In the finale to the Convergence Saga, Cadwell Turnbull lets out all the stops with gods, monsters, politics, identity, and intrigue. We step into the multiverse more deeply in A Ruin, Great and Free, and while many of the characters from No Gods, No Monsters and We are the Crisis are role players here, they pale in comparison to the gods behind the scenes rolling the dice and playing with their lives.

This series is an incredible work of contemporary fantasy, primarily set in Boston and the Virgin Islands, with cutting commentary on those who do and don't belong in society mixed with communal politics and an all too familiar social fear of Other. The queer normativity and diverse cast feel natural to the storytelling, especially with folklore from around the world folded neatly into the character layers. Turnbull uses a variety of perspectives and tenses to tell different parts of the story, which work well from a craft perspective.

As this is the third book in a now-finished trilogy, you must read these in order. I highly recommend reading all three fairly close together to watch the character arcs and see the groundwork Turnbull lays throughout. And see above: there are a lot of characters, which means the longer the time between reading the less likely you are to remember the nuance of each.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I am giving my rating based on my own personal opinion and not that of any other party.

A Ruin, Great and Free is book three in the Convergence Saga by Cadwell Turnbull.
I’ve been patiently waiting for this title because I loved No Gods, No Monsters.
And Cadwell Turnbull didn’t disappoint here either.
This was a captivating and entertaining read.
I finished this book in two days I was that hooked.
This story was utterly fascinating and the characters so entertaining.
And the writing is very clever.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

4.75 stars

This is one of those series that I immediately have trouble writing a synopsis for or even simply describing the premise of. There are just so many layers and complex storylines converging (haha) together. It's like a very delicious (and devastating) piece of baklava.

What I think truly floors me in every book in this series, including this conclusion, is the skill Cadwell Turnbull wields with flowing from one character POV to the next (although technically it's all one character's POV). The ability to write so many diverse characters with complex lives who all feel real and relatable and sympathetic despite their many flaws and bad decisions!! That is a level of skill that so very few authors possess.

This is also a book that forces you to pay attention to every detail. It doesn't hold your hand or underestimate your intelligence but it also isn't deliberately confusing or convoluted. From the very first book it's a rollercoaster ride during which you have to clutch onto the handles and not let go until it's over. In my opinion, the best way to read the series is to binge them all in one go because it's basically just one big book split in three in a way so few trilogies tend to be.

There are so many tropes and genres mixed in here (werewolves, vampires, cosmic gods, secret societies, monsters, aliens and alien technology that grants immortality, alternate realities, prophecies, cults, magic, co-ops and community politics, North American and USVI politics, revenge plots, body hopping, past lives, etc.) but somehow Turnbull makes all of them fit together in one big perfect cosmic horror thing. The ending was also simply perfect and I will be thinking about this story for a long time.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC.

Let's put aside the fact that this is a sprawling, huge, and encompassing piece of work that Turnbull has created.

What will always be profound and resonate with me is that this is about community. Whether it is a group that comes together out of love or fear or is formed in search of power, these are beings who want to be a part of something, who want connection. So inspite of all the magical beings that permeate this book and series, it is so very human.

Now to get back to the universe or should I say multiverse. A Ruin Great and Free is the culmination of learning about monsters amongst us, both natural and made monsters, gods, societies, time, space, and the multiverse. One would think it is a difficult read but Turnbull writes it with an ease and if you pay attention, you will not get lost and will thoroughly enjoy the connections being made.

We are going beyond the ones we have become familiar withnand gain some insight into the shadowy and intriguing characters introduced peviously and i love that there still remains some mystery to this endeavour. This is a world that I won't mind returning to and you should too. It is fantastic, fun, intricate, intimate, and worth it.

I don't even know what I read. Still reeling and confused to the heavens and back. I read all three books back to back and could not begin to explain what just happened. This is the kind of series that needs multiple reads and you probably won't be any closer to comprehension.

Boy-o! What an ending. This series is a mix of human stories, monster stories, and god stories, and the relationships between them, across the multiverse. Wow!

