After the intricate setup of the previous three books, it's safe to say my expectations were pretty high for how "Shadows of Ardenmyst" would stick the landing. It's also safe to say that it succeeded in this task very well. This is a truly epic conclusion to a thrilling quadrilogy.

It was great to revisit characters from the earlier books in the series, as everything builds toward the final conclusion. All the author needed to do was execute on the plot, but he managed to throw in a pretty big plot twist that I honestly didn't see coming. If you know, you know. That was well done.

As with the other books, there are some pretty gritty scenes of death and mayhem, which while it certainly doesn't veer into George R.R. Martin territory, definitely solidifies that this book can be enjoyed by adults as well as older kids. Don't let that YA label turn you away!

While the other books in this series mostly followed a single character at a time, this book being the big team-up is almost exclusively large group scenes and conversations. Because of this, I noticed that the author repeatedly just used pronouns when describing dialogue and actions. At times, I had to read back so I could keep straight who was saying or doing what. A bit of variation from the litany of "he said," "he said," "he said," etc. would have helped things flow more smoothly for me.

The climactic battle occupies a good chunk of the book - which makes total sense given the stakes and scale of the conflict. I really like how we jump around to see how different characters and how they're doing in the combination of aerial and ground assaults. It called to mind the Battle of Endor scenes from "Return of the Jedi" - and I mean that in the most complementary way, as that's still my favorite Star Wars movie. I don't want to give spoilers, but not everyone makes it through unscathed, which adds a nice touch of realism, especially in the face of such an overwhelming force. We also get to see some really ugly treachery from supposed allies, which again I appreciate that not everything is just super easy and always works out for our heroes.

The ending comes about rather abruptly - or so I thought until I got to the epilogue. I don’t think I can say much about it without giving spoilers, but suffice to say it left me grinning. A very nice bow to put on the series.

To be perfectly blunt, spiders kind of freak me out, so I'm not sure I'll be checking out the Fidget standalone story. But I eagerly await the next phase of the Coonkin Chronicles in "Neon City." I can't wait to see what Eddy Coonkin comes up with next!