasts till Darkness series. Geadhain’s Great War continues to leave a wicked trail of far-reaching destruction, toppling kings and queens and awakening flesh-eating nightmares from the wreckage.
Morigan and her Wolf, Caenith, along with an uneasy band of allies led by Moreth, former Master of the Blood Pits, set off for the wilds of Pandemonia to retrieve a relic rumored to hold the secrets of the Black Queen’s heart. Meanwhile, on the other side of Geadhain, Lila and Erik, once Queen of Eod and the hammer of the king, become the most infamous fugitives in Carthac with prices on their heads. Though they are fierce enemies, the Iron Queen joins forces with the Everfair King as the people of Menos attempt to rise again from the rubble of their fallen city.
As book three of what Brown describes as “an expansive and complex work,” Feast of Chaos rivals Game of Thrones for intricate plot details, containing secrets within prophecies within dreams. Fortunately, much of the established backstory is covered by a thorough recap and a glossary of characters that describes the “Paragons, Wonders, and Horrors” of Geadhain, as well as “Eod’s Finest” and “Menos’s Darkest Souls,” making it not strictly necessary to consume the books in order, although all are highly recommended.
The land of Geadhain, where kilts and baroque chest plates are at home next to bowler hats and overcoats, and where a shapeshifter can marry a dreamwalker, fascinates with its eclectic mix of advanced technomagik and primitive, warring savages. Brown fashions a unique combination of science fiction and fantasy. The tone and descriptive language are a distinctive mix as well. Crass, violent, and brutal passages blend with elements of whimsy, romance, and introspection that balance the rougher aspects.
The story is heavy on action. Most characters are involved in perilous journeys or quests. Yet there is a great deal of character development as well, particularly for Lila and Erik, who evolve and are empowered both physically and emotionally, and for Talwyn, who emerges as so much more than the bumbling scholar he is mistaken for when he sets off with Morigan and crew. Tortured villains turn into twisted heroes, hardened warriors reveal hidden passion and compassion, and everyone seems to be hiding something. Danger lurks in every shadow, but, as Moreth tells his fellow travelers, “life is an adventure, and this will be one of your greatest. And perhaps your last.”
Feast of Chaos, with its multiple story lines that are related through flashbacks, memories, dreams, omens, and present action, is a transitional but vital Four Feasts installment, setting the stage for more to come.
Reviewed by
Pallas Gates McCorquodale
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
