The second book in a trilogy, which I prefer over the first. This book is tough to review without giving major plot points away. Where the first book appeared to deal with a direct story of good vs evil, the second book has more layers, complicating the plot in excellent ways, making the reader ask the same questions as many characters come to debate. I often reserve 5 out of 5 scores only for books I adore and cannot stand to part with, but this book escalates the tale in book 1 to a new and more satisfying level. Whereas when I finished Book 1, I mostly delved into the second book out of curiosity, I now need to read the last of the trilogy to learn the outcome. With one or two perfect twists, I’ve enjoyed this much more than I expected to. An excellent blend of religion, and politics, and the dangerous quality of blind faith. ( )

I desperately want to like this series, because all the elements are there. Magic, war, unique to her world races, love affairs, Gods, etc. It just seems Canavan has no idea what to do with these elements, and the writing is just so sub par it's hard to read.
Her races all have the same mannerisms and characteristics. They have nothing unique about them other then the way they look, and yet two of the races are mostly cut off completely from the human world. Their culture and mannerisms and dialogue would not be the same. He Gods act like humans, etc. In fact every single character in the book is pretty much the same. They all react in the same way, they all speak the same way. They are all one dimensional with little to no growth. The main protagonist Auraya has some growth, but it happens so suddenly at the end of the book that it feels completely un realistic and out of place.
My biggest strife with this particular book was that nothing of importance happened at all until the very end fourth of the book, and even then, it was mild and lagged on. I understand that the middle book in a trilogy is typically the least action packed, but this one was just plain boring to me. It took far too long for me to finish simply because I grew bored so quickly.
I know that Canavan is a well liked author in the fantasy genre, but for the life of me based on this series, I cannot understand how. I know that this is only her second series, and it was written a long time ago, so I am hopeful that she has gotten better with time. I truly think she has good ideas and strong stories, but the writing and the piecing of those ideas together is lacking strongly so far. ( )

Last of the Wilds is the second book on the Age of the Five trilogy. Priestess of the White ended with the aftermath of the religious war between the Circlians and Pentadrians. The five were clearly victorious, but not without some losses.

This book is mostly about the return to normal life after the war. Alliances have been forged to gather help to fight the evil other side, but they remain strong in times of peace through commerce and cooperation. And the Pentadrians are also trying to make amends and figure out how could they have lost.

Amidst it all there is also the personal struggles of various characters: Auraya, who lost the man she loved as he was sent away because he follows a different religion, as well as having to make sense of what she has seen in the war; Leiard, that has to come to terms with the voice in his head, his other personality, and figure out what it means; Emerahl, who has to choose between hiding again or helping her friend...

Like the first book in the series, this one also features multiple points of view, telling the story of different characters that will, in most cases, encounter each other. Although this is usually great, helping to show the different stories, in this book it was a bit too much. The shifting points of view made me queasy - each part was very short, never giving time to "enter" the story before moving to the next one. It was really hard to connect with any of the characters, especially the new ones, at first. Eventually it got better (either the parts became longer or I got used to it) and it was easier to enjoy the story.

Auraya is still a major character, as is Leiard. Leiard I liked from the beginning, and I really enjoyed his parts, especially his inner monologue/dialogue with Mirar. Auraya is starting to grow on me, especially when she shows that she isn't just a mindless follower of the Gods and is capable of thinking for herself – by the end of the book I really wanted to know more of what is going to happen to her.

The inclusion of Reivan made me squint my eyes and say "I see what you did there!". Reivan becomes a Servant of the Gods (the Pentadrian ones), eventually becoming a councillor to one of the Voices. Telling the other side of the struggle gave a whole new depth to the story - suddenly it was harder to "hate" the Pentadrians, because they had faces and you knew their motivations. And to be honest, the Circlians were never the good guys in my eyes. Not that I'm on the Pentadrian side either. (Definitely with the Dreamweavers that don't care for any type of Gods and just want to help people regardless of what they believe.)

If in Priestess of the White there were the Siyee, as a stranger species, not like humans in appearance, but not devoid of Humanity; in Last of the Wilds we have the Elai, creatures of the sea - but not mermaids, that are even more distrustful of landwalkers than their winged counterparts. I really like to read about different races, seemingly so alien, and about their culture and their lives, and these sea folks were a treat for me.

What I liked on the first book is exactly what I liked on this one. The third side of the matter, the world-building, the different races, and the emotional struggle of the characters regarding their beliefs and their way of living. It is all there, and then some more.

Also at Spoilers and Nuts ( )

Trudi's second trilogy is better than her first and this is one of the best books overall. The world that she has created so well described and set out that the reader is automatically transported there. The characters are beautifully defined and as the reader you become so close to them and their lives. The siyee are are some of the best characters ever created. ( )

"Last of the Wilds" is a middle book, but in many ways is stronger than its predecessor, "Priestess of the White."

In this book, the storylines for all the main character groups (the White, especially Auraya, the Pentadrians, the Wilds, the Elai and the Siyee) get more interesting. There is depth to each of the individual plots and the author sets up a complex and intriguing political scene for the third book.

The real story is what is going on with the gods and the immortals. What do the gods have against the Wilds? Where did the gods come from? What are they planning? How much of what's going on are they aware of? There's clearly a much larger story going on here than the base plot of the Circlian/Pentadrian conflict.

I'm waiting anxiously for the grand design to be revealed in the third book. ( )