Matthew Ward (https://thetowerofstars.com) is the author of more than a dozen novels. The Lie That Binds Them was published last April and is the concluding novel of his Soulfire Saga trilogy. It is the 40th book I completed reading in 2025.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

This book picks up shortly after the second volume in the series ends. The Eternity Queen has been able to strengthen her power. The last of the free cities, Tyzanta, is under threat by her forces. The governor of Tyzanta, Katij ‘Kat’ Arvish, is trying hard to save the city, but the forces of the Eternity Queen are pressing hard.

An assassination attempt is made upon the Eternity Queen, and severe changes are brought to the city of Zariqaz. Castellan Ihsan Damant was with the queen when the assassin struck. He is now desperately trying to find who was behind the poisoning.

In remote Araq, the local engineer Mizrai is working to keep the local infrastructure running. While working at a remote site, Mizrai comes across the Veilkin Zephyr. He takes her home and nurses her back to health. The Queen’s Redcloaks arrive in Araq and begin to force ever greater influence over the small town. Mizrai’s nephew Tarin is arrested by the Redcloaks, and his future looks dim. Mizrai and Zephyr, along with a few friends, attempt to break Tarin from prison.

Arvish is still struggling with the soul of the former Eternity King Caradan Diar contained within her. Sometimes his comments are helpful, but not always. She assembles a small fleet intending to rescue the civilians remaining in Tyzanta. With the Queen’s much larger and better-armed fleet blockading the city, the effort will be risky.

To aid Arvish, Mizrai, Tanith, and a few others plan to sabotage the Redcloak fleet in port to delay their sailing to the aid of the ships blockading Tyzanta. Tanith does not follow the plan and instead takes the opportunity to confront her stepfather. The plan comes apart, but they are able to delay most of the Redcloak fleet. Allowing Arvish to complete her rescue.

Back in Zariqaz, Damant has regained his senses. He had been under the Queen’s glamour. Realizing how bad things really are, Damant and Rîma take the fight to the Queen, but things do not go well.

Arvish, Tanith, and Zephyr, along with a small crew, take a ship into the Vail. They are looking for Zephyr’s home. They find the Issnaîm, but the meeting does not go as they had hoped. Leaving there, Arvish and Tanith make it through a lesion in the Vail, arriving in the mythical Old World. Arvish learns the truth. She and Tanith must travel back to their own world and attempt to bring the Eternity Queen under control.

All of this leads to a final confrontation with the Eternity Queen in Zariqaz. They will either overcome her, or they will all die. But even if they succeed, not all of them will survive.

I enjoyed the 16.5+ hours I spent reading this 571-page fantasy. I had the opportunity to read the prior two novels in this series, and I have enjoyed them all. Those others were The Darkness Before Them and The Fire Within Them. Because of the connected storyline, it would be best to read these three novels in order. There are many characters, most spanning all three volumes. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

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Set in a world of ancient myth and dangerous magic, The Lie That Binds Them is the heart-pounding conclusion to Matthew Ward's Soulfire Saga, where a thief dares to seek vengeance against an immortal king—and finds herself on the path to war.

I never managed to love the Soulfire Saga as much as I loved the Legacy trilogy, mostly feeling like the world building in the present trilogy wasn’t as strong and the characters not quite as haunted and the story not quite as complex. But I did manage to really enjoy some of the characters, and really liked how some kernels were left until the very end. Of course, that did make me feel like there wasn’t enough time to really explore everything these characters discover about their world and lives, but I did like that it kept me reading.

After the events of the last book, Yennika Bascari has become the host body for Tzal, a god who was imprisoned this side of the Veil by the vaporous veilkin, the only beings capable of living within the veil. But Tzal seeks the body that was crafted especially for him, that of Katija Arvish. Kat, though, absolutely refuses, fighting with her friends and allies against Tzal, even as Tzal holds some of them, including Damant and Yali, in his grasp. She has her half-sister Tanith, though, now that they’ve overcome their differences, who is exactly who she needs since Vallant went off into the Veil to find out what world lies on the other side, and never returned. Tzal, though, grows more powerful, hungrier, and more desperate for his perfect host.

The Lie That Binds Them primarily follows Kat and Tanith, but also gives Damant and a new character named Mirzai the opportunity to tell their stories. While Damant has always been one of my favorites, I actually found myself loving Kat’s and Tanith’s stories the most here, and was disappointed some of the others I came to love didn’t really develop further than what they were in the second book. They were certainly absolutely wonderful, but I wish this third book had given them just a little more. Rima, Yali, and Tatterlain are such wonderful characters, but they felt like they’d been fitted into a box and weren’t given any more toys to play with. Instead, my mind turned to Kat, Tanith, and Damant, and was a little confused at first when Mirzai got so much page time. I did end up loving his story, but it was far too bittersweet, and I kind of hated it by the end considering how much time he got to tell his tale.

