LAST BEST HOPE

The stakes go up considerably in this trilogy closer when the multispecies young heroes of the Danger Club set out to rescue their kidnapped friends.

What with Bauble and Flash being in the clutches of necromancer Elgred Morbide, who’s on the verge of raising the mighty dragon An’Kizhek in order to give the monsters a decided advantage in their long war with the adventurers, the club members have their work cut out for them. As it turns out, only an alliance between monsters and adventurers will give anyone a chance of surviving the dragon’s rise. Forging that connection will require brown-skinned Zellidora Stormclash to shed her false horns and tail, reveal herself as fully human, and accept that since it was Khalira Steelstrike, her own barbarian grandmother, who set these events in motion, it’s up to her to make amends. Fortunately for readers who need everything spelled out, not only is Morbide more than willing to crow about all his plans, but so, too, is Roux eager to wallop readers over the head with messages about being true to oneself and one’s friends. Unfortunately, the price of ultimate triumph is an event that casts a spell of poignancy over the story’s end, with the club’s old members making way for a new generation. Probert’s delicate grayscale illustrations awash in varying shades of blue add to the story’s dynamism and emotional impact.

A brisk concluding round of swords, sorcery, and self-improvement.