I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Locklands is the third and final installment within The Founders Trilogy. Each book has been amazing in my eyes. From the characters to the mysterious adventure, I've just enjoyed each and every page that came my way. I was honestly lucky enough to get the ARC for every book in this trilogy and I hope it won't be my last from Robert either.

In this, you are still following Sancia, Clef, and Berenice. The stakes within this ongoing war are higher than ever and we aren't sure what the outcome will truly be. With so much being unknown, I was very excited for what was about to happen. I just wasn't expecting to get so emotional during some chapters.

For example, reliving some of Clef's memories definitely tugged some heart strings. Then there was another heartbreaking opportunity that came my way towards the end of the book as well. Luckily, the epilogue put a smile on my face and I'm happy all over again. I definitely don't want to spoil anything but if you enjoyed the first two books in this series you shouldn't be disappointed with this one.

In the end, so much happens throughout this book. I liked getting all the creepy clues so that we could somehow put the puzzle of who and what Tevanne is. Just know that I didn't figure it out before the big reveal and my mind was blown. Seriously, I enjoyed this trilogy so much and its bittersweet now that it's over.

I got an ARC through NetGalley, which is how I’m reading it so soon. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

Before I get started, I need to let you all know that this review will have major spoilers for the first two books in the trilogy, and also for this book. Since I have an ARC, I know most of you likely won’t have read this yet. I’m going to give you all a one paragraph spoiler-free review for those of you wanting that:

I liked it, sort of, but not as much as the first two. This book had a whole new feel. Also, there was an 8 year time skip between book 2 and 3 which made it feel like this was book 4 and the author decided to skip book 3 for no reason. The witty dialogue and fun adventure of the first two books was replaced with heavy themes and so much important plot info that just gets dumped on you every few pages. I’ll be honest here, I don’t know how all the people on Goodreads with ARCs are giving this five stars. I thought it was a hot mess and would have been much better if instead of explaining what happened in that 8 year gap, we had been given the missing book. The only thing I felt was well done was the character development, but I felt like that got squished into the book because so many things needed to happen to round off the plot. If the author had simply written another book between Shorefall and Locklands, there would have been enough time for all his ideas. Unfortunately, it felt like he had to cut out all the things I loved about the first two books in order to not make this book insanely long.

Ok. The non-spoiler section is over. From this point on, there will be spoilers for this entire book. I highly recommend going to check out my non-spoiler reviews for the first two books in this series at this point, and then coming back to this once Locklands is officially out and you’ve read it yourself.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD! ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

First up, let me discuss the time skip, because this is my biggest complaint. Here are all the things that happened during the time skip that we are told via info dumping or flashbacks:

Sancia and Berenice got married (Why couldn’t we have seen their wedding? At the beginning they call each other wife so we know they got married. Then, very close to the end of the book we finally get a tiny flashback of their wedding. Why couldn’t we have seen the whole wedding? It would have been so cute.)

Sancia is aging at a rapid pace because of the magical stuff done to her body (This causes some issues, because Berenice is still very young and Sancia is worried she’ll leave her for a younger woman. But this development is cut very short, because most of the character development in this book is about Clef. If we had another book this could have been explored more. I thought it was a very cool thing to do as a writer, but it was barely discussed.)

The main characters have learned how to use their magic to make a hive mind (It’s a good hive mind, and they mostly use it to communicate and learn empathy. But it just gets dumped on you at the beginning. The characters are using this weird dialogue to communicate that looks like this:
<Hey, what’s up?>
I have no words to explain how unbelievably confused I was before they explained that they were communicating telepathically. In the first two books, I loved how we got to see the characters learn to use the magic. In this book, they have already done the learning, and now they’re using all their new innovations. It confused the heck out of me for a while and honestly, this is my biggest reason for wanting another book between Shorefall and Locklands. So much progress happens between the two books and it’s all hastily explained to us.)

None of the characters are grieving for Orso (Orso sacrificed himself and the end of Shorefall, but it’s been 8 years, so their grieving for him was over. Tbh, I forgot what happened and no one explained why Orso was missing. I had to go to the Wikipedia summary for Shorefall to learn what happened to him because I’d forgotten. He’s brought up maybe three times, and it’s just “ah yes, Orso is dead,” and I was just confused like, how? when? Are they ever going to explain how he died? I actually forgot to look it up until just a moment ago, so I was just convinced for the whole book that he must have died of old age or something. This is why I always need a plot summary of the previous books.)

