Publisher: Angry Robot (Ebook – 13 August 2024)
Series: Standalone
Length: 376 pages
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
One of the rising stars of dark fantasy fiction, Cameron Johnston, returns with an intense, gritty and addictive novel of revenge, desperation and brutal murder, with the brilliant novel, The Last Shield.
One of the more intriguing authors of fantasy fiction I have enjoyed reviewing in recent years is the outstanding Cameron Johnston, who has deeply impressed me with his small but excellent collection of works. Since his debut book in 2018, The Traitor God, I have grown to enjoy Johnston’s novels, especially as his first book was a brilliant story of dark magical revenge. Following up with the awesome sequel, God of Broken Things, Johnston cemented himself as an author to watch, and I have yet to be disappointed by him since. His third novel, The Maleficent Seven, was a fantastically bonkers read that saw a small town become the unwilling recipients of a band of monstrous defenders when a massive army comes to destroy them. I had an amazing time with The Maleficent Seven, and indeed all of Johnston’s books, which is why I was so eager for his latest novel, The Last Shield. One of my most anticipated books of 2024, The Last Shield had an epic and cool plot behind it, and I was so very eager to check it out.
In a world of warring realms and dark magic, the ancient forest realm of Sunweald survives by serving as a buffer country between two far mightier nations on either side of its borders. A realm of tradition and druidical magic, the heart of the nation lies in Sunweald Palace, where the Lord Regent, and the young heir to the throne reside, guarded by Sunweald’s elite warriors, the Shields. Rough and old, Sunweald Palace is an impenetrable fortress designed protect the nation’s royal family, as well as safeguarding a massive vault of unspeakably powerful magical artefacts.
Despite its peaceful status, Sunweald finds itself beset by a group of vicious brigands, the Wildwood Reivers, who have made a living stealing away magical artefacts and trading them across the border. Led by a mysterious witch, the Wildwood Reivers have grown bold, even launching an attack on the royal family. When word reaches the palace of the location of the brigand’s base, the Shields depart to destroy them once and for all. However, their mission is a devious decoy, as through treachery, dark magic and deceit, the Wildwood Reivers and their allies manage to take over Sunweald Palace.
With the Shields away and traitors holding the wall, the brigands plan to loot the palace’s ancient vaults and steal every magical artefact hidden within. However, the Wildwood Reivers face one substantial obstacle to their success, Briar, feared, if hobbled, commander of the Shields. Despite being outnumbered, wounded and near retirement, Briar is determined to perform her duty and reclaim the palace. Using her knowledge of the palace’s secret tunnels and ancient corridors, Briar sets about dismantling the invaders in brutal fashion. But battered, alone and loosing strength, can even a legendary Shield like Briar face the overwhelming odds and lethal magic set against her?
Gosh this was a very impressive and exciting read. Cameron Johnston has a real flair for fantastically over-the-top narratives, and The Last Shield is some of his best work yet. A complex and compelling tale of revenge and redemption, The Last Shield was a non-stop thrill ride, and I loved the deeply intense story that emerged. This was a truly outstanding book that gets a full five-star rating from me thanks to how much sheer fun I had reading it.
The narrative that Johnston pulls together for The Last Shield is extremely awesome, and it can best be described as a gender bent, dark fantasy Die Hard, with some amazing fantasy elements. An excellent standalone story, The Last Shield was a constantly moving book, which drew me in with its clever plot concept and the promised resulting violence. Part of the reason the story works so well is the initial setup, which introduces the new intriguing world, but more importantly effectively gets you across the central characters and the main setting of Sunweald Palace. There are some great early character moments here, especially when it comes to the main protagonist, Briar. The veteran leader of the Shields, Briar is badly wounded in the opening scenes of the book, which kicks off a great arc for her as she attempts to find her purpose after the injury potentially robs her of her position. Some other key character arcs and storylines are also introduced here, including around the young heir to the throne, whose brush with death drives him closer to the disapproving Briar as a mentor. Johnston also takes the time to explore the full extent of the conspiracy to takeover Sunweald Palace, and you grow to appreciate just how dastardly the plot is. As such, you are well prepared for the chaos and carnage to come, and the anticipation Johnston expertly builds up in first part of the book, really enhanced the overall impact of The Last Shield.
