The Golden Tower (Magisterium, #5)
Holly Black
The final, thrilling instalment in this extraordinary series from bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. A generation ago, powerful mage Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed... but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Facing up to what he is, Callum has battled chaos and evil across four years of magical training at the Magisterium, eventually defeating the armies of chaos in an epic battle. It came at a cost. Now, triumphant and heartbroken, Callum Hunt has just about had enough, and is ready to complete his training. But the evil Callum faced has not given up just yet...
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What a fuuuuuun series!
I can't believe I didn't finish it back when I first read The Iron Trial. (Actually, yes I can. Pretty sure The Silver Mask and The Golden Tower weren't out yet, so I probably de-prioritized it.)
This was such a fun series. I love the characters. Jasper is bae. I looooove the way it ended, and I was so glad to have Aaron around for this installment.
Alex was also one of my favorite kind of villains. He's basically just a giant parody of a villain. I love a good villain who just acts like a big baby and is hilarious, which is exactly what Alex was. Like, dude, no one will take you seriously when your evil overlord demands are that you want a TV room. Alex and Jasper's banter was hilarious. When Jasper asked if he had a dungeon and Alex was like, "OF COURSE I HAVE A DUNGEON." Dead.
A little mad about Alistair. But you win some and you lose some. Also Master Rufus at the end... WTF.
The magic system is pretty cool too. I love the whole makar thing and chaos magic. It's unlike anything I've ever read.
Also, I noticed the inclusion of LGBT+ characters in such a casual way, and I'm really into it. Celia is mentioned as having two moms, and tbh I can't remember who it was exactly, but two boys in the Magesterium are said to be dating. And when Master Rufus tells Call about a person he fell in love with, he just says it's a guy and Call doesn't comment on it, doesn't say he's surprised. No one makes a big deal of it at all, and I think including these kind of things is really good, especially for young readers.
Good, pretty low stakes fantasy. Great fun!!
03.75 Stars
My ratings throughout this series have been pretty consistent. This time around I did enjoy the story but I just didn't feel like there were any surprises. Well, except for that one. Maugris anyone? I never expected that but also, they never actually dealt with him either.
The characters acted exactly as I expected them to. The story wrapped up the way I had expected it to. But honestly, as it's a mid-grade, I feel like it's the right level for its target audience.
Overall it was a good ending to an enjoyable series. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
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