Holdfast Imperium – Christopher Mitchell

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The penultimate (at least. at the moment) of Mitchell’s Mageland’s Epic is finally here, and you’re in for a wild, tumultuous ride. No one and no world is safe from the wrath of the Implactus Ascendents, and hearts will be broken as beloved characters meet their devastating demises.

So, to catch up; Thorn has been elected the next Empress of the Star Continent, and finally divorced the slimy Kier Holdfast. Sable and Karalyn Holdfast rescued Belinda from the god restrainer mask and her impending marriage to Edmund. Kelsey Holdfast and the duplicitous demi-god Naxor made a trade agreement between the City of Salve and Empress Bridget, which was unfortunate for Bridget when she drank too much of the miracle remedy and ended up dead at the feet of Daphne Holdfast. Corthie Holdfast is languishing in prison for the assault he was tricked into committing by the rogue dream-mage, Daimon, while his wife, the demi-god Aila, is rearing their two small children on a small farm. Meanwhile, Daimon is still pulling the strings of Bridget’s children and Kier – but for what ends?

(That’s a lot to take in, I know. But Holdfast Imperium, is the 27th (including prequels and novellas) in the Magelands series, and trying to sum up everything that comes before in just a few sentences is almost impossible. You’ll just have to trust me that this is a fairly succinct summary.)

With the Sextant in their hands, it seems as though the Holdfasts are invulnerable; especially when they manage to migrate around 100,000 Banner soldiers from Dragon Eyre. Karalyn can travel to any world she wishes with nothing more than a thought; and with Kelsey and Sable holding their own Quadrants, they can ensure that they can appear wherever they’re needed. Karalyn’s and Kelsey’s blocking powers keep the Castle of Colsbury safe from Daimon’s prying and now they’ve got Belinda, the Third Ascendent on their side. But Mitchell doesn’t like to make things too easy for the Holdfasts. There’s always a duplicitous god or demi-god looking to cause chaos for their own selfish ends – or always some mis-guided soul who thinks they’re doing the right thing to throw a spanner in the works.

(Queue Naxor; a major player earlier in the series, who is back with more slick one liners and quaff significant bottles of alcohol; and one goal only. His own self-preservation.)

As with all of Mitchell’s books, there are four key inner voices who lead the narrative. This time around, we have Belinda, Thorn, Kier and Aila; and while reading from their perspective was a refreshing change, I still somehow missed the more striking voices of Sable, Shella and Kelsey. Although, it was interesting to look into Belinda’s inner-monologue after her confinement on Implactus – and the ordinary every day tedium of Aila’s life was a break from the constant violence that follows Sable.

As Holdfast Imperium hurtles towards its final, cataclysmic, battle, you dread the end of the book. Falling back into the life of the Star Continent and The City is a wonderful escape from the harsh realities of real life. The amount of times I’ve found myself wondering if we don’t have an angsty Dream-mage rattling around the brains of our current leaders is actually quite frightening; and I’ve wished, more than once, that we had our own Daffers or Sable to take the reins and set things right. But I digress. I dreaded the end of Holdfast Imperium because I could feel that Mitchell was leading me headfirst into something seismic; that would would break my heart into a million pieces. And it did.

What else can I say? Nothing, much, without giving away too many spoilers. But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the day I stumbled upon The Mageland’s Epic in Kindle Unlimited, my world became a brighter place.

S. A.

Holdfast Imperium will be released on 27th January, 2023, on Amazon. Pre-order it by clicking on its name. It will also be available to read for free in Kindle Unlimited.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy directly from Christopher Mitchell. I am proud and forever grateful to be one of his ARC team.