J. D. Oswald's The Obsidian Throne (2016)

In this episode, we'll be arriving very late to an epic story by looking at the fifth and final book in the Sir Benfro series, 'The Obsidian Throne' by J. D. Oswald.I am a person who reads more crime fiction than fantasy, so it may seem strange to dive into Oswald's fantasy epic rather than his McLean crime series. However, that's all part of the fun of being an 'out of order' reader. This episode will take you through a short rant about which McLean novels are in my local library, then on to how much emotional commitment can carry you through a novel so late in a series. I'll do this while reminding you (repeatedly) that I unknowingly decided to read the fifth book in a five book series. What could possibly go wrong?Content warning: Some swearing!You can find Mal on Bluesky: outoforderbookclub.bsky.socialUseful links and helpful sources:James Oswald's websiteInterview with Civilian Reader: A really interesting interview about this book which I quote in the episode because it focuses on the publication of this final part in the series.Page One Interview: There is a lot here about how Oswald used Amazon to start his career success and bypass traditional publishing in the inital stages of his crime writing career.Book Witch InterviewInterview Room InterviewThe Courier Interview: Not only an interesting interview, but it also contains shots of some very lovely cows. I'm not being sarcastic, the cows look amazing.