On the topic of things I didn’t remember from book 2, I was also very confused what happened to Gregor. It isn’t until like 15 chapters in that it got explained that he was with the enemy now. But how and why, I had no clue. Maybe I should have reread Foundryside and Shorefall, but like, I shouldn’t have to. I was expecting the first chapter to have a lot of recap, of which it had none.

Those are all my complaints about the time skip. From there, it just gets more chaotic.

The magic developments that were not explained at the beginning suddenly get explained very quickly after the first action scene. I was confused, and more things just kept getting thrown at me. I did really like how the characters Greeter and Design were explained so thoroughly, as compared to everything else. They are sort of conglomerate minds that people have volunteered to join. Although, this was the one place where I felt like it was over explained. Greeter and Design and the others like them we don’t meet all use they/them pronouns because they are multiple people together as one mind.

It took like two whole chapters just to explain Greeter and Design. If the hive mind had properly been explained from the beginning, it wouldn’t have taken so much to explain how they work. Also, I completely understand why the author went into so much explanation about their pronouns. There are probably a lot of people who will read his book that don’t understand they/them pronouns or don’t like that, so I’m very glad he spent so much time on it. He made it clear what their pronouns are and if you have a problem you can get the heck out. Yeah!

Let me be real here, I was so confused why people would want to join the hive. You lose a lot of autonomy when you join these hive minds. Actually, this is like hive mind step 2. When you get taken in by the heroes, you are basically forced to join their hive mind step 1, where everyone shares thoughts. I could understand why Sancia and Berenice wanted to share minds, cause they’re married and it would make things easier for the two of them. But I would not want to join the hive mind because I like my privacy. And I’m sorry, but I don’t want everyone else’s thoughts in my head.

There’s one new character, Deila, who hates the hive mind and doesn’t want anyone in her head. Everyone else basically tells her to buck up and get used to it. They don’t respect her desire to just be alone with her thoughts and honestly, it’s mentioned once and then dropped. It’s like furthering the plot was more important that discussing how this character is extremely uncomfortable with this situation. The author took so much care to explain Greeter and Design and their pronouns, then just forgot about Deila’s wishes. If I remember correctly, there was an option to say no to the hive mind, but for Deila, that was not an option, since she was so good at magic. I was very confused how that makes it ok to force a teenager to join the hive mind.

Claudia, who was one of the few characters from the older books, was given absolutely no development. She just hangs out with sick Deila for like two chapters and that’s her development. Also, she has a family and is worried the whole time that something will happen to her and she’ll die and leave them alone. Why did this not get explored more? I loved this theme and yet the author just ignored it for no reason.

Instead of giving all the proper development to every character who deserved it, Clef, the sentient key, is suddenly given development. He had a life before he was a key and is basically forced to relive it through flashbacks and deal with his actions. I completely understand why this was necessary and I really liked how this was handled. But, why? Clef is a new person/key. Sure, he made some mistakes and has to deal with them. But like, for all of the first two books, he doesn’t remember any of this. Why did the author suddenly drop all this on us at the end of book 2?

I felt like Clef was a cool character in the first two books, then suddenly that all changes. He’s no longer the happy-go-lucky key. Suddenly, he’s the ancient hierophant that lost his daughter to the plague and made some shitty decisions and has to deal with the ramifications. What happened to the old Clef? It’s like the author’s desire for the plot to keep going overran his desire to make Clef his own character, unburdened by the past.

So then at the very end when Clef finally sees his wife again and is forced to die in order to fix his mistakes I was mad. I’m still mad. What the actual heck? Why was it necessary to kill Clef? Why not put his soul back into the suit of armor it was in for most of the book and take away his magical abilities? I absolutely hated the ending for multiple reasons, and this is reason number one.

