The Pattern of The World | J. T. Greathouse

Slightly excited to talk about this book today. This is one that I have been looking forward to. It's the final installment of the Pact & Pattern, The Pattern of The World by J. T. Greathouse LP. 

The thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Pact and Pattern series, which started with The Hand of the Sun King. Perfect for fans of Robin Hobb and Shelley Parker-Chan.

THE PACTS HAVE BEEN BROKEN. THE REBELLION HAS FAILED.

Foolish Cur has fallen into a trap. By resorting to forbidden magic when he failed to overthrow the Emperor, he has done exactly as the gods wanted. Now they are free to wage their war, twisting the world into new forms, as strange and terrible beasts walk the earth.

To fix what he has caused will take every ounce of Foolish Cur's cunning. But mending the pattern of the world is too large a task for one man alone. As the Empire, rebellion and the landscape itself crumble, he and those still fighting for freedom will be drawn together to end the struggle against Emperor Tenet and the gods for good.

But Foolish Cur does not know what such a task will ask of him. And, powerful though he may be, the costs may be more than he is willing to pay...

The breath-taking conclusion to the Pact and Pattern series, this British Fantasy Award-nominated story is filled to the brim with magic, mystery and political intrigue.

The Pattern of the World is the last book of the Pact and Pattern series by J.T.Greathouse.

In The Pattern of the World, J. T Greathouse closes the story of Wen Alder/Foolish Cur and this time the fate of the world and creation is at risk.

At the end of the last book, Foolish Cur opened pandora’s box and now the gods are free to continue their war, and the effects of this war are having catastrophic effects on the whole world.

In an effort to put the genie back in the bottle and fix the mistakes that he has made, Foolish Cur has to attempt to save the world and also stop the machinations of Tenet, the emperor of Sien.

Now I must say that I have loved this series and how progressively the stakes have increased exponentially throughout the story. Similar to book two, the story is a multi point of view story and we follow the arcs of Koro Ha, Foolish Cur and Ral Ans Urera as they each attempt to lead their own respective people to whatever fate is in store. In addition to this, Pinion, the vengeful brother of Oriole is still attempting to claim his revenge on Foolish Cur for what he perceives is the cause of his brother’s death and the fall of the empire. 

It’s always difficult to review the last book in a series as not only does it bring together the whole of the trilogy, it has to stand together as a book in its own right, and I must say that the book succeeds on both counts. Similarly to the second book, Greathouse uses a mixture perspectives and tenses that add an impetus to how the story is portrayed. With Foolish Cur, he writes in a first perspective, whilst in Ral ans Urera perspectives he moves to a present tense, whilst the rest are a third person perspective. This changin in perspectives and tenses works well, even though I generally find the present tense sometimes a little difficult to adapt to, but it gives it an almost hallucinatory/mythical tint when she comes on the scene. 

As usual, Greathouse’s prose works well in the story, carefully maintaining a balance between character and plot as we see some of the characters arcs progress towards the inevitable conclusion. 

And then we have the ending. Whilst I have seen that some other people may not have felt wholly satisfied with how the story ends, personally I thought it was the only way that the story could have ended and felt that this was a satisfying conclusion to what has been a great series. 

If you haven’t read the Pact and Pattern series I think that you would find this to be a great series, especially if you are a fan of Robin Hobb.