#NetGalley

*A Ruin, Great and Free* is nothing short of breathtaking. Cadwell Turnbull writes with a scope and intensity that makes the story feel both intimate and epic, weaving together themes of survival, resistance, and the human spirit with a rare kind of power. From the very first page, I was drawn into a world that felt alive—dangerous, layered, and deeply resonant.
What struck me most is how Turnbull balances scale with heart. The big, sweeping ideas never overshadow the personal; instead, they amplify the characters’ struggles and triumphs, making every choice and every sacrifice hit harder. The writing is sharp, immersive, and emotionally gripping, the kind of prose that refuses to let you go.
This book is fierce, profound, and unforgettable—easily one of the most powerful novels I’ve read this year.

The Lesson is a must-read before diving into this. My brain feels like it’s in a million places after finishing, and I’m already planning a reread of The Lesson and then this third installment of the Convergence Saga. There are so many converging storylines, and they really do come together in the end.

Despite the sheer number of plots and characters, the pacing is quick, and there are plenty of parallels to the first book. I think I enjoyed this one more than the second installment, though nothing will beat how thrilling the first book was for me. Caldwell’s political ideas woven seamlessly into the story are unlike anything I’ve come across in other fantasy/sci-fi series. The progression from cooperative businesses to cooperative societies to cooperative governments (and beyond) is such a fascinating concept.

Rereading both earlier installments was an amazing experience, so I’m really looking forward to revisiting this one @ifthisisparadise reading group on ig later this year. I have so many thoughts… just not a lot of coherence right now. Thank you to netgalley and black stone publishing for the ARC!

I’m really glad I reread the first two books before starting this one. This series does not believe in hand holding regarding past events. It makes for a super fast paced read. I love the characters and the character and relationship growth. This book, and the trilogy, feel so timely even though the worlds aren’t ours. The only thing that didn’t really work for me was the introduction to a new Earth that wasn’t in the first two. I might like it better on a reread but because there were already so many different places and people to keep track of, it never really yelled for me. Highly recommend this entire series.

Book Review: A Ruin, Great and Free by Cadwell Turnbull
Genre: Speculative Fiction / Afrofuturism / Supernatural Thriller
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Cadwell Turnbull delivers a masterclass in speculative fiction with A Ruin, Great and Free—a searing, layered, and unrelentingly powerful sequel that expands the universe of No Gods, No Monsters while deepening its emotional and political resonance. This is the kind of book that doesn't just entertain; it provokes, illuminates, and lingers.

Summary:
Picking up threads from the first novel, A Ruin, Great and Free weaves a more complex tapestry of secret societies, supernatural beings, and global revolution. The world is now aware of monsters, and the resulting chaos fractures societies, relationships, and ideologies. Multiple perspectives—each distinct, each fully human (or otherwise)—collide as old power structures collapse and new ones rise. The book explores the consequences of visibility, rebellion, and myth.

Strengths:
Narrative Ambition: Turnbull juggles timelines, POVs, and metaphysical dimensions without ever losing narrative control. It’s intricately constructed yet incredibly readable—a rare balance.

Thematic Depth: Colonialism, liberation, identity, memory, surveillance—Turnbull doesn’t just name-check these issues, he embeds them into the marrow of his story. The title isn’t just poetic; it’s a thesis.

Worldbuilding: The mythology is rich and original, blending Caribbean folklore, science fiction, and cosmic horror into something that feels both ancient and dangerously modern.

Emotional Resonance: Whether it’s familial grief, romantic tension, or ideological conflict, Turnbull never forgets the human cost. The characters are vivid, flawed, and unforgettable.

Literary Style: The prose is lyrical without being indulgent—sharp when it needs to cut, tender when it needs to comfort. Turnbull writes like someone who’s read widely and deeply, and it shows.

Weaknesses:
For some, the nonlinear structure and multiple storylines might demand more attention than typical genre fare. But the payoff is worth the effort, and it rewards a close read.

Bottom Line:
A Ruin, Great and Free is not just a great sequel—it’s a statement of purpose. Turnbull proves himself one of the most important voices in speculative fiction today, blending intellect, imagination, and heart in equal measure. If No Gods, No Monsters was the spark, this is the full blaze.

