Today we are going to look briefly at Wayfarer’s Keep by T.A. White. Note: there will be some spoilers in the following passages, including a briefly discussion about the final boss.

Wayfarer’s Keep is the third book in The Broken Lands series. It stars Pathfinder Shae and Warlord Fallen as they descended upon the stronghold of the Pathfinders. 

First a confession: while I have read the first two books in the series, it was not recently. My memory for details is not the very best. So this review is based on what I remember with a focus on my impressions of this story. 

It was clearly a book in a series. It actually felt like the third book in a trilogy, there was a sense of completion with its final battle. Though it was not a very firm conclusion, leaving plenty of room for the big bad guy to return. Or related minions to harass the people of this world.  

The Broken Lands are a strange place. There are the Highlands, the Lowlands, the Outlands and the Mists. Things are a strange mix left over technology from some great cataclysm and monsters. There are lots of monsters making the world a very hostile place for humans. This book takes the already ferocious creatures and adds the new mythicals – intelligent ferocious creatures. It kind of feels like a comic book where the heroes have leveled up, so their foes must also level up otherwise there wouldn’t be any tension. 

The story is composed of a lot of battles. There seems to be a lot of fighting in these stories. And with a Warlord for our second main character, the fighting is heroic and glorious. Which is fine. It is not the smart solution to the problem, but reading about heroes fighting their foes to win the day is a very solid story arch. 

It is interesting how magical the advanced old technology is described. It is also interesting some of the imagery chosen by the author. Large, cannon like guns are described as flowers that open up before sending their projectiles. 

Treachery is one of the issues faced by our leads. Who to trust? How to earn the trust of others? The intrigue was okay, but not very subtle. Again, these characters are more blunt instruments that beat the problem to death. While this may not have been the intent of the author, the characters did not actually express any subtlety in their actions. Though, I suppose there was a moment of misdirection. And I did like that the author final addressed Shea’s mysterious past connection to the Broken lands. Even if I was left feeling slightly disappointed there wasn’t more to her much alluded to journey.

The plot as I reflect on it, became a fetch quest into the Badlands – that no one is supposed to enter. Here our heroine faces the Darkness. I don’t remember if it had a name, but it was the Heart of Evil that taints the land and manipulates the minds of the weak. And like every other Heart of Evil Darkness, it cannot truly be killed. Only weakened and chained and left to await the next hapless idiot who tries to free it. 

The book was fine. It was probably as good as the others in the series, but I don’t remember them very well to make a confident comparison. It is not my favourite series by this author, but it does have some interesting elements with its post-apocalypse society filled with deadly things to kill. The focus on epic battles was fine, just not my favourite. The final sequence of facing the great old evil was not unexpected and I would probably have liked something less predictable. 

For this one, I am going with 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you liked the first two, then I am sure you will like this too.