Fortress of Magi

November 30, 2020
Bolender brings her Chronicles of Amicae trilogy to a thrilling close in this follow-up to The Monstrous Citadel. Sweepers Laura Kramer and Okane Sinclair reunite with their Rexian allies, Zelda and Ivo, when the pair arrive in Amicae seeking asylum. While the other cities of Terual battle an increasing number of infestations—monsters that emerge from broken magical amulets—Amicae remains unsettlingly quiet, and much of the early conflict revolves around the Rexians’ struggles to adjust to its culture and the Mad Dogs mob’s efforts to recruit Laura. The action picks up when a series of infestations are linked back to the Mad Dogs, and Bolender uses the resulting conflict to dig deep into the complexities of the magic system and the urgent social conflicts that see the Sweepers caught between criminal mobs and the corrupt city council. News that Amicae’s closest neighbor has been overtaken by monsters comes on the heels of a rumor that the Hive Mind, an old enemy, is on the move, forcing Laura to make an impossible decision to protect the citizens of Amicae. Bolender’s tightly woven plot and intricate magic system carry the momentum to a riveting climax. The result is a thoroughly satisfying series send-off.