A Ruin, Great and Free is an unexpected culminating installment that both suites its series namesake, Convergence, and is a significant departure from the first two books. This is a series where community is not only a character, but the main protagonist. We've progressed from learning about the players, through the forming of their community, and finally we see a community fight for its existence, and importantly, how a community persists in the aftermath of tragedy.

This starts as a series about humanity in a world with werewolves and tech mages and incomprehensible gods. With this book, things get weird. We dive into ontology and metaphysics of a sprawling pantheon with its own power struggles amongst the gods. Reading it, I could see the lines of how the themes and project of the earlier books leads us to this one, and yet it's not the third and final book that I was expecting, and in some ways wanted, for this series. Cadwell Turnbull is fantastic at capturing small, simple moments that pack such a wallop of humanity, sorrow, and compassion, and this book largely takes a step back from the small and goes big. For a final book, there is so much new introduced that it can be overwhelming and distracting at times. This makes for some mind blowing moments and implications, but also isn't what I originally loved about these books.

Overall, I struggle with writing this review. The first two books are all time favorites for me, and this one is not there (yet), but at the same time I may have even more thoughts after this book than the others. It still has Turnbull's thoughtful, powerful-through-its-simplicity style. It wraps up the many, many threads of this series in a satisfyingly ambiguous way. Despite my internal conflict between what I wanted this book to be and what this book is, it is a good book, and strong ending, to a great series.

A Ruin Great and Free is the third book in the Convergence Saga trilogy by author Cadwell Turnbull. (I’ve read and reviewed the first two books as well — here and here). The title appears more than halfway through the book in the in the midst of a monster fight as Alex (also known as Amethyst) squares off to fight her mother / not mother. Alex is crying and has blood on her face. “She is a canvas dripping with wet paint”, Turnbull writes, “a ruin, great and free.”

That scene is indicative of the whole series. Turnbull writes with great skill and knows how to turn a phrase. He knows how to build a story and people it with characters who draw you right in. And this story - the monster fight - is one of many across multiple universes that are woven together in this series.

I wrote about the first book that it was “beautifully written and keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next - and to figure out what the heck is going on.” The same held true for the second book. The beautiful writing and interest to see how this all turns out carry through this third book too.

The mix of human stories, monster stories, god stories, and the combinations between them, across the multiverse, can be hard to keep track of for a reader. But the great writing and intriguing ideas has kept me coming back.

The books in this series are concerned with a lot of notions but how to build community seems to emerge across the series as chief among them. In A Ruin Great and Free the monsters have separated themselves from humans for safety and are building community in a rebuilt ghost town they call Moon.

The community supports itself through banding together into cooperatives to produce products they are able to magically transport into human society, hoping to keep humans from finding them. Humans don’t like monsters and there are humans who would bring violence to Moon.

Later in the book we observe a legal proceeding among the gods. It’s hard to convey what’s at stake there in a short review but suffice it to say that we learn more about the community of gods in this book than we have so far throughout the series.

The book did not end the way I thought it might, but it was a satisfying conclusion. And with that end comes the end to this series of books that is challenging to read but really well written. The series raises issues and explores concepts that really make you think.

I raised mild criticism of the second book for its dense plotting, and if anything, it’s gotten denser with this third book. But this book benefits from building a conclusion from the characters introduced in books 1 and 2. So, even though the stories come fast and furious, you aren’t trying to understand who all the characters are (though I did have to go back and skim books 1 and 2 a couple of times to jog my memory).

I don't know what I was expecting from this book, the last instalment in this sprawling, mindbending, multiverse-spanning saga, but I did not expect it to blow my mind in the very first chapter. A bold, audacious opening and from that point on, I could barely put it down.
All these lives and stories intertwining, all the monsters and humans, all the gods and mages, it all comes together for a profoundly moving conclusion I could not have predicted and which brought me to tears several times as I was reading. Turnbull writes about communities, about the way people are, together, the way they can help and destroy each other in equal measure, and he does it without ever losing sight of the power and importance of individual characters. This is a thrilling and profound conclusion to the Convergence Saga.