As such, the reader is very much ready to go when the villains initiate their plan around a third of the way into The Last Shield. The resulting takeover is as dark and brutal as you’d expect, and the reader is well prepared to despise the antagonists and root for any sort of victory from the protagonist. You don’t have to wait long as the despondent Briar quickly finds herself in the ideal position to fight back and begins her bloody and justified one-woman assault on the invaders. Johnston initiates a series of intense, powerful and increasingly desperate battles, as Briar encounters greater and great hurdles and opponents as she attempts to save the Lord Regent and stop the looting of the castle’s vaults. The author expertly ramps up the intensity every confrontation, and you really find yourself more and more off the edge of your seat as the story proceeds and Briar becomes increasingly injured. There are some brilliantly brutal confrontations all the way to the end, and the author throws in some great twists and major final threats. I honestly loved every second of the epic second half of The Last Shield, and Johnston wrote an amazing, blood-soaked story.
I felt that Johnston did an outstanding job bringing his cool story to life in The Last Shield, and readers are in for a great time if they check this book out. The excellent blend of dark action, intriguing fantasy, and powerful characters really worked for me, and I felt that Johnston perfectly blended storytelling elements throughout the entire book. The writing of The Last Shield is crisp, fast-paced, and well planned out, and it proves impossible not to be drawn into the fantastic scenario and intriguing storytelling. Cameron does an excellent job exploring the new fantasy world that The Last Shield is set in, and you really get drawn into the bronze-age Celtic setting, and the focus on a small kingdom with some intriguing gender roles. I particularly enjoyed how Jonston managed to emulate the feel of a classic action thriller like Die Hard or Under Siege and blend it with the dark fantasy setting. The resulting scenes, which forced a nearly retired badass female palace guard to crawl through the secret tunnels of the castle to save the male reagent while disrupting a magical heist, were so damn fun, and it was a fantastic take on a classic film trope. It helped that Johnston brought his typical, over-the-top mindset to the action sequences in The Last Shield, presenting the readers with an increasing bloody series of fights as the protagonist unleashed her inner fury. These scenes of carnage and brutality paired perfectly with the complex narrative and character arcs that Johnston built up, and the resulting book was so much fun.
I need to highlight The Last Shield’s awesome characters which were a fantastic part of the book. I have mentioned the main protagonist, Briar, a few times already, and frankly she was the heart of The Last Shield due to her intense personality and well-written storyline. Johnston very cleverly set up Briar’s story at the start of the novel, first showing the warrior in her prime, before hobbling her and forcing her to consider retirement before the main plot kicked off. As such, the version of Briar we see for much of the novel is a desperate, tired and absolutely pissed-off figure, especially when she realises the many betrayals that led up to both this current assault and her previous injury. I loved how well Johnston set up this character’s revenge arc, and it was so much fun to see Briar finally get her hands on all the people responsible for her misery. The author really dives into Briar’s mindset and emotions as the book continues, and it proves very, very hard not to root for her, especially when she is driven to her absolute limit.
While most of the focus of The Last Shield is on Briar, there are several other great characters featured throughout the book who also enhance the story. The most prominent of these is probably the heir to the Sunweald, Ves, who has excellent parallel character growth to Briar. Initially portrayed as a young fop, Ves grows due to the sacrifices he witnesses in his name and the brash mentorship of Briar, and he ends up proving himself in his own way. Aside from that, I really need to highlight the excellent group of villains who Briar finds herself up against. Featuring a band of traitors, brigands, an assassin and a dark witch, the antagonists of The Last Shield play off the stoic Briar extremely well, especially as each of them enrage her in a different way. Johnston does a fantastic job showcasing the antagonist’s perspective throughout the course of the story, and their early scenes really work to ensure the reader dislikes them. I personally loved seeing their point of view once they realised that Briar was loose in the castle with them, and the outrageous sequences of fear, anger and regret that followed are incredibly fun. These characters proved to be a great boon to The Last Shield’s plot, and I deeply enjoyed the fantastic and powerful storylines that Johnston built around them.
Cameron Johnston continues to greatly impress with his fourth novel, The Last Shield. An exceptional, addictive and gloriously over-the-top dark fantasy novel that takes inspiration from some classic action films, The Last Shield was pure entertainment and excitement, that I could not turn away from. With great characters, an awesome setting, and so much damn action, there is something for every dark fantasy fan in The Last Shield, and I cannot recommend it enough. One of my favourite fantasy books of 2024.
The Unseen Library 