I really enjoyed this book.


I love the setting. I haven't read any Thai inspired fantasy so it was very interesting. I love the folklore and the spirits.

I liked Ex. He's a smart alec. He's got a mix of young bravado and oh crap I actually don't know what I'm doing that's relatable. He and Arinya teasing each other is fun.

I liked the narrator of the audiobook too. He did a good job with the different voices and phis.

This was a surprisingly fun adventure inspired by Thai mythology.

A warrior is determined to prove his prowess by hunting down a legendary demon; a pregnant woman about to give birth -who is fiercer than she looks- employs him to help her get to her destination before her baby comes. Along the way they unravel political plots of the kingdom, clash with dark sorcerers, confront the possibilities of demons seeking redemption, and even become entangled with complex spiritual and metaphysical considerations.

The main character can occasionally be lewd or more sexual than I expected, but it was otherwise very upbeat and unlike stories I've read before.

Audiobook Notes:
This is narrated by one of the better male narrators I've listened to. It stands in stark contrast against the recent male narrators I've listened to who employ a falsetto for female voices that sounds truly terrible-- so glad he didn't do that here!! Though it was kind of adorable in the last 10% when he pronounced the "c" in scythe multiple times.

It was so cool to read a Thai-inspired fantasy! I loved learning about the different kinds of phi and different magic systems. Phi hunting gave me very strong Monster Hunter vibes, and I was all for it.

Where the book didn’t work for me as well was in the structure of the plot itself. It felt episodic—almost like a chain of quests in an RPG, to continue the video game train—in a way meant mostly to show off the world, the magic, and the phi. I’m not against episodic plots on principle, but I do feel like they work best when the “sidequests” are linked to either an overarching goal or thematic reasons to be part of the plot, and I prefer explanations of the world to be woven into a scene rather than the main purpose of a scene. It’s for this reason that the plot sometimes felt meandering and directionless and the characters felt reactive rather than actively driving the story. I wish Ex had a stronger reason to hunt Shar-Ala other than “because I need to in order to be accepted as a true hunter” (again, a very video-game-like reason) as well; in the end, hunting Shar-Ala felt like something that just "had" to happen for the rest of the plot to make sense. I also didn’t really care much about the romance between Ex and Arinya.

Still, if you enjoy non-Western fantasy, definitely give this one a try!

(I also had a fun time with the audiobook! David Lee Huynh was great at voicing the dialogue among the different characters.)

The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg is absolutely stunning! I was almost put off with the comparison to the Witcher (I have not read the books and couldn't get past the first half hour of the tv show) but Thai folklore? I am there! I am so glad I took a punt with this incredible book as Salinee Goldenberg is an outstanding storyteller

The narrator David Lee Huynh puts in a fantastic performance and I enjoyed listening to the audiobook as much as I enjoyed reading the book

The key aspect about this book for me, was the multiple POV's. The nuances, the ambience, the worldbuilding and character development, it was so on point. It's easy to be suspicious of a book that is written with technical perfection, but there is so much heart and soul in this narrative that I will be re-reading over and over

A beautiful book and I look forward to seeing a lot more from this author

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media | Dreamscape Lore, the author Salinee Goldenberg and narrator David Lee Huynh for this incredible ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own