The author said fuck Clef and forced him to pay for his own actions, which for two books he did not remember. Everything that Clef did in the first two books was ignored in favor of Clef remembering his past life and feeling bad about having been the cause of all the problems. I was already not happy with the big twist of Clef being Craesade’s dad in book 2, and then the author went all out on that plot line in Locklands.

No. Just no. Don’t take away my emotional support key because you had a plot idea. The plot was not more important than the characters. At least not this part of the plot. I was happy we got to see Clef’s past, but then the ending happened and Clef had to sacrifice himself to stop the bad guy and all I wanted to do was yell at the author. Clef was a new person/key and all of the shit he did in the first two books was ignored because he made one mistake that he doesn’t even remember.

While I’m discussing the ending, can we talk about the epilogue? Sancia shuts the big door and has to trap herself there. Berenice is left alone. Also, Berenice had to be cut off from the hive mind. This is important, trust me.

So what happens in the epilogue? Everyone walks out of Berenice’s life one by one. The hive mind characters stop talking to communicate altogether, which means Berenice is just completely ignored. Holy shit I wanted to punch every single person who treated Berenice the way they did. They left her on an island and went to a whole new planet or world or whatever. Was anyone going to explain how that was possible? No? Then can they at least explain why they left her alone? Apparently not.

Eventually, she’s given a boat that takes her to the door where Sancia is trapped. But like, the characters are so cryptic about it that Berenice doesn’t even know what’s happening. I thought giving her a boat was their halfhearted attempt at making up for ignoring her. I legit just thought it was a boat and she could travel now.

I don’t know why treating Berenice like an outsider and abandoning her was necessary, but I’m mad. That’s it. I’m just mad. This entire book made me mad. I had to keep stopping partway through because I was mad and thinking about DNFing it.

I’ll be honest here, this book was very different from the first two in tone. I love dark tones, but not like this. Not when it’s suddenly dark for no reason and none of the shit that needs explained gets explained. If there had been a book to bridge that 8 year gap, I feel like the author would have had to enough time to develop everything he shoved into this book. But since this was all we got, that’s it.

I am very mad this is the end of the trilogy. There were so many unanswered questions at the end. How did everyone except Berenice discover how to travel to a new world? Why did they go? Was there actually a deity as the bad guy thought, or were there no gods? Why introduce the idea that there might be gods then abandon it?

I feel like the tldr for this review is that I’m very confused and very mad. I was hoping this series would go out with a bang, and then I got this dumpster fire of a book. I’m not even sure I want to buy this book. I own the first two in hardback and I’d love to complete my set, except that I didn’t like this and don’t want to waste my money on a book I didn’t love.

Just knowing that this book is confused garbage taints how I see the whole trilogy now. I wish I’d never read this and ruined my experience with this trilogy. I could have just not read this and been fine and still felt like this trilogy was one of my favorite series of all time. But noooo, I had to go and request an ARC and read it and now I’m upset that I’ve ruined it.

Imma just go mad/sad cry now. I hope you all have a much better day than me.

Locklands
(The Founders Trilogy #3)
by Robert Jackson Bennett
This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is my own opinion. I enjoyed the first two books and quite curious to see how the last book would end the trilogy.
The same characters are there to follow. But this book seems so much darker than the others. The scriving, magic, is not only for objects now but is used to control people. The odds are against the characters we like!
There is plenty of fantasy, unpredictable situations, and great characters to cheer on. Good world building too.
Some of the descriptions of the scriving was a bit too detailed for me but a great book overall. I did get very sad at times.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book!

2.5/5. So disappointed.... Foundryside and Shorefall were fantastic and I was looking forward to how the trilogy will wrap up. This series has one of the most unique magic systems I've read, I personally like to think of the magic system like a coding language. In the two previous books, Bennett was able to explain the magic system in simple way that was easy for the readers to picture, but in this concluding book it became so complex and convoluted that it would take me out of the story entirely.

The two main characters, Sancia and Clef, were a joy to read about in the last two books, but in this third book they seemed like strangers to me. This could be due to the story taking place 8 years after Shorefall, and character growth and personality traits could have changed in those 8 years.

I received an ARC of Locklands from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review!