But Kat, Tanith, and Damant have always been the foremost characters for me. I was disappointed it took so long to get back to Kat, and I really wanted to know what she was doing for the better part of the first half. But, when the story did circle back to her, I really loved her. She’s not so lost to her desire for Yennika here, mostly because Yennika is now host to the Eternity Queen, and now Kat has the soul of the former Eternity King residing in her, which made for some interesting things. She took some big steps throughout this book, and I loved how she leaned on Tanith so much. Their sisterly relationship was always the one that held my attention the most, and I really loved the way it transformed them. In the end, I found I wasn’t missing any romance; the sisterly bond became everything to me.

Damant’s story hurt, and yet it was so fitting for him. I love that he’s older and set in his ways, but not always wiser. His heart really loves duty and the law, and watching him learn the difference between law and justice was really a beautiful thing. Of course, my heart did weep for him a little, because the well-ordered world he spent a lifetime building and defending just crumbled and kept crumbling. The Lie That Binds Them really did some things to him, throwing him all over the place. His ending was hard won, and I absolutely loved every step of his journey.

Since this is the last book, the world is, more or less, set. There were still some things to learn and explore, a true history coming to light by the end, and a world beyond the Veil to see, but most of the world felt well-established from the first two books. I was disappointed that so much of the world building here was pushed off towards the end because it didn’t give anyone or the story enough time to really explore what it all meant. I found myself so curious, and so disappointed when it felt like little more than a poorly thought out foot note.

The Lie That Binds Them does offer a strong conclusion to the trilogy. It’s action-packed, full of sacrifice and plotting and desperation. I did like that the world and the mythology around it was more fully offered, if not explored, but it still felt far simpler than the Legacy trilogy. It had its moments, though, and I did really enjoy some of the characters. Kat grew on me by the end, and Damant will always be a favorite. While I prefer the complexity of the Legacy trilogy, this one was an easier one to follow, and the whole history of this world was fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am really sad to finish this saga. I really enjoyed the world building, magic system, and lore. The story continues to be very plot heavy and has a pretty slow build-up, but the ending was pretty good. I was a bit confused why we added a new POV and I'm not sure it added much to the story, to be honest. This is definitely a trilogy I will need to revisit with less time between each novel.

It is unfortunate that the cast spent the this and book 2 scattered so much. When the crew is together and can play off each other I enjoy the story. But you have a way cooler side character who is an ancient being sword master with a heart of gold and they aren't around too much. Just didn't really have anything to say about it after the ending.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It is always difficult to review the final book in a trilogy without giving away any spoilers. With this trilogy, the author created an interesting magic system around souls and skin graphs and a large array of interesting characters- including a soul vampire and a couple of separated lovers that now share their souls with deities that are trying to take over their lives- set in a Middle Eastern influenced world. In this final novel, it all comes to its conclusion in a very emotional climax that certainly has me wanting to read more from this author in the future.

As a reader, because of this complex world that the author created and the large array of characters, it took a little bit of time to get comfortable in this world again. This is certainly a novel where the reader will have wanted to read the first two books to have a grasp of this world and the characters within in it. It is a series that would best be read all together, though, I give the author credit for not having readers have to wait long between each book of the series.

A problem with concentrating on a large group of characters, is that someone is going to be disappointed because their favorite character doesn't get enough pages. Rima, the otherworldly swordstress and Yali, the locksmith, I came to love and had bigger roles in the first two novels do not have enough of a role in this novel.

Still overall, the series was enjoyable and happy I invest my time in reading it. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this series that is not talked about enough and was introduced to another fantasy author to add to my TBR.

The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward wraps up his “Soulfire Saga” trilogy with a perfectly tied, shiny new bow. Not a squished one from the bottom of that cellophane bag you purchased from a dollar store four months ago. We finally see the end for Kat, Tanith, Damant, their allies, and their enemies. This novel is everything I could’ve hoped for, even if it did have a weakness here and there. It always took me a couple chapters to enter Ward’s world. But when I was inside the book’s pages, it didn’t let me go. The Lie That Binds Them left me with a smile on my face and peace in my heart.

