Book Review ~ World's End

World's End (Age of Misrule #1) 
By Mark Chadbourn
Published By Pyr

Summary (Goodreads):When Jack Churchill and Ruth Gallagher encounter a terrifying, misshapen giant beneath a London bridge they are plunged into a mystery which portends the end of the world as we know it. All over the country, the ancient gods of Celtic myth are returning to the land from which they were banished millennia ago. Following in their footsteps are creatures of folklore: fabulous bests, wonders and dark terrors As technology starts to fail, Jack and Ruth are forced to embark on a desperate quest for four magical items – the last chance for humanity in the face of powers barely comprehended.


Dislikes: While there always seemed to be something going on, even if it was just a theological debate, there were times when the story got a little slow and I would end up putting the book down. There are three others helping Jack and Ruth on their quest, referred to as the Brothers & Sisters of Dragons. Another of the five, Laura, I disliked through the whole book. While all five have problems and have built up defenses due to them, she takes it to another level. She just has a really nasty personality and no matter what the author did throughout the book to show redeeming qualities it didn't work for me. I found whenever the book was focused on her I would skim until it was back to someone else.  This also presented a problem with the small amount of romance in the story because she was part of it. 


Likes: Besides Laura I really enjoyed the rest of the characters in this story. Church (Jack) makes a great lead character, with all his flaws and guilt over the death of his girlfriend, he still manages to lead this group and is really the glue that seems to keep them all together.  I enjoyed the mixture of the Celtic mythology with the Pagan and Christian religions.  The author did a excellent job weaving them all together and show how things overlap in all the different religions, they just have different names or ways of referring to them. The quest itself. The five must  find four artifacts left by the Danann before they left Earth the first time to the humans. The Sword, the Spear, the Chalice (cauldron), and the Stone.  Only when they find these items will they be able to call back the Danann to help defeat the Fomorri that have found their way back to Earth.


Overall: I really enjoyed this book. Even when I put it down it wasn't long before I was picking it back up to find out what happened next. I'm looking forward to the next book to see what happens now that the Danann and the Fomorri are back on Earth and the next part of the journey for the Brothers/Sisters of Dragons. 


Rating: 4