I think, before I say anything else in this review, that this book made me cry. And not just that, but it made me cry in a public space, fully knowing that other people could see me. This is an important fact, solely because I am notoriously not someone that cries at media. Some of my favorite books have never managed to pull a single tear from me. But the ending of this book, some combination of the right words at the right time in the right context, left me morosely sniffling in a way that rarely happens. It's a fact that I think needs to be recognized, because no matter what I say on a critical level, it managed to resonate in a deep emotional way.

Overall? I really did enjoy this book. The first two thirds of it managed to really make up for major flaws of the first two books, where I often found the dialogue somewhat awkward and also felt that I was being hit over the head with the ideology of the book. While I do agree with the core themes of the series, they often felt like they were being spelled out in glowing neon lights for the readers, which was a lack of subtly that I was never quite sure how to reckon with.

BUT as I said, the first two thirds really managed to avoid that! There was much more deftness in the writing, which was so heartening to see! I also really enjoyed the emotional focus on Berenice, and having all of that insight into her and who she is now, in the wake of the first two books. However, the more overt spelling out does return in the last third, but I do understand that this is the last book, and the heart of the concepts of the series did have to be pulled together in the end.

Also the magic in this book!!! Like I have always adored the way that magic is written and conceived of in this series and this REALLY drove that home in such a delightful way. I was so, so delighted by all the bits of magic and creation taken to a logical conclusion, in both optimistic and pessimistic ways. It was wonderful to see.

I can't really say anything about the plot without spoiling everything, but the end of it all felt like a fitting way to end the series. It all felt /remarkably/ consistent, and I don't feel disappointed by the ending or the character arcs. They were set up well, and followed through well, and I was glad to watch them happen.

So yeah! I have my quibbles and gripes, but I was genuinely so delighted by the ending of this, and it struck a strong emotional chord with me, and that's all I can really ask.

A solid conclusion to this unique fantasy trilogy. We come back to this world 8 years after the events of Shorefall, in the middle of an ongoing war between what is left of free humankind and the Heirophant entity now collectively known as Tevanne. We see how or characters have evolved with the years, and how the circumstances have lead to creative advancements in scriving technology.
This was not quite a 5 star read for me- I found myself missing the curious and unique spark that the first book had. But I respect that that is such a hard feeling to replicate once the world and technology is established. I do feel like it makes sense for the progression of the story that we don't have as many instances for the focused puzzle-logic we experienced when we were first introduced to scriving. The world has expanded, and so has the nature of the challenges our characters face.
Similarly, I understand why the character focus has now shifted to Berenice, as "revelations" from Shorefall have played out and made it so Sancia can no longer do all the leading action she did previously.
I thoroughly enjoyed our climactic action sequences, and I thought there was a successful build-up to the conclusion- it was foreseeable in a way that made sense, but not in a way that felt cliche or trite.
-Don't skip the author's acknowledgement at the end, there are plenty more emotions to be found there.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about RJB’s writing is his ability to pull you into the character and make you truly empathize with them. This also happens to be the main conceit of Locklands. Twinning has advanced, and it is now possible for you to fully empathize with (and sort of become) anybody by being twinned with them. This is the innovation of the Givans - the little island nation started by the remaining heroes from Shorefall.

For the past 8 years, Giva has been fighting a war with Tevanne, a combined hive mind of Valeria, Gregor Dandolo, and the many people it has enslaved and bound to its control.

The third party in this war is our old pal Craesedes, and the book revolves around how the Givans attempt to thwart two all-powerful beings, each with their own designs and agendas.

There’s plenty of action sequences in this book as the Big 3 (Sancia, Clef, Berenice) take on these ungodly powers who are trying to push the restart button on the world.

It’s a bit like No Time to Die crossed with The Matrix and it’s much higher stakes than the previous books.

What was really compelling about this book (to me) was our protagonists coming up against the murky underbelly of a large-scale war - war is always dirty, so how do you ensure that you don’t succumb and turn into the villain in your own story?

Very early on in the book, Berenice gives herself this same pep-talk (“I am not like Tevanne”), and we come up against difficult choices in a war torn world.

