La tormenta se cierne sobre las Monarquías de Dios, y consigo trae la promesa de un conflicto a escala continental de tal magnitud que, en comparación, todas las guerras contra los merduk parecen simples escaramuzas.
A un lado, la Gran Alianza, la unión de los estados heréticos que, tiempo atrás, llegaron a un pacto con los merduk y fundieron en una sola fe sincrética las enseñanzas del Santo y el Profeta.
Al otro, el Segundo Imperio, una mezcolanza impía entre la autoridad de la Iglesia, convertida en poder temporal, y la hechicería de los cambiaformas venidos del Continente Occidental.

The weakest of the 5, perhaps the book should have ended at 4, or gone on for another book? Kearney's pace is frantic, and I couldn't help but feel the final few chapters were rushing. I think the weight of the story told deserved a longer epilogue/denouement, but but overall I'm quite happy I read the Monarchies of God. I don't think Hawkwood was as compelling a protagonist as the author intended, but Corfe's journey was easily the highlight, if a bit tropey. I also don't think every facet of the story melded together, there might just have been too much to weave, but the Merduk invasion and the religious implications behind it were compelling.

Another note - what is it with fantasy books and maps? I love maps - big, clear ones if possible. Here, the map is 115 pages in and isn't very legible...I always wanted to see where the action was taken place, but gave up due to inadequate detail on the map. Ah well.

I don't think this is a fantasy series that would have crossover appeal to readers who don't enjoy high fantasy, but for those that do, this will quench you thirst temporarily. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-of-ships-from-west-by-paul.html ( )

With "Ships from the West", Kearney wraps up the impressively mature and well-written Monarchies of God series. If you haven't read all the other 4 books in the series, then of course you should those first, as this one probably won't make much sense to you otherwise. With this book, the author brings the series to a fairly compelling end. All of the hallmarks of the rest of the series are present here -- excellent characterization, tight plotting, and an overall realistic, mature take on the fantasy genre - almost fantasy as history, if you will.

I've noted some other people who finished this book expressed disappointment with 1 thing: that many main characters were killed off. I would argue that this might actually make the book better and a more mature read than it otherwise might be. Yes, many characters that we've come to know and sympathize with are killed: the world is in cataclysm, after all, and serious loss of life is inevitable. Having characters the reader is familiar with, rather than merely faceless soldiers, drives this point home. Some characters may even die in ways that seem pointless or unworthy -- again, even heroes don't always die with glory.

I felt that the biggest flaw with this book was the breakneck speed with which things occurred. All of the events in this book could easily have merited a couple hundred more pages. It may be that the author was getting tired of the series and was eager to finally draw things to a close. While a bit regrettable, the book is still a good closer to a terrific series. (Impatient readers may even welcome this.)

On a series-wide note, this is one of the finest fantasy series I've yet had the pleasure of reading. Rarely these days do I read a series straight through without taking breaks between the volumes to read other books, but I plowed straight through this one. Fans of R. Scott Bakker (Prince of Nothing), Joe Abercrombie (The First Law), and GRR Martin (A Song of Fire and Ice) will almost certainly derive great enjoyment from this. Anyone who enjoys well-written, bare-knuckle, serious fantasy would be well off giving this series a try. ( )

I loved this series. I read each book immediately after finishing the one before, pored over each page, agonized with the characters. So it's nothing short of tragedy that I practically hated this book. After a long, even epic saga of war, love, magic, and exploration, Kearney clumsily wraps things up with this uninspired offering. It's a token effort, putting things to dissatisfying end without any of the heart or soul that made books 1-4 so appealing. ( )