Firstly, I should have reread the second book. The Lie That Binds Them picks up immediately after its prequel lets off, and unfortunately, I couldn’t remember where that was. The first chapter features Kat, but she’s not seen again until you reach the halfway point of the novel. Instead, we’re introduced to a new character named Mirzai to provide a new POV. I didn’t really like adding an entirely new perspective, with a background Ward then had to write out. He would’ve been fine as a secondary character, observed from the perspectives of Tanith, Damant, and Kat. By the end of the novel, we finally understand our main players—their every facet. Ward should write a masterclass for character development.

Forty-five minutes from finishing the novel, I had no idea how Ward would be able to wrap everything up. So many questions ran through my mind, but Ward did it, and it wasn’t rushed. Ward forced nothing. He ripped out my soul when certain characters took their last breaths, but their deaths made sense…even if I did not want to see them go. The book’s ending? Perfection. The book’s overall pacing might’ve been slow at times. A little convoluted, maybe, but most epic fantasies are. You must trust the process and let the picture take shape. And my, my, what a beautiful picture Matthew Ward paints.

If I had to choose, my preference order for this trilogy: The Fire Within Them, The Lie That Binds Them, and finally, The Darkness Before Them. I think Ward’s newest novel refers to something out of his “Legacy Trilogy,” but it’s been too long since I read them to be confident in that assessment. The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward is everything you’d hope for in a trilogy’s conclusion. I will undoubtedly revisit his “Soulfire Saga”—and it’ll probably be sooner rather than later!

It was a great ending to an epic fantasy, even if we meandered to get there.

I think that there were too many additional storylines added in the final installment. We didn't get back to Kat until much later in the book and that was the arc of the story that I wanted.

Matthew Ward had me wholely with the Legacy of Ash series, and it was character focused, and I think that even though he is a master at plot weaving and getting us to a satisfying conclusion, this just proves to me that plot focused fantasy isn't for me.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for an e-copy.

I’m glad to be done with this series. I read book 2 and 3 back to back and it was a slog. Is it bad? No. But it never really caught my attention. As I look back, I think it tried to be too big. There are several different storylines and you couldn’t really see where it was trying to go. For me, the characters were just too flat and there weren’t any that you could really cheer for.

The Lie That Binds Them completely shattered me in the best way possible. The third book in the Soulfire Saga ramped up the stakes to a level I wasn’t ready for, leaving me breathless and emotional at every turn. The characters, especially those who’ve already been tested by so much, are pushed even further, and it was devastating to watch their struggles and sacrifices unfold. The tension was palpable, the world richer, the magic darker, and the twists, oh, the twists had my heart in a vice. This book is more than just a continuation; it’s a whirlwind of betrayal, love, and raw, unflinching emotion. It's absolutely worth every moment, even when it destroys you.

Thank you to Matthew Ward, Orbit, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of the Lies That Bind Them in exchange for my honest review.

The Lies That Bind Them is the epic conclusion to the Soulfire Saga. This book handles not only the aftermath of The Fire Within Them, but it also leaves the characters in a worse situation than they thought they were in initially. This book is very plot heavy with some powerful themes woven in. This book has a very slow build-up. With an ending like The Fire Within Them, there is no easy way to start the book, and there was a bit of a time gap and so as readers we had to catch up on what was going on. There was a new POV added that honestly confused me more than it provided me insight into what was going on. I did not know who he was or why we were getting his POV, and unfortunately, I could have gone without his POV. There also was not much of Kat in the book, which disappointed me. I wish we had spent more time with her, rather than following what was going on with the other characters, especially given that the added POV was not my favorite. While the first half to three-quaters of this book was really slow, the ending was absolutely outstanding. It was powerful and I loved every second of it. I though the ending fit what was happening throughout the series and made sense for the characters. It allowed for some interpretation, while also giving the characters a satisfying ending. I just wish that the first portion of the book was as intriguing as the ending because it took a lot of willpower for me to get to where it started to pick up. I will say, I am just starting to get into plot-driven fantasy with less character-development in a book, and this book might not have been a great way to dip my toes into plot-driven books. I do want to reread this book at some point through an audiobook format though, because I enjoyed the first two books much more when I reread them via audiobook, rather than reading them physically. So we shall see. Either way. I think those who have loved this series up to this point will love this book. It might not have necessarily been my absolute cup of tea, but I did finish it, and am happy I did.