My favorite book from the Divine Cities trilogy was City of Blades (I understand that I am a minority in this) because delving into the complicated PTSD and guilt of a repentant war criminal is something I don’t often see in other fantasy books. In many ways the story here mirrors that one. Finally hearing about Clef’s backstory, a story about a more personal grief, and seeing how that changed the course of a world was fascinating. I wish the same grace and forgiveness that was extended to Clef was extended to Craesedes as well.

And finally, this is a book that is about technology. I wish we’d seen more about the unintended effects of twinning, about why some people prefer not to join the Cadences, about how these Cadences changed the population - especially art, music, dancing, falling in love, and sex.

Ultimately though, Locklands will leave you heartbroken and hopeful, and that’s a great thing for a novel to achieve. It's a fitting conclusion to the series.

Thank you to random house/del rey books, for the ARC!

Full transparency, I messed up. I got way too excited about the synopsis of this book and my brain jumped over the fact that this is the third in a trilogy. And, well, I haven't read the first two... With that being said, they have all made it to the top of my TBR.

"Locklands"
That's the end of "The Founders Trilogy" and an INCREDIBLE and exceptional story. It's a junction that involves elegant scifi and a well-developed fantasy, it was a really cool story to read and the journey and unique character development is so wonderful that I can't believe that it's finally over and that it won't be anymore, because I I wish it had. It was well written, it was well developed, and even though it wasn't that deep at times, it was still wonderful to read. 4.5 stars.

Final volume of his trilogy where magic works like computer programming, with objects and even people “scrived” to do things that should be physically impossible. The book starts with a big timejump: Tevanne, the construct made out of a city and the body of Gregor Dandolo, is conquering the world, and our heroes have become part of a collective of mentally linked people trying to fight back. But Tevanne has captured the only power that seemed able to resist it, and so they launch a desperate plan to break into Tevanne’s prison, kill Crasedes, and maybe block Tevanne from restarting the world (as in, have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?). It’s a good enough conclusion narratively, but I was a bit depressed by the thought that the only way to fix humanity is to make us psychic so we don’t like inflicting harm any more.

Wow!! Just finished the book and I’m overwhelmed by it! Robert Jackson Bennett has outdone himself.
This wonderful story comes to an epic conclusion and it does not disappoint. The story evolves and continued to surprise me. I don’t want to give away any parts of the story as I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone else. If you’ve read the first two books, get your hands on this on release day, and if you haven’t read book one, get off the couch, grab it and start reading! You won’t regret it!!

The jaw-dropping conclusion to the acclaimed Founders Trilogy, from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and Shorefall Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against long odds in the past. But the war they’re fighting now is one even they can’t win. This time, they’re not facing robber-baron elites or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread. “ I love the beginning teaser of this concluding book. It took me a while to get to this book, but I am glad that I did. I could not put it down and I had so many questions. First it helps to read the first two books to get a better understanding. But the camaraderie of the two main characters to get threw this is nevre racking and about time. I loved it and cant wait for you dear reader to read it too.

Much as all of robert jackson bennetts books have done this novel is distinct in its forms of "magic". He has taken such a beautiful approach to how the mystical part of the world is applied that there is no way to put the book down once its begun. Each revelation, each bit of character growth from both heroes and antagonists feels like natural growth. The time jump takes a bit to adjust to but once you get into that flow the book paces itself well and finishes strongly. Bittersweet perhaps but comforting to the reader as the characters we began with in book one are ending their arcs. Truly enjoyable and i look forward to the next adventure and world from the author.

Not my favourite book in the series, but it sure is a great finale!

This takes place 8 years after the events in the previous book and it allows for a sort of mini-restart to the story. It feels fresh and new. It doesn't follow a heist plot like its predecessors, but focuses more on defeating the bad guy. This installment also continues to integrate its fantasy version of programming throughout the world and characters. So this is very much the same story, just a tweaked version of it.

I really enjoyed the character development in this, especially for Clef. I have loved him since the beginning, so it was so rewarding to get to read more of his backstory. He is also a crucial character for many of the themes in the series, so it was bittersweet to see how his own story concluded.

So even though I missed the heists and devious planning of the previous books, I think this is an apt and satisfying conclusion to a well planned and well thought-out series. I've said it before, but these are the perfect books to pick up for a reader wanting to get into fantasy because of how subtle and realistic the magic system is. The story is intense, but totally worth the binge read!

A phenomenal end to this wonderful trilogy. Robert Jackson Bennett has had me hooked on this series since early in the first book, and I'm so thankful NetGalley has been able to allow me to experience the end and provide a review. Honestly, this whole trilogy is fire and I definitely recommend.

A powerful and satisfying conclusion to this refreshing and inventive trilogy.

Locklands is a magic-infused techno-thriller with elements of cyberpunk and an epic fantasy chaser. The cover is telling: you, the reader, are peering through the cover’s keyhole into another realm, and opening the book will unlock its many secrets. This theme becomes especially relevant to the plot, as the stakes of the story involve rewriting the rules of reality itself. Good luck trying to guess what happens next. This is a blockbuster story, split into five parts, with each part presenting one long action sequence. It is tightly written and fast-paced, wasting no time putting you amidst against-all-odds battles. Ever since the opening pages of Foundryside, Sancia and her crew have been pulling off heists in one form or another. Locklands brings the story full circle by upping the heists to a level where the stakes could not be greater. It’s breathless, mind-bending fun.

Some plot spoilers for books one and two ahead.

Book three picks up several years after the end of Shorefall. Tevanne, an amalgamation of former ally Gregor and Valeria, is using its advanced scriving techniques to conquer the known world. All humans who fall under Tevanne’s path become part of its host army, to be used as sentries, warriors, or even worse: batteries. Sancia, Berenice, Clef, and some of the remaining Founders crew are part of a resistance group that are doing whatever they can to stop Tevanne from acquiring the means to re-write reality in its own horrifying vision. For years, Sancia and Berenice have been innovating to survive their fight against this unstoppable force and have built a new society along the way. Their own scriving method that allows for the “twinning” of minds has given this resistance society the means to have multiple bodies share one consciousness and work in harmony towards common goals. Contrary to how Tevanne occupies all its human hosts as one collective being, the resistance voluntarily shares their identities and souls with each other, linking to a chain of like-minded individuals who are dedicated toward their given societal roles. When two humans link, they share all thoughts and feelings, are able to see through each other’s eyes, and no longer have the need to speak aloud. Link more caretaking beings to this chain and suddenly you have a high-functioning medical unit who knows exactly how to run at full operational capacity and efficiency, with each person working perfectly in tandem, knowing the needs of everyone else at any given moment. It’s a huge sacrifice of privacy for the gain of unprecedented intimacy. Is this a choice the reader would be willing to make with their loved ones? There is a dichotomy that Bennett presents, showing the best and worst of this identity-sharing theme, and made me question what I would do if given certain choices that these characters had to make.

Although we spend a lot of time with our usual main cast, Clef was the primary focus for character development this go-around. His history was integral to the story; we couldn’t move forward without moving backward, and many of the questions raised in the earlier parts of the trilogy were finally answered. Testing the limits of Sancia and Berenice’s relationship was another major theme to this story, and you should prepare yourself with some Kleenex by the time the epilogue rolls around.

Boy, that epilogue. A heart-stomping piece of work that ties off this series beautifully. For as much of the story is an epic war of wit and machinery, there were a few emotional scenes at the end that are going to stick with me the longest. I’ll replay the awesome and creative battle scenes in my head, but I’ll feel the emotional avalanche of the epilogue for much longer.

Bennett has crafted a fitting finish to the Founders trilogy: one full of devastation, hope, torrid action, mystery, and brilliance. His scriving system of re-writing the rules to reality is one of the most creative, rewarding magic systems in any fantasy series I’ve read. Like The Divine Cities, the Founders trilogy smashes many genres into something wholly unique, fresh, and fascinating. I can’t recommend this author, or series, enough.

Thank you for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. This review is published on Goodreads on 3/15/22.

Locklands is the epic ending to Sancia’s saga that began with the enrapturing world within Foundryside. This book begins 8 years after Shorefall night in which Old Tevanne was utterly destroyed. Sancia, Bernice, Clef, and the other beloved characters reprise in the new nation of Giva. Giva has been created over the years in opposition to Tevanne, who is comprised of the twinned of the minds of Gregor Dandolo and Valeria. Tevanne has waged war against humanity for the entirety of those intersecting years, committing numerous horrors that range from deleting entire chunks of reality to creating “hosts” that can only serve Tevanne. Through this bleak, hopeless world, Giva’s constituents fight back using tools both old and new to oppose total annihilation.