An excellent conclusion to an engaging and inventive fantasy trilogy! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very strong ending to what was a fabulous fantasy series. I think I enjoyed it the least of the 3 books, but the difference between them is very minimal as they were all very well done. The ending in particular was spectacular, and exactly what I'd wanted for the trilogy. It really feels like the author put that extra effort to make the ending exactly right, and I absolutely think they nailed it.

I really enjoy the characters in this series and the addition of the new POV to go along with our other 3. It's fun to see a new perspective on an already well established character dynamic and it was a nice touch. The character development was great and felt like everyone got really fleshed out and properly explored. It was great to see the flaws and humanity in each of them, it added a lot to the story as a whole.

Overall this is a really unique and compelling series, one that I loved reading and will definitely be telling my friends to check out.

Book three of this heighst based trilogy. While it may appeal to fans of mistborn and lies of Locke Lamora, I couldnt get into this series as much as Wards fantastic debut trilogy. If youre looking for positives, this one did end with a good fast paced finale, still, I would recommend his other series much more than this one.

Here wraps up the Soulfire Saga. The author Matthew Ward's creativity is on full display here, with a well-designed world and associated lore. I was looking forward to this book, having read the author's Legacy trilogy a few years ago, as well as the preceding two books of this series. Upon reading it, I can also give a final spoiler-free evaluation of the ending too.

Of the three books in the Soulfire Saga, I found this to (narrowly) be the weakest, with the order being 2, 1, and 3, in that order. I'll start with my negatives, but then move into my positives:

First negative, there was a new character, Mirzai, giving four POV characters in addition to the previous three of Katija Arvish, Tanith Floranz, and Ihsan Damant. I understand the purpose of him relating to the storylines regarding Kat and especially Tanith, but I wasn't overly intrigued by the time spent away from the previous characters, with the first portion of his story regarding a new group of characters. Mirzai was a fine character, but I wish he would've been a non-POV character who was viewed from the perspectives of Kat and Tanith. Here it was just more time spent away from the main cast of characters.

Second negative, the pacing was imperfect, but still improved from where the series started. That was my main gripe with the first book, and while it isn't ideal, it is better.

Third negative (sort of relates to the first), lack of presence of Kat for much of the first half of the book- instead, it was mostly between Damant, Tanith, and Mirzai.

Now onto the positives. I have plenty of good to say about this. The ending landed, big time. I was initially worried because of some of the nitpicks I had mostly at the beginning, but the last couple chapters were to perfection. The payoff was pretty big, and the ending was satisfying (and the Epilogue had some teary-eyed parts, I'll admit that).

First positive, I finally came to understand Kat, particularly her devotion over the flawed Azra/Yennika, despite the latter now merged with the dark god Tzal (now known as the Eternal Queen). I see that it is because Kat is flawed too, she just cannot love anyone else. Azra isn't a complete monster either, there is humanity to her. I think she feels that same way about Kat, even though she manipulates and lies to her face, she has love for her- and Kat is aware of this, which explains her behaviors. I liked the ending arc involving Kat, and I also liked the ending regarding Azra. It suits both of them, and it works.

Second positive, the magic system and lore continues its intrigue. I enjoyed the setup of this all, dating back to the first book, and this continues very much so here in this finale too.

Third positive, the perspectives mostly involving Kat and Damant were interesting. Kat, now the face of the rebellion, with her mentor (and pain in the ass) Bashar Vallant missing, and the rebellion needing a new leader. Her balancing of her friends, her passion for Azra, her search for Vallant, her evacuation of citizens from the Eternal Queen's wrath, her management of her illness, etc. Kat is pulled in many directions, but she keeps it together, and doesn't give up on herself. Damant's perspective, I liked even better, with him under the influence of the glamour (mind control) of the Eternal Queen. The introduction of the Eternal Queen's new court, with a mixture of old and new faces cozying up to the Big Bad, was certainly interesting, as was seeing Damant's navigation of this.

Fourth positive, would regard Damant himself. The best character of the series. Probably Ward's best overall character in both series. Damant stays true to himself and aspires to do better, taking one day at a time to do his best for the world. Selfless, too, always putting those he cares about before himself, and always helping those in needing. Always standing up for what is right. Even when he starts out mind controlled, under the glamour of the Eternal Queen, he applies these values, just this time with the loyalty of the wrong person. His ending is my favorite, out of any of these characters.

The first 80% I'd give a 3/5, but the last 20% ended it just about perfectly (5/5 for that part). S0 I think that I will give this 3.5/5 stars as a whole. Overall a fine conclusion to a carefully designed series. I will miss Ihsan Damant- Ward has truly crafted one of my favorite characters in recent memory. Praise to him!