Throughout The Founders Trilogy, the theme of what it means to be human has been explored extensively. In Shorefall, the idea of twinning minds is first introduced. This means that two people basically become one. They share all thoughts, feelings, and emotions, which creates a new understanding of empathy in the twinned people. It’s interesting to think about if this makes one more or less human. In one sense, having more experiences to draw upon creates a deeper understanding of what it is to be human, however, it detracts from the human experience of having to make mistakes to learn. Another facet of this is how much memory influences actions. If you cannot remember the mistakes you’ve made, you can be doomed to make them again. But if you can remember the mistakes of an entire community, or of an entire civilization then choices can be made to benefit all.

I’ve always felt an easy immersion into the world of The Founders Trilogy. How easy would it be to change the permissions of the world by scriving? How tempting to argue with a scrumming lock until it opens when you’ve forgotten your key? How comforting would it be to twin yourself with the person you love most in the world to create a deeper understanding between you both? If it weren’t for the horrors those tools have been used for, it would be a paradise.

I’ve also seen myself in the characters of Sancia, Bernice, and even Clef. This book also introduces new characters who have unknowable depths to them. These characters are well-rounded. They have fears, hopes, dreams, and they even make mistakes. There is real chemistry between Sancia and Bernice, and the depth of their love in this story made me tear up on numerous occasions. These characters have grown throughout the trilogy as well. They are not the same people who stole Clef, nor are they the same people who released Valeria. They are older, wiser, and more resolute in trying to defeat Tevanne. Not only have the protagonists changed, but the antagonists have as well. Crasedes is not the same hierophant that he was throughout thousands of years previously, but I’ll let readers discover that on their own.

My only critique of this book stems from the pacing of the plot. There were times when I actually struggled to pick it back up because the pacing was fairly slow, especially in the beginning. Even though there was supposed to be urgency due to Tevanne’s actions, it wasn’t always fast paced. The ultimate confrontation, however, was absolutely wonderfully paced. It was quick, but slow enough to allow deep feeling to settle in when actions ended up having huge consequences. And what an ending it was. Both sorrowful and sweet, I think that it could not have ended a better way. Hats off to Mr. Jackson Bennett for ending this trilogy as wonderfully as he started it.

In this novel, the world is at war. Set eight years after the end of the previous book, Robert Jackson Bennett introduces Berenice (now a general), Sancia (whose rapid aging means she is increasingly playing a support role on missions) and their team in their efforts to save a city. Bennett pushes the idea of twinning (a scriving introduced in the first book) even further where a team of diplomats/warriors are all twinned. The fight is to protect the free world against Tevanne - an amalgamation of hierophantic power which turns people into zombie-like "hosts." This opening battle is a microcosm for the rest of the book. Who will win? The people of Giva who is made up of refugees and use twinning to cooperate and gain empathy for one another? Or Tevanne who is legion?

There was a lot to like about this book. First, I love a good heist story. Second, I love a great magic system. Lastly, I love opening locked doors. Let me tackle these in order.

Heists:

I know it's a form of story-telling which doesn't work for everyone but I always find myself engrossed. Each book in this trilogy has played off the heist trope in it's own distinct manner, raising the stakes each time. Locklands has several heists, some of which exist on multiple layers simultaneously. It's a tight, fast-paced, and gripping read. There are just enough pauses for you to catch your breath before rushing off onto the next sequence. I think Bennett also does a good amount of characterization in those pauses - setting up for an emotional climax, which while predictable, delivered a punch.

Magic:

The idea of changing simple rules to great effect is really elegant, in my opinion. I think the idea of scriving (which functions basically like coding) was really fun and had cool applications. Bennett pushed his ideas further and further with increasingly novel applications. His application of twinning in the previous novel was really cool. Bennett pushes that idea even further in the final installment. The applications move on past fighting or technological innovation and onto what it means to be human and the idea of utopia. This final push was hard for me. There is a sub-plot which revolves around post-humanism which left me slightly disturbed on first encounter and increasingly so with further acquaintance. It doesn't take away from the plot of the book, but left me disquieted.

Opening Locked Doors:

This is always a fun trope to play with - from Door in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere to Alohamora in Harry Potter. Clef was always a cool idea. He's a key to open any lock or rewrite any scriving. In this book, Clef is faced with his past more than in any other. His journey into his past and interior mind is well laid out. Again, slightly predictable but played out with pathos. Clef's role as a key, while crucial to the plot and the climax, was not prominent in this book. I don't feel cheated though - it was cool seeing Clef wrestle with his past.

While I enjoyed reading this book, I felt the conclusion was bleak. There was a lot of foreshadowing about the character's fates. But in the end, it felt like Bennett dwelt on repercussions (positive and negative) a little too strongly. And again, some of the ways he answers the question of what it means to be human and what comes after human was troubling to me. Overall, I still enjoyed the series and would recommend it. The ending (and the juvenile cursing and endearments) are what keeps it from being five stars.

This is the third book in the Foundry trilogy. I loved the way these books were hard steampunk but set in an older fantasy type setting. I have truly enjoyed the first two books & complexity of them as well as the fact they have been spread apart as the author has spent a great deal of time & energy into putting them together I do not have hard or e copy to go back to & brush up on anything in the first two. This happens to me & all in film series also where it is good to maybe watch the last episode you had watched over a year ago to slide into next. Because there was a lot of things & undercurrents & nuances in thoughts & action I regret that as my mind is not a steel trap with pristine retention In the first two other than how the second was going in a slightly different angle than the first. It is the absolute worse friends to enemies theme with Gregor that had been turned revenant before Sancia met him & fought for good but didn't have much choice when he thought swallowing a scrived plate would change Valeria's manical plans only to be swallowed by all he hated. Now he is the evil. Sancia also is suffering fast aging from the scriving plates in her head. The shriving & twinning has gotten much more complex as they have gone on & now Clef the key has mega control & ability to become much much more complex in what all he can inhabit. They have been able to twin minds together & in groups which can be really fair or foul. It is a joy to hear some thoughts of those you care for but the whole borg thing is kinda too much imo, With a like minded group that already has their strong boundaries one thing but 24/7 another & too intrusive. Sancia & her motley crew of foundry idealists have freed whole areas of slaves & built their own nation of many from multiple cultures & peoples on their floating islands of ships attached to their base island. Tevanne has captured Crasedes & they need to invade his stronghold to kill the old evil Crasedes before T gets the information of how to get to the room beyond the door to reset all existence [or not, just creating a void] but still Clef is the key to it all. Highly recommend getting all three books at once or tabbing them where you can flow from first to next. This was a great finale to it all.

(4.5 stars rounded up)
10 seconds review: The culmination of the Foundryside trilogy. The world is at stake with Sancia, Berenice, and Clef at the center. Completely new level of scriving that pushes imagination. Buckle up, it’s quite the ride.

Longer review: It have been 8 years since the fall of Old Tevanne, forcing humanity to adapt to the new world with Tevanne and Crasedes Magus threatening everything in their way. We meet Sancia, Berenice, and Clef again fighting to help mankind with the people of Giva behind them. As always this is where Bennett’s strength shine - making the world building feel believable while it was 8 years for our characters and a mere 100 pages of exposition for the readers. Pushing scriving to new realm of possibilities to survive, to fight, and to coexist.

For a novel that takes place in a war, Bennett made sure to add moments to show how far Sanica, Berenice, and Clef came since the first chapter of Foundryside and their longings of returning to peacetime. Supported by characters like Diela, Greeter, and more they have no choice but to move forward no matter how hopeless things seem at times. Thus, Locklands is slightly different from the first two novels. While the first two were akin to an ever escalating mad rush, Locklands gives its characters an inch to breathe.

With Bennett’s experience of writing Divine Cities and the Founders trilogy, the finale landed perfectly. Everyone gets a satisfying conclusion, from Clef to Tevanne and most of all Sancia and Berenice. I look forward to where Bennett’s ideas will lead him next.